JP2003050718A - Remote maintenance system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote maintenance system capable of minimizing the influence on system down in an in-hospital system and enhancing security. SOLUTION: The above purpose is attained by providing the in-hospital network 115 to mutually connect medical diagnostic equipment such as CT1, CT2, and MRI and to transfer the respective images, programs and parameters as data, a network 116 for maintenance to mutually connect to the respective medical diagnostic equipment and to transfer the respective pieces of maintenance data, a maintenance computer 111 to be arranged at a remote place from a site, where the respective medical diagnostic equipment are arranged, to be connected with the network 116 for maintenance and to communicate pieces of the maintenance data from the respective medical diagnostic equipment with a line 12 and a computer 101 for a support center for displaying the communicated pieces of maintenance data.

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote maintenance system in which a plurality of medical diagnostic apparatuses are connected via a network and maintenance / inspection (maintenance) data of each medical diagnostic apparatus is received at a remote place. The present invention relates to a system, and more particularly, to a remote maintenance system in which the security (security) of a hospital system is improved. [0002] Medical diagnostic apparatuses include X-ray CT apparatuses and MRI.
It is a device used for diagnosis of a living body such as a device, and a failure of the device has a significant effect on the survival of a patient. In addition, medical devices are often used urgently, and are required to be always usable. For this reason, periodic maintenance and repair as necessary are indispensable to prevent failure of the medical diagnostic apparatus. [0003] However, once the medical diagnostic device fails,
Long system down time is required. In the case of repairs for which the cause is not clear in particular, the time from the occurrence of the failure to the dispatch of service personnel for repair and the time required for pursuing the cause thereafter are uncertain, and until the repair is completed, the medical diagnostic device Of course cannot be used. [0004] In order to avoid such a situation, remote maintenance has been proposed in which maintenance is performed remotely using external network equipment. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 062130 proposes a method for automatically activating a self-diagnosis program and automatically reporting a failure, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-003452 proposes a method for remotely executing a self-diagnosis program. However, in each of the above proposals, there is a one-line network for connecting medical diagnostic apparatuses, and the network is shared for remote maintenance. There was a problem that remote maintenance would not be possible if it did. [0006] In the above-mentioned shared network, further Inte
When using a public line such as rnet, there is a risk that a malicious third party could invade the computer and destroy data, peep at the patient's privacy, or infect a computer virus. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a remote maintenance system capable of minimizing the effect of a system down in a hospital system and improving security. [0008] The object of the present invention is to connect a plurality of medical diagnostic devices to each other, and to connect each image, program,
A first network facility for transferring parameters as data, a second network facility for interconnecting the medical diagnostic devices and transferring maintenance data for each medical diagnostic device, and a site where the medical diagnostic devices are located. Means for transmitting maintenance data from each of the medical diagnostic devices to an external line, the display being provided at a remote location and connected to the second network equipment, and a display unit for displaying the transmitted maintenance data; This is achieved by a remote maintenance system characterized by the following. More specifically, the medical diagnostic apparatus comprises a remote maintenance computer located at the same site as the medical diagnostic apparatus, and a support center computer located at a support center located at a remote site different from the medical diagnostic apparatus. , A remote service that connects a medical diagnostic device and a remote maintenance computer via a LAN (Local Area Network) and connects to a support computer at a support center at a remote site via a public line or a dedicated line via the remote maintenance computer A medical diagnostic apparatus is provided with at least two or more NICs (Network Interface Cards), one NIC is used for a network related to operations in a hospital, and the other NIC is used as a gateway for a maintenance computer. Maintenance This is achieved by multiplexing networks used for nonce networks. The remote maintenance computer has a point-to-point protocol (PPP) server function. In response to a request for a PPP connection from a support computer at a support center, an ISP (Internet Service Protocol) is provided.
rovider), and can be achieved by directly connecting and building an independent dedicated network. The support center has a server device having a PPP server function connected to the support computer, and the remote maintenance computer has a PPP client function and is a medical device connected to a maintenance network. In response to a sudden situation such as an abnormal situation, a request for a PPP connection is issued to the server at the support center, and by directly connecting to the support center without going through the ISP, it becomes independent from the hospital network as well as the Internet. This is achieved by constructing a dedicated network and automatically reporting abnormal conditions immediately. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the entire remote maintenance system of the present invention. The remote maintenance system includes a system 10 in a support center, a system 11 in a hospital, and an external line 12 connecting these systems. In addition, even if each system is located in a remote place that is not on the same site (site), or is located within the same site, the distance of the location of each system is considerably large. On the other hand, the system 10 in the support center includes:
A client / server system, which is one form of network computing via a network 103, is constructed. The client side is a support center computer 101, and the server side is a support center server 102. Here, the support center computer 101 and the support center server 10
2 merely constructs a general-purpose client / server system, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The other in-hospital system 11 includes a maintenance computer 111 and an X-ray C
T apparatus (CT) 1 <112>, CT2 <113>, magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (MRI) 114, hospital network 115, and maintenance network 116
And <> Used here is CT1 or C
T2 and the code are identified so as not to be confused. CT1 <112> and CT2 <113> are X
MRI 114 is an apparatus for obtaining an MRI image, and is an apparatus for obtaining an MRI image.
Are connected via Of course, one in-hospital network 115 is a hospital information system (HIS), a radiological information system (RIS), or a DICOM.
It is used as a network related to operations in hospitals, such as communication using a communication protocol for medical image data called a medical image data. The other maintenance network 116
Is formed independently of the hospital network 115 by using the maintenance computer 111 as a gateway. That is, a network of medical devices in a hospital is multiplexed into two or more lines. here,
For the sake of simplicity, the description will be made using a two-line network. However, if there are three or more lines, even if there is any abnormality in each network, the system reliability is improved by supplementing the abnormal network. It is not even. Then, the maintenance computer 11
1 is connected to the computer 101 for the support center and the server 102 for the support center of the system 10 in the support center through the external line 12, and CT1 <112>, C through the maintenance network 116.
T2 <113>, a computer connected to each of the MRIs 114. The maintenance network 116 in the hospital includes a maintenance computer 111.
And is connected to an external line 12 via only At this time,
A device such as a router or a firewall may be further connected between the maintenance computer 111 and the external line 12. The term "network" as used herein means a network and associated equipment (network equipment). That is, various facilities such as a power supply necessary for the functioning of the network and a relay for preventing a signal transmitted on the network from being attenuated are collectively referred to. The network employed in the present invention employs a known network, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Next, the operation of the remote maintenance system of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation procedure of the system of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a transition diagram showing a data transmission / reception state when operating according to the procedure of FIG. An operator at the support center causes the maintenance computer 111 to start maintenance at any time or periodically (step 201). The maintenance computer 111 is connected via the maintenance network 116 to CT1 <11.
2> a self-diagnosis request is made (step 202). CT1 <112> performs a self-diagnosis. Here, the self-diagnosis means that a medical diagnostic apparatus such as CT or MRI stores a data file such as a file (log file) in which information such as set values, images, data communication, and processing is recorded. (Step 203). The log file thus stored is returned to the maintenance computer 111 via the maintenance network 116. The maintenance computer 111 stores the log file in a directory “/ home / CT1 /” of a storage medium such as a magnetic disk of the maintenance computer 111 (step 204). Similarly, the maintenance computer 11
1 is CT through the maintenance network 116
2 Make a self-diagnosis request to <113> (step 20)
5). CT2 <113> performs a self-diagnosis (step 206). The log file generated by the self-diagnosis is sent back to the maintenance computer 111 via the maintenance network 116. The maintenance computer 111 stores the log file in a directory “/ home / CT2 /” of a storage medium such as a magnetic disk of the maintenance computer 111 (step 207). Similarly, the maintenance computer 111 issues a self-diagnosis request to the MRI 114 through the maintenance network 116 (step 20).
8). The MRI 114 performs a self-diagnosis (step 209). The log file generated by the self-diagnosis is returned to the maintenance computer 111 via the maintenance network 116. The maintenance computer 111 stores the log file in a directory “/ home / MRI /” of a storage medium such as a magnetic disk owned by the maintenance computer 111 (step 210). The maintenance computer 111
The log file in “/ home / CT1 /” is checked for errors (step 211). Next, the maintenance computer 11
1 checks the log file in "/ home / CT2 /" (step 212), and checks the log file in "/ home / MRI /" (step 213). As a result of step 211, "/ home / CT1
It is assumed that an error is detected in the log file in "/" (step 214). The maintenance computer 111 attaches all the log files including the error information or a file edited around the error portion of the log file. A mail having a subject of the hospital name and the product number of CT1 is created as a file (step 215) The mail created in step 215 is sent from the maintenance computer 111 to the support center server 102 via the external line 12. (Step 216) The mail received by the support center server 102 is immediately sent to the support center computer 101.
Is distributed via the network 103 (step 2
17). The delivered mail is displayed on the computer 101 for the support center, and the operator at the support center knows it (step 218). Next, a description will be given of an example in which the state transition relating to the notification and the status confirmation to the maintenance-support center is performed using a telephone line. Since the telephone line is not always connected, it is necessary to connect the lines sequentially. Since the maintenance computer of the present invention has a server function and a client function of the PPP, when an abnormality occurs, the maintenance computer dials up to the server of the support center and transmits an e-mail (state 301). The computer for maintenance disconnects the line immediately after sending the mail and releases the line (state 302). At the support center, the mail received by the server is confirmed by the support computer, and the mail is dial-up connected to the maintenance computer of the hospital where the abnormality has occurred (state 303). When the line is connected, the maintenance network and the support computer in the hospital form one network, and it is possible to confirm an abnormal state and respond to it (state 304). Naturally, the same can be done when a dedicated line that is always connected is used. In this case, dial-up connection is not required. As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, a remote maintenance system capable of remotely knowing that a medical device is abnormal and improving security at any time of abnormality of the medical device. Can be provided. The present invention has the effect of providing a remote maintenance system capable of minimizing the effect of a system down in a hospital system and improving security.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an entire remote maintenance system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of the system in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a transition diagram showing a state of data transmission / reception when operating according to the procedure in FIG. 2; [Description of Signs] 10: System in support center, 11: System in hospital, 12: External line, 101: Computer for support center, 102: Server for support center, 103: Network, 111: Computer for maintenance, 1
12, 113: CT, 114: MRI, 115: Hospital network, 116: Maintenance network

Claims (1)

Claims 1. A first network facility for interconnecting a plurality of medical diagnostic apparatuses and transferring respective images, programs, and parameters as data, and connecting the medical diagnostic apparatuses to each other. A second network facility for transferring the maintenance data of the medical diagnostic apparatus, and a second network facility which is located at a location remote from the site where each medical diagnostic apparatus is located, and connected to the second network facility, and Means for transmitting maintenance data to an external line,
A display unit for displaying the transmitted maintenance data.