JP2005085200A - Medical image display system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medical image display system that can display an appropriate referential image by facilitating a search for a past image to be referred to in a method depending on a radiologist's demand. <P>SOLUTION: The medical image display system has saving means for associating and saving medical images and attached information, inputting means for inputting a search condition for attached information (Step S2), means for searching for attached information matching the input search condition (Step S5), and displaying means for displaying the attached information found and/or the medical images associated with the attached information (Step S8); and enables the selection of the medical images associated with the attached information found as referential images (Step S11). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a medical image display system that displays medical images.

  In recent years, an image file communication storage system called PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) has been operating as a system for performing data transfer, storage, display, search, and the like of digitized medical images.

  In PACS, medical images of patients acquired by various modalities such as a computer radiography apparatus (hereinafter referred to as CR; Computed Radiography) and a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (hereinafter referred to as MRI; Magnetic Resonance Imaging) ID information, name, sex, etc. related to patient information such as item information regarding modality type, imaging date, imaging area, etc. Stored in a large-capacity storage medium. From a terminal device or the like installed in the examination room, medical images stored through a network can be searched and displayed.

By the way, when a medical image is interpreted using such a PACS, if the patient has a history of examination, the pathology of the medical condition is referred to with reference to an image interpreted in the past (hereinafter referred to as “past image”). It is common to make a judgment. In such a case, for example, a system is known in which past images can be searched by specifying an examination date (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 11-259526 A

  However, in the conventional system (Patent Document 1), since the examination date list of all examinations (examination orders) for which medical images were taken on the designated examination date is displayed, the interpretation doctor is displayed in the examination date list. The target patient had to be selected from among the patients.

  Further, in the case of a patient with a lot of examination history, there may be a plurality of images having different imaging conditions as past images due to various modalities. In such a case, it has been difficult for an interpreting physician to select a past image suitable for reference only by searching based on the examination date.

  Furthermore, the method of selecting a past image to be referred to usually differs depending on the medical doctor or patient's medical condition. Therefore, a conventional system that can search for past images only within a range of predetermined search items has been inconvenient.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a medical image display system capable of easily searching for past images to be referred to by a method according to a request of an interpreting doctor and displaying an appropriate reference image. .

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1 is a medical image display system capable of displaying a stored medical image as a reference image related to a medical image to be interpreted. Storage means for associating and storing incidental information, input means for inputting a search condition related to the incidental information, means for searching for incidental information that matches the input search condition, searched incidental information, and / or Display means for displaying a medical image corresponding to the supplementary information, and the medical image corresponding to the searched supplementary information can be selected as a reference image.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the medical image display system according to the first aspect, the supplementary information includes item information regarding a patient and item information regarding a photographing condition of a medical image.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the medical image display system according to the first or second aspect, the supplementary information includes item information relating to the findings of an interpreting doctor based on the medical image.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the medical image display system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the search condition input by the input unit can be registered for each interpretation doctor. And

  The invention according to claim 5 is the medical image display system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the search condition input by the input means can be registered for each patient. To do.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the medical image display system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the search condition input by the input means can be registered for each disease name. To do.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the medical image display system according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, when the medical image is displayed on a display unit, the associated accessory searched on the medical image. Information is displayed, and a medical image corresponding to the incidental information can be selected as a reference image.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the medical image display system according to the seventh aspect, when the medical image to be interpreted and the reference image are displayed on the display unit, the search is performed on the reference image. The incidental information can be displayed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to arbitrarily input a search condition related to the supplementary information. Therefore, a medical image corresponding to the supplementary information that matches the search condition can be selected as a reference image. The search request can be flexibly dealt with, and the search is easy. Therefore, an appropriate reference image can be selected and displayed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to arbitrarily input a search condition from item information related to a patient and item information related to imaging conditions.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, since the search condition can be arbitrarily input from the item information related to the interpretation doctor's findings based on the medical image, the item information related to the findings includes the importance of the medical image. By doing so, it is possible to search for medical images based on the importance based on the findings of the interpreting doctor.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the search condition input for each interpretation doctor can be registered, it is not necessary to input the search condition every time the reference image is searched. The reference image can be searched by a favorite search method.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, since the search condition can be registered for each patient, it is not necessary to input the search condition every time the reference image is searched, and it corresponds to the medical condition of each patient. A reference image can be searched by a search method.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, since the search condition can be registered for each disease name, if the patient has the same disease name, it is not necessary to input the search condition each time the reference image is searched. The reference image can be searched by a search method according to the disease name.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the incidental information as the search result can be displayed on the medical image so as to be selectable, so that the reference image and the search result can be referred to simultaneously on one screen, and A desired image can be selected as a reference image from the search results.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, when displaying the medical image to be interpreted and the reference image, the supplementary information as the search result can be displayed on the reference image so as to be selectable. Images are not hidden in search results. In addition, a desired image can be selected as a reference image from the search results.

  A medical image display system 100 according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The medical image display system 100 is configured based on PACS, and when reading a medical image to be interpreted, it is possible to arbitrarily set a search item for retrieving a past image that has already been interpreted as a reference image. The desired image can be selected as a reference image from the selected past images. As shown in FIG. 1, a modality 1, a medical image management device 2, a medical image display device 3, and the like are provided and are connected to each other via a network N. Further, it is configured to be mutually connectable with other information management systems in the hospital such as HIS / RIS4 according to DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) standard.

  HIS is an abbreviation for Hospital Information System, which is a hospital information system that manages and manages patient personal information, accounting for medical expenses, and the like. RIS is an abbreviation for Radiology Information System, and is a radiology information system that consistently performs reservations for radiological examinations such as CR, acceptance of examinations, interpretation and storage of examination data.

  The network N is an information communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) constructed in a building such as a hospital or between hospitals.

  The modality 1 is a device conforming to the DICOM standard for generating a digitized DICOM medical image. Imaging device) 14, MRI 15, nuclear medicine diagnostic device (RI) 16, ultrasonic diagnostic device 17, electronic endoscope device 18 and the like. Note that the types and number of modalities constituting the system 100 are not limited to this.

  The medical image management apparatus 2 is a server that stores medical images in a database together with the accompanying information, stores the medical images, searches for the accompanying information, and transfers the medical images and the accompanying information in response to a request from the medical image display apparatus 3. As shown in FIG. 2, a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, an I / F unit 23, and the like are provided, and each unit is connected to each other via a bus 24.

  The control unit 21 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. In the CPU, the medical unit is stored in the ROM or the storage unit with a predetermined area of the RAM as a work area. In accordance with various programs such as an image display program, a control signal is sent to each unit by computer control to centrally control the overall operation of the medical image management apparatus 2, and a medical image display process including a search process to be described later is executed.

  The storage unit 22 includes, for example, a magnetic or optical storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or an optical disk, or a storage medium (not shown) such as a semiconductor memory, which is fixed or detachable. The medical image display program, medical image The incidental information is stored. The medical image and the incidental information are associated with each other and stored in a database.

  Here, it is a matter of course that an image compression processing program, a data compression circuit, and the like may be provided according to the capacity of the storage unit 22, and the medical image may be stored after compressing the data amount.

  The incidental information includes various item information such as item information related to the patient, item information related to the imaging condition of the medical image, item information related to the presence or absence of interpretation, and item information related to the findings (report) of the interpretation doctor. The incidental information is input in the modality 1 and / or RIS / HIS, and the medical image management apparatus 2 acquires the information via the network N.

  As item information about a patient, patient ID, a full name, a date of birth, age, sex, an address, a past history, etc. are mentioned, for example.

  Item information relating to imaging conditions includes, for example, examination date, examination number, imaging region, imaging apparatus (type of modality 1), imaging method, imaging request department name, imaging request interpretation doctor name, imaging technician name, number of images, and the like. It is done. The examination date indicates the date when the image was taken. An inspection number is issued for each inspection.

  Examples of the item information related to the findings of the interpretation doctor include the creation status of the findings, the text data of the findings, and information related to the importance of the medical image. Here, the importance level refers to the importance level used for diagnosis, and may be quantified by, for example, five-level evaluation.

  The I / F unit 23 is a network interface for communication connection with the modality 1 and the medical image display device 3 through the network N, and exchanges data between these devices.

  The medical image display device 3 is a terminal device installed in an examination room or the like. From this medical image display device 3, medical images and supplementary information can be searched and displayed via the network N. The interpretation doctor interprets the medical image displayed on the medical image display device 3 and diagnoses the patient.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the medical image display device 3 includes a control unit 31, an operation unit 32, a storage unit 33, an I / F unit 34, a display unit 35, and the like, and these units are connected to each other via a bus 36. Yes.

  The control unit 31 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like. The control unit 31 centrally controls the overall operation of the medical image display apparatus 3 by sending a control signal to each of the above units by computer control according to various programs such as a medical image display program. A medical image display process including a search item setting process is executed.

  The operation unit 32 includes an ID number of a radiogram interpreter, a search item to be set, input operations such as a search condition according to each search item, display keys for various menu screens, number keys, character keys, It is configured to include a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse composed of function keys.

  The storage unit 33 includes, for example, a magnetic or optical storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like that is fixed or detachable, and is connected to various programs such as a medical image display program and the network N. The received medical image, supplementary information, search results, etc. are stored.

  The I / F unit 34 is an interface for communication connection with the modality 1 and the medical image management apparatus 2 through the network N, and exchanges data between these apparatuses.

  The display unit 35 includes a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Lay Tube) or an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and performs various displays based on a control signal input from the control unit 31. The display part 35 may be comprised from one display apparatus, and may be comprised from the some display apparatus.

  The display unit 35 includes a basic screen for displaying patient information and the like (see FIG. 4), a search item setting screen (see FIG. 5), a search result display screen (see FIG. 6), a medical image display screen (see FIG. 7), and the like. Various screens are displayed. On these screens, various operation buttons, operation menus, and input menus that can be operated by the operation unit 32 are displayed.

  The basic screen shown in FIG. 4 includes various operation button display areas A1 including an “interpretation” button 35a for displaying a medical image, an emergency mark display area A2 for displaying an emergency mark 35b when there is an emergency patient, and to be interpreted. It has an unread image list display area A3 for displaying supplementary information corresponding to a medical image (hereinafter referred to as “unread image”).

  In the uninterpreted image list display area A3, incidental information can be displayed in a list for each photographing date and classification by patient or the like. In FIG. 4, as shown as “Yesterday unread” and “Today's unread”, it is classified according to the shooting date and according to the patient type, such as “Case” patient and “Emergency” patient. The incidental information corresponding to the shadow image is displayed as a list.

  Switching between display / non-display of the incidental information for each category can be performed by operating the expand / fold button 35c of the display bar provided for each category. FIG. 4 shows a state in which incidental information corresponding to each of the “unread image of today” image and the unread image of the “emergency” patient is displayed as a list. The search item setting screen shown in FIG. 5 can be displayed by selecting a specific patient from the supplementary information displayed in a list and displaying the menu screen or the like through the operation unit 32.

  The search item setting screen shown in FIG. 5 arbitrarily sets a search item for searching for a past image as a reference image from item information included in incidental information when an interpreting doctor interprets an unread image. This is an operation screen displayed in a window. The search item setting screen includes a search item selection button display area A4, a search condition input area A5, a display number setting button display area A6, and the like.

  In the search item selection button display area A4, item names of each item information included in the incidental information are displayed so as to be selectable. A transition button 35d is provided between the search item selection button display area A4 and the search condition input area A5.

  By selecting an item to be a search item on the search item selection button display area A4 via the operation unit 32 and pressing the shift button 35d, the selected item is transferred to the search condition input area A5, and the search item Set as At this time, a plurality of search items with the same name can be provided in the search condition input area A5 by selecting the same item a plurality of times and pressing the shift button 35d each time.

  In the search condition input area A5, the search items set as described above are displayed, and the search conditions can be input for each search item. It is set to perform an AND search between different search items. When there are a plurality of the same search items, the search items are set to perform an or search. If there is a search item to be deleted, the corresponding search item name is selected from the search condition input area A5, and the “delete” button 35e displayed below the transition button 35d is pressed to select the item from the search item. Can be deleted. Of course, it may be set to perform an or search between different search items.

  Search conditions can be entered for each of the search items set in this way, and once entered and set, the search conditions can be registered for each interpretation doctor, and for each disease name or patient. You can also register.

  In FIG. 5, only “examination date”, “part”, “modality”, “request department”, and “importance” are displayed as selectable item names in the search item selection button display area A4. The item information names included in the incidental information can be displayed in a selectable manner. The importance is item information related to findings as described above.

  When the close button 35f displayed on the upper right of the search item setting screen is pressed or the execution button (not shown) is pressed, the incidental information corresponding to the past image of the patient is searched according to the search condition input for each set search item. Is done.

  For example, in FIG. 6, incidental information corresponding to the unread image of the patient “Taro XXX” is indicated by B <b> 1. It is assumed that there are 11 past images of this patient as shown in FIG. When the incidental information that matches the search conditions set in FIG. 5 is searched from among them, five incidental information that matches the item information of the imaging region is the chest, the modality is CR or CT, and the importance level 5 is acquired as a search result. Is done.

  As shown in the search result display screen of FIG. 6, the search result searched as described above can be displayed as the related information B2 together with the supplementary information B1 corresponding to the unread image of the patient. The related information B2 displays the set number of display items. When the number of incidental information items equal to or greater than the number of display items is retrieved, a “<< display next related information >>” button 35g for displaying the next related information is displayed.

  At this time, the related information B2 may be displayed in a tree format below the incidental information B1. The display / non-display of the related information B2 may be switched by operating the expand / fold button 35h.

  If inspection items and search conditions have been set and registered in advance, by calling up the registered contents, the search is automatically performed according to the registered search conditions, and the related information B2 that matches the search results is applicable. You may make it display with incidental information B1 of a patient.

  When the supplementary information corresponding to any past image is selected from the displayed related information B2 and the “interpretation” button 35a is pressed, the corresponding past image can be displayed as a reference image on the display unit 35.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the medical image display screen can simultaneously display the unread image C1 and the reference image C2. When the display unit 35 includes a plurality of display devices, the unread image C1 can be displayed on one display device, and the reference image C2 can be displayed on another display device.

  In addition, on the medical image display screen, as shown in FIG. 7, related information B2 of the patient can be displayed on the past image C2. At this time, display / non-display of the related information B2 can be switched by performing a predetermined operation in the operation unit 32.

  As the predetermined operation, for example, a configuration in which the display / non-display of the related information B2 is switched by clicking the mouse on the reference image C2, or the menu screen is displayed on the display unit 35 by the operation of the mouse or the like. It is good also as a structure which switches display / non-display of related information B2.

  By selecting predetermined supplementary information from the list of related information B2 displayed on the reference image C2, another past image corresponding to the selected supplementary information can be selected and displayed as a reference image.

  Next, medical image display processing executed in the medical image display system 100 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the power of the medical image display device 3 is turned on, a basic screen (see FIG. 4) is displayed on the display unit 35 (step S1), and a list of supplementary information regarding unread images to be interpreted on that day is displayed on the display unit 35. Is done.

  At this time, for example, the interpretation doctor may be requested to input an ID number or the like, and the interpretation doctor may be authenticated, and a basic screen corresponding to the authenticated interpretation doctor may be displayed on the display unit 35.

  Next, when a search item setting operation and a search condition input operation are performed via the search item setting screen (see FIG. 5) (step S2: Y), a search request is transmitted to the medical image management apparatus 2 ( Step S3).

  When the medical image management apparatus 2 receives the search request (step S4), the medical image management apparatus 2 starts the search program, searches for incidental information that matches the search request (step S5), and transmits the search result to the medical image display apparatus 3. (Step S6).

  When the medical image display device 3 receives the search result (step S7), the medical image display device 3 displays related information B2 on the corresponding patient on the search result display screen (see FIG. 7) (step S8).

  At this time, the related information B2 may be displayed together with the accompanying information B1 corresponding to the unread image of the corresponding patient, or the related information B2 is displayed for the first time when the folding / unfolding button 35h is pressed. Also good.

  When any additional information is selected from the related information B2 (step S9: Y) and the “interpretation” button 35c is pressed (step S10: Y), a past image corresponding to the additional information is displayed. The reference image C2 can be displayed on the medical image display screen (FIG. 7) (step S11).

  As described above, according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, the incidental information such as the item information related to the patient, the item information related to the imaging conditions, and the item information related to the findings of the interpretation doctor are included. Search items can be set arbitrarily from the multiple items of information included, and search conditions can be entered for each search item to flexibly respond to various search requests of the interpreting physician. It is. Therefore, an appropriate reference image can be selected and displayed.

  At this time, since the past image can be searched based on the importance of the medical image based on the findings of the interpretation doctor, the diagnosis can be performed with reference to a more appropriate past image.

  In addition, search conditions can be set arbitrarily for each interpretation doctor, for each patient, and for each disease name, and the set search conditions can be registered. There is no need to perform the search, and it is possible to search past images by a search method preferred by each interpretation doctor, or by a method suitable for each patient and each disease name, and select an appropriate reference image.

  Further, when displaying the reference image C2 based on the search result, the related information B2 can be displayed on the reference image C2, and the display can be switched using another past image as the reference image on the medical image display screen. Is expensive. That is, when switching the display of the reference image, it is not necessary to switch the screen display from the medical image display screen (FIG. 7) to the search result display screen (FIG. 6), and the operability is high.

1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a medical image display system 100 in the best mode for carrying out the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the medical image management apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the medical image display apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the basic screen displayed on the display part of the medical image display apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the search item setting screen displayed on the display part of the medical image display apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the search result display screen displayed on the display part of the medical image display apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the medical image display screen displayed on the display part of the medical image display apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the incidental information list (a) corresponding to a patient's past image, and a search result (b). It is a flowchart which shows the medical image display process performed in the best form for implementing this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Modality 2 Medical image management apparatus 21 Control part 22 Storage part 23 I / F part 3 Medical image display apparatus 31 Control part 32 Operation part 33 Storage part 34 I / F part 35 Display part 100 Medical image display system A3 Unread image list Display area A4 Search item selection button display area A5 Search condition input area A6 Display count setting button display area B1 Additional information B2 Related information C1 Unread image C2 Reference image N Network

Claims (8)

A medical image display system capable of displaying a stored medical image as a reference image related to a medical image to be interpreted,
Storage means for storing the medical image and incidental information in association with each other;
Input means for inputting search conditions related to the incidental information;
Means for searching for incidental information that matches the input search conditions;
Display means for displaying the retrieved auxiliary information and / or medical image corresponding to the auxiliary information;
Have
A medical image display system capable of selecting, as a reference image, a medical image corresponding to searched auxiliary information. The medical image display system according to claim 1,
The supplementary information includes item information relating to a patient and item information relating to imaging conditions of a medical image. The medical image display system according to claim 1 or 2,
The medical image display system, wherein the supplementary information includes item information related to findings of a radiogram interpretation doctor based on the medical image. In the medical image display system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The medical image display system characterized in that the search condition input by the input means can be registered for each interpretation doctor. In the medical image display system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The medical image display system, wherein the search condition input by the input means can be registered for each patient. In the medical image display system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The medical image display system, wherein the search condition input by the input means can be registered for each disease name. In the medical image display system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
When the medical image is displayed on the display unit, the searched auxiliary information is displayed on the medical image, and the medical image corresponding to the auxiliary information can be selected as a reference image. Display system. The medical image display system according to claim 7,
The medical image display system, wherein when the medical image to be interpreted and the reference image are displayed on the display means, the searched supplementary information can be displayed on the reference image.

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