JP2008188214A - Medical image display system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medical image display system for displaying medical images in an optimum display layout in small-scale medical facilities. <P>SOLUTION: With respect to the display layout, a user can switch a mode to either one of an automatic layout mode of dividing a display area on a display means corresponding to the number of the medical images to be displayed from an image D1 and displaying them and a fixed layout mode of dividing the display area by a preset division number and displaying the medical images to be displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a medical image display system for displaying a medical image in a small-scale medical facility.

  Conventionally, a medical image generation device such as a CR (Computed Radiography) device or an FPD (Flat Panel Detector) device has been used by a technician to image a patient to be examined, and various image processing has been performed to provide the obtained image for diagnosis. A medical image display system that outputs the image to a medical image display device that can be browsed is known.

  In such a medical image display system, a plurality of responsible personnel are operated in cooperation with each other. As the person in charge, the receptionist who receives the patient who came to the hospital and issues the imaging order, the technician who actually images the patient in the imaging room and generates a medical image, whether the generated medical image is an image for diagnosis In some cases, an engineer in charge of correcting the contrast and density of the medical image, an interpreting doctor who determines (diagnose) the presence or absence of a disease based on the medical image displayed on the monitor, and the like.

In a large-scale medical facility, operations such as generation and interpretation of medical images for a plurality of patients are simultaneously performed at a plurality of locations. In such a workflow, in order to reliably prevent the confusion such as the mistake of the patient and the medical image, it is necessary to reliably maintain the consistency of the information transmitted between each person in charge. Therefore, generally, instruction information called order information is used.
The order information includes patient information related to the patient himself / herself and imaging information related to imaging such as imaging date / time and imaging site. Based on this order information, a patient to be imaged, an imaging region, and the like can be determined. Further, by storing the order information in association with the medical image data, it is possible to identify the medical images individually and perform comprehensive management.

The medical image data stored in association with the patient information is retrieved and extracted for each patient in a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System for medical application) system, and in some cases, the medical image at the time of the previous diagnosis of the patient. At the same time, it is transmitted to an interpreting doctor who interprets the medical image of the patient. At this time, the extracted medical image has a display layout corresponding to each field (part) and / or each interpreting doctor's preference (diagnostic style), and the medical image and the past reference image to be diagnosed this time are distributed. Is done.
In a large-scale medical facility, diagnosis accuracy is maintained and efficiency is improved by displaying distributed medical images in this way.

Conventionally, as a technique related to a display layout when the number of images to be displayed is determined in advance, a technique for laying out a plurality of display images in a display format that is easy for the user to browse and storing the display layout (see Patent Document 1) A technique (see Patent Document 2) that automatically determines a frame number layout and a frame size according to the number of images to be displayed is disclosed.
JP 2006-268120 A JP 2006-74592 A

On the other hand, the generation of medical images in small-scale medical facilities, the correspondence between the medical images and patient information, and the series of diagnosis flows based on the medical images are the same as those of the large-scale medical facilities in terms of equipment and personnel. Are very different.
In a small-scale medical facility, medical images are generated by a small number of people such as one doctor or doctors and nurses, and diagnosis (interpretation) is overwhelmingly performed. Therefore, despite the fact that there is very little possibility of patient confusion, generating order information prior to imaging and forcing input man-hours such as keyboard operations that are unfamiliar to doctors lowers the examination efficiency of the entire facility This is not preferable.

  In a small-scale medical facility, since a single doctor is in charge of diagnosis, interpretation, etc., medical images of various parts by various imaging devices such as CR devices, FPD devices, ultrasonic imaging devices, etc. are read. . When the imaging device and the imaging site are different, the size of the medical image and the number of images to be taken are also different. Therefore, it is difficult to set the display layout in advance as in the PACS system in which the number of shots (number of images) is determined in advance.

  In addition, when there is a photographing assistant such as a nurse, photographing is performed by a photographing assistant and medical examination is performed by a doctor. For this reason, the next medical image may be sent after starting the interpretation after the first medical image is acquired, and the number of images is not determined at the start of the interpretation as in the PACS system described above. The display layout cannot be set to. However, in the method in which the display magnification is automatically changed (reduced) according to the number of medical images and displayed on one screen, if the number of images is large, the image size becomes too small and interpretation becomes difficult.

  The subject of this invention is providing the image display method optimal for the flow of the small-scale medical facility mentioned above.

The invention described in claim 1
In a medical image display system comprising a medical image generation device that images a patient and generates a medical image, and a medical image display device that displays the generated medical image,
The medical image display device includes:
Display means capable of displaying one or more medical images;
As the display layout of the medical image, an automatic layout mode in which the display area on the display unit is divided and displayed according to the number of medical images to be displayed, and the display area is divided by a preset number of divisions. Operation means capable of switching between fixed layout modes for displaying medical images to be displayed;
Control means for dividing the display area of the display means according to the display layout mode switched by the operation means, and adjusting the display size of the medical image to be displayed and displaying the medical image in each divided area. When,
It is characterized by having.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1,
An operation for setting an upper limit of the number of divisions of the display area in the automatic layout mode is possible via the operation means.
The control means divides the display area within an upper limit of the number of divisions set and operated through the operation means when performing display according to the automatic layout mode.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2,
The control means counts the number of medical images for each patient and divides the display area according to the counted number to display the medical images.

According to the present invention,
The display layout of the medical image displayed on the medical image display device is an automatic layout that automatically increases or decreases the number of frames according to the number of medical images to be displayed and displays all medical images, or is set in advance. The medical image can be displayed by selecting any one of the display layouts by fixing the number of frames and limiting the number of displayed frames. Note that the number of frames is the number of display areas that are created after the display area is divided.
As for the displayed medical image, the upper limit of the number of frames can be limited to limit the size of the displayed minimum image, or only the same kind of medical image can be displayed.

  As a result, when the interpreting physician interprets all medical images, the display layout mode may be set to the automatic layout mode, and when it is always desired to browse at the same size, the display layout mode is used. Can be viewed as a fixed layout mode. By making it possible to easily switch the display layout in this way, an interpreting doctor can display an image that is easy to interpret, and can make a quick diagnosis. In particular, in a small-scale medical facility, since one doctor needs to interpret a plurality of different medical images, early diagnosis can be achieved by easily switching the display layout mode.

  Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of an optimal embodiment of the medical image display system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of a small-scale diagnosis system 1 to which a medical image display system according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 shows an arrangement of devices in a medical facility when the small-scale diagnosis system 1 is applied. An example is given.

  The small-scale diagnosis system 1 is a system that is applied to a relatively small-scale medical facility such as a practitioner or a clinic. As shown in FIG. 1, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2a that is a medical image generation apparatus 2, an endoscope The apparatus 2b, the CR apparatus 2c, the medical image display apparatus 3, the inspection apparatus 4, and the reception apparatus 5 are configured. The medical image generation apparatus 2, the medical image display apparatus 3, and the reception apparatus 5 are not illustrated, for example. It is connected to a network 6 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) via a switching hub. The medical image display device 3 is preferably provided in an examination room where a doctor is resident. The medical image display device 3 may be configured to control the activation of each medical image generation device 2 and processing conditions.

  In general, DICOM (Digital Image and Communications in Medicine) standard is used as a medical-related communication method, and DICOM MWM (Modality Worklist Management) or DICOM MPPS (DICOM MPPS) is used for communication between devices connected to a LAN. Modality Performed Procedure Step) is used. Note that the communication method applicable to this embodiment is not limited to this.

For example, in a small-scale medical facility such as a medical practitioner or a clinic, each device is arranged as shown in FIG.
That is, when entering the entrance 10, there are a reception 11 and a waiting room 12 for receiving a patient. The receptionist 11 is arranged with a counter person in charge, and the person in charge gives a reception number tag printed with a reception number for distinguishing individual patients in the order of reception, for example. In addition, the reception 11 is provided with a reception device 5, and the window manager listens to the patient's name and inputs the correspondence between the reception number and the patient's name to the reception device 5.

  Next to the waiting room 12, there is provided an examination room 13 where a doctor examines and diagnoses a patient across a door or the like. For example, on the examination desk (not shown) in the examination room 13, for medical diagnosis, a medical image obtained by photographing a diagnosis target part of a patient, a test result regarding an examination performed on the patient, and the like are displayed. An image display device 3 is arranged. In the examination room 13, an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 2a that is less necessary to be performed in a space isolated from the viewpoint of privacy and the like is installed.

  Further, an X-ray imaging room 15 for performing X-ray imaging is provided on the opposite side of the examination room 13 across the corridor 14. In the X-ray imaging room 15, a CR device 2 c including an imaging device 22 and a reading device 23 is disposed. Further, an examination room 16 is provided next to the X-ray imaging room 15, and the endoscope apparatus 2 b and the examination apparatus 4 are disposed in the examination room 16.

Hereinafter, the configuration of each device of the small-scale diagnosis system 1 will be described.
The medical image generation apparatus 2 shoots a patient's diagnosis target part such as an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2a, an endoscope apparatus 2b, or a CR apparatus 2c, for example, and converts the captured image into a digital image to convert a medical image. Image generation means (modality) to be generated.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2a includes an ultrasonic probe that outputs ultrasonic waves, and an electronic device that is connected to the ultrasonic probe and converts sound waves (echo signals) received by the ultrasonic probe into medical images of internal tissues. (Both not shown). The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2a sends ultrasonic waves into the body from the ultrasonic probe, receives again the sound waves (echo signal) reflected by the body tissue, and receives the medical image corresponding to the echo signals with the electronic device. It is designed to generate.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 a is connected to a conversion device 21 that is a conversion means (converter) that performs conversion from an analog signal to a digital signal. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 a is connected to the network 6 via the conversion device 21. It is connected to the. Thus, even when data in a format that does not conform to the standards (for example, communication protocol) of other external devices connected to the network 6 is output from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2a, the conversion apparatus 21 appropriately converts the data. Thus, data can be transmitted / received to / from an external device connected to the network 6.

  In the present embodiment, the conversion device 21 has a function of giving a medical image a UID (unique ID) for specifying a medical image in the small-scale diagnosis system 1 in a format conforming to the DICOM standard. The UID includes identification information (hereinafter referred to as a modality ID) of the medical image generation apparatus 2, a number indicating an imaging date and time, and the like. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the modality ID includes information indicating the type of the medical image generation apparatus 2. Note that patient information such as a patient name may be input with a keyboard or the like and used as supplementary information.

  The endoscope apparatus 2b is provided with a small imaging device (none of them is shown) at the distal end portion of a flexible tube, and the imaging device is an objective optical system composed of, for example, an optical lens. And an imaging unit arranged at the imaging position of the objective optical system, and an illumination unit that is configured by an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or the like and performs illumination necessary for imaging (not shown) ). The imaging unit includes a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor), and photoelectrically converts it into an electrical signal having an amount corresponding to the amount of incident light. The objective optical system is configured to condense an area illuminated by the illuminating unit with an optical lens and form an image on a solid-state imaging device included in the imaging unit, and light incident on the solid-state imaging device is photoelectrically converted. Thus, a medical image is output as an electrical signal.

  The imaging device 22 constituting the CR device 2c has a radiation source (not shown), and shoots a still image by irradiating the diagnosis target region of the patient with radiation. There is a radiation image conversion medium (not shown) in which a radiation image conversion plate including a stimulable phosphor sheet that accumulates radiation energy, for example, is incorporated in an irradiation region of radiation irradiated from the radiation source at the time of imaging. The photostimulability of the photostimulable phosphor sheet in which the radiation dose according to the radiation transmittance distribution of the diagnosis target part with respect to the radiation dose from the radiation source is arranged in the radiation image conversion medium It accumulates in the phosphor layer and records radiation image information of the site to be diagnosed in this stimulable phosphor layer.

When the radiographic image conversion medium in which the radiographic image information of the diagnostic target part is recorded is loaded, the reading device 23 irradiates the stimulable phosphor sheet of the radiographic image conversion medium loaded in the apparatus with excitation light, As a result, the photostimulated light emitted from the sheet is photoelectrically converted, and the obtained image signal is A / D converted to generate a medical image.
The CR device 2c may be an integrated device in which the photographing device 22 and the reading device 23 are integrated. Note that the reading device 23 of the endoscope apparatus 2b and the CR apparatus 2c has a function of assigning the above-mentioned UID to the generated medical image, and attaches the assigned UID to the medical image.

The medical image display device 3 is installed, for example, in the examination room 13, and stores patient information and medical images in association with each other in the image DB 37, or a doctor displays images or the like to perform interpretation diagnosis or the like. A monitor with higher definition than a monitor (display unit) used in a PC (Personal Computer) is provided.
As shown in FIG. 3, the medical image display apparatus 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, an input unit 33, a display unit 34, a communication unit 35, an I / F 36, an image DB 37, an examination information DB 38, and the like. Each part is connected by a bus 40

The control unit 31 reads out various programs such as system programs and processing programs stored in the storage unit 32 and develops them in a RAM (not shown) provided in the control unit 31, and performs patient information association processing described later according to the developed programs. Various processes such as the first are executed.
The RAM stores a work area for temporarily storing various programs, input or output data, parameters, and the like that can be executed by the control unit 31 read from the storage unit 32 in various processes that are executed and controlled by the control unit 31. Form.

  The control unit 31 expands the medical image and the program related to the display layout to the RAM, and executes display processing for displaying the medical image on the display unit 34 in cooperation with the program. In the display process, the display area is divided according to the number of medical images to be displayed, and the medical image is divided so that the size of each divided area (the unit of the divided area is called a frame) is adjusted and displayed. Let The display layout mode includes an automatic layout mode and a fixed layout mode.

The automatic layout mode is a mode in which the display area on the display means is automatically divided and displayed according to the number of medical images to be displayed. In the automatic layout mode, the control unit 31 automatically determines the number of frames according to the number of medical images to be displayed. The displayed medical images are all equal in size, and the frame number layout is displayed as N × N (N is the number of frames).
In addition, when a medical image is assigned to all N × N frames and displayed, and when one more medical image is additionally displayed, (N × 1) × N frames are displayed. Displayed in a number layout. Therefore, when 4 frames are displayed in the automatic layout mode, the frame number layout after the additional display of one medical image is 3 × 2 frames.

  On the other hand, the fixed layout mode is a mode in which medical images to be displayed by dividing the display area by a predetermined number of divisions are sequentially assigned to the divided areas and displayed. The control unit 31 performs the display control according to the display layout mode set via the input unit 33. In the fixed layout mode, the control unit 31 fixes a preset frame number layout and displays a medical image. Even if there are more medical images to be displayed than the number of frames, the increased number of medical images is not displayed, and only the number of frames set in advance is displayed. The setting of the frame number layout or the frame number is set by the user operating the mouse or the like provided in the input unit 33. The operation related to this setting will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The storage unit 32 includes an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a semiconductor nonvolatile memory, or the like. In addition to storing various programs as described above, the storage unit 32 stores image processing parameters for adjusting a medical image to an image quality suitable for diagnosis (a lookup table defining a gradation curve used for gradation processing). , Frequency processing enhancement level, etc.) are stored.

In addition, the storage unit 32 includes programs related to the display layout of medical images in various programs.
In the automatic layout mode, increase / decrease in the number of frames is controlled by the control unit 31 in accordance with the number of medical images to be displayed on the display unit 34. In the fixed layout mode, the number of frames is fixed, and the number and size of medical images displayed on the display unit 34 are controlled by the control unit 31 so that they are always constant.

  The input unit 33 includes a keyboard having cursor keys, numeric input keys, various function keys, and the like, and a pointing device such as a mouse, and includes a key pressing signal pressed by the keyboard and an operation signal by the mouse. Is output to the control unit 31 as an input signal. For example, it is possible to switch between two layout modes, an automatic layout mode and a fixed layout mode, via the input unit 33.

  The display unit 34 includes a monitor such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), for example, and displays various screens according to instructions of a display signal input from the control unit 31.

  The communication unit 35 is configured by a network interface or the like, and transmits / receives data to / from an external device connected to the network 6 via a switching hub.

  The I / F 36 is an interface that connects the examination apparatus 4 to the medical image display apparatus 3 and controls data transmission / reception with the examination apparatus 4.

An image DB (Data Base) 37 is composed of an HD or the like, and stores medical images in association with patient information.
The examination information DB 38 is configured by an HD or the like, and stores various examination data in association with patient information.

  The inspection device 4 is a cardiac radio wave detection device that detects an electrocardiogram waveform and acquires waveform data, a vital sensor that acquires vital data such as body temperature, blood pressure, height, and weight, and biological sound data such as lung sounds, heart sounds, and voices The acquired examination data (the above-mentioned waveform data, vital data, biological sound data, etc.) is transmitted to the medical image display device 3.

  The accepting device 5 includes a storage unit configured by a CPU, RAM, HDD, and the like (not shown), an input unit configured by a keyboard and a mouse, a display unit configured by a CRT, an LCD, and the like, and each device connected to the network It is a computer comprised with the communication part etc. which control communication with. When the reception device 5 is instructed to display the reception input screen from the input unit, the reception device 5 displays a reception input screen (not shown) on the display unit by software processing in cooperation with the CPU and the program stored in the storage unit. When reception information (reception number + patient information) is input by the input unit via the reception input screen, a patient information list of the received patient is created (updated), stored in the storage unit, and the medical image display device 3 Is transmitted to the medical image display apparatus 3 by the communication unit in response to the patient list transmission request from the user.

  Next, the flow of diagnosis for one patient in a small-scale facility to which the small-scale diagnosis system 1 is applied will be described.

  When the patient comes to the hospital, a reception number tag is given to the patient at the reception 11, and the reception device 5 receives patient information such as the patient reception number and patient name (reception input) received by the operation of the input unit. Done. In the reception device 5, when a patient reception number and patient information are input, a list of patient information (patient information list) is generated (updated) and stored in a predetermined area of the RAM. The patient information list is generated, for example, when the first patient of today is received and input, stored in a predetermined area of the RAM, and updated to a new patient information list every time the next patient is received and input.

  When the patient to whom the reception number is assigned moves to the examination room 13, an inquiry is performed by a doctor, and imaging and examination to be performed are determined.

  When it is determined that the affected area needs to be imaged by the interview, the imaging operator who performs imaging such as a radiographer or nurse performs the medical image generation apparatus 2 (ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 2a, The patient is taken in front of the endoscope apparatus 2b or the CR apparatus 2c), and the patient's diagnosis target region is imaged as a subject to generate a medical image. For example, when the medical image generation apparatus 2 is the CR apparatus 2c, the imaging apparatus 22 performs imaging, the cassette that has been imaged by the imaging apparatus 22 is set in the reading apparatus 23, and the radiation image recorded in the cassette is read. In the medical image generation device 2, photographing and generation of a medical image are performed according to the operation of the photographing person, and the above-described UID is attached to the generated medical image and transmitted to the medical image display device 3.

  For example, when it is determined by an inquiry that blood pressure, body temperature, an electrocardiogram or the like is necessary, a doctor or a nurse performs an examination on the patient with the examination apparatus 4. In the inspection device 4, the inspection data acquired by the inspection is transmitted to the medical image display device 3.

  When imaging and examination are completed, the doctor displays and refers to the medical image received from the medical image generation apparatus 2 and the examination result received from the examination apparatus 4 in the medical image display apparatus 3 to examine the patient. .

  The above is a rough flow when examining one patient. The medical image generated by the medical image generation device 2 and the inspection data acquired by the inspection device 4 are associated with patient information in the medical image display device 3. Here, the medical image display device 3 displays medical images and examination results based on the received medical images and examination data in order to support diagnosis by a doctor. A medical image or examination result acquired in the past or today regarding the subject patient is displayed.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the operation of the medical image display process executed by the medical image display device 3 will be described. The display process performed by the medical image display device 3 is executed by the cooperation of the control unit 31 and a predetermined program provided in the storage unit 32.
As a premise of the description, it is assumed that a setting operation has been made in advance through the input unit 33 to either the automatic layout mode or the fixed layout mode as the display layout mode of the medical image. In the fixed layout mode, the number of frames is also set.

The control unit 31 determines a display layout mode preset by the user via the input unit 33, and determines the display layout (step S1).
The display layout is a display format of medical images that are displayed on the screen of the display unit 34 at a time. When a display area for displaying one medical image is converted as one “frame”, for example, four display layouts are displayed. The display layout in which all the medical images have the same size and the minimum number of frames has a total of 4 frames, with 2 × 2 frames in the vertical and horizontal directions. Hereinafter, a display layout expressed by the number of frames in the vertical and horizontal directions is particularly referred to as a frame number layout.

Next, the control unit 31 executes capturing of a medical image (Step S2).
The medical image to be captured may be from the medical image generation apparatus 2 in FIG. 1 or from a server (not shown). When the medical image generating apparatus 2 generates a medical image, the control unit 31 automatically executes a medical image capturing operation. The control unit 31 may execute a medical image capturing operation when the user clicks an image capturing button (not shown) displayed on the display unit 34 with a mouse or the like. In addition, after the medical image capturing process is performed, the order in which one of the display layout modes is determined may be performed (the order in which step S2 is performed before step S1).
The captured medical image is stored in the image DB 37 for each folder, and the folder is displayed on the display unit 34. It is assumed that the folder is organized by the control unit 31 for each examination day or for each patient so that the user can easily search for a desired medical image later.

The control unit 31 performs processing for assigning the captured medical image to the display layout as preprocessing for displaying the medical image on the display unit 34 (step S3).
When the display layout is determined to be the automatic layout mode in step S1 (step S3; automatic layout mode), the control unit 31 counts the number of captured medical images and displays all of them on one screen. Thus, a frame number layout is created by dividing the display area of the display unit 34 (step S4).

  On the other hand, when the display layout is determined to be the fixed layout mode in step S1 (step S3; fixed layout mode), the control unit 31 creates a frame number layout by dividing the display area by a preset frame number. (Step S5).

  The control unit 31 generates a reduced image corresponding to the size of one frame for the captured medical image, and assigns the reduced image to the frame number layout created in step S4 or step S5 (step S6). When the control unit 31 generates a reduced image, a trimming process for cutting out only a region of interest necessary for interpretation may be executed and assigned to the frame number layout. In this case, the reduction ratio is reduced by deleting unnecessary images, and the user can easily interpret the displayed medical image.

The control unit 31 displays the medical image assigned to the frame number layout on the display unit 34 (step S7).
In the fixed layout mode, when there are medical images that cannot be displayed because the number of captured medical images exceeds the preset number of frames, the control unit 31 assigns only the medical images that can be displayed to the frame number layout. Then, after that, the undisplayed medical images are sequentially switched and displayed according to the operation.

The display layout mode can be switched during display. The user again performs a switching operation of the display layout mode via the input unit 33.
When the display layout mode switching operation is performed via the input unit 33 (step S8; Yes), the control unit 31 performs the switching of the automatic layout mode or the fixed layout mode according to the display layout mode switching operation. Then, the display layout is formed again and the medical image is displayed again (step S9).
If there is no display layout mode switching operation (step S8; No), the control unit 31 leaves the display layout as it is, and the process ends.

According to this processing, the user can arbitrarily select a display layout for the captured medical image, and the medical image is displayed according to the display layout.
The display layout includes an automatic layout mode and a fixed layout mode. In the automatic layout mode, all of the captured medical images are displayed on one screen, and in the fixed layout mode, medical images are displayed according to the frame number layout preset by the user. The

The automatic layout mode is effective when the user wants to browse through all the medical images or when the number of captured images is small.
In the fixed layout mode, the number of captured images is large, which is effective when capturing medical images one after another. In the fixed layout mode, the number of displayed medical images is always displayed for the set number of frames. That is, the size of the displayed medical image is always fixed to the set size. Therefore, even when interpretation is required when capturing a medical image, the displayed image size is not changed every time an image is captured, and the user can interpret without feeling visual flicker. In the case of a small-scale medical facility, the number and type of medical images to be generated (for example, CR, endoscope, etc.) are often not determined in advance, and the number and time of execution of the medical image capturing process by the control unit 31 are It may be unknown. When the number of captured images cannot be specified, the display layout mode can be switched as appropriate, so that interpretation can be performed smoothly in parallel with the image capture processing, and early diagnosis can be achieved.

FIG. 5 is an example of a display screen of the medical image display apparatus according to the present invention.
The display layout change button 50 is a button for displaying a later-described display layout change sheet 51 on the screen D1. When the user clicks the display layout change button 50 with a mouse or the like, the control unit 31 causes the display unit 34 to pull down the display layout change sheet 51.

  The display layout change sheet 51 includes an automatic layout mode ON / OFF button 51a and a fixed layout designation area 51b. The user can select either the automatic layout mode or the fixed layout mode with the automatic layout mode ON / OFF button 51a for the display layout, and the frame number layout in the fixed layout mode with the fixed layout designation area 51b. Can be set.

  In the case where the user selects the automatic layout mode, for example, when three captured medical images are displayed, the screen is displayed in a 2 × 2 frame number layout as shown in a screen D21. When one more medical image is added, the medical image is displayed on all frames as in the screen D22. Further, in the case of the four-frame display frame number layout, when a medical image is displayed on all frames, when one more medical image is added, (N + 1) × N as described above. According to the frame number layout, it is displayed as 3 × 2 frames.

When the user selects the fixed layout mode, the frame number layout can be set from the fixed layout designation area 51b. The frame number layout is set when the user clicks the box in the fixed layout designation area 51b with a mouse or the like. The box selected by the user is colored, and the colored box is set as the frame number layout. For example, when a 1 × 3 frame number layout is displayed, a screen D3 is displayed.
Even when the number of captured medical images is greater than the number of frames selected here, the medical image displayed on the screen D3 does not exceed the number of selected frames.

The display layout change sheet 51 may further include a frame number upper limit setting button for setting the upper limit of the frame number, an image display designation button for displaying only medical images of the same subject, and the like.
For example, the frame number upper limit setting button may be a button for setting an upper limit of the value of N determined by an N × N frame number layout. According to this aspect, when the user clicks the frame number upper limit setting button with a mouse or the like, any frame number layout such as 4 × 4, 6 × 6, 8 × 8, or 10 × 10 is selected in a pull-down format. be able to. The upper limit of the number of frames set here is set as the upper limit of the number of frames common in the automatic layout mode and the fixed layout mode, and is reflected in the number of boxes in the fixed layout designation area 51b. The control unit 31 divides the display area within this upper limit to obtain a frame number layout.

  The image display designation button may be a button for assigning only the patient medical images designated by the user among the plurality of patient medical images on the display layout. When the user wants to display only the medical image of one patient among a plurality of medical images in one folder of the data list display area 53 described later, the user designates the page of the medical image of the one patient. By doing so, only a desired medical image can be displayed.

  The next page button 52 is clicked when displaying a medical image that cannot be displayed on the screen D3 in the fixed layout mode. When the user clicks the next page button 52, medical images corresponding to the amount that could not be displayed on the screen D3 according to the frame number layout are displayed. If there is a medical image that cannot be displayed, the user can click the next page button 52 to display the medical image.

  The data list display area 53 is an area for displaying the captured medical images for each folder. The control unit 31 stores the captured medical image in the storage unit 32 and displays the medical image stored in the storage unit 32 in the data list display area 53 including the past stored amount.

  The reference area 54 is an area for displaying any one of the medical images in the folder displayed in the data list display area 53 for reference. In addition, as an aspect in which a medical image to be displayed for reference is displayed with a “not yet” mark, and the user can easily recognize that the folder in which the reference medical image is stored has not been interpreted. Also good.

  The medical image display area 55 is an area for displaying a medical image, and the control unit 31 displays the medical image in the medical image display area 55 based on the determined display layout. Note that the optimal aspect ratio to be displayed may differ depending on the type of medical image or the difference in imaging region. Therefore, when the number of frames increases or decreases during automatic layout, the control unit 31 generates and displays a reduced / enlarged image of a medical image to be displayed while maintaining the aspect ratio.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user can arbitrarily select either the automatic layout mode or the fixed layout mode as the display layout. Further, when the fixed layout mode is selected, the frame number layout is selected. Can be set. In the automatic layout mode, all the medical images to be displayed are displayed in the medical image display area 55, whereas in the fixed layout mode, the medical image is based on the frame number layout designated by the user from the fixed layout designation area 51b. Is displayed in the medical image display area 55. Note that medical images that cannot be displayed can be displayed when the user clicks the next page button 52 with a mouse or the like.
As described above, by using the medical image display device 3 in which the display layout can be switched, the user-friendliness can be improved. In particular, in a workflow in which a single doctor browses or interprets a plurality of different medical images as in a small-scale medical facility, the effect can be remarkably enjoyed.

For example, when the plurality of captured medical images are MRI images, CT images, and X-ray images, the user can browse in the automatic layout mode in order to browse through the plurality of captured and different types of medical images. At this time, since all of the captured medical images are displayed on the display unit 34, it is easy to grasp the outline of the captured images. However, when the number of displayed medical images is large, the frame size is reduced, so that the detailed portion. This makes it difficult to view and does not contribute to diagnosis. Therefore, by setting the display layout to the fixed layout mode at the time of diagnosis, the size of the displayed medical image is constant because the number of frames is fixed even when the number of medical images to be captured is large. Even when an image is captured, the user can make a diagnosis such as interpretation smoothly.
In large-scale medical facilities, doctors in each specialized field interpret each image, so the above work is not required. However, in small-scale medical facilities where diagnosis is performed with a small number of personnel, the display layout can be switched. The medical image display device 3 can obtain a remarkable effect in making a quick diagnosis.

It is a whole block diagram of a small-scale diagnosis system. It is a figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning structure of the small-scale diagnosis system in a small-scale medical facility. It is a functional block diagram of a medical image display apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the display operation of a medical image display apparatus. It is a screen structure of a medical image display apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Small diagnostic system 2 Medical image generation apparatus 3 Medical image display apparatus 31 Control part 50 Display layout change button 51 Display layout change sheet 52 Next page button 53 Data list display area 54 Reference area 55 Medical image display area

Claims (3)

In a medical image display system comprising a medical image generation device that images a patient and generates a medical image, and a medical image display device that displays the generated medical image,
The medical image display device includes:
Display means capable of displaying one or more medical images;
As the display layout of the medical image, an automatic layout mode in which the display area on the display unit is divided and displayed according to the number of medical images to be displayed, and the display area is divided by a preset number of divisions. Operation means capable of switching between fixed layout modes for displaying medical images to be displayed;
Control means for dividing the display area of the display means according to the display layout mode switched by the operation means, and adjusting the display size of the medical image to be displayed and displaying the medical image in each divided area. When,
A medical image display system comprising: An operation for setting an upper limit of the number of divisions of the display area in the automatic layout mode is possible via the operation means.
The medical device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit divides the display area within an upper limit of a division number set through the operation unit when performing display according to the automatic layout mode. Image display system.   The said control means counts the number of medical images for each patient, divides the display area according to the counted number, and displays the medical images. Medical image display system.

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