JP2009003527A - Information communication testing device and medical equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information communication testing device for automatically erasing unnecessary personal information from among captured actual data and medical equipment using the same. <P>SOLUTION: The information communication testing device is provided with a communication data acquisition part 105d for acquiring communication data corresponding to communication following a predetermined protocol from communication data communicated through a network 101 between medical equipment connected through a network 101; a personal information changing part 105j for erasing or changing personal information from the communication data acquired according to preliminarily set conditions; a storage part 105c for storing the communication data whose personal information has been erased or changed; and a communication simulation part 105g for performing a communication test with any of the medical equipment or medical equipment extended on the network by using the communication data stored by the storage part 105c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information communication test apparatus for confirming whether communication between information devices is correctly performed according to a predetermined protocol, and a medical device using the information communication test device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an information communication test apparatus using data obtained by capturing actual data actually used as data used for a communication test, and a medical device using the information communication test apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an apparatus (called a modality) that generates a biological image such as a CT apparatus or an MRI apparatus used in a medical field via a network and an image management system such as PACS for storing and managing the generated image. It is connected and various information is managed. That is, information communication is frequently performed between medical devices. Communication at this time is performed in accordance with a protocol specialized for medical image communication called DICOM (Digital Imaging Communications in Medicine).

  Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for performing protocol analysis of communication data during such DICOM communication and determining whether communication is being performed with an appropriate protocol.

  In addition, an information communication test apparatus (DICOM simulator) is known as another method for confirming whether information communication between medical devices is performed with an appropriate protocol without actually connecting the communication between medical devices. It has been. This DICOM simulator is a device for performing DICOM communication between information communication test apparatuses or between an information communication test apparatus and a medical device, and judging from the communication result whether communication is performed with an appropriate protocol. is there.

  Here, the conventional DICOM simulator is composed only of a program for simulating DICOM communication and a device for executing the program, and communication data for simulating DICOM communication is manually operated by the user. It was necessary to input in. In this case, there is a possibility that an input error of communication data used for the communication test may occur. Even if communication according to the DICOM protocol is not performed as a result of communication, it may be due to an input error or actually It is difficult to determine whether the error occurred because communication is not performed using a protocol according to the DICOM protocol. In addition, inputting existing equipment having a DICOM communication function and communication data of copper conditions requires complicated work.

  In order to solve these problems, an information communication test apparatus has been proposed that can automatically generate communication data for DICOM communication tests by capturing actual data actually used in medical facilities. ing.

JP 2005-198776 A

  Here, when actual data is captured as described above and used as communication test data, the content of the actual data is disclosed to the person who performs the test. In this regard, since the actual data is data actually used in the medical facility, the actual data includes a lot of personal information such as the patient's name, ID, address, or disease name. For this reason, unnecessary personal information that is not actually used for the communication test is disclosed to the operator who performs the test, which is contrary to the current social trend of protecting personal information.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an information communication test apparatus that can automatically delete unnecessary personal information from captured actual data that can be used for a communication test, and It aims to provide medical equipment using it.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information communication test apparatus according to claim 1 is configured to obtain communication data corresponding to communication according to a predetermined protocol from communication data communicated between devices connected via a network. Communication data acquisition means to be acquired, personal information changing means for deleting or changing personal information from the acquired communication data in accordance with preset conditions or conditions inputted by an operator, and the personal information has been deleted or changed Storage means for storing communication data; and communication simulation means for performing simulated communication with any of the devices or a device added on the network using the communication data stored in the storage device; , Communication that analyzes the result of communication by the communication simulating means and determines whether or not communication according to the predetermined protocol is performed And over data analyzing unit, it is characterized in that and a communication result output means for outputting to the display means the determination result of the communication data analysis means.

  The medical device according to claim 2 is a medical device that transmits and receives medical information such as a medical image between devices connected via a network, and includes predetermined data from communication data communicated between the medical devices. Communication data acquisition means for acquiring communication data corresponding to communication according to the protocol, and personal information change means for deleting or changing personal information from the acquired communication data in accordance with preset conditions or conditions input by an operator Storage means for storing communication data in which the personal information has been deleted or changed, and medical equipment that is added to any of the medical equipment or the network using the communication data stored in the storage means A communication simulating means for performing a simulated communication with the communication simulator, and analyzing a result of communication by the communication simulating means in accordance with the predetermined protocol. A communication data analyzing means for determining whether or not communication is being made, is characterized in that and a communication result output means for outputting to the display means the determination result of the communication data analysis means.

  According to the present invention, after deleting or changing personal information in data obtained by capturing data that is actually used, a communication test can be performed using the data. As a result, it is possible to reduce the leakage of personal information included in the captured data, and to perform a communication test in consideration of protection of personal information in a state close to the actual usage state.

[First Embodiment]
The information communication test apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing functions of the information communication test apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a CT 101 and an image server 104 are communicably connected to a network 101 via a radiology information system (RIS) 102 and a hub (HUB) 103a. . In addition, the information communication test apparatus 105 according to the present embodiment is connected to the HUB 103a.

  The network 101 is a hospital network such as a LAN, for example, and the devices and systems shown in FIG. 1 are connected to the network 101 so that they can communicate with each other. Here, in the network 101, other than the CT apparatus 103, various medical image generation apparatuses such as an MRI apparatus and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (hereinafter, each medical image generation apparatus is simply referred to as “modality” when shown without distinction. ) May be connected.

  The radiology information system 102 manages various information in the radiology department such as examination reception in the radiology department and the operating status of each modality. The CT apparatus 103 captures and acquires a tomographic image of the patient.

  The image server 104 stores the image generated by the CT apparatus 103. The storage device for configuring the image server 104 is not particularly limited as long as it is a relatively large-capacity storage device that can store image data. As a storage device of the image server 104, for example, an optical disk such as a DVD, a hard disk, or the like can be used.

  Here, DICOM communication between the CT apparatus 103 and the image server 104 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining DICOM communication between the CT apparatus 103 and the image server 104. As shown in FIG. 2, a request signal for establishing an association is transmitted from the CT apparatus 103 to the image server 104 (201). When the request signal is received, a response signal for notifying that the association has been established is transmitted from the image server 104 to the CT apparatus 103 (202). When the response signal is received, the captured image acquired by the CT apparatus 103 is transmitted according to the DICOM data format (203). When the transfer of the captured image is completed, the association is released, and the fact is notified to the CT apparatus 103 (204). This is an example of “communication according to a predetermined protocol” in the present invention.

  The information communication test device 105 is connected to itself and the device to be tested in order to check whether proper communication according to the DICOM protocol is performed between the CT device 103 and other medical devices or medical systems. The communication between the two is simulated, and the simulation result is analyzed to determine whether proper communication is being performed. In FIG. 1, the information communication test apparatus 105 is provided between the network 101 and the CT apparatus 103, but this is provided between the network 101 and the RIS 102 and between the network 101 and the image server 104. You may do it. Details of the components of the information communication test apparatus 105 will be described below.

  The storage unit 105c includes a hard disk as a long-term storage medium, a memory as a short-term storage medium, and the like. The storage unit 105c corresponds to the “storage unit” in the present invention.

  The communication data input / output unit 105a receives communication data transmitted from the network 101 via the HUB 103a. Then, the input data is input to the communication data capturing unit 105b. Alternatively, the communication data input / output unit 105a outputs the communication data input from the communication simulation unit 105g to the network 101 via the HUB 103a.

  The communication data capturing unit 105b is composed of a CPU, and creates a copy of all communication data transmitted and received between the CT apparatus 103 and other medical devices connected to the network 101. The communication data acquired through the input / output unit 105a and stored in the storage unit 105c is temporarily stored. In this embodiment, a copy of all communication data transmitted and received between the CT apparatus 103 and the image server 104 is acquired. In the following description, the data actually used is a copy of communication data, but this is simply referred to as communication data for convenience of description.

  The communication data acquisition unit 105d is configured by a CPU, and communication data corresponding to DICOM communication from the communication data temporarily stored in the storage unit 105c by the communication data capturing unit 105b, that is, in the present embodiment. 2, communication data used when communication is performed between the CT apparatus 103 and the image server 104 shown in FIG. 2 according to the protocol determined by the DICOM protocol, in units of SCU (Service Class User) and SCP (Service Class Provider). get. Here, the SCU is the side that receives the communication service in the DICOM protocol, and the SCP is the side that provides the communication service in the DICOM protocol. Here, each of the SCU and the SCP corresponds to “communication data transmitted / received based on two devices” in the present invention, and one of them corresponds to “communication data transmitted / received in any one device” in the present invention. . Hereinafter, these are simply referred to as the SCU side and the SCP side. Furthermore, the communication data acquisition unit 105d stores the acquired communication data in a database and stores it in the storage unit 105c in a manageable manner.

  The communication data input / output unit 105a, the communication data capture unit 105b, and the communication data acquisition unit 105d correspond to the “communication data acquisition unit” in the present invention.

  The personal information changing unit 105j includes a storage area such as a CPU and a memory, and the deletion or change conditions corresponding to the type of personal information set in advance by the operator are set according to the medical device of the other party performing the communication test. It is stored in correspondence with the type. The reason for deleting or changing personal information corresponding to the type of medical device is changed and stored because the personal information that needs to remain in the communication test is the This is because it differs depending on the type. Here, the personal information includes at least information for identifying an individual such as a patient name and a patient ID. In addition, even when other information is used, when identifying an individual in relation to other information, personal information Specifically, the range of personal information is determined by the operator. The information to be left is, for example, when it is necessary to call the corresponding medical image by the disease name when performing a communication test on the information of the patient's medical image, the disease name cannot be deleted as personal information. , Refers to the name of the disease.

  Furthermore, the personal information changing unit 105j stores pseudo data corresponding to the personal information for changing the personal information and hiding the personal information. Here, in the present embodiment, in order to increase the level of personal information protection, conditions for deleting or changing personal information are stored according to each communication test, but this is in accordance with the required level of personal information protection. What is necessary is just to set, for example, the conditions of personal information to be deleted or changed may be set uniformly for all communication tests. Thereby, although the level of personal protection is lowered, it is possible to easily set the conditions for personal guns to be deleted or changed. The personal information changing unit 105j corresponds to “personal information changing means” in the present invention.

  Here, data used for communication according to the DICOM protocol will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication data transmitted during DICOM communication. As shown in FIG. 3, in communication according to the DICOM protocol, communication data is composed of a tag number shown in a column 301 and actual data shown in a column 303. The tag number shown in the column 301 is a number determined in accordance with the DICOM protocol for each data to be transmitted. For each tag number, what information the tag number indicates is determined as shown in the column 302. It has been. In the example of FIG. 3, the communication data includes the patient name, patient ID, patient date of birth, patient gender, patient height, patient weight, and the device (modality) that captured the image, as shown in column 302. Type, examination reservation part, photographing start date, and photographed image data, each of which is managed by a tag number indicated by a column 301.

  Therefore, the personal information changing unit 105j sets and stores the tag number corresponding to the column 301 to be deleted and the tag number corresponding to the column 301 whose information content is changed in advance for each medical device that is the counterpart of the communication test by the operator. is doing. Then, the personal information changing unit 105j searches the actual communication data for the tag number that is set and entered as the tag number to be deleted, and when the tag number is found, the column 303 corresponding to the tag number indicated by the column 301 The information content indicated by is deleted. In the DICOM protocol, it is determined that the predetermined number of digits after the tag number represents the contents of the tag number, so the personal information changing unit 105j deletes the number of digits after the tag number to Deletion can be performed. Also, the personal information changing unit 105j searches the tag number set as the tag number for changing the content from the communication data, and when the tag number is found, the information content of a predetermined number of digits after the tag number Replace (see column 303) with the stored pseudo data. For example, when it is desired to change the patient ID shown in FIG. 3 as personal information, the personal information changing unit 105j searches the actual communication data for the tag number 305 (0010, 0020) corresponding to the patient ID in the row 304. To do. Then, the personal information changing unit 105j replaces the last 10 digits (0010, 0020) of the tag number 305 with 0000000001, which is the information content 306 corresponding to the patient ID, with 1111111111 which is pre-stored pseudo data. . Here, the pseudo data only needs to be described according to the DICOM protocol.

  Further, in this embodiment, the part corresponding to the personal information in the communication data is deleted and changed based on the conditions stored in advance, but this is the case when the operator deletes or changes the personal information. It is also possible to have a configuration in which a condition input is requested and a part corresponding to the personal information in the communication data is collectively deleted and changed based on the condition input by the operator.

  The communication data correction unit 105k is constituted by a CPU, receives an input of deletion or change of personal information from the input unit 105f by the operator, and stores personal information in the communication data stored in the storage unit 105c corresponding to the input. Delete or change. The communication data correction unit 105k corresponds to “communication data correction means” in the present invention. Specifically, this correction deletion is performed by the communication data correction means displaying the content of the communication data on the display unit 105m and inputting the input from the input unit 105f while referring to the display. This is because, for example, when the personal information by the personal information changing unit 105j is set so that the deletion or change corresponds to all the communication tests, the personal information protection level is lowered and the personal information that cannot be deleted It is possible to delete or modify such personal information later. Also, when the personal information protection level is set high and the personal information changing unit 105j deletes or changes the personal information used for the communication test, the personal information can be restored. . Furthermore, information newly set in the communication data as personal information cannot be deleted by the personal information changing unit 105j in advance settings, and in that case, the personal information is deleted later or It becomes possible to change. For the reasons as described above, the communication data correction unit 105k is provided in the present embodiment, but the information communication test apparatus according to the present invention can operate without the communication data correction unit 105k.

  The communication data selection unit 105i is composed of a storage area such as a CPU and a memory, and stores the type of communication data used for the test corresponding to the type of the counterpart medical device for which the communication test is performed. Then, the communication data selection unit 105i acquires information on the other party's medical device for which the communication test is performed by the input from the input unit 105f by the operator, and stores the type of the other party's medical device and the communication data used for the test. The type of communication data to be used for the communication test with the medical device of the other party is obtained by referring to the correspondence between the types of medical devices. Then, the communication data selection unit 105i refers to the database stored in the storage unit 105c, and corresponds to the type of communication data used for the test from the communication data stored in the storage unit 105c by the communication data acquisition unit 105d. Select communication data. Further, the communication data selection unit 105i transmits the selected communication data to the communication simulation unit 105g.

  The communication simulating unit 105g is composed of a CPU, receives an input from the input unit 105f by an operator, determines whether to operate as the SCU side or the SCP side, and serves as a medical partner to be the counterpart of the communication test Configure the network settings necessary for communication with the device. In the present embodiment, the CT device 103 is a medical device on the SCU side, the image server 104 is a medical device on the SCP side, and the information communication test device 105 is a medical device on the SCU side as shown in FIG. A description will be given of a case where a simulation of communication with another added image server (hereinafter referred to as “additional image server 401”) is performed as the apparatus 103. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the concept of simulation.

  The communication simulation unit 105g receives the communication data selected by the communication data selection unit 105i after the above-described network setting, and is transmitted / received on the CT device 103 side which is a medical device on the SCU side among the communication data. Select communication data. Next, the communication simulation unit 105g performs DICOM communication with the additional image server 401 based on the selected communication data on the SCU side. This DICOM communication is the same as the DICOM communication between the CT apparatus 103 and the image server 104 shown in FIG. Then, the communication simulating unit 105g inputs the communication data received through DICOM communication with the additional image server 401 to the communication data analyzing unit 105e.

  Here, the communication data selection unit 105i and the communication simulation unit 105g correspond to the communication simulation means in the present invention. Further, in the present embodiment, the communication data selection unit 105i is provided to exclude excess data from the simulation and increase the simulation efficiency. However, the communication data selection unit 105i is not provided and is stored. It is also possible to simulate using all data.

  The communication data analysis unit 105e includes a storage area such as a CPU and a memory. The memory stores an array of data according to the DICOM protocol, a tag number, data corresponding to the tag number, and the like.

  First, the communication data analysis unit 105e divides the communication data corresponding to the DICOM communication acquired by the communication data acquisition unit 105d into the SCU side and the SCP side, and the communication data stored in the respective communication data by itself. , That is, whether the format, procedure, timing, etc. based on the DICOM protocol are satisfied, and it is determined whether or not the communication data is communicating according to the protocol of the DICOM protocol. Then, the communication data analysis unit 105 e inputs a determination result of communication data corresponding to DICOM communication between the CT apparatus 103 and the image server 104 to the communication result output unit 105 h.

  First, the communication data analysis unit 105e analyzes whether the communication data in the DICOM communication simulation input from the communication simulation unit 105g satisfies communication according to the protocol of the DICOM protocol stored by itself. Determines whether communication is performed according to the protocol of the DICOM protocol. Then, the communication data analysis unit 105e inputs the determination result of the communication data acquired by simulation to the communication result output unit 105h.

  Here, the communication data analysis unit 105e corresponds to “communication data analysis means” in the present invention.

  The communication result output unit 105h displays the determination result received from the communication data analysis unit 105e on the display unit 105m such as a monitor. This display method may be output by a technique such as printing. This result is displayed so as to be visible in a format as shown in FIG. 3, for example. Here, the communication result output unit 105h corresponds to the “communication result output unit” in the present invention.

  Next, the flow of a communication test using the information communication test apparatus 105 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing for collecting communication data. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing in the communication test.

(Communication data collection)
Step S101: The communication data capturing unit 105b acquires a copy of communication data transmitted / received between the CT apparatus 103 and the image server 104 via the communication data input / output unit 105a.

  Step S102: The communication data acquisition unit 105d extracts communication data corresponding to DICOM communication from the acquired communication data, and stores it in the storage unit 105c as the SCU side and the SCP side.

  Step S103: The personal information changing unit 105j deletes or changes the personal information in the communication data stored in the storage unit 105c based on preset conditions for deleting or changing the personal information. Further, in the communication data correction unit 105k, the operator deletes or changes the corresponding personal information in the stored communication data based on the conditions for deletion or change of the personal information input from the input unit 105f. .

  Step S104: The communication data analysis unit 105e analyzes the stored communication data in units of SCU and SCP, and determines whether normal DICOM communication is being performed. The communication result output unit 105h displays the determination result on the display unit 105m.

(Communication test)
Step S201: The communication simulating unit 105g receives the input from the input unit 105f, and the information communication test apparatus 105 is connected to the SCU side based on the medical device that is the partner of the communication test (in this embodiment, the additional image server 401). And the network side for performing the DICOM communication with the medical device (extended image server 401) that is the partner of the communication test.

  Step S202: The communication data selection unit 105i receives input from the input unit 105f, selects communication data necessary for performing DICOM communication between the information communication test apparatus 105 and the additional image server 401, and performs communication simulation. To 105 g.

  Step S203: The communication simulating unit 105g starts a simulation of communication with the additional image server 401 using the data selected by the communication data selecting unit 105i.

  Step S204: The communication simulating unit 105g performs DICOM communication as shown in FIG. 2 with the additional image server 401.

  Step S205: After the DICOM communication is completed, the communication simulating unit 105g inputs the communication data in the DICOM communication received from the additional image server 401 to the communication data analyzing unit 105e. The communication data analysis unit 105e confirms whether the communication data received from the communication paper emulation unit 105g corresponds to the DICOM protocol stored therein, and determines whether or not appropriate DICOM communication is being performed. . The communication result output unit 105h causes the display unit to display the determination result made by the communication data analysis unit 105e.

  In the present embodiment, the information communication test apparatus 105 is described as being independent from the medical device. However, the function of the information communication test apparatus 105 is provided to another medical device (for example, a CT apparatus, an image server, etc.). A communication test may be performed by a medical device.

  In this embodiment, communication data that has already been corrected is used as it is when simulation is performed. However, a configuration in which correction is further performed when simulation is performed may be used.

  Further, in this embodiment, communication corresponding to the protocol of the DICOM protocol has been described. However, the protocol used may be another protocol, and the configuration is such that personal information is deleted or changed in accordance with a data format compliant with the protocol. If this is the case, the information communication test apparatus or medical device according to the present invention is operable, and may be, for example, HL7.

  As described above, in the information communication test apparatus according to the present embodiment, personal information can be automatically deleted or changed when communication data actually used in a medical facility is used for simulation. As a result, even if the operator does not bother creating communication data for simulation, it is possible to create simulation data by using the communication data actually used in the medical facility. It is possible to suppress the leakage of personal information when simulating using.

  In addition, since personal information is deleted and changed under preset conditions, mistakes caused by an operator such as forgetting to erase personal information can be reduced, and leakage of personal information can be more reliably suppressed.

Block diagram of an information communication test apparatus according to the present invention Diagram for explaining DICOM communication between a CT apparatus and an image server The figure which shows an example of the communication data according to DICOM format Diagram for explaining the concept of communication simulation Flowchart diagram showing processing when collecting communication data Flowchart diagram showing processing during communication simulation

Explanation of symbols

101 Network 102 Radiology Information System (RIS)
103 CT device 103a Hub (HUB)
104 image server 105 information communication test apparatus 105a communication data input / output unit 105b communication data capturing unit 105c storage unit 105d communication data acquisition unit 105e communication data analysis unit 105f input unit 105g communication simulation unit 105h communication result output unit 105i communication data selection unit 105j Personal information change unit 105k Communication data correction unit 105m Display unit

Claims (7)

Communication data acquisition means for acquiring communication data corresponding to communication according to a predetermined protocol from communication data communicated between devices connected via a network;
Personal information changing means for deleting or changing personal information from the acquired communication data in accordance with preset conditions or conditions inputted by an operator;
Storage means for storing communication data in which the personal information has been deleted or changed;
Communication simulation means for performing simulated communication with any of the devices or a device added on the network, using the communication data stored in the storage means;
A communication data analyzing means for analyzing the result of communication by the communication simulating means and determining whether or not communication is performed in accordance with the predetermined protocol;
An information communication test apparatus comprising: communication result output means for outputting a determination result of the communication data analysis means to a display means. A medical device that transmits and receives medical information such as medical images between devices connected via a network,
Communication data acquisition means for acquiring communication data corresponding to communication according to a predetermined protocol from communication data communicated between the medical devices;
Personal information changing means for deleting or changing personal information from the acquired communication data in accordance with preset conditions or conditions inputted by an operator;
Storage means for storing communication data in which the personal information has been deleted or changed;
Communication simulation means for performing simulated communication with any of the medical devices or a medical device added on the network, using the communication data stored in the storage means;
A communication data analyzing means for analyzing the result of communication by the communication simulating means and determining whether or not communication is performed in accordance with the predetermined protocol;
A medical result output means for outputting a determination result of the communication data analysis means to a display means. The communication data acquisition means acquires communication data corresponding to communication performed between the two medical devices according to the predetermined protocol as communication data transmitted / received in each of the two medical devices,
The communication simulation means uses the communication data transmitted / received in one of the two medical devices, and is added on the other medical device or the network in place of the one medical device. The medical device according to claim 2, wherein simulated communication with a medical device is performed.   The medical data acquisition unit according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the communication data acquisition unit selects communication data that matches a preset condition or a condition input by an operator from the acquired communication data. machine.   The medical device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising communication data correction means for correcting the acquired data in response to an input from an operator.   6. The medical device according to claim 2, wherein the communication according to the predetermined protocol is DICOM communication.   The medical device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the communication according to the predetermined protocol is HL7 communication.

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