JP2009289133A - Medical device information system and method of locating cause of error - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medical device information system and a method of locating the cause of an error, which quickly and easily locates the cause of an overall system error. <P>SOLUTION: The medical device information system includes a plurality of medical devices connected to a network, the medical devices sending and receiving data by DICOM communication and storing device logs for the transmission and reception. The medical device information system has a communication log storage means for storing the communication logs of the DICOM communication; a log search means which retrieves, if an error is detected in the medical device information system, the device logs and the communication logs for predetermined information related to the cause of the error; and a log display means for displaying results searched by the log search means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medical device information system composed of a plurality of medical devices and a method for identifying the location where an error has occurred.

  In recent years, in medical institutions, everything from reception of patients to acquisition of examination images and storage management of obtained images has been consistently performed. For this purpose, various medical devices are configured as a medical device information system connected to a network.

  In such a medical device information system, a plurality of medical devices that generate and store test images are connected, and image data such as moving images obtained as test images between them is transmitted and received as data conforming to the DICOM standard. A device information system is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In such a medical device information system, since many medical devices are connected to a network, when an error occurs in the entire system, it is difficult to quickly find out which device or the cause is between the devices. There are many cases.
JP 2007-207181 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the conventional medical device information system as described above. In the medical device information system to which a device that performs DICOM communication is connected, when an error occurs as a whole system, It is an object of the present invention to provide a medical device information system and an error cause occurrence method specifying method capable of specifying the cause occurrence point at an early stage and easily.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical device information system in which a plurality of medical devices that transmit and receive data by DICOM communication and store transmission / reception device logs are connected to a network. A communication log storage unit that stores a communication log; and a log search unit that searches predetermined information related to the cause of the error from the device log and the communication log when an error is detected in the medical device information system; There is provided a medical device information system comprising: a log display unit that displays a result searched by the log search unit.

  According to claim 4 of the present invention, a patient reception information management apparatus for receiving a patient, a medical image acquisition apparatus for acquiring an inspection image of the specific part of the patient, and a medical image storage management for storing and managing the inspection image A method for identifying a location where an error has occurred in a medical device information system connected to a device via a network, comprising: a device log of each device; and communication of DICOM communication between the devices via the network A log storing step for storing a log, and when an error is detected in the medical device information system, predetermined information related to the cause of the error is newly updated from the device log and the communication log stored by the log storing step. The log search step for searching retroactively from the log, and the location of the cause of the error from the search result of this log search step Providing the cause source identifying step for a constant, the source identifying method of error cause of the medical device information system, comprising a.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when an error generate | occur | produces as the whole system, the medical device information system which can specify the generation | occurrence | production location of the cause early and easily can be obtained, and the generation | occurrence | production location identification method of the error cause is obtained. effective.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. This medical information system 10 is connected to a network 11 such as a local area network (LAN), for example, and includes a radiology information management system (RIS) 12 that manages examination requests, examination reservations, etc. of radiological image diagnostic examinations, A medical image acquisition device (modality) 13 that acquires a medical image for an inspection based on an inspection request from the RIS 12, and a medical image storage communication system (PACS) 14 that stores and manages the medical image obtained in the modality 13. A workstation (WS) 15 for observing a medical image acquired by the modality 13, performing image processing and analysis, and a log management device 16 for managing a log of DICOM communication performed between these devices. .

  The modality 13 is an apparatus that acquires affected part data of a patient as a medical image, such as a computed tomography apparatus (CT), an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging apparatus), or an NM (nuclear medicine apparatus). When an examination reservation is made in the RIS 12 and an examination request is sent to the modality 13, the modality 13 acquires a predetermined medical image and sends it to the PACS 14 for storage management. The medical images to be stored and managed are observed and analyzed by the WS 15. Each of these devices incorporates DICOM communication units 12d, 13d, 14d, and 15d. These DICOM communication units have a communication module, a log file, and a log transmission module.

  Information between the devices is transmitted / received via the network 11, but an information log of the DICOM communication is stored in the log management device 16 connected to the network 11 in the same manner as the device. The device log in each device is stored in each log file.

  The log management device 16 includes a DICOM log database (DB) 17 that accumulates DICOM logs in each device, a log search processing unit 18 that searches logs stored in the DICOM log DB 17, and a log processing result that stores search results It has a log display search unit 20 that displays logs stored in the database (DB) 19 and the DICOM log DB 17, accepts input for search, and displays the results.

  When the patient comes and receives an examination request, the RIS 12 includes, for example, basic information of the patient (patient name, patient ID, sex, age, weight, address, etc.) and examination reservation information (examination date, examination part, Inspection purpose, inspection type such as CT apparatus and MR apparatus, inspection place, inspection ID, accession number, etc.) are registered. The inspection ID and the accession number are used as information for identifying the inspection. When the inspection request is accepted in the RIS 12, the DICOM communication unit 12 d sends the DICOM communication to the modality 13 via the network 11, adds the data information acquired by the modality 13, and sends it to the PACS 14 via the network 11. Stored and managed. Information stored in the PACS 14 may be read from the WS 15 and analyzed. Thus, the inspection request information obtained in the RIS 12 is always included in the data of subsequent DICOM communication.

  In the present application, transmission / reception of DICOM standard data using a predetermined communication protocol is referred to as DICOM communication.

  Next, the operation of this system of the present invention will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. All communication between the following devices is performed according to a predetermined protocol of DICOM communication via the DICOM communication unit of each device.

  First, when an inspection request is registered in the RIS 12, an inspection reservation is issued in step S 201, and the information is transmitted to the modality 13. In step S202, an inspection information transmission request is made from the communication module in the DICOM communication unit 13d of the modality 13 to the communication module of the DICOM communication unit 12d in the RIS 12 by transmitting a control signal. In the next step S203, the modality 13 acquires the examination information sent from the RIS 12.

  To describe these processes in more detail, the communication module of the DICOM communication unit 13d of the modality 13 generates a request message, transmits it, receives a response message from the communication module of the DICOM communication unit 12d of the RIS 12, and receives the message. And processing such as displaying the analysis result on the screen.

  Similarly, the communication module of the DICOM communication unit 12 of the RIS 12 receives the request message from the modality 13, analyzes this message, performs search processing on the DICOM log DB 17 in the log management device 16, and the search result. A response message is created based on the above and a response message transmission process is performed.

FIG. 3 shows an example of examination reservation information included in the response message sent from the RIS 12 to the modality 13 in step S203. The accession number is “T2006607131210 A”, the name of the patient is “toushiba ^ tarou”, and the patient ID is “EM11111”. PrivateLOGID1 is a private data ID of DICOM, and means an ID given for each process in this apparatus. (In this case, the accession number has a blank before A, indicating that this accession number is incorrect as will be described later.)
The communication module in each device outputs the progress information of these processes to each log file. At this time, a setting is made to check whether or not there is predetermined information in the data to be processed. If there is the set information, the information is added and the process progress is output to the log file. For example, if the accession number is set to be checked, the accession number “T200607131210A” is assigned and registered in the DICOM log.

  Each time the new progress information is registered in the DICOM log DB 17 of the log management device 16, the log transmission module in the DICOM communication unit of each device transmits the processing progress in a predetermined format (step S204). . The registered progress information may be transmitted periodically at a predetermined time instead of in real time.

  In the next step S205, the examination requested by the RIS 12 is performed in the modality 13, and an examination image relating to a specific part of a specific patient is acquired. The inspection image created by the modality 13 is managed in association with the inspection request content, and the inspection image data is transmitted to another apparatus in the format of a predetermined protocol of DICOM communication to which the inspection request content is given. Is done. Therefore, the above-mentioned accession number “T200607131210A” is included in the inspection image data transmitted from the modality 13 to another apparatus.

  In the next step S206, the inspection image captured by the modality 13 in the previous step S205 is transmitted to the PACS 14, and the inspection image transmitted in step S207 is stored and managed in the PACS 14. In the next step S208, whether or not the inspection image has been normally received and stored in the PACS 14 is returned. When it is received and stored normally, a control signal to that effect is sent and this process ends, but when the inspection image sent is not received or stored normally, a control signal to that effect is sent. The image is transmitted from the PACS 14 to the modality 13 and the inspection image is transmitted again.

  More specifically, the communication module of the DICOM communication unit 13d of the modality 13 transmits a control signal for the inspection image registration request to the communication module of the DICOM communication unit 14d of the PACS 14. At this time, the communication module of the modality 13 waits for a response message from the communication module of the PACS 14 after transmitting the request message. When the communication module of the modality 13 receives the response message, it performs processing such as analyzing the response message and displaying the registration result on the screen.

  On the other hand, the communication module in the DICOM communication unit 14d of the PACS 14 receives the request message from the modality 13, analyzes the received request message, extracts the data, performs registration processing in the DICOM log DB 17 of the log management device 16, and registers it. Based on the result, a response message is created and a response message is transmitted.

  In the above description, the communication protocol is simplified, but the above processing can be realized by a plurality of communication sequences.

  The inspection request information generated in the RIS 12 is also held in the modality 13 and is also sent to the PACS 14 by the above-described processing. Therefore, image data including the accession number “T200607131210 A” is stored and managed in the PACS 14. It will be. FIG. 4 shows an example of inspection image information transmitted from the modality 13 to the PACS 14. Comparing the data shown in FIG. 4 with the data shown in FIG. 3, it can be seen that the data has not changed except that private data (PrivateLOGID2) is added in the modality 13. That is, the accession number is included in the inspection image information as it is.

  The communication module in the DICOM communication unit 14d of the PACS 14 also outputs the progress information of these processes to a log file. At this time, it is checked whether or not there is predetermined information in the data to be processed. If the information exists, the information is added and the processing progress is output to the log file as a device log. For example, if the PACS 14 is set to check the accession number, the access number “T200607131210A” is added to the log and registered.

  Each time new progress information is registered, the log transmission module in the DICOM communication unit 13d of the modality 13 transmits the progress information to the DICOM log DB 17 of the log management device 16 in a predetermined format (step S209).

  Similarly, the log transmission module in the DICOM communication unit 14d of the PACS 14 also transmits the progress information in a predetermined format to the DICOM log DB 17 of the log management device 16 every time new progress information is registered (step S210). ).

  Communication based on a predetermined protocol of the DICOM standard is performed in the above-described procedure, and the DICOM log during that time is stored in the DICOM log DB 17 of the log management device 16. The device log in each device is stored in the log file of each device.

  Next, an operation when an error occurs during the communication as described above and the cause is investigated will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for finding a location where an error cause has occurred, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a process of examining each DICOM communication log and a device log in each apparatus by going back to the communication process.

  For example, it is assumed that an error occurs during the process of storing the inspection image in step S207 of the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S501, log tracking processing is started in order to find a location where an error cause has occurred.

  In this case, the DICOM communication logs in all apparatuses are stored in the DICOM log DB 17 of the log management apparatus 16. As a result, processing progress information in which an error has occurred is displayed in time series on the screen of the log display search unit 20 and stored in the log processing result DB 19. Similarly, in the following search processing, the result is stored in the log processing result DB 19.

  Therefore, first, the host name of the PACS 14 is input as a keyword on the search screen displayed in the log display search unit 20 of the log management device 16. Since there is an accession number in the processing progress information, the accession number ("T200607131210A") is entered as a keyword into the log display search unit 20 to perform a search, and the search results are displayed in time series on the screen. To display.

  In step S502, the apparatus log is inquired of the PACS 14, and the apparatus log is transmitted in step S503. In step S504, the log processing search processing unit 18 analyzes the PACS device log.

  As long as the device log 61 of the PACS 14 shown in FIG. 6 is viewed, the cause of the error is not found, and the DICOM communication log between the PACS and the modality is analyzed in the next step S505. Also in this communication log 62 shown in FIG. 6, the cause of the error cannot be found by this communication.

  Next, in step S506, the log management device 16 inquires of the modality 13 about the device log, and in step S507, the device log of this device is sent from the log file of the modality 13. In step S508, the log processing search processing unit 18 of the log management device 16 analyzes the device log of the modality 13. However, even in this device log 63 shown in FIG. 6, the cause of the error cannot be found from this device log.

  In this case, the log search processing unit 18 analyzes the DICOM communication log between the modality and the RIS in the next step S509. If the cause of the error is not found even in the communication log 64 of FIG. 6, in the next step S510, the device log is inquired to the RIS 12, and the device log is sent in step S511. In step S512, the log management device 16 The log search processing unit 18 analyzes the device log. From the device log 65 of the RIS 12 shown in FIG. 6, it can be seen that the accession number “T200607131210 A” is an error and the cause is an operator input error.

  In this way, by tracing the apparatus log and DICOM communication log, the access number is registered in the RIS 12 on the display screen of the log display search unit 20, the inspection image is registered in the modality 13, It can be seen that the registration of the image has failed in the PACS 14. In the display input screen shown in FIG. 6, it is clearly understood that the accession number is invalid based on the close-up information and that the accession number is registered in RIS12. Therefore, it is possible to easily know that the cause is an input error of the operator.

  In this example, the cause of the error is that a space is inserted in the character string of the accession number “T200607131210 A”. This is because, when examining each device log and DICOM communication log retroactively, for example, by associating an access number with a LOGID (including a private LOGID), the cause can be easily determined. Can be found in According to the present invention, not only an access number but also an error due to other mistakes can be easily found in the same way.

  Note that, as the predetermined information, an inspection ID, an accession number, an SOP instance (Instance) UID, or a Performed Procedure Type Description may be used.

  In this embodiment, the cause of the error due to the space in the accession number in step S207 of the PACS cannot be identified even by examining only the modality 13 that is the previous device, and goes back further. If the RIS 12 is not investigated, the cause cannot be specified. The true cause is that the error processing is incomplete and the subsequent processing is continued despite the fact that a space character is input to the access number in RIS12 and a warning is issued.

  In the above embodiment, the error processing of the accession number is left to the RIS 12, and since there is no processing logic to detect the error, the error of the RIS 12 is overlooked, and the error is detected for the first time in the PACS 14 with strict error checking. Yes. In an actual medical institution, not only multiple devices are involved in this way, but also the amount of communication becomes enormous, so how to efficiently grasp the information flow and analyze the log is important for the early resolution of system problems. is there.

  By the way, in the said embodiment, it is set as the structure which further has the identification information issuing module which issues the identification information for identifying a series of data communications, and the identification information provision module which provides this issued identification information to communication data. it can.

  In the case of this embodiment, the identification information issuing module generates a character string that can be uniquely identified based on the host name and date information, or creates a character string that can be uniquely identified by adding a serial number to the date information. To do. The identification information adding module adds the identification information to the communication data. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, it is possible to add the identification information using a private tag in the DICOM standard data. It is.

  Other processing flows are the same as those shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 of the above embodiment.

  In another embodiment, the data itself can be stored as a log instead of the DICOM communication log. That is, in the case of this embodiment, when data is transmitted / received between a medical information system or medical devices via a network, a communication module that extracts and stores predetermined information in the data at the time of data transfer The process progress and its information are added and stored, and data is transmitted and received while recording the transmitted and received data, and the transmission module transmits the recorded process progress and data.

  In the log management device, the process progress transmitted from the log transmission module is received and stored in the log database and managed, and a search function is provided and a keyword is input and held in the log database. The process progress including the keyword is extracted from the process progress, and is displayed in time series on the log display search unit. In the log display search unit, a process progress that satisfies a predetermined condition is displayed in close-up, and data corresponding to the process progress is displayed in conjunction with the log.

  In the above embodiment, the DICOM log database 17 for storing the DICOM communication log and the log display search unit 20 for displaying the log and displaying the search result are included in the same log management device 16. However, the DICOM log database 17 and the log display / retrieval unit 20 can be arranged separately on an independent personal computer. The log display search unit can be provided as a log viewer independently of the log management apparatus. Moreover, you may arrange | position these integrally with the other part of a medical information system or a medical device.

  In the above embodiment, the device log is stored in each device, and the communication log of DICOM communication is stored in the log management device. However, in the present invention, both the apparatus log and the communication log may be stored together.

  In the above embodiment, the location where the error occurred is found using the accession number in the log. The accession number is indispensable data according to the DICOM standard. Moreover, a new number is issued every time RIS to PACS communication is performed and is always present. This is useful when tracing the necessary logs from the communication log. However, this accession number is not essential data in the DICOM standard when other codes are used, and a new number is not always issued every time communication is performed. It may be desirable to use this information.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be implemented with various modifications, and is included in the present invention within the scope of its technical idea.

The figure which shows the structure of the medical device information analysis system of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of communication between each apparatus in the medical device information analysis system of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the test | inspection reservation information contained in the response message sent to the modality 13 from RIS12 in one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the test | inspection image information transmitted to the PACS14 from the modality 13 in one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the processing flow of the process which specifies the location of the cause when an error generate | occur | produces in one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the process which specifies the location of the cause when an error generate | occur | produces in one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Medical information system,
11: Local area network (LAN)
12 ... Radiology information management system (RIS),
13 ... Medical image acquisition device (modality),
14 ... Medical image storage communication system (PACS),
15 ... Workstation (WS),
12d, 13d, 14d, 15d ... DICOM communication unit,
16: Log management device,
17 ... DICOM log database (DB),
18: Log search processing unit,
19 ... Log processing result database (DB)
20: Log display search unit.

Claims (4)

A medical device information system in which a plurality of medical devices that transmit and receive data by DICOM communication and store transmission and reception device logs are connected to a network,
Communication log storage means for storing a communication log of the DICOM communication;
When an error is detected in the medical device information system, log search means for searching predetermined information related to the cause of the error from the device log and the communication log;
A medical device information system comprising: log display means for displaying a result searched by the log search means. Network,
A patient reception information management device for receiving a patient connected to this network and storing a transmission / reception device log; and
A medical image acquisition device that is connected to the network, transmits and receives data by DICOM communication with the patient reception information management device, acquires an examination image of the specific part of the patient, and stores a transmission / reception device log;
Medical image storage management that receives the examination image acquired by the medical image acquisition apparatus connected to the network by the DICOM communication via the network, stores the examination image, and stores a transmission / reception apparatus log Equipment,
A DICOM log database for storing a communication log by DICOM communication between the devices;
When an error is detected, a log search unit that searches a predetermined log related to the cause of the error from the device log and the communication log of each device retroactively from a new log;
A medical device information system comprising: a log display unit that displays a result of retrieval by the log retrieval unit. A patient reception information management device for receiving a patient, a medical image acquisition device for acquiring an examination image of a specific part of the patient, and a medical image storage management device for archiving and managing the examination image are connected via a network. A medical device information system comprising:
Log storage means for storing a device log of each of these devices and a communication log of DICOM communication performed between the devices via the network;
When an error is detected in the medical device information system, log search means for searching predetermined information related to the cause of the error retroactively from the device log and the communication log from a new log;
A medical device information system comprising: log display means for displaying a result searched by the log search means. A patient reception information management device for receiving a patient, a medical image acquisition device for acquiring an examination image of a specific part of the patient, and a medical image storage management device for archiving and managing the examination image are connected via a network. A method for identifying the location of the cause of an error in a medical device information system comprising:
A log storage step of storing a device log of each device and a communication log of DICOM communication performed between the devices via the network;
When an error is detected in the medical device information system, a log search step for searching predetermined information related to the cause of the error from the device log and the communication log stored in the log storage step retrospectively from a new log When,
And a cause occurrence location identifying step of identifying an occurrence location of the error cause from a result retrieved by the log retrieval step. A method for identifying an occurrence location of an error cause in a medical device information system.

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