JP2010250406A - Medical image processing apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medical image processing apparatus for performing matching decision between pieces of collateral information without considering a slight difference. <P>SOLUTION: A control unit 21 (cooperation between the control unit 21 and a matching decision program 251) acquires DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine) image data from an external apparatus through a communication unit 24. The control unit 21 acquires patient information that is a comparison target from a DICOM image data management DB 252. The control unit 21 compares character formats or character notations of the acquired patient information and patient information included in the collateral information of the DICOM image data acquired from the external apparatus, and decides matching between the respective pieces of the patient information. When deciding that the matching is performed, the control unit 21 registers the DICOM image data acquired from the external apparatus into the DICOM image data management DB 252, and stores them in a storage unit 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medical image processing apparatus and a program.

  In a medical facility such as a hospital or clinic, a patient is photographed using a medical image photographing device (modality) such as an X-ray photographing device, and a medical image (medical image data) is generated. Then, incidental information including patient information, examination information and the like is added to the medical image, and DICOM image data compliant with the DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine) standard is generated. DICOM is a standard for communication and storage format of medical images, and intercompatibility between different medical devices is ensured by complying with this standard.

  The generated DICOM image data is transmitted to a medical image management system (medical image management apparatus) called PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System), and is stored and managed (registered in PACS) in this PACS.

  By the way, when DICOM image data is generated with incorrect patient information and this DICOM image data is registered in the PACS, various problems occur and normal management cannot be performed in the PACS.

  More specifically, if a DICOM image data is generated with an incorrect patient name or duplicate patient ID due to an input error of a modality operator (photographer), etc., and this DICOM image data is registered in the PACS, it is already in the PACS. There is a mismatch in consistency between the registered DIOCM image data and patient information. For this reason, the registered DICOM image data cannot be specified, or the registered DICOM image data and the DICOM image data of different patients already registered are managed in duplicate.

  In order to solve such a problem, when registering in the PACS, the consistency of the incidental information of the DICOM image data is determined, and only the DICOM image data that is consistent is registered in the PACS, and the consistency is not achieved. A technique capable of correcting incidental information of DICOM image data is disclosed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-149111 A

  However, when registering DICOM image data in the PACS, if the consistency of the incidental information is strictly determined, even if the difference in the incidental information is slight, the DICOM image data cannot be registered in the PACS. Forced to fix.

  Specifically, the roman letters of each patient name included in the accompanying information of DICOM image data managed in advance in PACS and the accompanying information of DICOM image data to be registered, and full-width half-width characters of the patient name Even if they differ only, they are regarded as inconsistent and DICOM image data cannot be registered.

  When a plurality of different vendor modalities are installed in a medical facility, the size of the Roman character, the full width / half width of the kana, etc. differ depending on the specifications of each vendor. For this reason, such minor differences in incidental information frequently occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a medical image processing apparatus that performs consistency determination between incidental information without considering minor differences. That is.

In order to solve the above problem, a medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 is provided.
The medical image data with the first auxiliary information is acquired from an external device, the second auxiliary information attached to the managed medical image data is acquired, and the first auxiliary information and the second auxiliary information are acquired. Control means for matching the character format and / or character notation with the information, determining the consistency of each supplementary information, and outputting the determination result;
Is provided.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1,
The control means acquires the medical image data from a medical image photographing device that generates medical image data.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2,
A management means for managing medical image data;
The control means acquires second supplementary information attached to the medical image data managed by the management means,
The management unit manages medical image data acquired from the external device when the determination result indicating that the matching is achieved is output by the control unit.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2,
Further comprising transmission means for transmitting medical image data acquired from the external device to a medical image management apparatus that manages medical image data;
The control means acquires the second supplementary information from the medical image management apparatus,
The transmission unit transmits the medical image data acquired from the external device to the medical image management apparatus when the determination result indicating that matching is achieved is output by the control unit.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The character format is the size of a Roman character expressed based on incidental information.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The character format is a single-byte full-width character represented based on the accompanying information.

The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The control means removes a character space included in the first supplementary information and the second supplementary information, and determines the consistency of each supplementary information.

The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
When the item included in the first supplementary information is missing, the control means interpolates the missing item based on the second supplementary information.

The program according to claim 9 is:
Computer
The medical image data with the first auxiliary information is acquired from an external device, the second auxiliary information attached to the managed medical image data is acquired, and the first auxiliary information and the second auxiliary information are acquired. Control means for matching the character format and / or character notation with the information, determining the consistency of each supplementary information, and outputting the determination result;
To function as.

  According to the first and ninth aspects of the present invention, the control means acquires the medical image data with the first auxiliary information attached from the external device, and adds the second auxiliary information to the managed medical image data. Information is acquired, the character format and / or the character notation of the first auxiliary information and the second auxiliary information are matched, the consistency of each auxiliary information is determined, and the determination result is output.

  Therefore, it is possible to perform the consistency determination between the incidental information without considering a slight difference.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means acquires the medical image data from a medical image photographing device that generates medical image data.

  For this reason, it is possible to perform the consistency determination without considering a minor difference in the incidental information due to a difference in specifications of each vendor of the medical imaging apparatus.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the control means acquires the second supplementary information attached to the medical image data managed by the management means. The management unit manages the medical image data acquired from the external device when the determination result indicating that the matching is achieved is output by the control unit.

  Therefore, even if the medical image data includes incidental information with a slight difference, the medical image data can be managed.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means acquires the second supplementary information from the medical image management apparatus. The transmission unit transmits the medical image data acquired from the external device to the medical image management apparatus when the determination result indicating that the matching is achieved is output by the control unit.

  Therefore, even if the medical image data includes incidental information with a slight difference, the medical image data can be transmitted to the medical image management apparatus and managed by the medical image management apparatus.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine the consistency between the incidental information without considering the difference between the Roman letters.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform the consistency determination between the incidental information without considering the difference of half-width and full-width characters.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine the consistency between the accompanying information without considering the character space.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, convenience in management of medical image data is improved.

It is a system configuration figure showing an example of a system configuration of a radiology system. It is a data block diagram of DICOM image data. It is a figure which shows an example of the incidental information of the DICOM image data which a modality produces | generates. It is a block diagram of PACS. It is a related figure of the management table in DICOM image data management DB. It is a flowchart of the process which PACS performs when DICOM image data is received from a modality. It is a system configuration figure showing an example of a system configuration of a radiology system. It is a block diagram of an image inspection apparatus.

[First embodiment]
An embodiment (first embodiment) when the medical image processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to the PACS 20 of FIG. 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[System configuration of radiology system]
First, an outline of the radiology system 100 having the PACS 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of the radiology system 100. According to FIG. 1, the radiology system 100 includes a modality 10 a, a modality 10 b, a modality 10 c, and a PACS 20. Each of the above devices is connected to be able to perform data communication via a communication network N such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  Here, for convenience of explanation, the modalities 10a to 10c are collectively referred to as modalities 10. The modality 10 is a medical image photographing device that photographs a patient and generates image data (medical image data) of a medical image. The modality 10 images a patient based on a user operation such as an imaging engineer and generates medical image data. In addition, the modality 10 generates incidental information related to medical image data based on a user operation by an imaging engineer or the like. The modality 10 appends additional information to medical image data (hereinafter referred to as actual image data), generates DICOM image data that conforms to the DICOM standard, and transmits the DICOM image data to the PACS 20. As the modality 10, an imaging device (medical image imaging device) that captures various types of medical images, such as a CR device, a CT device, and an MR device, can be applied. Hereinafter, the modality 10a is described as an MR apparatus manufactured by A company, the modality 10b is described as a CT apparatus manufactured by B company, and the modality 10c is described as a CT apparatus manufactured by C company.

  FIG. 2 shows a data configuration diagram of DICOM image data generated by the modality 10. As described above, DICOM image data is composed of incidental information and actual image data. The incidental information includes patient information, examination information, series information, and image identification information.

  The patient information is information about the patient including items such as patient ID, patient name (Roman character), patient name (Kana), patient name (Kanji), patient sex, patient birthday, and the like. The inspection information is information relating to the inspection such as an inspection ID for identifying the inspection, an inspection name, an inspection date and time, a reception number, an inspection purpose, and inspection contents. The series information is information on a series (unit) of a series of medical images for each modality generated in one examination, such as a series number, a modality name, a technique, an imaging part, an imaging direction, and an imaging engineer name. The image identification information is information related to a medical image such as an SOP instance UID that identifies an image, an image number, and an image size.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of incidental information of DICOM image data generated by the modality 10. Modality 10 has different character formats and characters due to differences in vendors (Company A, Company B, Company C), types of modalities (MR devices, CT devices), differences in character input by users such as radiographers, etc. The incidental information of DICOM image data is generated by the notation.

  Specifically, depending on the vendor of the modality 10, the Roman letter size (uppercase and lowercase) of the patient information item “patient name (Roman character)” differs. As shown in FIG. 3, “patient name (Roman character)” is generated in the upper case in the modality 10a (MR device manufactured by Company A) and the modality 10b (the CT device manufactured by Company B) and in lower case in the modality 10c (the CT device manufactured by Company C). Is done.

  Further, due to the difference in the vendor of the modality 10, the full-width half-width of the item “patient name (kana)” of the patient information is different. As shown in FIG. 3, a “patient name (kana)” is generated in half-width in the modality 10a (MR device manufactured by A company) and modality 10c (CT device manufactured in C company) and in full-width in the modality 10b (CT device manufactured by B company). Is done.

  In addition, the character notation of the item “patient name (Roman character)” of the patient information differs depending on the difference in the character input of the user such as the imaging technician in the modality 10. As shown in FIG. 3, in the modality 10a (MR device manufactured by Company A) and the modality 10c (CT device manufactured by Company C), “Taro” is expressed as “TARO (case-insensitive)”. In the modality 10b (CT apparatus manufactured by B company), “Taro” is written as “TAROU”.

  In addition, due to a difference in character input by a user such as a photographing engineer in the modality 10, useless space is added to the item “patient name (kanji)” of the patient information. As shown in FIG. 3, in the modality 10c (C apparatus manufactured by C company), a useless space is added behind “Tokyo ^ Taro”.

  Moreover, the item of patient information may be missing due to the difference in the vendor of the modality 10. As shown in FIG. 3, in the modality 10c (C device manufactured by C company), the items “patient sex” and “patient birthday” of the patient information are missing.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the PACS 20 is a database system that stores and manages DICOM image data generated in the modality 10 and performs search and data analysis. The PACS 20 accumulates and stores the DICOM image data in, for example, a relational database based on incidental information included in the DICOM image data received from the modality 10. Then, the PACS 20 searches the DICOM image data using the patient ID, examination ID, and the like designated in accordance with an operation instruction from an image interpretation doctor or the like as a search key, and outputs it to an image viewer or imager (not shown).

[Functional structure of PACS]
FIG. 4 shows a functional configuration of the PACS 20.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the PACS 20 includes a control unit 21, an operation unit 22, a display unit 23, a communication unit 24, and a storage unit 25, and each unit is connected by a bus 26.

  The control unit 21 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and comprehensively controls the processing operation of each unit of the PACS 20. Specifically, the CPU reads various processing programs stored in the storage unit 25 in accordance with an operation signal input from the operation unit 22 or an instruction signal received by the communication unit 24, and is formed in the RAM. The work area is expanded and various processes are performed in cooperation with the program.

  The operation unit 22 includes a keyboard having cursor keys, numeric input keys, various function keys, and the like, and a pointing device such as a mouse. The control unit 22 controls operation signals input by key operations or mouse operations on the keyboard. To 21.

  The display unit 23 is configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays various screens based on display data input from the control unit 21.

  The communication unit 24 includes a LAN (Local Area Network) adapter, a router, a TA (Terminal Adapter), and the like, and transmits and receives data to and from external devices such as modalities 10a to 10c connected via the communication network N. .

  The storage unit 25 is composed of a hard disk or the like, and stores a control program, parameters and files necessary for executing the program, and the like. Further, the storage unit 25 stores DICOM image data generated by the modalities 10a to 10c.

  The storage unit 25 also stores a DICOM image data management DB 252 that is a database program for managing DICOM image data. The DICOM image data stored in the storage unit 25 is managed in cooperation with the DICOM image data management DB 252 and the control unit 21. That is, the DICOM image data management DB 252 and the control unit 21 cooperate to function as a management unit.

  The storage unit 25 also stores a consistency determination program 251. The consistency determination program 251 and the control unit 21 cooperate to acquire DICOM image data from an external device (modalities 10a to 10c) via the communication unit 24. The consistency determination program 251 and the control unit 21 cooperate to acquire incidental information of the DICOM image data to be compared from the DICOM image data DB 252. The consistency determination program 251 and the control unit 21 cooperate with each other in the character format of the additional information of DICOM image data acquired from the external device (modality 10) and the additional information acquired from the DICOM image data management DB 252. Match the character notation and determine the consistency of each supplementary information. When it is determined that consistency is achieved, the consistency determination program 251 and the control unit 21 cooperate to register the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 in the DICOM image data management DB 252 and store it in the storage unit 25. . That is, the cooperating function of the consistency determination program 251 and the control unit 21 functions as a control unit.

  FIG. 5 shows a related diagram of the management table in the DICOM image data management DB 252.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the DICOM image data management DB 252 includes management tables such as a patient information table T1, an examination information table T2, a series information table T3, and an image identification information table T4.

  The patient information table T1 is a management table for managing patient information included in the incidental information of DICOM image data to be managed. The patient information table T1 includes one or more records including items such as “patient ID”, “patient name (Roman character)”, “patient name (kana)”, “patient name (kanji)”, “patient sex”, and “patient birthday”. Consists of

  The inspection information table T2 is a management table for managing inspection information included in the incidental information of DICOM image data to be managed. The inspection information table T2 includes one or a plurality of records including items such as “inspection ID”, “inspection name”, “inspection date / time”, “reception number”, “inspection purpose”, and “examination content”.

  The series information table T3 is a management table for managing series information included in the incidental information of DICOM image data to be managed. The series information table T3 includes one or a plurality of records including items such as “series number”, “modality name”, “procedure”, “imaging region”, “imaging direction”, and “imaging technician name”.

  The image identification information table T4 is a management table that manages image identification information included in the incidental information of DICOM image data to be managed. The image identification information table T4 includes one or more records including items such as “SOP instance UID”, “image number”, and “image size”.

  These management tables are associated by a local ID (LID) managed in the DICOM image data management DB 252. Specifically, one or more records in the examination information table T2 are associated with one record in the patient information table T1. One record or a plurality of records of the series information table T3 is associated with one record of the inspection information table T2. One record or a plurality of records of the image identification information table T4 are associated with one record of the series information table T3. Further, DICOM image data for one image is associated with one record of the image identification information table T4 (not shown).

[Specific operation of PACS]
Next, specific operations performed by the PACS 20 when DICOM image data is received from the modality 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The control unit 21 of the PACS 20 acquires DICOM image data from any of the modalities 10a to 10c via the communication unit 24 (Step S1).

  The control unit 21 extracts patient information included in the incidental information of the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 in step S1 (step S2). The extracted patient information is temporarily stored in the RAM separately from the acquired DICOM image data as patient information for consistency determination.

  The control unit 21 acquires patient information to be compared with the patient information extracted in step S2 from the DICOM image data management DB 252 (step S3).

  Specifically, the control unit 21 reads the item “patient ID” of the patient information extracted in step S2. Then, the control unit 21 retrieves and acquires a record (patient information) having “patient ID” having the same value as this “patient ID” from the patient information table T1 of the DICOM image data management DB 252.

  Next, the control unit 21 determines whether or not the Roman letters of the item “patient name (Roman characters)” included in the patient information extracted in Step S2 and the patient information acquired in Step S3 are matched ( Step S4).

  In Step S4, when the Roman letters are correct, that is, when the item “patient name (Roman characters)” is matched with the Roman characters (Step S4; NO), the control unit 21 extracts in Step S2. It is determined whether or not the full width and half width of the item “patient name (kana)” included in the patient information obtained in step S3 and the patient information acquired in step S3 are matched (step S6).

  On the other hand, in step S4, if the size of the Roman letters does not match, that is, if the item “Patient name (Roman letters)” is in the case of Roman letters and does not match (step S4; YES), the control unit 21 extracts in step S2. The patient information item “patient name (Roman character)” is matched with the Roman character size of the patient information item “patient name (Roman character)” acquired in Step S3 (Step S5). Specifically, in the DICOM image data management DB 252, when the item “patient name (Roman character)” is handled in uppercase letters, the control unit 21 sets the item “patient name (Roman character)” of the patient information extracted in Step S2. Convert romaji from lowercase to uppercase. In addition, in the DICOM image data management DB 252, when the item “patient name (Roman character)” is handled in lower case, the control unit 21 uses the Roman character of the item “patient name (Roman character)” of the patient information extracted in Step S2. Convert from uppercase to lowercase.

  Then, the control unit 21 determines whether or not the full-width half-width of the item “patient name (kana)” included in the patient information extracted in step S2 and the patient information acquired in step S3 is correct ( Step S6).

  In step S6, if the full-width half-width of kana is correct, that is, if the item “patient name (kana)” is aligned with the full-width half-width of kana (step S6; NO), the control unit 21 performs step S2. It is determined whether or not the character notation of the item “patient name (Roman character)” included in the patient information extracted in step S3 and the patient information acquired in step S3 matches (step S8).

  On the other hand, if the full-width half-width of kana is not correct in step S6, that is, if the item “patient name (kana)” is not aligned with the full-width half-width of kana (step S6; YES), the control unit 21 The full-width half-width of Kana in the item “patient name (kana)” of the patient information extracted in step S2 is matched with the full-width half-width of kana in the item “patient name (kana)” acquired in step S3 (step S7). . Specifically, in the DICOM image data management DB 252, when the item “patient name (kana)” is handled in full-width, the control unit 21 sets the item “patient name (kana)” of the patient information extracted in step S2. Convert kana from half-width to full-width. Further, in the DICOM image data management DB 252, when the item “patient name (kana)” is handled in half-width, the control unit 21 selects the kana of the item “patient name (kana)” of the patient information extracted in step S2. Convert from full-width to half-width.

  And the control part 21 determines whether the character notation of the item "patient name (Roman character)" contained in the patient information extracted in step S2 and the patient information acquired in step S3 is suitable (step). S8).

  In step S8, if the character notation is correct, that is, if the item “patient name (Roman character)” is consistent with the notation (step S8; NO), the control unit 21 extracts the patient extracted in step S2. Half-width spaces and full-width spaces of all items included in the information and the patient information acquired in step S3 are removed (step S10).

  On the other hand, if the character notation is not correct in step S8, that is, if the item “patient name (Roman character)” is inconsistent in the notation (step S8; YES), the controller 21 extracts the patient extracted in step S2. The notation of the item “patient name (Roman character)” of the information is matched with the notation of the item “patient name (Roman character)” of the patient information acquired in Step S3 (Step S9). Specifically, in the DICOM image data management DB 252, when the item “patient name (Roman character)” is a Hebon type, the control unit 21 sets the item “patient information (Roman character)” of the patient information extracted in Step S 2. Convert the notation to Hebon.

  And the control part 21 removes the half-width space and full-width space of all the items contained in the patient information extracted in step S2 and the patient information acquired in step S3 (step S10).

  After performing the process of step S10, the control unit 21 determines whether there is any missing item in the patient information extracted in step S2 (step S11). When there is no missing item in the extracted patient information (step S11; NO), the control unit 21 performs inconsistency determination processing (step S13).

  Specifically, the control unit 21 sets items other than the “patient ID” of the patient information extracted in step S2 (“patient name (Roman character)” “patient name (Kana)” “patient name (Kanji)” “patient sex”. “Patient birthday”) and items other than “patient ID” in the patient information acquired in step S3 are respectively compared. When the values of these items all match, the control unit 21 determines that the patient information of the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 is “consistent”. On the other hand, if any of these items do not match, the control unit 21 determines that the patient information of the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 is “no consistency”.

  When it is determined that there is “consistency”, the control unit 21 registers the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 in the DICOM image data management DB 252 and stores it in the storage unit 25. On the other hand, if the control unit 21 determines that there is no consistency, the control unit 21 does not register the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 in the DICOM image data management DB 252.

  In step S11, when there is a missing item in the extracted patient information (step S11; YES), the control unit 21 performs an information interpolation process (step S12). Specifically, when the information of the items “patient sex” and “patient birthday” is missing, the control unit 21 determines the values of the items “patient sex” and “patient birthday” of the patient information acquired in step S3. Is reflected in the items “patient sex” and “patient birthday” of the patient information extracted in step S2. Further, the control unit 21 reflects the values of these items in the items “patient sex” and “patient birthday” of the patient information included in the incidental information of the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10.

  If the patient information item acquired in step S3 is missing, the patient information item extracted in step S2 may be reflected in the patient information item registered in the DICOM image data management DB 252. Good.

  And the control part 21 performs inconsistency determination processing (step S13). When it is determined that there is “consistency”, the control unit 21 registers the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 in the DICOM image data management DB 252 and stores it in the storage unit 25. On the other hand, if the control unit 21 determines that there is no consistency, the control unit 21 does not register the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 in the DICOM image data management DB 252.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the control unit 21 of the PACS 20 performs the following processing in cooperation with the consistency determination program 251. That is, the control unit 21 acquires DICOM image data from the modality 10 via the communication unit 24. In addition, the control unit 21 acquires patient information to be compared from the DICOM image data management DB 252. Then, the control unit 21 matches the patient information included in the incidental information of the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 with the patient information acquired from the DICOM image data management DB 252 and the character format and the character notation method. Determine consistency. When it is determined that the matching is achieved, the control unit 21 registers the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 in the DICOM image data management DB 252 and stores it in the storage unit 25.

  Therefore, the PACS 20 can perform consistency determination between the incidental information without considering a minor difference in the incidental information due to a difference in specifications of each modality 10 for each vendor. The PACS 20 can register and store DICOM image data with accompanying information with slight differences in the DICOM image data management DB 252 even with accompanying information.

  In addition, when the control unit 21 of the PACS 20 determines that there is a missing item in the patient information included in the incidental information of the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10, the information interpolation process is performed. Therefore, the convenience in managing DICOM image data is improved.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, an embodiment (second embodiment) in which the medical image processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to the image inspection apparatus 30 of FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment described above.

[System configuration of radiology system]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of the radiology system 100. According to FIG. 7, the radiology system 100 includes a modality 10 a, a modality 10 b, a modality 10 c, a PACS 20, and an imaging device 30. Each of the above devices is connected via a communication network N such as a LAN so that data communication is possible.

  The modality 10 generates DICOM image data and transmits it to the image detection device 30.

  The imaging device 30 receives the DICOM image data transmitted from the modalities 10a to 10c, accumulates the DICOM image data in the imaging database, and waits for the imaging engineer to perform the imaging.

  “Image inspection” means that the medical image has an image quality suitable for diagnosis, or the supplementary information of the DICOM image data received from the modality 10 and the supplementary information of the DICOM image data managed in the PACS 20 can be matched. This is an act of confirming and correcting whether or not the DICOM image data is transmitted to the PACS 20.

  If the imaging engineer determines that the DICOM image data to be imaged may be used for diagnosis after the DICOM image data is imaged, the DICOM image data is registered in the PACS 20 for diagnosis. Thus, an approval operation is performed on the imaging device 30 for approval. In accordance with this approval operation, the DICOM image data is transferred to the PACS 20.

  When the PACS 20 receives the DICOM image data from the imaging device 30, the PACS 20 stores and manages the DICOM image data.

[Functional structure of image inspection device]
FIG. 8 shows a functional configuration of the image inspection device 30.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the image detection device 30 includes a control unit 31, an operation unit 32, a display unit 33, a communication unit 34, and a storage unit 35, and each unit is connected by a bus 36.

  The control unit 31 includes a CPU, a RAM, and the like, and comprehensively controls processing operations of each unit of the image detection device 30. Specifically, the CPU reads various processing programs stored in the storage unit 35 in accordance with an operation signal input from the operation unit 32 or an instruction signal received by the communication unit 34, and is formed in the RAM. The work area is expanded and various processes are performed in cooperation with the program.

  The operation unit 32 includes a keyboard having cursor keys, numeric input keys, various function keys, and the like, and a pointing device such as a mouse. The operation unit 32 controls operation signals input by key operations or mouse operations on the keyboard. To 31.

  The display unit 33 is configured by an LCD, and displays various screens based on display data input from the control unit 31.

  The communication unit 34 includes a LAN adapter, a router, a TA, and the like, and transmits and receives data to and from external devices such as modalities 10 a to 10 c and the PACS 20 connected via the communication network N.

  The storage unit 35 is composed of a hard disk or the like, and stores a control program, parameters and files necessary for executing the program. The storage unit 35 temporarily stores DICOM image data (not shown) waiting for image detection.

  In addition, the storage unit 35 stores a consistency determination program 351. The consistency determination program 351 and the control unit 31 cooperate to acquire DICOM image data from an external device (modalities 10a to 10c) via the communication unit 34 and the storage unit 35. Then, the consistency determination program 351 and the control unit 31 cooperate to acquire incidental information of DICOM image data to be compared from the PACS 20 via the communication unit 34. Then, the consistency determination program 351 and the control unit 31 cooperate to determine the character format and the character notation of the incidental information of the DICOM image data acquired from the external device (modality 10) and the incidental information acquired from the PACS 20. In addition, the consistency of each incidental information is determined. When it is determined that matching is achieved, the consistency determination program 351 and the control unit 31 cooperate to transmit the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 to the PACS 20 via the communication unit 34. That is, it functions as a control unit and a transmission unit in cooperation with the consistency determination program 351 and the control unit 31.

[Specific operation of image inspection device]
Next, a specific operation of processing performed by the image detection device 30 when DICOM image data is received from the modality 10 will be described. Here, a specific process (FIG. 6) of the PACS 20 in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The control unit 31 of the imaging apparatus 30 acquires DICOM image data from any of the modalities 10a to 10c via the communication unit 34, and extracts patient information (corresponding to steps S1 and S2 in FIG. 6). The extracted patient information is temporarily stored in the RAM separately from the acquired DICOM image data as patient information for consistency determination.

  And the control part 31 of the image inspection apparatus 30 acquires the patient information used as the comparison object with this extracted patient information from PACS20 via the communication part 34. FIG.

  Specifically, the control unit 31 transmits a patient information acquisition request including the item “patient ID” of the extracted patient information to the PACS 20 via the communication unit 34. Then, the control unit 31 acquires patient information having “patient ID” included in the patient information acquisition request from the PACS 20 via the communication unit 34.

  And the control part 31 performs the process which matches a character format and a character notation method with respect to the patient information extracted from the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10, and the patient information acquired from PACS20 (step S4 of FIG. 6). ~ Corresponding to step S12).

  Then, the control unit 31 performs inconsistency determination processing (corresponding to step S13). When the control unit 31 determines that there is “consistency”, the control unit 31 transmits the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 to the PACS 20 via the communication unit 34. The control unit 21 of the PACS 20 registers this DICOM image data in the DICOM image data management DB 252 and stores it in the storage unit 25.

  On the other hand, if the control unit 31 determines “no consistency”, the control unit 31 does not transmit the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 to the PACS 20.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the control unit 31 of the imaging device 30 performs the following processing in cooperation with the consistency determination program 351. That is, the control unit 31 acquires DICOM image data from the modality 10 via the communication unit 34. In addition, the control unit 31 acquires patient information to be compared from the PACS 20 via the communication unit 34. Then, the control unit 31 matches the patient information included in the incidental information of the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 with the character format and character notation of the patient information acquired from the PACS 20, and determines the consistency of each patient information. To do. If it is determined that consistency is achieved, the control unit 31 transfers the DICOM image data acquired from the modality 10 to the PACS 20. The PACS 20 stores and manages this DICOM image data.

  Therefore, the imaging device 30 can perform consistency determination between the incidental information without considering the minor difference in the incidental information due to the difference in the specifications of the modalities 10 for each vendor. The imaging device 30 can also transmit DICOM image data with accompanying information with slight differences to the PACS 20, and the PACS 20 can store and manage the DICOM image data.

  Note that the description in each embodiment (first and second embodiments) is an example of the medical image processing apparatus according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this. The detailed configuration and detailed operation of the system and each device can be changed as appropriate.

  For example, in the first and second embodiments, the consistency of patient information is determined, but the consistency of examination information may be determined.

  In the first and second embodiments, an example in which a hard disk is used as a computer-readable medium storing a program is disclosed. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. As other computer-readable media, a portable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and the like can be applied. Also, a carrier wave can be applied as a medium for providing program data via a communication line.

10 Modality 10a Modality 10b Modality 10c Modality 20 PACS
21 control unit 22 operation unit 23 display unit 24 communication unit 25 storage unit 26 bus 30 imaging device 31 control unit 32 operation unit 33 display unit 34 communication unit 35 storage unit 36 bus 100 radiology system 251 consistency determination program 252 DICOM image Data management DB
351 Consistency determination program N Communication network T1 Patient information table T2 Examination information table T3 Series information table T4 Image identification information table

Claims (9)

The medical image data with the first auxiliary information is acquired from an external device, the second auxiliary information attached to the managed medical image data is acquired, and the first auxiliary information and the second auxiliary information are acquired. Control means for matching the character format and / or character notation with the information, determining the consistency of each supplementary information, and outputting the determination result;
A medical image processing apparatus comprising: The control means acquires the medical image data from a medical image photographing device that generates medical image data.
The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1. A management means for managing medical image data;
The control means acquires second supplementary information attached to the medical image data managed by the management means,
The management unit manages medical image data acquired from the external device when the determination result indicating that matching is achieved is output by the control unit;
The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. Further comprising transmission means for transmitting medical image data acquired from the external device to a medical image management apparatus that manages medical image data;
The control means acquires the second supplementary information from the medical image management apparatus,
The transmission unit transmits medical image data acquired from the external device to the medical image management apparatus when the determination result indicating that matching is achieved is output by the control unit;
The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The character format is the size of a Roman character represented based on the accompanying information.
The medical image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The character format is a single-byte full-width character represented based on the accompanying information.
The medical image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The control means removes a character space included in the first auxiliary information and the second auxiliary information, and determines the consistency of each auxiliary information.
The medical image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. When the item included in the first auxiliary information is missing, the control means interpolates the missing item based on the second auxiliary information.
The medical image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Computer
The medical image data with the first auxiliary information is acquired from an external device, the second auxiliary information attached to the managed medical image data is acquired, and the first auxiliary information and the second auxiliary information are acquired. Control means for matching the character format and / or character notation with the information, determining the consistency of each supplementary information, and outputting the determination result;
Program to function as.

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