JP3732747B2 - Medical image interpretation system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a medical image interpretation system in which medical image data taken at a remote hospital or the like is transmitted to an interpretation center, and a specialist interprets the interpretation at the center.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Currently, medical images taken by CT etc. at remote hospitals are sent to hospitals where interpretation specialists exist via the network, and the image data is received and displayed by a single computer at the hospitals, etc. There is a medical image interpretation system in which an image interpretation specialist interprets an image transmitted by the computer and returns the interpretation result to the remote hospital.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the above-described conventional system often has the problem that the entire system is developed in accordance with a standard unique to the developer of the system, and the versatility of the system is low.
[0004]
In addition, there are systems that use DICOM standard image data as a unified standard for medical images, but the entire system is a system unique to a developer only by using so-called DICOM standard image data. There is a problem that is low.
[0005]
In addition, when the operations relating to reception of image data, display of image data, and various interpretations are performed on a single computer, there is a problem in that the workload of the computer is large and the expandability of the system is low.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems. For example, the system is configured by separating an image system using the DICOM standard and a business system such as an interpretation request business, and the like. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a medical image interpretation system with high flexibility and expandability.
[0007]
It is another object of the present invention to provide a medical image interpretation system capable of constructing a regional medical interpretation network by installing satellite interpretation booths in each region.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a medical image interpretation system comprising a client computer that captures image data from a medical device, and an interpretation center connected to the client computer via a network.InThe client computer is from a medical devicepluralDICOM image dataAs an image data setImportA test instance UID tag consisting of a number string common to each image data and a serial number for each image data is assigned to each of the plurality of DICOM image data and stored.With, Detect the capture of the image data, theseAssigned to DICOM image datathe aboveInspection instance UID tagAny one of the inspection instance UID tagsIs extracted as an image data identification tag, and interpretation request data with the tag added is created.MemoryFunction to perform, andthe aboveAn image storage server having a function of transmitting an image data set to the interpretation center and a function of transmitting the interpretation request data to the interpretation center, wherein the interpretation center stores the DICOM image data from the client computer. ,Based on the above inspection instance UID tagA DICOM image system comprising an image display computer capable of reading DICOM image data from an image storage server and displaying an image for interpretation on a display; a business server for storing the interpretation request data and interpretation result file;With a voice input deviceFor the above image display computerBased on the above inspection instance UID tagInstructing display of DICOM image data corresponding to specific interpretation request data,An dictation audio file whose file name is the inspection instance UID tag of the interpretation request dataInterpretation result fileAsThe image display is composed of a business system comprising a business computer that creates and stores the file in the business server and a report creation computer that creates a report based on the interpretation result file. The computer extracts the interpretation image as key image data from the interpretation image displayed on the display based on the command for extracting the specific image from the business computer, and uses the key image data as the key image data.Interpretation request data corresponding to the above interpretation imageA medical image interpretation system characterized in that a file name comprising an inspection instance UID tag and an image identification number is assigned and transferred to a business server, and the business server stores the key image data It is composed ofis there.
[0009]
The image data is preferably image data according to the DICOM standard, for example. The client computer is preferably a client personal computer installed in a contract hospital in a remote place, for example. The image storage server is preferably constituted by, for example, a DICOM server capable of storing DICOM standard image data in a DICOM database. The image display computer is preferably constituted by an interpretation workstation having a viewer program for DICOM standard image data. The interpretation result file is preferably composed of, for example, an dictation speech file storing speech data related to interpretation. The business computer is preferably composed of a business computer connected to the business server. The interpretation result is preferably configured to be transmitted from the business server to the client computer, but may be configured to be reported by e-mail, FAX, or the like.
[0010]
The client computer is preferably configured to perform transmission of the image data to the interpretation center and transmission of interpretation request data to the interpretation center separately.
[0011]
Further, the client computer extracts an image data identification tag given in advance to the image data, and creates interpretation request data to which the tag is added, the image system of the interpretation center, In the business system, it is preferable that the image data and the interpretation request data are associated with each other by the image data identification tag.
[0012]
  The image data identification tag is preferably a “Study Instance UID” tag attached to, for example, DICOM image data. The association between the image data and the interpretation request data is preferably performed using the “Study Instance UID” tag or the like. The association means that the image data stored in the image system is associated with the image interpretation request data stored in the business system by the tag. The business computer is provided with a voice input device, and the interpretation result file can be created as a voice file.Interpretation request dataUse the inspection instance UID tag as the file nameDictationIt is preferable to create an audio file and transfer the audio file to the business server, and the business server preferably stores the audio file.
[0013]
the aboveThe report computer is provided with a sound reproduction device and the business servervoiceThe report computer is configured to be able to receive a file, and the report computervoiceIt is preferable that the report can be created by key-inputting the voice of the file from the computer.
[0014]
The report computer can be composed of a single personal computer, etc., but the report can be obtained by key-inputting the audio playback computer connected to the audio playback device and the audio played back by the audio playback computer. It can also be composed of two computers for creating reports.
[0015]
In addition, an interpretation booth consisting of the image display computer and the business computer is installed as a satellite interpretation booth in a plurality of areas, and each satellite interpretation booth is connected to the interpretation center, and image data is sent from the interpretation center to a specific satellite. It is preferable to be configured to be able to transmit to the interpretation booth and to be able to transmit the interpretation result file from each satellite interpretation booth to the business server of the interpretation center. In this case, it is preferable that client computers are installed in a plurality of regions, and each client computer and the image interpretation center are connected via a network. For the interpretation request to the satellite interpretation booth, for example, interpretation request data can be transmitted from the interpretation center, or contact means such as e-mail can be used. Further, it is preferable that the business interpretation personal computer of the satellite interpretation booth is configured so that the interpretation request data in the business server of the interpretation center can be browsed.
[0016]
Preferably, the client computer and the interpretation center are connected to the Internet, and the interpretation result file in the interpretation center can be viewed from the client computer via the Internet. This client computer includes either a personal computer installed in a contracted hospital or a personal computer installed in a hospital requesting examination.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
[0018]
FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a medical image interpretation system (first embodiment) according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a contract hospital in a remote location, and a plurality of medical devices (modalities) such as CT and MRI. 2 is installed, and the medical device 2 is connected to the client personal computer 4 via the hub 3. The client personal computer 4 is configured to be able to capture DICOM standard image data from the various medical devices 2 and store it in the hard disk 4a. The image data and the interpretation request data are networked by FTP communication via the router 5 via the router 5. N (high-speed broadband network such as ISDN) can be transmitted. An image scanner 4b is connected to the personal computer 4 so that various interpretation request instructions can be read by the scanner 4b separately from the interpretation request data and transmitted to the interpretation center 6 as image data.
[0019]
6 is an image interpretation center that receives the image data, image interpretation request data, and the like from the contracted hospital 1 via the network N, and is provided with a hub 9 via a router 7 and an FTP server 8. Stores DICOM standard image data transmitted from the network N, performs DICOM server 10 that performs reading and writing control of the image data, and receives various interpretation requests received from the network to perform various operations related to interpretation. The business server 11 to be performed is connected to the hub 9. The DICOM server 10 has a DICOM database 10a for storing DICOM standard image data, and the business server 11 has a business database 11a for storing various business data such as interpretation request data. ing.
[0020]
Reference numerals 12 and 13 are interpretation workstations connected to the DICOM server 10 via hubs 14 and 9, and display DICOM standard image data stored in the DICOM database 10a on the displays 12a and 13a. This is used for interpretation (see FIG. 19A).
[0021]
Reference numeral 15 denotes a business personal computer connected to the business server 11 via the hubs 16 and 9, which instructs the interpretation workstations 12 and 13 to call image data and is connected to the personal computer 15. The dictation voice file is created based on the voice information input from the voice input device 17. The voice input device 17 includes a microphone, a recording button, a playback button, a fast-forward button, a rewind button, and the like, and the device 17 performs interpretation by so-called dictation recording. The interpretation workstations 12 and 13 and the business computer 15 are installed adjacent to each other, and an interpretation booth B is constituted by these computers.
[0022]
18 is a report creation personal computer connected to the business server 11 via the hubs 20 and 9, and 19 is a voice reproduction personal computer connected to the business server 11 via the hubs 20 and 9. Yes, an audio reproduction device 21 is connected to the audio reproduction personal computer 19. The voice reproduction device 21 has functions of playing, stopping, fast-forwarding, and rewinding the dictation voice file in the voice reproduction personal computer 19. The voice reproduced by the personal computer 19 is sent to the report creation personal computer 18. A report related to interpretation is created by key input.
[0023]
The image data, the interpretation request data, and the report data can be transmitted and received using, for example, 128 Kbps ISDN by FTP communication under TCP / IP protocol control. Each of the personal computers, servers, and workstations has a known configuration including a display device such as a CRT, an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, an internal storage device such as a hard disk, and a printer.
[0024]
Next, the software configuration of the image interpretation system according to the present invention will be described.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 2, a DICOM reception application 22 and a DICOM tag analysis application 23 are stored in the main storage device of the client personal computer 4. The DICOM reception application 22 (see FIG. 3) is an application for receiving DICOM standard image data from the medical device 2, and when a DICOM image capture operation is performed (S1 in FIG. 3), the image data is captured from the medical device 2. (FIG. 3S2) Standard tag information based on the DICOM standard is added to each captured image data (FIG. 3S3) and stored in the hard disk 4a (FIG. 3S4). Thereafter, when a transmission operation to the interpretation center 6 is performed (S5 in FIG. 3), the image data is transmitted to the DICOM server 10 of the interpretation center 6 by FTP transmission (S6 in FIG. 3).
[0026]
The DICOM standard image data is composed of, for example, an image data set of 40 to 50 jpg CT scan images for one patient, and each of these image data is a standard tag based on the DICOM standard. Information is added (see image data set P1 in FIG. 2). Among the tag information, the “Study Instance UID” tag (inspection instance UID tag) is assigned the same tag to each of the one image data set (each image data), and another image data set. Are given different “Study Instance UID” tags. Therefore, each image data set can be distinguished by the “Study Instance UID” tag. As shown in FIG. 18, the content of the “Study Instance UID” tag is composed of, for example, a 62-digit number string including a dot (“.”). For example, in the case of 40 pieces of image data, numbers of consecutive numbers 1 to 40 for each image data are assigned to the consecutive number digits of each image data. Accordingly, in one image data set of 40 sheets, the portion excluding the serial number is composed of the same numeric string. In the DICOM standard, the “Study Instance UID” tag has a maximum length of 64 bytes (64 digits if alphanumeric), and the number of digits varies depending on various circumstances such as medical devices and hospitals. .
[0027]
As shown in FIG. 4, the DICOM tag analysis application 23 detects when the DICOM reception application 22 takes the image data into the hard disk 4a (S1 in FIG. 4), and among the tag information of the image data, The tag information a shown in FIG. 5 including “Study Instance UID” (for example, “2.392.200... 484.1” (tag number (number indicating the type of tag) “0020,000D”)) is extracted. (S2 in FIG. 4) and business information b shown in FIG.5 is added to create interpretation request data 30 composed of the extracted tag and business information (S3 in FIG. 4), and then the application 23 transmits to the interpretation center 6. When the operation is performed (S4 in FIG. 4), the interpretation request data 30 (“Study Instance” shown in FIG. ID "and including (0020,000D)) via the network N by FTP transmission is transmitted to the business server 11 of the image interpretation center 6 (Fig. 4S5).
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 5, the extraction tag a of the interpretation request data 30 identifies the hospital 1 such as “Institution Name (hospital name)”, “Institution Address (hospital address)” in addition to the above “Study Instance UID”. Information, “Modality (medical device)” that identifies the medical device 2, information “Patient's Name (patient name)” that identifies the patient, etc., “Series UID” that is a unique identifier of the series, etc. The tag number indicating the type of each tag is composed of two combinations (0020,000D, etc.) such as 4-digit numbers. As shown in FIG. 5, the business information b includes information related to interpretation requests such as “request ID”, “acceptance date”, “primary physician”, “examination purpose”, and “transmission / reception method” “number of images”. It is composed of information necessary for transmission / reception of etc. The serial number of the “Study Instance UID” extracted as the extraction tag a may be any, but here, the “Study Instance UID” of the serial number “1” (ie, “2.392.200... 484.1”). ) Are extracted (see FIGS. 18 and 5). In the following description, the 62-digit number string (for example, “2.392.200... 484.1”) illustrated in FIG. 18 is referred to as a “Study Instance UID” tag or a “Study Instance UID” tag.
[0029]
As described above, the client personal computer 4 is configured so that the image data set P1 captured from the medical device 2 is transmitted to the interpretation center 6 and the corresponding interpretation request data 30 is transmitted to the interpretation center 6 separately. (See FIG. 2). Therefore, transmission of the image data set P1 and the like to the interpretation center 6 and transmission of the interpretation request data 30 and the like to the interpretation center 6 are performed separately, but the image data set P1 and the interpretation request data 30 and the like are Since it is associated with a common “Study Instance UID” (for example, “2.392.200... 484.1”) tag, the image interpretation center 6 side uses the “Study Instance UID” tag to store the image data. The set P1 and the like are associated with the interpretation request data 30 and the like (FIG. 20). The image data of the image interpretation request instruction read from the scanner 4b is temporarily stored in the hard disk 4a, and the image interpretation center 6 is used together with the image interpretation request data by the DICOM tag analysis application 23 or general-purpose software such as mail transmission software. Sent to.
[0030]
When the FTP server 8 of the image interpretation center 6 receives the image data set from the contracted hospital 1 via the network N, the image data set is transferred to the DICOM server 10, and the image interpretation request data and the image interpretation request instruction are transferred. When receiving the image data of the document, the interpretation request data and the like are transferred to the business server 11.
[0031]
The DICOM server 10 has a server application shown in FIG. 6 in its main storage. When the application receives the image data set P1 and the like via the FTP server 8 (FIG. 6S1), the application stores the image data set P1 in the DICOM database 10a (see FIG. 6S2, FIG. 2, FIG. 20). Further, when there is an instruction for calling image data for interpretation specified by the “Study Instance UID” tag from the interpretation workstation 12 described later (S3 in FIG. 6), the image data corresponding to the “Study Instance UID” tag is stored in the DICOM. The data is read from the database 10a (S4 in FIG. 6) and transferred to the interpretation workstation 12 (see FIGS. 6S5 and 10).
[0032]
The business server 11 has a server application shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 in its main storage. Upon receiving the interpretation request data including “Study Instance UID” from the client personal computer 4 via the FTP server 8 (FIG. 7 S1), the application stores the interpretation request data in the business database 11a (S2, FIG. 7). FIG. 2 and FIG. 9). When image data of the interpretation request instruction is transmitted, the data is also stored in the business database 11a. In this case, a Study Instance UID tag corresponding to the image data of each interpretation request instruction is also attached (see FIG. 9). When there is an instruction to display interpretation request data from the business computer 15 (S3 in FIG. 7), the operation is performed to transfer the interpretation request data stored in the business database 11a to the business computer 15. Yes (S4 in FIG. 7). The image data is also transferred to the business personal computer 15 based on the image data display command of the interpretation request instruction. When there is a registration request for the dictation voice file (dictation voice data) created by the business personal computer 15 (see FIGS. 7 and 5), the dictation voice file (Study Instance UID.wav) is stored in the database 11a. (S7 in FIG. 7), and when there is a call instruction for the dictation audio file specified by the “Study Instance UID” from the personal computer 19 for voice reproduction or the personal computer 18 for report creation (S7, S10 in FIG. 7), The dictation voice file in the database 11a is searched (S8 in FIG. 7) and transferred to the voice reproduction personal computer 19 (see S9 and FIG. 11 in FIG. 7).
[0033]
Further, when a key image to be described later is transferred from the interpretation workstation 12 (S1 in FIG. 8), the key image is stored in the business database 11a (see FIGS. 8S2, 9, and 10). When there is a command for reading the key image from the business computer 15 (S3 in FIG. 8), the designated key image is read out from the business database 11a and transferred to the business computer 15 (see FIGS. 8S4 and 10). ). Further, when report data is transferred (input) from the report creation personal computer 18 (S5 in FIG. 8), the report data is stored in the business database 11a (see FIGS. 8S6, 9 and 11). , When there is an operation to transmit the specific report data specified by the “Study Instance UID” to the hospital 1 (FIG. 8 S7), the designated report data is read from the business database 11a, and the report data is read out. The data is transmitted to the client personal computer 4 of the contract hospital 1 (S8 in FIG. 8).
[0034]
The business personal computer 15 stores a business system application 24 and a voice input application 25 in its main storage device (see FIGS. 10 and 11). When the interpretation request data display operation is performed (S1 in FIG. 12), the business system application 24 instructs the business server 11 to display the interpretation request data (S2 in FIG. 12). When the interpretation request data is transferred (FIG. 12S3), the interpretation request data is displayed on the display 15a of the personal computer 15 (FIG. 12S4, FIG. 19B). The image data of the interpretation request instruction can be displayed on the display 15a together with the interpretation request data (see FIG. 19B). If there is an interpretation request data to be interpreted out of the interpretation request data displayed on the display 15a (S5 in FIG. 12), the interpretation request data is added to the designated interpretation request data for the interpretation workstation 12. The “Study Instance UID” is specified, and an image data set display command having the “Study Instance UID” tag is issued (see FIGS. 12S6 and 10). As a result, a plurality of pieces of image data specified by the “Study Instance UID” are displayed on the display of the interpretation workstation 12 (see FIG. 19A).
[0035]
That is, as shown in FIG. 20, the interpretation request data (various data stored in the business database 11a of the business server 11) and the image data stored in the database 10a of the DICOM server 10 are each “Study Instance”. The association (association) is made by the “UID” tag. Further, when a voice input application activation operation is performed on the business personal computer 15 (FIG. 12S7), the voice input application 25 is activated (see FIG. 12S8, FIG. 11), and the voice input device 17 is used. Interpretation is performed by dictation recording. In addition, when an operation for specifying a specific image is performed among images displayed on the display of the interpretation workstation 12 or 13 during interpretation (S9 in FIG. 12), an image pasting application described later is started (S10 in FIG. 12). A key image transfer process, which will be described later, is performed (see FIGS. 12S10 and 10). After that, when a specific key image display operation is performed (S11 in FIG. 12), the business server 11 is instructed to search for the key image designated by the “Study Instance UID” tag, and is designated from the business server 11. When the key image data is transferred, the key image is displayed (S12 in FIG. 12). When an operation for displaying an image data set (such as a comparison image) corresponding to the key image is performed (S13 in FIG. 12), an instruction to display the image data set corresponding to the key image is issued to the interpretation workstation 12. (FIG. 12S14). In the display command for the image data set, the image data set is specified by the “Study Instance UID” tag (see FIG. 10).
[0036]
The voice input application 25 (see FIG. 13), when a doctor performs an dictation interpretation operation from the voice input device 17 while viewing the interpretation image displayed on the display 12a of the interpretation workstation 12 (S1 in FIG. 13). The dictation voice file (web file) having the “Study Instance UID” tag of the image data displayed on the display 12a of the workstation 12 as a file name is created (FIG. 13 S2), and the dictation voice file (dictation voice data) Is transferred to the business server 11 (see FIG. 13 S3, FIG. 11). Thus, the dictation voice file is registered in the business database 11a of the server 11 (see FIGS. 9 and 11).
[0037]
As shown in FIG. 10, the image interpretation workstation 12 stores an existing DICOM viewer program 26 and an image pasting application 27 according to the DICOM standard in its main storage device. As shown in FIG. 14, when the DICOM viewer program 26 receives a call instruction for image data specified by the “Study Instance UID” tag from the business personal computer 15 (FIG. 14S1), the DICOM viewer program 26 instructs the DICOM server 10. A command to call image data specified by the “Study Instance UID” is issued (S2 in FIG. 14). When the image data is transferred from the DICOM server 10, this is detected (S3 in FIG. 14), and the image data is displayed. It is displayed on top (S4 in FIG. 14). The interpretation workstation is provided with an interpretation workstation 13 adjacent to the workstation 12, and the image data is displayed on the displays 12a and 13a of the two workstations 12 and 13, respectively. (See FIG. 19 (a)).
[0038]
The image pasting application 27 (see FIG. 15) is launched from the business personal computer 15 based on the image pasting application launch command (S10 in FIG. 12). Of the interpretation images displayed on the display 12a of the interpretation workstation 12, an extraction command (for example, image data 1 to 4 in FIG. 19A) specified by the “Study Instance UID” (FIG. 19) 12S9) (FIG. 15S1), the interpretation image is extracted as a key image (FIG. 15S2), tag information of “examination ID, examination date, patient sex, patient name” is added to the key image, and “Study” File name (“Study I”) consisting of “Instance UID” and image identification number. nstance UID_image1.jpg ”etc.) and transferred to the business server 11 (see FIG. 15S3 and FIG. 10).
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 11, the report creation personal computer 18 stores a report creation application 28 (FIG. 16) in its main storage device. When the application 28 performs an dictation voice file designation operation. (FIG. 16S1), by specifying “Study Instance UID” to the business server 11, a call instruction (search) for a predetermined dictation voice file is performed (S2 in FIG. 16). Further, the application 28 displays the report format on the display (FIG. 16S3), and when the operator activates the voice reproduction application 29 (FIG. 16S4), the voice reproduction application is applied to the voice reproduction personal computer 19. 29 is instructed (S5 in FIG. 16). After that, when the input operation by key input of the interpretation voice reproduced by the voice reproduction personal computer 19 is performed (S6 in FIG. 16), the character input by the key is displayed at a predetermined position on the report on the display, A report to which a “Study Instance UID” tag is added is created (FIG. 16 S7), and the created report data is transferred to the business server 11 (FIG. 16 S8). Thereby, the report data is stored in the business database 11a (see FIGS. 9 and 11). As described above, the “Study Instance UID” tag is also attached to the report (see FIG. 9), and the dictation voice file, the key image, the interpretation request data, the interpretation request instruction image data, and the DICOM image. And each one-to-one correspondence.
[0040]
As shown in FIG. 11, the voice reproduction personal computer 19 stores a voice reproduction application 29 in its main storage device. The application 29 dictates voice from the report creation personal computer 18 to the business server 11. When the dictation voice file is transferred from the business server 11 based on the file search command (S1 in FIG. 17), the dictation voice file is stored in the internal storage device (S2 in FIG. 17). The dictation audio file is reproduced based on the reproduction operation of the audio reproduction device 21 by the operator (S3 and S4 in FIG. 17). When the audio file is played, the dictation voice of the audio file is played from a speaker (or headphones, etc.), and an operator listens to the playback voice and reports the key by inputting the voice from the report creation personal computer 18. To create a book.
[0041]
FIG. 21 shows functional blocks relating to the correspondence between DICOM image data and interpretation request data in the DICOM server 10 and the business server 11, and the DICOM server 10 is designated image data by a Study Instance UID. And S. I. The UID search / comparison means 10d compares the specified Study Instance UID with the UID of the image data in the database 10a among the plurality of image data in the DICOM database 10a, and the same UID (in the case of an image data set) And an image data set (or specific image data) having a numeric string excluding the last serial number digit), and the image data transmitting means 10c extracts the image data set (or specific image data). ) To the interpretation workstations 12 and 13. Further, when the business server 11 designates various data (for example, dictation voice file) by the Study Instance UID, the S.S. I. The UID search / comparison unit 11c compares the identified StudyInstance UID with the UID of the data (such as an dictation voice file) in the database 11a in the data in the business database 11a, and the data having the same UID (the dictation voice) The data transmission means 11d transmits the extracted data (spoken voice file or the like) to the business personal computer 15 (in the case of a spoken voice file, the voice playback personal computer 19). If the workstation 12 (13) or the business personal computer 15 sends the key image, report data, and dictation voice file to which the Study Instance UID is added, these data are stored in the business database 11a. The The report data is transmitted from the transmission / reception means 11b of the business server 11 to each client personal computer.
[0042]
Next, the operation of the medical image interpretation system will be described.
[0043]
First, in the hospital 1, when an image data capturing operation is performed by the client personal computer 4 (S 1 in FIG. 3), the personal computer 4 sets a DICOM image (here, an image data set P 1 of 40 CT scan images) from the medical device 2. ) (FIG. 3 S2), and the standard tag information of DICOM standard including 1 to 40 Study Instance UIDs (2.392.200... 484.1 to 1) shown in FIG. In addition, the image data set P1 is temporarily stored in the hard disk 4a (S4 in FIG. 3). After that, when the transmission operation of the image data set P1 is performed in the personal computer 4 (S5 in FIG. 3), the personal computer 4 sends the image data set P1 together with the tag information to the DICOM server 10 of the interpretation center 6 by FTP communication. Transmit (FIG. 3 S6).
[0044]
The image data set P1 is transmitted to the image interpretation center 6 via the network N. When the FTP server 8 of the center 6 receives the image data set P1, the image data set P1 is transferred to the DICOM server 10. Upon receiving the image data set P1 (FIG. 6S1), the DICOM server 10 stores the image data set P1 in the DICOM database 10a (see FIG. 6S2, FIG. 2, and FIG. 20). Since such image data sets are transmitted from the contracted hospital 1 separately from the interpretation request, a plurality of other image data sets are transmitted regardless of the interpretation request, and the DICOM database 10a includes A plurality of different image data sets are stored (see image data set P2 in FIG. 20). Since these image data sets are all provided with different “Study Instance UID” tags (for example, the image data P2 is “1.2.862... 277.1”), each image data set. Can be identified by a “Study Instance UID” tag.
[0045]
On the other hand, when the image data set P1 is stored in the hard disk 4a in the client personal computer 4 (S1 in FIG. 4), the DICOM tag analysis application 23 reads “Study Instance” from the standard DICOM tag attached to the image data. The tag information a shown in FIG. 5 including the UID (2.392.200... 484.1) tag (0020,000D) is extracted (S2 in FIG. 4), and the business information b shown in FIG. Is added to create interpretation request data 30 (S3 in FIG. 4) If another image data set is stored in the hard disk 4a, another “Study Instance UID” (for example, “1.2. 862 ... 277.1 "etc.) is generated and the above hardware It is stored in the disk 4a.
[0046]
After that, when the client personal computer 4 designates the “Study Instance UID” (2.392.200... 484.1), the interpretation request data 30 is transmitted (S4 in FIG. 4). The client personal computer 4 reads the interpretation request data 30 specified by the “Study Instance UID” from the hard disk 4a and transmits it to the business server 11 of the interpretation center 6 by FTP transmission (see FIG. 4S5 and FIG. 2). ). Also, image data of an interpretation request instruction corresponding to the interpretation request can be transmitted from the personal computer 4 to the interpretation center 6. At this time, since the interpretation request instruction can be transmitted as image data, it is possible to describe information for reference at the time of interpretation in the instruction, or to instruct the affected part with an illustration or the like.
[0047]
The interpretation request data 30 is transmitted to the interpretation center 6 via the network N. When the FTP server 8 of the center 6 receives the interpretation request data 30, the data 30 is transferred to the business server 11. When the business server 11 receives the interpretation request data 30 (S1 in FIG. 7), the business server 11 stores the interpretation request data 30 in the business database 11a (see FIGS. 7S2, 2 and 9). Other image interpretation request data are also sequentially transmitted from the client personal computer 4 and stored in the business database 11a. Each image interpretation request data is distinguished by its “Study Instance UID” tag, and the “Study” The “Instance UID” tag is associated with the image data set P1 and the like already stored in the DICOM database 10a on a one-to-one basis (see FIGS. 9 and 20). The image data of the interpretation request instruction is also stored in the database 11a. The Study Instance UID * 1 shown in FIG. 9 is “2.392.200... 484.1” (corresponding to the image data set P1), and the Study Instance UID * 2 is “1.2.862. 277.1 "(corresponding to the image data set P2).
[0048]
Next, in the interpretation center 6, when a specialist doctor performs interpretation, when the doctor or the like performs an operation for displaying interpretation request data on the business personal computer 15 (S1 in FIG. 12), the business system application 24 of the personal computer 15 performs the business operation. The image interpretation request data display command is issued to the server 11 (S2 in FIG. 12). The business server 11 transfers a plurality of interpretation request data stored in the business database 11a to the business personal computer 15 based on the display command (S3, S4 in FIG. 7). Upon receiving the transfer of the interpretation request data (FIG. 12S3), the business personal computer 15 displays the plurality of interpretation request data on the display 15a of the personal computer 15 (see FIG. 12S4 and FIG. 19B). At this time, the business system application 24 displays various information such as “hospital name”, “patient name”, “modality”, “Study Instance UID” and the like based on the extraction tag a included in the interpretation request data. Therefore, the doctor can easily select an interpretation request to be interpreted on the display 15a of the business computer 15.
[0049]
Here, on the display 15a of the business personal computer 15, when a doctor or the like performs an operation for designating interpretation request data (here, referred to as interpretation request data 30) corresponding to an image data set to be interpreted with a mouse or the like (S5 in FIG. 12). ), The business personal computer 15 sends “Study Instance UID (2.392.200... 484.1)” (0020,000D) corresponding to the specified interpretation request data 30 to the interpretation workstation 12. The image data set having a call command is issued (see FIGS. 12S6 and 10).
[0050]
When the DICOM viewer program 26 of the image interpretation workstation 12 is instructed to call the image data set (S1 in FIG. 14), the DICOM server 10 receives the “Study Instance UID” (2.392.200... 484.1) The image data set specified by (0020,000D) is called (S2 in FIG. 14). As a result, the DICOM server 10 reads out the image data set P1 having the “Study Instance UID” tag from the DICOM database 10a (S3 and S4 in FIG. 6), and transfers the image data set P1 to the interpretation workstation 12. (FIG. 6S5). When the image interpretation workstation 12 confirms the transfer of the image data set P1 (FIG. 14S3), the image of the image data set P1 is displayed on the display 12a of the workstation 12 (FIG. 14S4, FIG. 19A). reference). When the interpretation workstation 13 is installed, the image is also displayed on the display 13a of the workstation 13 (see FIG. 19A). At this time, the image interpretation doctor designates the UID on the business computer 15 to read the image data of the image interpretation request instruction corresponding to the image data from the business server 11, and the display 15 a of the business computer 15. Displayed above can be used as a reference for interpretation as appropriate (FIG. 19B).
[0051]
Here, when the doctor performs an activation operation of the voice input application 25 (FIG. 12S7), the voice input application 25 is started (FIG. 12S8), and the doctor is in such a state and the display 12a of the interpretation workstation 12 or 13 , 13a, the voice input device 17 connected to the business personal computer 15 is operated and the interpretation result is inputted by voice toward the microphone of the device 17 (S1 in FIG. 13). Then, the voice is input as voice data to the business personal computer 15, and the voice input application 25 creates a voice file in which the interpretation voice data is stored, and the voice file includes “Study Instance UID” “Study Instance UID”. A file name “Instance UID.wav” (for example, “2.392.200... 484.1.wav”, etc.) is assigned, and the sound file is transferred to the business server 11 (FIGS. 13 S2, S3, FIG. 11). The business server 11 stores the dictated voice file in the business database 11a when the voice file is transferred from the business personal computer 15 (S5 in FIG. 7) (see FIGS. 7S6, 9 and 11).
[0052]
In addition, if there is a specific image to be attached to the report during the above interpretation, the doctor can identify the specific image (for example, the figure) displayed on the display 12a or 13a of the interpretation workstation 12 or 13 on the business personal computer 15. The designation operation of 19 (a) images 1 to 4) is performed (S9 in FIG. 12). Note that one or more images may be specified. Then, the business system application 24 issues a start command for the image pasting application 27 to the image interpretation workstation 12, and further issues a specified specific image extraction command (see FIGS. 12S10 and 10). Based on the extraction command, the image pasting application 27 of the image interpretation workstation 12 is activated, and the application 27 uses the designated images (1 to 4) displayed on the display of the workstation 12 as key images. (Study Instance UID), and a file name consisting of a serial number (for example, “Study Instance UID_img1.jpg / Study Instance UID_img2.jpg” etc.), that is, 2.39. .200... 484.1_imag1.jpg / 2.392.200... 484.1_img2.jpg etc.) and transferred to the business server 11 (see FIG. 15S3 and FIG. 10). When the key image file is transferred from the image interpretation workstation 12, the business server 11 stores the key image in the business database 11a (see S1, S2, and FIG. 9 in FIG. 8). The key image is stored in the business database 11a sequentially when other image interpretation requests are interpreted, but the file name of the key image is also tagged with the “Study Instance UID” tag. The key image at the time is distinguished by the tag (see FIG. 9). When the doctor wants to see the key image stored in the business server 11, the user performs the key image designation operation on the business personal computer 15 using the “Study Instance UID” (S 11 in FIG. 12). The personal computer 15 issues a key image display search command to the business server 11 by using the “Study Instance UID” tag corresponding to the designated key image (see FIGS. 12S12 and 10). The key image in the database 11a is retrieved and read out and transferred to the business personal computer 15 (S3, S4 in FIG. 8). When the key image is transferred from the server 11, the business personal computer 15 displays the key image on the display 15a of the business personal computer 15 (S12 in FIG. 12). If another image corresponding to the key image is to be viewed as a comparison image, a display instruction operation of the image data set corresponding to the key image is performed on the business personal computer 15 using “Study Instance UID” ( 12S13), the personal computer 15 instructs the interpretation workstation 12 to display the image data set by the “Study Instance UID” tag (FIG. 12S14), and as a result, the display 12a or 13a of the interpretation workstation 12 is displayed. All the images corresponding to the image data set (the past images for comparison and the like) are displayed (S1 to S4 in FIG. 14). This completes the interpretation of the image data set P1 (“Study Instance UID” (2.392.200... 484.1) (0020,000D)) of the interpretation request data 30.
[0053]
Next, the report creation operation will be described. First, the report creation operator performs an dictation voice file designation operation related to report creation on the report creation personal computer 18 (S1 in FIG. 16). The file can be specified by the “Study Instance UID” (for example, “2.392.200... 484.1”). Then, the personal computer 18 instructs the business server 11 to call the designated dictation voice file, and further displays the report format on the display (S2 and S3 in FIG. 16). Upon receiving the call command (S10 in FIG. 7), the business server 11 searches for a dictation voice file in the business database 11a and transfers the corresponding dictation voice file to the voice reproduction personal computer 19 (S8 in FIG. 7). S9, see FIG. 11).
[0054]
When the operator performs an activation operation of the voice reproduction application 29 (S4 in FIG. 16), the report creation personal computer 18 issues a command to activate the voice reproduction application 29 to the voice reproduction personal computer 19 (S5 in FIG. 16). FIG. 11).
[0055]
When the voice reproduction personal computer 19 receives the dictation voice data file from the business server 11, the voice reproduction personal computer 19 temporarily stores the dictation voice data file in a storage device such as a hard disk (S1 and S2 in FIG. 17). Thereafter, when the operator operates the voice reproduction device 21 to perform the reproduction operation of the dictation audio file (S3 in FIG. 17), the audio reproduction personal computer 19 reproduces the dictation audio file (S4 in FIG. 17). As a result, the voice of the dictation voice data is reproduced from the speaker or the like of the voice reproduction device 21. While listening to the reproduced voice, the operator keys in the voice from the report creation personal computer 18 (FIG. 16 S6), and the report creation application inputs the keyed characters into a predetermined place of the report. Then, a report is prepared (S7 in FIG. 16). When the report is created, the report creation personal computer 18 adds the Study Instance UID to the created report data and transfers it to the business server 11 (S8 in FIG. 16).
[0056]
Upon receiving the report data transfer (S5 in FIG. 8), the business server 11 stores the report data in the business database 11a (see FIGS. 8S6 and 9).
[0057]
Through the above operation, a report of interpretation request related to interpretation request data 30 is created.
[0058]
After that, when the business server 11 designates the “Study Instance UID” (for example, “2.392.200... 484.1”), the operation of transmitting the report to the hospital 1 is performed. (FIG. 8S7), the business server 11 reads the specified report data from the business database 11a and transmits it to the client personal computer 4 of the contracted hospital 1 (S8 in FIG. 8). The report can be transmitted to the contracted hospital 1 by various other methods such as e-mail, FAX, and mail.
[0059]
As described above, when the business personal computer 15 issues a key image read command to the business server 11 (S11 in FIG. 12), the business server 11 retrieves the key image stored in the database 11a. Then, the designated key image is transferred to the business computer 15 (S3 and S4 in FIG. 8). Thus, the business personal computer 15 can display a plurality of the key images on the display 15a (see FIG. 10). At this time, information such as “examination ID, examination date, patient sex, patient name” and the like added to the key image is also displayed. The report data stored in the database 11a can be printed as an interpretation finding report together with the key image on the business computer 15 or the business server 11 (see FIG. 10).
[0060]
As described above, according to the present invention, the image interpretation center 6 includes the DICOM server 10 that stores the image data transmitted from the client personal computer 4, the image interpretation workstation 12 that displays the image data, and the like. DICOM image system ", business server 11 for storing various data such as interpretation request data, dictation voice file, report data transmitted from client personal computer 4, and business personal computer for dictation voice recording of interpretation 15 and the “business system” consisting of the report creation personal computer 18 and the voice reproduction personal computer 19 for creating the report are clearly separated, so the DICOM image system is an existing standard application (application in the DICOM server). (Figure 6), at the interpretation workstation ICOM viewer program 26 (FIG. 10, FIG. 14), the image pasting application 27 (FIG. 10, FIG. 15)) as it can be used, it is possible to construct a highly very versatile medical image interpretation system.
[0061]
In addition, since the “DICOM image system” and the “business system” are clearly separated at the interpretation center as described above, transmission of image data from the client personal computer 4 to the “DICOM image system” is performed. The transmission of the interpretation request data from the client personal computer 4 performed for the above-mentioned “business system” can be configured to be executed separately and independently. The image data or interpretation from the client personal computer 4 to the interpretation center 6 can be configured. Request data can be transmitted very efficiently.
[0062]
In addition, since the DICOM server 10 and the business server 11 are provided and the functions of each server are clearly separated, each server is compared with the case where both functions of the image system and the business system are combined with one server. Therefore, it is possible to realize a multi-functional and high-speed medical image interpretation system.
[0063]
Further, the “Study Instance UID” tag included in the DICOM image data is added to the interpretation request data, and the interpretation center 6 associates the image data with the interpretation request data by using the “Study Instance UID” tag. Therefore, even if the “DICOM image system” and the “business system” are separated as described above, the image data and the interpretation request data can be easily associated with each other, and the image data and the interpretation request with a large amount of information can be obtained. An efficient interpretation system can be constructed by separating data.
[0064]
In addition, an interpretation system (interpretation booth B) composed of an interpretation workstation 12 and a business personal computer 15 is connected to the DICOM server 10 and the business server 11 via hubs 14, 16, 9. Therefore, it is possible to arrange only the interpretation system at a remote location and configure it as a satellite interpretation booth.For example, a plurality of the interpretation system is provided, and these interpretation systems are arranged at a remote location as a satellite interpretation booth. The interpretation system can be easily expanded, for example, connected to the interpretation center via a network.
[0065]
Further, since the report creation system composed of the report personal computer 18 and the voice reproduction personal computer 19 is connected to the business server 11 via the hubs 20 and 9, only the report creation system is concerned. It can be configured as a satellite report creation booth by installing it at a different location from the center.For example, by providing multiple report creation systems at different locations, multiple operators can efficiently report Can be created.
[0066]
In addition, since the interpretation result can be input by the voice input device 17 by a so-called dictation recording method, the burden on the interpretation doctor can be reduced and an efficient interpretation operation can be performed.
[0067]
In addition, since the report is created by a dedicated operator using the audio playback device 21 on a dedicated personal computer (18, 19), the burden on the interpretation doctor is reduced and the report is created efficiently. It can be performed.
[0068]
In addition, since the interpretation request instruction form can be transmitted from the contracted hospital 1 to the interpretation center 6 as image data, information necessary for interpretation can be appropriately instructed using an illustration or the like.
[0069]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 22 shows the entire configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention. The interpretation center 6 (for example, installed in Fukuoka Prefecture) and the contract hospital 1 (for example, in Fukuoka Prefecture) in the same figure. The interpretation center 6 and the contracted hospital 1 are connected by the network N as described above. Further, satellite interpretation booths B1, B2, B3,... Having the same configuration as the interpretation booth B of the center 6 are connected to the router 7 of the interpretation center 6 through a dedicated line L1 (for example, 128 Kbps). These satellite interpretation booths B1,... Are installed in areas other than Fukuoka Prefecture. For example, satellite interpretation booth B1 is installed in Saga Prefecture, booth B2 is installed in Nagasaki Prefecture, and booth B3 is installed in Kagoshima Prefecture. It shall be. The number and location of the satellite interpretation booths B1,... Are not limited, and a plurality of satellite interpretation booths can be provided in various locations.
[0070]
1a, 1b, 1c,... Are contracted hospitals in various places as inspection facilities having the same configuration as the contracted hospital 1, and are connected to the router 7 of the image interpretation center 6 via the network N. These contracted hospitals 1a, 1b,... Are a plurality of contracted hospitals as inspection facilities in Fukuoka Prefecture and areas other than Fukuoka Prefecture. The contracted hospital 1a is Saga Prefecture, and the hospital 1b is Nagasaki Prefecture. Let 1c be each hospital in Oita Prefecture. It should be noted that the number of installations and installation locations of each contracted hospital 1a,...
[0071]
The image interpretation center 6 is provided with a web server 30 (including a mail server function) as an Internet terminal, connected to a gateway 32 as a firewall via a hub 31, and the gateway 32 is connected to the business server 11. The web server 30 and the business server 11 are connected by connecting via the hub 9. Then, the web server 30 is connected to the Internet 34 via the router 33 by a dedicated line L2.
[0072]
On the other hand, the contracted hospital 1 is provided with personal computers 35 with a web browser, and these personal computers 35 are connected to the Internet 34 through a router 36. The other contract hospitals 1a, 1b, 1c,... Are also provided with the same Internet terminal system as the personal computer 35 and the router 36, and the contract hospitals 1a, 1b, 1c,. The router 36 is similarly connected to the Internet 34. It is also possible to connect the personal computer 35 of each contracted hospital 1, 1a,... And the web server 30 of the image interpretation center 6 by a dedicated line L2.
[0073]
37,... Are a plurality of examination requesting hospitals, each having a personal computer 38 equipped with a web browser, and connected to the Internet 34 via a modem or TA 39.
[0074]
As shown in FIG. 24, the satellite interpretation booth B1 has interpretation workstations 12 'and 13' having the same configuration as the interpretation workstations 12 and 13 of the interpretation booth B of the interpretation center 6, and the business personal computer 15 of the interpretation booth 6. And the workstations 12 'and 13' are connected to the router 40 via hubs 14 'and 9', and the business computer 15 'is connected to the hub 16'. , 9 ′, the satellite interpretation booths B 1, B 2, etc. are connected to the interpretation center 6 by connecting the router 40 to the dedicated line L 1. . The interpretation workstations 12 'and 13' are provided with hard disk drives 12b 'and 13b'. The satellite interpretation booths B2, B3,... Have the same configuration. These satellite interpretation booths B1 and the like are provided as local hospitals or independent facilities, but the interpretation booth B1 or the like is installed in a private hospital or a doctor's home, and the SOHO interpretation booth B1 ′ (FIG. 23). Reference). In this case, the SOHO interpretation booth B1 'can be configured as a single computer by providing the DICOM viewer program 26, the image pasting application 27, and the business system application 24 in one workstation. The connection between the SOHO interpretation booth B1 'and the interpretation center 6 is preferably made through a network N such as ISDN (see FIG. 22). If comprised in this way, the interpretation request | requirement can also be made directly to a specialist's home etc., for example.
[0075]
By configuring as described above, the interpretation request data and image data are transmitted from the contracted hospitals (for example, 1b (Nagasaki), etc.) to the interpretation center 6 by the same method as in the first embodiment, Interpretation requests can be made to the interpretation center 6 from a plurality of contract hospitals. Also in this case, each interpretation request data and image data is given a unique Study Instance UID, and the interpretation center 6 can recognize from which contract hospital the interpretation request is received by the UID.
[0076]
In addition, at the satellite interpretation booths B1 and the like at various locations, radiology specialists in the area where the booth exists are in charge of interpretation depending on the examination site and examination purpose. That is, interpretation requests from contracted hospitals 1a, 1b, etc. in a plurality of regions are transmitted to the interpretation center 6, but as shown in FIG. 23, they are stored in the storage device in the business server 11 of the center 6. The “interpretation arrangement list for each doctor” is stored, and when there is an interpretation request from a contracted hospital in each region, the business personal computer 15 or the business server 11 stores the information in the business server 11 depending on the examination site and the purpose of the examination. The arrangement list is searched to select an optimal doctor, and interpretation is arranged from the business personal computer 15 via the business server 11 to the satellite interpretation booth B1 to which the doctor belongs. For example, when making arrangements for interpretation to the satellite interpretation booth B3 in Kagoshima judging from the inspection purpose, the interpretation request data is transferred from the business server 11 to the booth B3 via the FTP server 8 of the interpretation center 6. The interpretation request data is transferred to the interpretation booth B3 in Kagoshima via the router 7 and the dedicated line L1, and stored in the business personal computer 15 'in the booth B3 via the router 40 and hubs 9' and 16 'in the booth B3. (See FIG. 23). Since the interpretation request data in the business server 11 of the interpretation center 6 can be viewed on the business use personal computer 15 'of the satellite interpretation booth B3, the interpretation request data is not transmitted to the satellite interpretation booth B3. It is only necessary to notify to B3 that there is an interpretation request by e-mail or other contact means.
[0077]
Prior to the transmission of the interpretation request data, the business personal computer 15 of the center 6 sends DICOM image data (DICOM image for interpretation + DICOM-DIR (DICOM image of DICOM image) corresponding to the interpretation request data to the DICOM server 10. The index file)) is commanded to be transferred to the interpretation booth B3. At this time, the DICOM image data is specified by the Study Instance UID as described above. If there is a DICOM past image for comparison as the image data, the comparison image is also transferred in advance (see FIG. 23).
[0078]
When the transfer command is issued, the DICOM server 10 extracts the DICOM image data and comparison image data specified by the UID from the database 10 a and transmits them to the FTP server 8, and the data passes through the FTP server 8. It is transferred to the satellite interpretation booth B3. These image data are input to the router 40 of the interpretation booth B3 via the router 7 and the dedicated line L1, and are stored in the storage device (HDD) 12a ′ or 13a of the interpretation workstation 12 ′ via the hubs 9 ′ and 14 ′. 'Remembered in. Thereafter, the specialist at the booth B3 operates the business personal computer 15 'in the same procedure as in the first embodiment to display the DICOM image on the interpretation workstations 12' and 13 'to perform interpretation. The interpreting doctor inputs the interpretation findings from the keyboard of the business personal computer 15 ′ while viewing the images displayed on the display of the interpretation workstations 12 ′ and 13 ′. Note that, as shown in the first embodiment, voice input may be performed by a voice input device.
[0079]
The interpretation finding report input by the doctor is stored in the business computer 15 ′ and can be transmitted to the interpretation center 6 by performing a transmission operation on the business computer 15 ′. The report is transmitted from the business personal computer 15 ′ of the interpretation booth B 3 to the interpretation center 6 via the router 40 of the booth B 3, and the report is stored in the business server 11 by the FTP server 8 of the center 6. Is done. Thereafter, the report is transmitted to the contracted hospital (for example, 1b) that requested the interpretation by the procedure shown in FIG. In the satellite interpretation booth B3, the business server 11 for searching, referring to, and referring to various data in the business server 11 of the center 6 (interpretation request data, image data of interpretation request instructions, interpretation arrangement list, etc.) is provided. Can be registered via the dedicated line L1, and as described above, on the business personal computer 15 ′ of the booth B3, as shown in FIG. 19B, the interpretation request data and interpretation request in the interpretation center 6 are obtained. Instructions and the like can be browsed (see FIG. 23). In the line from the business personal computer 15 ′ to the interpretation workstation 12 ′ in FIG. 23, “reference DICOM image reference” is sent to the workstation 12 ′ based on the comparative image display command operation in the business application 24. The comparison image display command is shown (S13, S14 in FIG. 12).
[0080]
As shown in FIG. 25, the above-mentioned interpretation request is usually made by an inspection requesting hospital 37 in each area, requesting an inspection from a contracted hospital in the same area (for example, contract hospital 1b in Nagasaki Prefecture). Based on the request, the contracted hospital 1b performs an inspection, and DICOM image data as the inspection result is transmitted from the contracted hospital 1b to the image interpretation center 6 via the network N to make an image interpretation request. An interpretation result report based on this interpretation request is transmitted from the center 6 to the contracted hospital 1b via the network N, and sent from the contracted hospital 1b to the examination requesting hospital 37 by mail, FAX, or the like. However, the report can be viewed from the examination requesting hospital 37 via the Internet 34 (see FIG. 25).
[0081]
That is, the interpretation center 6 stores the interpretation finding report data stored in the business server 11 in advance in the web server 30 via the gateway 32. The examination requesting hospital 37 is configured such that the interpretation report in the web server 30 of the center 6 can be browsed via the Internet 34 by the web browser software of the personal computer 38 in the hospital. In this way, it is possible to quickly confirm the interpretation finding report without receiving the report mailed from the contracted hospital as described above. In the above browsing, it is preferable that browsing is possible only from a specific examination requesting hospital using a well-known security technology such as a dedicated ID and a password. Also, the contract hospital 1b and the like are configured so that the interpretation report in the web server 30 of the center 6 can be confirmed via the Internet or the dedicated line L2 by the web browser software of the personal computer 35 (FIG. 25). Various data such as key images in the business database 11a are transferred to the web server 30 of the image interpretation center 6 and the image interpretation center is not limited to the report at the examination requesting hospital 37 via the Internet 34. It is preferable to be able to download various data (for example, key images) in the six web servers 30. Further, in the contract hospital 1b and the like, it is also preferable that various data (reports, key images, etc.) in the web server 30 of the center 6 can be downloaded via the dedicated line L2 or the like. The center 6 is preferably configured to notify the requesting hospital 37 and the contracted hospital 1b by e-mail or the like that various reports and data are ready for browsing.
[0082]
As described above, according to the present invention, for example, by providing a plurality of satellite interpretation booths throughout Kyushu, and connecting inspection facilities (contracted hospitals 1a, etc.) of Kyushu prefectures to the interpretation center 6 via a network, for example, Kyushu A regional medical interpretation network that spans the entire area can be realized. In this case, since the satellite interpretation booth can be basically realized by a simple configuration only by the interpretation workstation 12 (and / or 13) and the business personal computer 15, a regional medical interpretation network is easily constructed. be able to.
[0083]
In addition, by constructing a regional network in this way, depending on the examination site and examination purpose, it is possible to perform interpretation while coordinating with the optimal radiology specialist belonging to each satellite interpretation booth. Appropriate interpretation can be performed.
[0084]
In addition, an interpretation report can be browsed via the Internet at the examination requesting hospital, and an extremely efficient interpretation system can be realized.
[0085]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the image system and the business system are separated at the image interpretation center, the image system can use an existing application such as the DICOM standard. A high medical image interpretation system can be constructed.
[0086]
In addition, since the “Image System” and “Business System” are separated at the Interpretation Center, the transmission of image data from the client computer and the transmission of interpretation request data from the client computer can be configured separately. The image data or the interpretation request data can be efficiently transmitted from the client personal computer to the interpretation center.
[0087]
In addition, since the image data identification tag is used to associate the image data with the interpretation request data, the image data and the interpretation request data can be easily obtained even if the “image system” and the “business system” are separated. Therefore, an efficient interpretation system can be constructed.
[0088]
In addition, since the interpretation result can be input by the dictation recording method, the burden on the interpretation doctor can be reduced, and the efficient interpretation work can be performed.
[0089]
In addition, since the report can be created by a dedicated operator, for example, using a voice reproduction device, the burden on the interpretation doctor can be reduced and the report can be created efficiently.
[0090]
Further, by providing a plurality of satellite interpretation booths in each region, for example, a regional medical interpretation network over the entire Kyushu region can be easily constructed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a medical image interpretation system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a data flow among a client personal computer, a DICOM server, and a business server in the system;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a DICOM reception application in a client personal computer.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a DICOM tag analysis application in a client personal computer.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing data contents of interpretation request data.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the DICOM server.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the business server.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a business server.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of data stored in a business database.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram for explaining a data flow among a business computer, an interpretation workstation, and a business server.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining the flow of data among a business computer, an interpretation workstation, a report creation computer, a voice playback computer, and a business server.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a business system application of a business personal computer.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a voice input application of a business personal computer.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a DICOM viewer program in the interpretation workstation.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of an image pasting application in an interpretation workstation.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a report creation personal computer.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the audio reproducing personal computer.
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a “Study Instance UID”.
19A is a diagram showing a state in which an interpretation image is displayed on an interpretation workstation, and FIG. 19B is a diagram showing a state in which interpretation request data and the like are displayed on a business personal computer.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between image data stored in a DICOM database and various data stored in a business database.
FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram showing functions of a DICOM server and a business server.
FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a medical image interpretation system of the present invention provided with a satellite interpretation booth.
FIG. 23 is a block diagram for explaining the flow of data between an interpretation center and a satellite interpretation booth.
FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a satellite interpretation booth.
FIG. 25 is a block diagram for explaining the flow of data mainly via the Internet among an interpretation center, a contracted hospital, and an examination requesting hospital.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Medical equipment
4 Client PC
N network
10 DICOM server
11 Business server
12, 13 Interpretation workstation
15 Business PC
17 Voice input device
18 PC for creating reports
19 PC for audio playback
21 Audio playback device

Claims (4)

In a medical image interpretation system comprising a client computer that captures image data from a medical device, and an interpretation center connected to the client computer via a network ,
The client computer numeric string and the plurality of DICOM image data respectively Study Instance UID tag consisting of serial number of each image data common Nde write the respective image data takes a plurality of DICOM image data from the medical device as the image data set thereby to store assigned to detect the incorporation of the image data, extracts of the Study instance UID tag attached thereto DICOM image data, any one Study instance UID tag as image data identification tags Te, the ability to create and store the interpretation request data added with the tag, and the transmission function to the interpretation center of the image data set, which has a transmission function to the interpretation center of said interpretation requested data,
The interpretation center displays an image storage server that stores the DICOM image data from the client computer, reads DICOM image data from the image storage server based on the inspection instance UID tag, and displays an image for interpretation on the display. A DICOM image system comprising an image display computer,
DICOM corresponding to specific interpretation request data based on the examination instance UID tag for the image display computer, which includes a business server for storing the interpretation request data and the interpretation result file, and a voice input device. A business computer for instructing display of image data, creating an dictation audio file having the inspection instance UID tag of the interpretation request data as a file name as an interpretation result file , and storing the file in the business server; It is composed of a business system consisting of a report creation computer that creates a report based on an interpretation result file,
The image display computer of the interpretation image displayed on the display, based on the extracted commands of the specific image from the business computer extracts the interpreted image as a key image data, the interpretation of images to the key image data Is assigned a file name consisting of the inspection instance UID tag and image identification number of the interpretation request data corresponding to , and transferred to the business server,
The medical image interpretation system, wherein the business server stores the key image data. The report computer is provided with an audio reproduction device and configured to receive the dictation audio file from the business server, and the report computer reproduces the audio of the dictation audio file reproduced by the audio reproduction device. create the report file by the key input from the computer, medical claim 1, characterized in that the said report file is intended to add the interpretation request data and the same Study instance UID tag Image interpretation system.   Interpretation booths consisting of the above image display computers and business computers are installed as satellite interpretation booths in a plurality of areas, and each satellite interpretation booth and the above interpretation center are connected, and image data from the above interpretation centers is specified satellite interpretation booths. 2. The medical image interpretation system according to claim 1, wherein the image interpretation result file can be transmitted from each satellite interpretation booth to the business server of the interpretation center. And the interpretation center the client computers connected to the Internet, according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the from the client computer through the Internet is obtained by browsable constructed an interpretation result file in the interpretation center Medical image interpretation system.

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