JP6956591B2 - Telepathology diagnosis system and telepathology diagnosis method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a remote pathological diagnosis system and a remote pathological diagnosis method capable of quickly obtaining a pathological diagnosis result when a pathologist is located in a remote place.

Conventionally, a telepathological diagnosis is known in which a pathologist located in a remote place makes a diagnosis based on a pathological specimen. When performing this telepathological diagnosis, the pathological specimen is mailed to a pathologist located in a remote location, the pathologist diagnoses the pathological specimen by microscopic examination and observation, and the diagnosis result is notified to the requester. Become.

Recently, when performing such telepathological diagnosis, as an alternative to the optical microscope, which is a tool for pathological diagnosis, pathological diagnosis on a display is performed by using imaging of a pathological specimen placed on a slide and digitization of the image. Hall slide imaging systems that enable it are known. By digitizing the pathological diagnosis image using such a whole slide imaging system, it becomes possible to handle the optical microscope image of the conventional pathological specimen as digital data. As a result, the telepathological diagnosis can be expedited.

Here, in order to realize an operation equivalent to that of an optical microscope in a hall slide imaging system, it is necessary to digitize the entire test sample on the slide. By digitizing the entire pathological specimen, the digital data created by the hall slide imaging system can be observed with a viewer software running on a PC (Personal Computer) or workstation. The number of pixels when the entire pathological sample is digitized is usually a very large amount of data, ranging from hundreds of millions of pixels to billions of pixels. The amount of data created by the whole slide imaging system is enormous, but it is possible to observe from micro (detailed magnified image) to macro (overall bird's-eye view) by performing enlargement / reduction processing with the viewer.

In Patent Document 1, a specific partial image (pathological image) that is likely to be used in a remote conference is downloaded in advance and stored in a storage unit, and is used during the remote conference or at the time of pathological diagnosis at a remote location. An information processing device capable of reducing the amount of communication and more efficiently advancing a remote pathological diagnosis using a pathological image is described.

JP-A-2017-146975

In order to realize a remote pathological diagnosis system using the above-mentioned whole slide imaging system, the pathological diagnosis image is transferred to a pathologist located in a remote place via a network, and the pathologist transfers the transferred pathological diagnosis image. It is conceivable to make a pathological diagnosis based on this and notify the requester of the diagnosis result via the network. However, according to such a measure, since the amount of data of the pathological diagnosis image is large, it takes time to transfer the pathological diagnosis image in addition to the scanning time for acquiring the pathological diagnosis image, and the pathologist located in a remote place observes it. The problem arises that the waiting time until the start of is long.

Further, it is conceivable that the pathological diagnosis image is stored in the server, the pathologist accesses this server, directly refers to the pathological diagnosis image from a remote location, and observes the pathological diagnosis image to perform the pathological diagnosis. However, while the observation can be performed almost at the same time as the acquisition of the pathological diagnosis image is completed, there arises a problem that the observation is not stable due to a change in the network band or the like. In particular, there is a limit to the ability to follow changes in the observed image with respect to image display operations such as translation and enlargement of the observed image, and observation takes time.

In particular, in intraoperative rapid pathological diagnosis, it is required that the time from collecting a pathological sample such as a pathological sample such as an organ, tissue or cell to obtaining a pathological diagnosis result is short. For example, during cancer resection surgery, it is necessary to quickly know whether or not there is cancer in the resection margin. In some cases, the pathological diagnosis results can be used as a basis for deciding whether or not to continue the surgery. However, the pathologist who makes the pathological diagnosis is not always located near the operating room, and it may take time to obtain the pathological diagnosis result. Therefore, a telepathological diagnosis system that can quickly obtain pathological diagnosis results is desired.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems (problems) of the prior art, and is a telepathological diagnosis system capable of quickly obtaining a pathological diagnosis result when a pathologist is located in a remote place. And to provide a telepathological diagnosis method.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention presents a pathological image generating device that generates a digital pathological image from the created pathological specimen, and a transfer source pathological image transmitting / receiving device that transfers the digital pathological image generated by the pathological image generating device. A remote pathological diagnosis system in which a transfer destination pathological image transmitting / receiving device for displaying a digital pathological image transferred from the transfer source pathological image transmitting / receiving device and performing a pathological diagnosis by a pathologist is connected to a network. When generating the digital pathological image, the image generation device divides the entire image to be imaged into a plurality of divided regions with a predetermined tile arrangement pattern, and sequentially continuously divides each divided region corresponding to the predetermined tile arrangement pattern. The transfer source pathology image transmission / reception device takes an image, and after the pathology image generation device captures the divided region image of each divided region, the current divided region image captured in parallel with the next imaging process of the divided region image is described. The pathological image transmission / reception device is transferred to the transfer destination pathology image transmission / reception device, and the transfer destination pathology image transmission / reception device synthesizes and displays the entire image of each transferred divided region image based on the predetermined tile arrangement pattern, and displays the pathology image generation device. Is a predetermined tile arrangement pattern based on the magnitude relationship between the imaging time of the divided region including the relative movement time between the divided regions and the transfer time of the divided region image by the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device. It is characterized in that the size of the divided area is adjusted so that the transfer time is shortened.

Further, in the above invention, in the above invention, the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device is connected to the pathological image generation device, and a remote control connection for capturing and observing a digital pathological image of a desired region in the pathological specimen. It is characterized by being provided with a remote control connection processing unit that performs processing.

Further, in the above invention, in the above invention, the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device transmits a pathological diagnosis result to the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device, and the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device transmits / receives the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device. It is characterized by receiving a pathological diagnosis result from the device.

Further, in the above invention, the present invention provides that the pathological image generation device, the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device, and the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device mutually have audio and video input / output functions. It is a feature.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device includes a file format conversion unit that converts the file format of the digital pathological image into a predetermined format.

Further, in the above invention, in the above invention, the transfer destination pathological image transmitting / receiving device interprets the file format of the digital pathological image, converts the digital pathological image based on the interpretation result, and displays and outputs the digital pathological image. It is characterized by having a part.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device includes an annotation addition processing unit that performs a process of adding annotations to the digital pathological image.

The present invention also includes a pathological image generator that generates a digital pathological image from the created pathological specimen, a transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device that transfers the digital pathological image generated by the pathological image generator, and the transfer source pathology. The pathological image is a remote pathological diagnosis method in a remote pathological diagnosis system in which a transfer destination pathological image transmitting / receiving device is connected to a network to display a digital pathological image transferred from the image transmitting / receiving device and perform a pathological diagnosis by a pathologist. When generating the digital pathological image, the generation device divides the entire image to be imaged into a plurality of divided regions with a predetermined tile arrangement pattern, and sequentially continuously images each divided region corresponding to the predetermined tile arrangement pattern. Then, the transfer source pathology image transmission / reception device transfers the captured current divided region image in parallel with the next imaging process of the divided region image after the acquisition of the divided region image of each divided region by the pathology image generating device. The pathological image transmission / reception device is transferred, and the transfer destination pathology image transmission / reception device synthesizes and displays the entire image of each transferred divided region image based on the predetermined tile arrangement pattern, and the pathology image generation device is , The division of the predetermined tile arrangement pattern based on the magnitude relationship between the imaging time of the division region including the relative movement time between the division regions and the transfer time of the division region image by the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device. It is characterized in that the size of the area is adjusted so that the transfer time is shortened.

According to the present invention, the pathological diagnosis result can be obtained quickly even when the pathologist is located in a remote place.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the outline of the remote pathological diagnosis system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configurations of the pathological image generating device and the transfer source pathological image transmitting / receiving device in the pathological chamber shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a predetermined tile arrangement pattern and parallel processing of scanning and transferring a pathological image. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a parallel process of scanning and transferring a pathological image accompanying a change in the setting of a predetermined tile arrangement pattern. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of control processing of imaging and transfer of a digital pathological image by the pathological image generator and the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a control process of the pathological diagnosis result output process by the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a control process of receiving a digital pathological image and notifying a pathological diagnosis result by the transfer destination pathological image transmitting / receiving device shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the telepathological diagnosis system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the examples shown below, a remote pathological diagnosis system is a system capable of performing a rapid intraoperative pathological diagnosis in which a pathologist located remotely performs a pathological diagnosis on a pathological sample collected in the operating room and notifies the surgeon in the operating room. This will be described as an example.

<Overview of telepathological diagnosis system>
First, the outline of the remote pathological diagnosis system according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the outline of the remote pathological diagnosis system according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this remote pathological diagnosis system, the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 in the pathology room 100 and the transfer destination pathology image transmission / reception device 30 in the pathology clinic 200 are connected to the network N. Further, the pathological image generation device 10 in the pathological room 100 is connected to the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20. Here, it is assumed that the operating room 300 and the pathology room 100 are located in the same hospital facility, and the pathologist room 200 is located in a remote place away from the hospital facility.

In the operating room 300, for example, a surgeon M1 is performing an operation to remove cancer, and the surgeon M1 collects a stump from a living body as a pathological sample 101 in order to diagnose whether or not cancer cells remain. Step S1), the pathological sample 101 is transferred to the operating room 100 (step S2).

The pathological sample 101 transferred into the pathological room 100 is subject to rapid intraoperative pathological diagnosis. In order to make a rapid pathological diagnosis, paraffin embedding is not performed, and sliced sections are prepared after freezing to, for example, about "-30 ° C". This section is prepared by clinical laboratory technician M2. The clinical laboratory engineer M2 further prepares a pathological specimen 102 in which this section is attached to a slide glass. Usually, the preparation of the pathological specimen 102 takes time because the pathological specimen 101 is soaked in paraffin overnight and all the water filling the cells and the surrounding tissue gaps is replaced with paraffin. In the intraoperative rapid pathological diagnosis, the pathological specimen is frozen as described above to rapidly prepare the pathological specimen 102. After that, the clinical laboratory engineer M2 sets the pathological specimen 102 in the pathological image generator 10.

The pathological image generation device 10 generates a digital pathological image of the set pathological specimen 102 (step S3). When the pathological image generation device 10 generates a digital pathological image, the entire image to be imaged is divided into a plurality of divided regions by a predetermined tile arrangement pattern, and each divided region is divided according to the predetermined tile arrangement pattern. Continuous imaging is performed sequentially. The transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 transfers the previous divided region image to the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30 after capturing the divided region image of each divided region (step S4). The imaging of the divided region image by the pathological image generation device 10 and the transfer of the divided region image by the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 are performed in parallel. As a result, the time from the start of imaging of the digital pathological image to the end of transfer is the total imaging time of the divided region image plus the transfer time of one divided region image, and the digital pathological image is generated and transferred in a short time. Is completed. The imaging time of the pathological specimen varies depending on the physical area of the pathological specimen, but is generally about several tens of seconds when the physical area is small, and about several minutes when the physical area is large.

The transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30 synthesizes and displays the entire transferred image of each divided region based on a predetermined tile arrangement pattern (step S5). The pathologist M3 in the pathologist's room 200 makes a pathological diagnosis by observing the synthesized overall image, and notifies the transfer source pathological image transmitting / receiving device 20 of the pathological room 100 of the pathological diagnosis result (step S6). At the time of pathological diagnosis, the pathologist M3 may request the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 to further prepare the necessary pathological specimen 102 and to capture and transfer the pathological image from the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20. can.

The transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 outputs the notified pathological diagnosis result (step S7). Then, the clinical laboratory engineer M2 notifies the surgeon M1 in the operating room 300 of the output pathological diagnosis result (step S8). As a result, the surgeon M1 in the operating room 300 can know whether or not cancer cells remain, and based on this result, it is used as a reference for determining the subsequent surgical treatment policy.

As described above, in the remote pathological diagnosis system according to the present embodiment, when the pathological image generator 10 captures the pathological image, the entire image to be imaged is divided into a plurality of divided regions by a predetermined tile arrangement pattern. Each divided region is sequentially continuously imaged corresponding to the predetermined tile arrangement pattern, and the transfer source pathology image transmission / reception device 20 captures the divided region image of each division region and then transfers the previous divided region image to the transfer destination pathology image transmission / reception device 30. Since the image is transferred to the divided region image and the transfer is performed in parallel, the digital pathological image can be imaged and transferred in a short time, and as a result, the remote pathological diagnosis can be performed quickly. Can be done.

<Configuration of pathological image generator>
Next, the configuration of the pathological image generation device 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configurations of the pathological image generation device 10 and the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 shown in FIG. The pathological image generation device 10 includes an optical microscope 105 for observing the pathological specimen 102 placed on the stage 103, and an imaging unit 106 for capturing the pathological image observed by the optical microscope 105.

The imaging unit 106 scans in units of one pixel via an optical microscope 105 to capture a digital pathological image. The stage drive unit 104 moves the stage 103 in a plane perpendicular to the observation direction of the optical microscope 105, corresponding to a predetermined tile arrangement pattern. The pathological image generation device 10 further includes an input unit 110, an output unit 111, a storage unit 113, and a control unit 114.

The input unit 110 is an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, and the output unit 111 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel. The input unit 110 can also input audio and video, and is also provided with a microphone and a WEB camera. Further, the output unit 111 is capable of audio output and video output, and also includes a speaker.

The storage unit 113 is a storage device including a hard disk device, a non-volatile memory, and the like, and stores the tile pattern information D1.

The control unit 114 is a control unit that controls the entire pathological image generation device 10, and includes a tile pattern setting control unit 121, a stage control unit 122, and an imaging control unit 123. The control unit 114 stores the programs corresponding to these functional units in a storage device such as a non-volatile memory or a magnetic disk device, loads these programs into the memory, and executes the programs on the CPU. The process will be executed.

The tile pattern setting control unit 121 sets a predetermined tile arrangement pattern and performs a process of storing it as tile pattern information D1. The tile arrangement pattern is, for example, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 3, a tile arrangement pattern P in which a plurality of rectangular tiles (visual field blocks) P1 to P4 are arranged in a predetermined order for the entire pathological image to be imaged. In the upper part of FIG. 3, for convenience of explanation, large tiles P1 to P4 are used, and the entire pathological image is divided into four by four rectangular tiles P1 to P4. This tile arrangement pattern P is a 2 × 2 matrix, and the divided region images DA1 to DA4 are obtained by scanning the tiles P1 to P4. The scanning order for each tile P1 to P4 is P1, P2, P3, P4.

The stage control unit 122 controls the stage drive unit 104, and repeats positioning and movement of the stage 103 so as to be sequentially located at the center of each tile P1 to P4 according to the set tile pattern information D1.

The image pickup control unit 123 scans with the stage 103 positioned, and sequentially acquires the divided region images DA1 to DA4 corresponding to the tiles P1 to P4. The image pickup control unit 123 transmits the divided region images DA1 to DA4 being scanned to the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 side.

<Configuration of transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device>
Next, the configuration of the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configurations of the pathological image generation device 10 and the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 shown in FIG. The transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 includes an input unit 210, an output unit 211, a communication unit 212, a storage unit 213, and a control unit 214.

The input unit 210 is an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, the output unit 211 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and the communication unit 212 is a communication interface unit for connecting to the network N. The input unit 210 can also input audio and video, and is also provided with a microphone and a WEB camera. Further, the output unit 211 is capable of audio output and video output, and also includes a speaker.

The storage unit 213 is a storage device including a hard disk device, a non-volatile memory, or the like, and stores a digital pathological image D2, a pathological diagnosis information D3, and a divided area image D2'.

The control unit 214 is a control unit that controls the entire transfer source pathology image transmission / reception device 20, and includes a transfer control unit 221, a file format conversion unit 222, and a pathology diagnosis result output processing unit 223. The control unit 214 responds by storing the programs corresponding to these functional units in a storage device such as a non-volatile memory or a magnetic disk device, loading these programs into the memory, and executing the programs on the CPU. The process will be executed.

The transfer control unit 221 receives the divided area images DA1 to DA4 corresponding to the tiles P1 to P4 and stores them as the divided area images D2'. Then, the transfer control unit 221 transfers the previous divided region image to the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30 after imaging each of the divided region images DA1 to DA4. At the time of the previous transfer of the divided region image, the pathological image generation device 10 is capturing the next divided region image. That is, the transfer of the divided area images DA1 to DA4 and the imaging of the divided area images DA1 to DA4 are processed in parallel.

The file format conversion unit 222 performs a process of converting the file format of the captured digital pathological image into a predetermined format. For example, the file format conversion unit 222 converts the acquired digital pathological image into a DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) format.

When the pathological diagnosis result output processing unit 223 receives the pathological diagnosis result from the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30, the pathological diagnosis result output processing unit 223 performs a process of outputting the received pathological diagnosis result from the output unit 211.

<Parallel processing of imaging and transfer of divided area images>
As shown in the lower part of FIG. 3, the scans for each tile P1 to P4 are sequentially performed. Then, each time the scan of each tile P1 to P4 is completed, the captured divided region images DA1 to DA4 are sequentially transferred. Therefore, for example, a parallel process of transferring the divided region image DA1 at the time of scanning the tile P2 is performed. As a result, from the start of the scan to the completion of the transfer of the pathological image, the short time TT is such that the transfer time Tα of one (last) divided region image DA4 is added to the scan time TS of each tile P1 to P4.

By the way, in general, the imaging time of the divided region image is longer than the transfer time of the divided region image. Therefore, between the transfer of each divided area image, there is a gap time during which the divided area image is not transferred. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the tile arrangement pattern P is formed from 16 tiles P11 to P26, the imaging time of each tile P11 to P26 is that of each divided region image DA11 to DA26. If it is larger than the transfer time, a gap time is generated between the divided region images DA11 to DA26.

In such a case, as shown in FIG. 4B, the tile pattern setting control unit 121 creates a tile arrangement pattern composed of four tiles P31 to P34 having the size of four tiles P11 to P26. Can be changed. The scan time of each tile P31 to P34 is four times the scan time of each tile P11 to P26, but since the positioning time and movement time between each tile P11 to P26 are not required, for example, each tile P11 to P26 The scanning time can be reduced to about 3 pieces. As shown in FIG. 4B, the transfer completion in the case of the tile arrangement pattern having tiles P31 to P34 is time tB, and in the case of the tile arrangement pattern having tiles P11 to P26 shown in FIG. 4A. The transfer completion time is tA, and in the case of the tile array pattern having tiles P31 to P34, the transfer time is shortened by Δt.

That is, the tile pattern setting control unit 121 arbitrarily changes the tile scanning time by changing the setting of the tile arrangement pattern in consideration of the band condition of the network N acquired from the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 side. can do. That is, the tile pattern setting control unit 121 sets the tiles of the predetermined tile arrangement pattern based on the magnitude relationship between the scan time of the tiles including the relative movement time between the tiles and the transfer time of the divided area image of each tile. It is possible to change and set the size. This change setting may be arbitrarily changed via the input unit 110, or may be an automatic setting.

<Control processing of digital pathological image imaging and transfer by linking the pathological image generator and the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device>
Next, a control processing procedure for capturing and transferring a digital pathological image by the pathological image generation device 10 and the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 will be described. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a control processing procedure for capturing and transferring a digital pathological image by the pathological image generation device 10 and the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pathological image generator 10 determines whether or not the pathological specimen 102 is placed on the stage 103 (step S101). This determination is made based on the detection result of a sensor on a stage (not shown). If the pathological specimen 102 is not placed on the stage 103 (step S101; No), this determination process is repeated. On the other hand, when the pathological specimen 102 is placed on the stage 103 (step S101; Yes), the currently set tile arrangement pattern is acquired from the tile pattern information D1 (step S102).

After that, the pathology image generation device 10 moves the stage by the stage control unit 122, and the image pickup unit 106 captures the first divided region image under the control of the image pickup control unit 123 (step S103). After that, the imaging control unit 123 determines whether or not the imaging of the first divided region image is completed (step S104). If the imaging of the first divided region image is not completed (step S104; No), the process returns to step S103 to continue capturing the first divided region image. On the other hand, when the imaging of the first divided region image is completed (step S104; Yes), the notification of the end of imaging of the first divided region image is transmitted to the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 (step S105).

After that, the image pickup control unit 123 takes an image of the next divided region image (step S106). After that, the imaging control unit 123 determines whether or not the imaging of the next divided region image is completed (step S107). If the imaging of the next divided region image is not completed (step S107; No), the process returns to step S106 to continue imaging the next divided region image currently being imaged. On the other hand, when the imaging of the next divided region image is completed (step S107; Yes), a notification of the end of imaging of the next divided region image is transmitted to the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 (step S108).

After that, the imaging control unit 123 determines whether or not the imaging of the fully divided region image is completed (step S109). If the imaging of the entire divided region image is not completed (step S109; No), the process returns to step S106, and the next divided region image is further captured. On the other hand, when the imaging of the fully divided region image is completed (step S109; Yes), the imaging end notification (final imaging end notification) of the all divided region image is transmitted to the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 (step S110). ), End this process.

On the other hand, the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 first determines whether or not there is a notification of the end of imaging of the first divided region image (step S111). If there is no notification of the end of imaging of the first divided region image (step S111; No), the determination process of step S111 is repeated. On the other hand, when there is a notification of the end of imaging of the first divided area image (step S111; Yes), the transfer control unit 221 transfers the first divided area image to the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30 (step). S112). After that, the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 further determines whether or not there is a notification of the end of imaging of the next divided region image (step S113). If there is no notification of the end of imaging of the next divided region image (step S113; No), the determination process of step S113 is repeated. On the other hand, when there is a notification of the end of imaging of the next divided area image (step S113; Yes), the transfer control unit 221 transfers the next divided area image to the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30 (step). S114).

After that, the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 determines whether or not the final imaging end notification has been received from the pathological image generation device 10 (step S115). If there is no final imaging end notification (step S115; No), the process returns to step S113, and it is determined whether or not there is the next imaging end notification. On the other hand, when there is the final notification of the end of imaging (step S115; Yes), this process ends.

<Control processing of pathological diagnosis result output processing by the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device>
Next, the control processing procedure of the pathological diagnosis result output processing by the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a control process of the pathological diagnosis result output process by the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20.

As shown in FIG. 6, the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 determines whether or not the pathological diagnosis result is received (step S201). If the pathological diagnosis result is not received (step S201; No), the determination process of step S201 is repeated.

On the other hand, in the case of receiving the pathological diagnosis result (step S201; Yes), the pathological diagnosis result output processing unit 223 first outputs a notification of the pathological diagnosis result reception (step S202). This notification output is performed so that the surgeon M1 is undergoing surgery and promptly notifies the surgeon M1 of the pathological diagnosis result notification.

After that, the pathological diagnosis result output processing unit 223 displays and outputs the notified pathological diagnosis result to the output unit 211 (step S203), or prints out and ends this processing.

<Configuration of transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device>
Next, the configuration of the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30 shown in FIG. The transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30 includes an input unit 310, an output unit 311, a communication unit 312, a storage unit 313, and a control unit 314.

The input unit 310 is an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, the output unit 311 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and the communication unit 312 is a communication interface unit for connecting to the network N. The input unit 310 can also input audio and video, and is also provided with a microphone and a WEB camera. Further, the output unit 311 is capable of audio output and video output, and also includes a speaker.

The storage unit 313 is a storage device including a hard disk device, a non-volatile memory, or the like, and stores the digital pathological image D2 and the pathological diagnosis information D3.

The control unit 314 is a control unit that controls the entire transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30, and is an image synthesis unit 321, a display output processing unit 322, a remote control connection processing unit 323, an annotation addition processing unit 324, and a pathological diagnosis result notification. It has a part 325. The control unit 314 stores the programs corresponding to these functional units in a storage device such as a non-volatile memory or a magnetic disk device, loads these programs into the memory, and executes the programs on the CPU. The process will be executed.

The image synthesizing unit 321 synthesizes the entire image of each transferred divided region image based on a predetermined tile arrangement pattern, stores it as a digital pathology image D2, and outputs it to the output unit 311. The pathologist M3 makes a pathological diagnosis by observing the digital pathological image D2 displayed on the output unit 311.

The display output processing unit 322 interprets the file format of the received digital pathology image D2, converts the digital pathology image D2 so that the digital pathology image D2 can be output by the output unit 311 based on the interpretation result, and displays and outputs the digital pathology image D2. Perform processing. That is, the display output processing unit 322 has a unified viewer function that performs conversion processing for displaying and outputting all the digital pathological images D2 on the output unit 311 even when the digital pathological images D2 in different file formats are received. Have.

The remote control connection processing unit 323 performs a connection process for remotely controlling the pathological image generation device 10. That is, the remote control connection processing unit 323 connects to the pathological image generation device 10 and performs remote control connection processing for directly capturing and observing a pathological image of a desired region in the pathological specimen 102. The pathologist M3 makes a pathological diagnosis by observing the transferred digital pathological image D2, but may directly control the pathological image generating device 10 by himself / herself to directly observe the pathological image. This is so-called live mode observation, and by using this live mode observation together, the pathologist M3 can quickly observe the site to be diagnosed.

The annotation addition processing unit 324 performs a process of adding an annotation to the digital pathological image D2.

The pathological diagnosis result notification unit 325 notifies the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 of the pathological diagnosis information D3 including the result diagnosed by the pathologist M3. The pathological diagnosis information D3 includes a digital pathological image D2 and a pathological diagnosis result. In this case, the annotation addition processing unit 324 can add annotations to the digital pathological image D2.

A function that records the observation image operation history for the digital pathology image, for example, the movement of the observation point of interest, the change of the enlargement ratio, etc. in the transfer destination pathology image transmission / reception device 30, and can reproduce the observation image operation after the observation is completed. May be provided.

<Control processing of pathological image reception and pathological diagnosis result notification by the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device>
Next, the control processing procedure of receiving the digital pathological image and notifying the pathological diagnosis result by the transfer destination pathological image transmitting / receiving device 30 will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control processing procedure for receiving a digital pathological image and notifying a pathological diagnosis result by the transfer destination pathological image transmitting / receiving device 30.

As shown in FIG. 8, first, the control unit 314 determines whether or not the digital pathological image is received from the pathological image generator 10 (step S301). In the case of receiving a digital pathological image (step S301; Yes), the transferred divided region image is received (step S302). Further, it is determined whether or not all the divided region images have been received (step S303). If not all the divided area images have been received (step S303; No), the process proceeds to step S302 in order to receive the next divided area image.

When all the divided region images are received (step S303; Yes), the image synthesizing unit 321 synthesizes all the received divided region images including duplication to generate a digital pathological image (step S304). After that, the generated digital pathological image is stored in the storage unit 313 as the digital pathological image D2 (step S305), and this process is completed. The stored digital pathological image D2 is read out from the storage unit 313 and displayed and output as needed. The pathologist M3 makes a pathological diagnosis using the displayed and output digital pathological image.

On the other hand, when the digital pathological image is not received (step S301; No), it is further determined whether or not the pathological diagnosis result is notified (step S306). If it is not a notification of the pathological diagnosis result (step S306; No), this process is terminated as it is. In the case of notification of the pathological diagnosis result (step S306; Yes), the pathological diagnosis result notification unit 325 notifies the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 of the pathological diagnosis information D3 (step S307), and ends this process. ..

In the above embodiment, the pathology image generation device 10, the transfer source pathology image transmission / reception device 20, and the transfer destination pathology image transmission / reception device 30 all have a voice communication function and a video input / output function. As a result, for example, the clinical laboratory engineer M2 and the pathologist M3 can make detailed requests to each other, for example, cutting out a pathological sample and instructing special staining, which contributes to a rapid pathological diagnosis.

Further, the transfer source pathology image transmission / reception device 20 and the transfer destination pathology image transmission / reception device 30 may be connected by a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

In the above embodiment, the microscope image has been described as a pathological image, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an endoscopic image or a radiographic image may be used.

In this embodiment, when the pathological image generation device 10 generates a pathological image, the entire image to be imaged is divided into a plurality of divided regions by a predetermined tile arrangement pattern, and each of them corresponds to the predetermined tile arrangement pattern. Since the divided regions are sequentially continuously imaged and the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 performs parallel processing of transferring the previous divided region image to the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30 after capturing the divided region images of each divided region. The time from the start of imaging of the digital pathological image to the completion of transfer can be shortened, and the speeding up of pathological diagnosis can be promoted.

Further, in this embodiment, the pathological image generation device 10 cooperates with the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device 20 to obtain the imaging time of the divided region including the relative movement time between the divided regions and the transfer time of the divided region image. Since the size of the divided region of the predetermined tile arrangement pattern is adjusted based on the magnitude relationship of, the time from the start of imaging the pathological image to the completion of transfer can be further shortened.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device 30 can remotely control the pathological image generation device 10, the pathological diagnosis can be further speeded up by using this remote control together. ..

Further, since the pathology image generation device 10, the transfer source pathology image transmission / reception device 20, and the transfer destination pathology image transmission / reception device 30 have mutual audio and video input / output functions, mutual communication can be easily performed. Therefore, it is possible to promote the speeding up of the pathological diagnosis and deepen the recognition of the pathological diagnosis result.

It should be noted that each configuration shown in the above embodiment is a schematic function, and does not necessarily have to be physically shown. That is, the form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to the one shown in the figure, and all or part of the device is functionally or physically distributed / integrated in an arbitrary unit according to various loads and usage conditions. Can be configured.

The remote pathological diagnosis system and the remote pathological diagnosis method according to the present invention are useful in the case of rapidly transferring a pathological image to a pathologist located remotely.

10 Pathology image generator 20 Transfer source pathology image transmission / reception device 30 Transfer destination pathology image transmission / reception device 100 Pathology room 101 Pathology specimen 102 Pathology specimen 103 Stage 104 Stage drive unit 105 Optical microscope 106 Imaging unit 110, 210, 310 Input unit 111, 211 , 311 Output unit 113,213,313 Storage unit 114,214,314 Control unit 121 Tile pattern setting control unit 122 Stage control unit 123 Imaging control unit 200 Pathologist room 212,312 Communication unit 221 Transfer control unit 222 File format conversion unit 223 Pathological diagnosis result output processing unit 321 Image synthesis unit 322 Display output processing unit 323 Remote control connection processing unit 324 Annotation addition processing unit 325 Pathological diagnosis result notification unit 300 Operating room D1 Tile pattern information D2 Digital pathological image D2'Divided area image D3 Pathological diagnosis information DA1-DA4, DA11-DA26, DA31-DA34 Divided area image M1 Surgeon M2 Clinical laboratory technician M3 Pathologist N network P tile arrangement pattern P1-P4, P11-P26, P31-P34 tile tA, tB Time TS scan Time TT time Tα transfer time

Claims (8)

A pathological image generator that generates a digital pathological image from the created pathological specimen, a transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device that transfers the digital pathological image generated by the pathological image generation device, and a transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device that transfers the digital pathological image. It is a remote pathological diagnosis system in which a transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device that displays digital pathological images and makes a pathological diagnosis by a pathologist is connected to a network.
The pathological image generator is
When generating the digital pathological image, the entire image to be imaged is divided into a plurality of divided regions by a predetermined tile arrangement pattern, and each divided region is sequentially and continuously imaged corresponding to the predetermined tile arrangement pattern.
The transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device is
After capturing the divided region image of each divided region by the pathological image generator, the captured current divided region image is transferred to the transfer destination pathological image transmitting / receiving device in parallel with the next imaging process of the divided region image.
The transfer destination pathological image receiving apparatus,
The transfer each divided area image were synthesized to display the entire image on the basis of the given tile array pattern,
The pathological image generator is
The division region of the predetermined tile arrangement pattern is based on the magnitude relationship between the imaging time of the division region including the relative movement time between the division regions and the transfer time of the division region image by the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device. A telepathological diagnosis system characterized by adjusting the size of the image so that the transfer time is shortened. The transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device is
The first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the remote control connection processing unit is provided, which is connected to the pathological image generator and performs a remote control connection process for capturing and observing a digital pathological image of a desired region in the pathological specimen. The described remote pathological diagnosis system. The transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device transmits the pathological diagnosis result to the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device.
The remote pathological diagnosis system according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device receives a pathological diagnosis result from the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device. The remote pathology according to claim 3 , wherein the pathological image generation device, the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device, and the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device have mutual audio and video input / output functions. Diagnostic system. The remote pathology according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the transfer source pathology image transmission / reception device includes a file format conversion unit that converts the file format of the digital pathology image into a predetermined format. Diagnostic system. The transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device is characterized by comprising a display output processing unit that interprets the file format of the digital pathological image, converts the digital pathological image based on the interpretation result, and outputs the display. The remote pathological diagnosis system according to any one of 1 to 5. The remote pathological diagnosis system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device includes an annotation addition processing unit that performs a process of adding annotations to the digital pathological image. .. A pathological image generator that generates a digital pathological image from the created pathological specimen, a transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device that transfers the digital pathological image generated by the pathological image generation device, and a transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device that transfers the digital pathological image. This is a remote pathological diagnosis method in a remote pathological diagnosis system in which a transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device for displaying a digital pathological image and making a pathological diagnosis by a pathologist is connected to a network.
The pathological image generator is
When generating the digital pathological image, the entire image to be imaged is divided into a plurality of divided regions by a predetermined tile arrangement pattern, and each divided region is sequentially and continuously imaged corresponding to the predetermined tile arrangement pattern.
The transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device is
After capturing the divided region image of each divided region by the pathological image generator, the captured current divided region image is transferred to the transfer destination pathological image transmitting / receiving device in parallel with the next imaging process of the divided region image.
The transfer destination pathological image transmission / reception device is
Each transferred divided area image is displayed by synthesizing the entire image based on the predetermined tile arrangement pattern.
The pathological image generator is
The division region of the predetermined tile arrangement pattern is based on the magnitude relationship between the imaging time of the division region including the relative movement time between the division regions and the transfer time of the division region image by the transfer source pathological image transmission / reception device. A telepathological diagnosis method characterized in that the size of the image is adjusted so that the transfer time is shortened.

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