JPH0668167A - Database system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the database system from which a desired medical use picture in a short period of time efficiently by inputting retrieval information only once. CONSTITUTION:The system is provided with a database 1, a display priority information entry section (input means) 5 and a control section (registration means) 1C. When the display priority information entry section (input means) 5 enters a display priority mark (information representing importance), the display priority mark is registered in the database 1 as picture retrieval data by the control section 1C. Thus, even when lots of medical pictures are registered for a same keyword (e.g. name of person), since only the medical picture with the display priority mark added thereto is read from the database 1 among all medical use pictures stored corresponding to the keyword by entering the keyword, the desired medical use picture is retrieved in a short period of time efficiently by inputting the retrieval information only once.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a database system capable of efficiently searching a desired medical image in a short time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent medical diagnosis, a medical image is taken by various medical image taking devices such as an X-ray CT device, a magnetic resonance diagnostic device, an ultrasonic diagnostic device, etc., and the medical image is required to be stored at a later date. According to the above, it is displayed on the display unit to make a diagnosis.

Such medical images are generated every time a patient visits the hospital, and if the number of visiting patients reaches several hundreds / day, it is necessary to store a considerable number of medical images so that they can be retrieved later.

Therefore, conventionally, the medical image has been stored in a database in association with the search information such as a person's name, a diagnosis site, a date of birth, and a disease name as search information.

When it is desired to display a desired image, first, a search key such as a person's name is entered, and all the corresponding images are once multi-displayed or a directory of images is displayed. It was read from the database and displayed by searching for and entering the key.

[0006]

However, in the case of an immediate search such as a medical examination, when selecting an image mainly by a keyword such as a person's name, many medical images are registered for the same person's name. However, it takes a lot of time to select and display a desired number of images from among them. That is, it is necessary to search again by using the corresponding search data (diagnosis date, diagnosis site, etc.) after the search by person's name.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a database system capable of efficiently searching for a desired medical image in a short time by inputting search information only once.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a database system for storing medical images and constructing a database for retrieving the images. Input means for inputting the indicated information in association with the medical image, and registration means for registering the information indicating the degree of importance input by the input means in the database as image search data relating to the associated medical image. It is characterized by having.

[0009]

According to the present invention having the above structure, when the information indicating the degree of importance is input by the input means, the information indicating the degree of importance is
It is registered in the database as image search data by the registration means. Therefore, even if many medical images are registered for the same keyword (for example, a person's name), when this keyword is input, information indicating the degree of importance of all the medical images stored corresponding to the keyword is displayed. Since only the attached medical image is read from the database,
By inputting the search information once, a desired medical image can be searched efficiently in a short time.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a database system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, this database system comprises a database 1, a search information input section 2, an image data input section 3, a search key input section 4, a display priority information input section (input means) 5 and a display section 6. ing.

The database 1 includes a search file 1A for storing search information, an image file 1B for storing image data in association with the filed search information,
The image file 1B includes an image recording / reproducing section 1D for recording and reproducing an image, the search file 1A, and a control section (registration means) 1C for controlling the image recording / reproducing section 1D.

The search information input unit 2 inputs a person's name, a diagnosis date, a diagnosis site, etc. as image search information at the time of image registration.

The image data input unit 3 is composed of an image input unit 3A for inputting various images and an image memory 3B for temporarily storing the input images.

The search key input unit 4 is for inputting a keyword such as a person's name when searching for an image.

The display priority information input unit 5 is for inputting a display priority mark as information indicating the degree of importance for a desired image at the time of image registration.

The display section 6 displays an image from the image memory 3B or the image recording / reproducing section 1D.
Display 6B and display controller 6A for driving and controlling the display 6B
It consists of and.

The operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS.

First, image registration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

To register an image in the database 1, first, in steps 1A and 1B (corresponding to ST1A and 1B in the figure. The same applies hereinafter), image data and search data are input. Image data is input by the image data input unit 3, and search data is input by the search information input unit 2.
Note that the search information may include the name of the person, the date of diagnosis, the diagnosis site, the doctor in charge, the name of the apparatus, and the like, as described above.

Next, in step 2, the image data is filed in association with the search data. That is, the search information input from the search information input unit 2 is stored in the search file 1A in the database 1, and the image input from the image data input unit 3 is converted into the search information via the image recording / reproducing unit 1D. It will be associated and stored in the image file 1B.

Here, when adding the display priority mark, a search keyword (for example, a person's name) is input through the search key input unit 4 in step 3. Then, all the images stored in association with this keyword are read from the database 1 and displayed on the display 6 of the display unit 6.
It is displayed on B.

Thereafter, in step 5, an image for which display is to be prioritized is selected on the display, and a display priority mark is input via the display priority information input section 5.

By performing the above operation, in step 6, the display priority mark is added to the search information of the search file 1A and stored.

Next, the search for the images registered as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step 1, a keyword (for example, person's name) of an image to be searched is input through the search key input unit 4. Then, the control unit 1C for inputting this search key
Reads the directory of the corresponding image from the search file 1A according to the input keyword (step 2).

After that, the control section 1C judges in step 3 whether or not the display priority mark is added, and if there is the display priority mark, only the image having the display priority mark is displayed in the image file 1B. More will be read (step 4). The image read through the image recording / reproducing unit 1D is displayed on the display 6B by the drive control of the display control unit 6A. (Step 5).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 3 that the display priority mark is not added, all images corresponding to the search keyword are read from the image file 1B in step 6 as in the conventional case, and step 7 is executed. Then, all the images are displayed at once or sequentially on the display 6B.

Here, the case where the display priority mark is added will be described in more detail. Of a number of medical images registered for the same keyword (for example, the same person's name), only one image has the display priority mark. If is added, only the image needs to be displayed. When a display priority mark is added to a plurality of images among a large number of medical images registered for the same keyword, that is, for example, as shown in FIG. If the order is added, only the images that need to be displayed may be multi-displayed according to the order. In any case, only the directory of the image to which the display priority mark is not added may be displayed together.

As described above, in the conventional apparatus, since all the images searched by the keyword from the large-capacity image file are displayed, it takes a long time to read out and display the images after the search. In the example, since only the image to which the display priority mark is added is read and displayed, the following effects can be obtained as compared with the conventional case.

(1) Since the number of images to be read out is reduced, it is possible to shorten the time until displaying.

(2) Since the number of images to be read out is reduced, the image memory for displaying can be small.

(3) The amount of data transferred between the database and the display device is reduced.

(4) Since it is not necessary to select an image when it is desired to display it, the operator's burden is small.

(5) Since it is not necessary to remember all the images when they are to be displayed, the search becomes easy.

If the display priority mark is not added, all the images searched by the key are displayed as in the conventional case, but this requires a great deal of time, and therefore, for example, after a certain year and month. The search time can be shortened by devising such as displaying only the images (for example, the images registered within one year from the present) or displaying only the directory at first and displaying the image after selecting the key again. It is also possible to achieve

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a local area network (L
It is a block diagram showing an example of composition which applied the present invention to the database system which adopted AN).

In the figure, the database 10 comprises a search file 10A, an image file 10B and a control unit 10C, and the display priority mark is stored in addition to the search information in the search file 10A.

The medical diagnostic device group 20 corresponds to the image data input unit 3 of FIG. 1, and is, for example, an X-ray CT device 20A,
It is composed of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 20B, a digital fluorography (DF) 20C, a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus 20D and a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (MRI) 20E.

The medical image display device 30 is a device having the search key input section 4, the display priority information input section 5 and the display section 6 of FIG. 1 together, and includes a search key input section 30A, a display priority information input section 30B and an image memory 30C. , Control unit 30D and display unit 3
It is composed of 0E.

The database 10, the medical image diagnostic device group 20, and the medical image display device 30 are arranged at separate positions, and information is exchanged between the devices by NIU (network interface unit).
40 and the LAN 50.

The operation of the database system is the same as that of the configuration example shown in FIG. 1 except that the information is transmitted via the LAN 50.
By connecting the respective parts constituting the database system by the present invention, the present invention can be applied even when the above-mentioned respective parts are installed at distant locations.

[0045]

According to the present invention described in detail above, only a medical image to which information indicating the degree of importance is attached is retrieved from a large number of medical images stored in a database, so that the name of a person, etc. A desired medical image can be efficiently searched for in a short time only by inputting the keyword of once.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display priority mark for a plurality of images.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a modified example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 10 database 1C control unit (registration unit) 4, 30A search key input unit 5 display priority information input unit (input unit)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A database system for storing a medical image and constructing a database for searching the image, wherein the input means inputs information indicating the importance of each of the medical images in association with the medical image. A database system comprising: a registration unit configured to register the information indicating the degree of importance input by the input unit in the database as image search data regarding a medical image associated with the information.