JPH11316A - Medical image data base system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medical image data base system which enables efficient access to image data registered on medical image attribute data base and access to the medical image attribute databases from a high-speed network to a low- speed network. SOLUTION: This system includes a medical image attribute data base connecting device 7, which has an operation management table 12 whereby the state of use of medical image attribute data bases 1, 2 used for managing information accompanying medical image data and patient information is recognized and managed, and which exchanges information between a high-speed network 8 and a low-speed network 3 wherein the information can be managed by transmitting and receiving the information in parallel. Access to the image data can thus be made efficiently, and access to the medical image attribute data bases 1, 2 from the high speed network 8 to the low speed net work 3 is made possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical image database system for storing and retrieving medical image data.
In particular, it enables efficient access to image data registered in a medical image attribute database that manages information associated with medical image data and patient information, and access from a high-speed network to a medical image attribute database on a low-speed network. The present invention relates to a medical image database system capable of performing image processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 4, a conventional medical image database system includes a medical image attribute database 1 for managing information accompanying medical image data and patient information.
2 and a low-speed network 3 for managing the information in the medical image attribute databases 1 and 2 in order. The low-speed network 3 includes a diagnostic device 4 that generates image data by photographing a patient.
An optical disk library 5 for storing a plurality of optical disks for storing image data obtained by the diagnostic device 4 for a long time; and a medical image workstation 6 equipped with a monitor for a doctor or the like to view images. And had been connected. At the start of operation of such a medical image database system, the medical image attribute database 1
Only the low-speed network 3 is connected to the low-speed network 3. When the capacity of the medical image attribute database 1 becomes full, the medical image attribute database 1 is disconnected from the low-speed network 3 and a new medical image attribute database 2 is connected to the low-speed network 3. Is done.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional medical image database system, the medical image attribute database 1 whose capacity is full is separated from the low-speed network 3, so that the medical image There is a problem that the image data registered in the database 1 cannot be referred to. Incidentally, if the medical image database system is operated without separating the medical image attribute database 1, the image data can be referred to, but the capacity of the storage medium connected to the medical image attribute database 1 is physically limited. If this limit is exceeded, registration and retrieval of images may be hindered, and the entire medical image database system may not be able to operate.

Further, with the expansion of the medical image database system, a high-speed network (not shown) capable of transmitting and receiving information in parallel is connected to the low-speed network 3, and a medical image workstation, a diagnostic device, and an optical disk are connected to the high-speed network. It was necessary to add devices such as libraries. However, the medical image attribute databases 1, 2
Does not have a function of exchanging information with the high-speed network, so that there is also a problem that devices added to the high-speed network cannot access the medical image attribute databases 1 and 2.

Accordingly, the present invention addresses such a problem and enables efficient access to image data registered in a medical image attribute database for managing information associated with medical image data and patient information. An object of the present invention is to provide a medical image database system that enables access from a high-speed network to a medical image attribute database on a low-speed network.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a medical image database system according to the present invention comprises a medical image attribute database having a high-speed network for managing information accompanying medical image data and patient information;
In a medical image database system having a low-speed network that manages information in the medical image attribute database by transmitting and receiving in order, a table for recognizing and managing the use state of the medical image attribute database is provided, and information is transmitted and received in parallel. A medical image attribute database connection device for managing the information by exchanging information between the high-speed network and the low-speed network.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a medical image database system according to the present invention. This medical image database system stores and retrieves medical image data, and includes medical image attribute databases 1 and 2, a low-speed network 3, and a medical image attribute database connection device 7.

[0008] The medical image attribute databases 1 and 2
It manages information associated with medical image data such as a patient ID, an examination date, and a photographed diagnostic device, and patient information such as a patient ID, patient name, gender, and date of birth. The medical image attribute databases 1 and 2 are connected to the low-speed network 3, respectively. The low-speed network 3 exchanges information only by sequential transmission and reception, and is, for example, a network corresponding to RS232C. The low-speed network 3 includes a diagnostic device 4 that generates image data by photographing a patient, and an optical disk library that stores a plurality of optical disks for storing image data obtained by the diagnostic device 4 for a long period of time. 5 and a medical image workstation 6 equipped with a monitor for a doctor to view images.

Here, in the present invention, a medical image attribute database connection device 7 is connected to the low-speed network 3. The medical image attribute database connection device 7 is an operation management table 1 as a table for recognizing and managing the use state of the medical image attribute databases 1 and 2.
2 for exchanging information between a high-speed network 8 described later and the low-speed network 3 capable of managing the information by transmitting and receiving the information in parallel. It is connected to the. In the operation management table 12, for example, registration in the medical image attribute database 1 is started in 1990.
January 1, 1994, the data was full in January 1994
On February 31, it is recognized that registration was started in the medical image attribute database 2 on January 1, 1995, and registration is still possible, and the use state of these is managed. Like the low-speed network 3, the high-speed network 8 includes a medical image workstation 11
, The diagnostic device 9 and the optical disk library 10 are connected.

Next, the flow of image data in the medical image database system having the above configuration will be described. The image data generated by the diagnostic device 4 of the low-speed network 3 is sent to the optical disk library 5 and recorded on the optical disk. When the recording on the optical disk is completed, the optical disk library 5 transmits the name of the recorded optical disk and the image attribute information to the medical image attribute database connection device 7 as a registration request. The medical image attribute database connection device 7 recognizes the currently used medical image attribute database (for example, one medical image attribute database 2) from the information in the operation management table 12, and sends the registration request to the medical image attribute database. Send to 2 and register. The flow of the image data generated by the diagnostic device 9 of the high-speed network 8 is the same as the flow of the image data of the low-speed network 3.

Then, an operator such as a doctor or a technician transmits a search condition of image data to be referred to from the medical image workstation 6 of the low-speed network 3 to the medical image attribute database connection device 7. The medical image attribute database connection device 7 that has received the search condition sends the search condition to each of the medical image attribute databases 1 and 2 from the information in the operation management table 12. Each of the medical image attribute databases 1 and 2 receiving the search condition searches the database and transmits the search result to the medical image workstation 6. The medical image workstation 6 sends a transfer request for image data from the optical disk name in the image attribute information of the search result to the optical disk library 5, acquires the image data, and displays the image data on the monitor. When retrieving image data from the medical image workstation 11 on the high-speed network 8, the medical image workstation 6
The operation is the same as that described above.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a data processing procedure in the medical image attribute database connection device 7. The diagnostic device 4, the optical disk library 5, and the medical image attribute database 1, which are sent from the medical image workstation 6 connected to the low-speed network 3 shown in FIG.
, Registration, update, and deletion requests for the search, registration, update,
The deletion result is received by the low-speed network reception process 13 of the medical image attribute database connection device 7 and the queue 14
Is transmitted as one command.

Further, when a search, registration, update, and deletion request is made to the medical image attribute databases 1 and 2 from the diagnostic apparatus 9, optical disk library 10, and medical image workstation 11 connected to the high-speed network 8 shown in FIG. Sends a connection request to the high-speed network parent process 15 of the medical image attribute database connection device 7. The high-speed network parent process 15 generates one child process 16 in response to one connection request from the high-speed network 8, and the child process 16 performs a search, registration, update, and deletion request for the medical image attribute databases 1 and 2. Is received (step S1). Then, a search, registration, update, and deletion request to be sent to each of the medical image attribute databases 1 and 2 is created from the information in the operation management table 12 shown in FIG. 1 as needed (step S2). It is transmitted as a command (step S3). Further, a result corresponding to the command transmitted to the queue 14 is received from a command analysis process 17 described later (step S4),
The result is transmitted to the high-speed network 8 (step S5), and a series of operations in the child process 16 ends.

On the other hand, the low-speed network reception process 13
The queue 14 that has received the instruction from step S3 of the child process 16 sends the instruction held therein to an instruction analysis process 17 described later. Then, by the instruction analysis of the instruction analysis process 17, the instruction is transmitted to the queue 19 or the step S4 of the child process 16. The command transmitted to the queue 19 is sent to the low-speed network 3 via the low-speed network transmission process 20.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation in the instruction analysis process 17. The instructions transmitted from the low-speed network reception process 13 and the child process 16 to the queue 14 are taken out one by one by an instruction analysis process 17, and the following operations are performed by the instruction analysis process 17. That is, the command extracted from the queue 14 is analyzed by the command analyzer 21, and in the case of the result received from the medical image attribute databases 1 and 2, the command is transmitted to the requesting child process 16, and the search, In the case of a registration, update or deletion request, the request is transmitted to the queue 19. Also, the instruction analysis unit 2 which is taken out of the queue 14
1 are received from the diagnostic device 4, the optical disk library 5, and the medical image workstation 6 connected to the low-speed network 3.
In the case of an update / deletion request, a request to be sent to each of the medical image attribute databases 1 and 2 is created from the information in the operation management table 12 as needed, and transmitted to the queue 19 as one command.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, three or more medical image attribute databases may be connected to the low-speed network 3. . In this case, the operation management table 12 of the medical image attribute database connection device 7
It is necessary that the information content stored in the database corresponds to three or more medical image attribute databases.

[0017]

As described above, the present invention has a table for recognizing and managing a use state of a medical image attribute database for managing information associated with medical image data and patient information. A medical image attribute database connection device for exchanging information between a high-speed network capable of managing the information by transmitting / receiving the information in parallel and the low-speed network, the image data registered in the medical image attribute database And the medical image attribute database on the low-speed network can be accessed from the high-speed network.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a data processing procedure in a medical image attribute database connection device of the medical image database system.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation in a command analysis process of the medical image attribute database connection device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a conventional medical image database system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, medical image attribute database 3 low-speed network 7 medical image attribute database connection device 8 high-speed network 12 operation management table

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A medical image database comprising: a medical image attribute database having a high-speed network for managing information associated with medical image data and patient information; and a low-speed network for managing information in the medical image attribute database in order. The system has a table for recognizing and managing the use state of the medical image attribute database, and exchanges information between the high-speed network and the low-speed network by transmitting and receiving information in parallel. A medical image database system comprising a medical image attribute database connection device.