KR20070082138A - Picture archiving and communication system and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A picture archiving and communication system and a method thereof are provided to find and confirm desired information by viewing three dimensional fusion, PET(Positron Emission Tomography), and MIP(Maximum Intensity Projection) images at a time. A picture archiving and communication system includes an archiving unit(50), a medical image generating unit(20), a display(40), and a controller(10). The archiving unit archives fundamental medical images. The medical image generating unit(20) generates three dimensional medical images from the fundamental medical images. The display(40) displays the fundamental medical images and the three dimensional medical images. When a user selects a predetermined position on the medical image, the controller(10) reads and displays the medical images related to the predetermined position from the archiving unit(50).

Description

Image Archiving and Communication System and Method providing various medical images

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed by a conventional PACS;

2 is a diagram illustrating another example of a screen displayed by a conventional PACS;

3 is a diagram illustrating another example of a screen displayed by a conventional PACS;

4 is a view showing medical images provided in a conventional PACS,

5 is a schematic block diagram of a medical image storage transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a view showing a process of generating a MIP image according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a view showing a PET Axial image according to the location of the lesion selected on the MIP image according to the present invention,

8 (a) is a view showing a process of generating a coronary image according to an embodiment of the present invention,

8 (b) is a view showing a generation process of the sagittal image according to an embodiment of the present invention,

9 is a view showing the position after the user generates a coronary and sagittal image by selecting the location of the lesion on the PET Axial image according to an embodiment of the present invention,

10 (a) and 10 (b) are diagrams showing registration through an anatomical image, respectively,

11 is a view showing the composition of the image according to the change of the value α according to the present invention.

12 is a view showing an example of a screen of a display according to the present invention;

13 illustrates a medical image display method in a PACS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

10: controller

20: medical image generating unit

30: User Interface

40: display

50: medical image storage unit

The present invention relates to a medical image storage transmission system and method for providing various medical images.

Medical image storage transmission system, that is, PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) refers to a system that integrally handles the performance of the storage (Archiving), reading (Diagnosys) and viewing (Viewing) function of medical image information. Specifically, the PACS converts all radiographic results taken by X-rays, computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emissiom computerized tomography (SPECT) into digital images, It is a system that allows a radiologist to read it on a monitor by storing it in a mass storage device at the same time as it is taken. PACS stores and manages image data in accordance with the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard, and links medical image acquisition devices, diagnostic radiation, and clinicians into one. PACS uses a relational database to store or retrieve medical images on request. The database contains about two weeks of patient data, and medical image data of two weeks or more are permanently preserved by a long-term storage device. Each image acquisition device can transmit and save medical images directly to PACS server without separate interface device by DICOM standard storage program supported by each manufacturer.The reading room, outpatient doctor and diagnostic radiologists and doctors can use GUI (Graphic User Interface) By providing a developed viewer (viewer) can receive and read the medical image data stored in their laboratory or meeting room and immediately stored.

The medical image transmitted to the PACS server includes a PET image, a PET / CT image, a fusion image, and the like.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a new functional or physiological imaging technique in which a labeled drug is administered to a radioisotope (positron emitting nuclide) that emits a positron to image its distribution. Recently, PET devices have been installed and operated in medical institutions in many countries due to clinical efficiency and clinical research with high value, and the speed is increasing exponentially. In particular, it has been shown to contribute to the determination of the treatment of cancer patients and to be essential for determining the effectiveness of treatment. However, PET has limited resolution and radioisotope-labeled drugs such as glucose derivatives (FDG: fluorodeoxyglucose) are distributed in normal muscle, brain, heart, liver, large intestine, and kidney urinary system, which may be a problem for accurate diagnosis. do. Therefore, by adding anatomical lesions to functional images, PET / CT equipment that mechanically combines computed tomography (CT) with PET, which is widely used to diagnose anatomical lesions, is being developed to localize lesions more accurately. It was. PET / CT equipment has obtained PET and CT images at the same time, complementing the anatomical limitations of PET and increasing the functional specificity of CT, making it an important instrument of imaging technology. Is increasing tremendously.

However, in spite of this trend, the system for storing and inquiring the inspection of PET or PET / CT into PACS is very poor at present, and in most PACS, just capture the screen of the equipment as shown in FIG. 1 or as shown in FIG. In most cases, only images of lesions were selected on the device to create a Fusion image, and Coronal and Sagittal images were made to compose a screen, and then the screen was captured and stored in a PACS. .

The screen capturing method of the equipment should be composed of the screen after the end of the examination, and the cumbersome tasks of transmitting the PACS to the PACS, and the person who knows the location of the lesion should transmit the screen by turning on the location of the lesion. This cannot help if you need to evaluate the entire tumor. Only tumors, in particular in the case of Figure 2 is necessary to determine the exact location of the lesion and the screen because the help of a nuclear medicine specialist.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a method of creating coronal and sagittal images in the device and storing the images together with the transverse images in a different series in the PACS and using the cross reference function to display related images is used. have.

In the case of Figure 3 also after the end of the test, the equipment has to make both the coronary and sagittal (Sagittal) image to do the cumbersome work, and when stored in the PACS needs space to store the coronal and sagittal images.

 As shown in FIG. 4, the equipment may dynamically generate Fusion images and transmit them to the PACS. In this case, the PACS does not require extra storage space, and it is easy to compare PET, CT, and fusion images, but the user has to search the images from the beginning to find the lesioned area.

As mentioned above, the conventional screen turn-on to send medical images to the PACS involves additional work and is an expert. In addition, screen capture has the advantage of being quick and easy, but if there are several tumors, each part of the screen must be captured and sent, and some tumors can be ignored.

This has the disadvantage that the clinician's judgment of the lesion depends on what image the sender of the screen capture sends. In addition, the entire tumor should be evaluated during radiotherapy and the condition of important organs near the tumor as well as the tumor should be known. However, capturing only the tumor image does not reveal the state of the important organs near the tumor. In addition, it is impossible to draw a lesion on each tomography image using the abscissa image.

As described above, the conventional PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) has an advantage that can be seen at another place immediately after the image taken by the medical imaging equipment, but most of them display CT or MR images. Accordingly, in the conventional PACS, a user can view a two-dimensional image as a series and can enlarge and view an image of interest. However, it is important to view PET and PET / CT tomography images as 3D images rather than 2D images, and in the case of PET / CT images, it is important to view the fusion images of PET and CT.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a medical image storage transmission system and method capable of efficiently providing an image necessary for clinical diagnosis without the help of a nuclear medicine specialist.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the present invention provides a medical image storage transmission system for providing various medical images, comprising: a storage unit for storing basic medical images, and a 3D medical image generated from the basic medical images; A medical image generating unit, a display for displaying the basic medical image and the 3D medical image, and when a predetermined position on the medical image is selected by a user, medical images related to the predetermined position are read and displayed from a storage unit. It includes a controller.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted.

The present invention implements a PACS that generates and provides a three-dimensional image by using a PET / CT image, and provides a converged PET image and CT image taken from the PET / CT medical equipment. The PACS according to the present invention does not only provide horizontal tomographic images as in the conventional PACS but generates MIP (maximum intensity projection) images, coronal images and sagittal images using PET transaxial tomography images. To display. In addition, the PACS according to the present invention automatically displays a horizontal axis image of the position when the user selects the position of the lesion in the MIP image in order to quickly find the lesion, and selecting the position of the lesion in the horizontal axis image coronary of the position And sagittal images. For this purpose, PACS has cross-reference information for connecting different kinds of images to each other. PACS uses the transverse images to generate MIP images, coronal images and sagittal images, and provides CT images and fusion images at the same location in the transverse images. In addition, the present invention provides a SUV (Standard Uptake Value) value, which is a quantitative value in the region of interest definition.

That is, the PACS according to the present invention stores the images of PET and PET / CT examination without unnecessary configuration or reconstruction of the image, and then configures the MIP image whenever needed in the clinic and PET corresponding to the location of the lesion selected by the user. It provides images and CT images, and dynamically constructs and provides fusion images. In addition, PACS generates coronary and sagittal images through reconstruction of PET Axial images to mark lesion sites in each plane. Thus, the user can compare these images with each other.

5 is a schematic block diagram of a medical image storage transmission system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, a medical image storage transmission system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a controller 10, a medical image generator 20, a user interface 30, a display 40, and a medical image storage unit 50. ).

The medical image storage unit 50 stores the PET / CT images. PET / CT images are PET Axial images and CT Axial images associated with PET Axial images. PET Axial images and CT Axial images are each stored in different series from the medical device. To this end, the medical image storage unit 50 includes a PET image storage unit 52 storing PET images and a CT image storage unit 54 storing CT images. Although the PET image storage 52 and the CT image storage 54 are configured separately in the embodiment of FIG. 5, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that they may be integrated in other embodiments.

According to another embodiment, the CT image may not be previously stored in the medical image storage unit 50. In particular, the CT image may be provided from the medical device when the relevant PET Axial image is displayed. That is, only CT images displayed on the display 40 may be received and displayed.

Preferably, the medical image is stored in the PACS in the format defined in PART 10 of the DICOM 3.0 protocol. That is, the medical image is stored according to the method of DICOM Transfer Syntax UID of "1.2.840.10008.1.2.4.70" among JPEG compression methods defined in DICOM 3.0. These PET and CT images are transmitted from the medical equipment without any further processing and stored in the medical image storage 50. As a result, the user simply transmits the PET and CT images to the PASC without expert assistance.

The controller 10 controls devices constituting the medical image storage transmission system. In addition, the controller 10 controls the medical image generator 20 to generate medical images according to a user's request through the user interface 30.

The medical image generator 20 may include a MIP image generator 22 that generates a MIP (Maximum Intensity Projection) image from a PET axial image, a coronary image generator 24 that generates a coronary image from a PET axial image, and a PET axial image. A sagittal image generator 26 for generating a sagittal image from the fusion image generator 28 for generating a fusion image from the PET axial image and the CT image. Here, the MIP image and the fusion image are three-dimensional images.

The MIP image generator 22 generates MIP images according to Equation 1 below.

MIP _ Pixel _ij  = Max_Value ( Col _ij )

In Equation 1, Col _ij means pixels of the j-th column of the i-th image, and MIP_Pixel _ij means pixels of the j-th column of the i-th row.

6 shows a process of generating a MIP image according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, in order to obtain the i and j th pixels of the MIP image, the i th image is selected from the PET Axial images, the pixels of the j th column are obtained, and the pixel having the maximum pixel value is selected therefrom. Just do it. The width and height of the generated MIP image are equal to the width of the PET Axial image and the number of sheets of the PET Axial image, respectively. In this case, care should be taken to consider whether the pixel spacing of the PET Axial image is equal to the slice thickness of each PET Axial image. If different, the MIP image generator 22 should adjust the height of the MIP image by the ratio of Slice Thickness / Pixel Spacing.

The MIP image generator 22 obtains the first MIP (0 degree = 360 degree) image and then rotates by 12 degrees to generate 30 MIP images to generate a total of 31 images. The rotated MIP image may be generated in the above manner after rotating all of the PET Axial images by the rotation angle.

 The controller 10 displays 31 MIP images from the MIP image generator 22 at the rate of 8 frames per second on the display 40. Accordingly, the entire inspection area is displayed in three-dimensional on the display 40. Therefore, the user can recognize the location of the lesion at a glance.

Meanwhile, the user may select a desired portion of the MIP image displayed on the display 40. Then, the PACS according to the present invention displays the PET Axial image corresponding to the portion selected by the user. That is, the user directly selects the location of the lesion in the MIP image, thereby facilitating direct access to the PET Axial image in which the lesion exists.

7 is a view showing a PET Axial image of the location by selecting the location of the lesion in the MIP image. Referring to FIG. 7, when a user selects a desired portion on the MIP image displayed on the left side of FIG. 7 through the user interface 30, the controller 10 may display the PET Axial image corresponding to the portion in the PET image storage 52. ) And display on the display 40 as shown on the right side of FIG.

In addition, the coronal image generating unit 24 and the sagittal image generating unit 26 generates a coronal image and a sagittal image according to Equation 2 below.

Coronal_Row _ji = Img_Row _ij

Sagittal_Row _ji = Img_Col _ij

Coronal_Row _ji means the pixels of the i th row in the j th coronal image.

Img_Row _ij means pixels of the j th row in the i th PET Axial image.

Sagittal_Row _ji means the pixels of the i th row in the j th sagittal image.

Img_Col _ij means the pixels of the j th column in the i th PET Axial image.

8 (a) shows a process of generating a coronal image. Referring to FIG. 8A, the coronal image may be generated as many as the number of rows of the PET Axial image, and any j th coronal image is composed of a group of pixels of the j th row of the PET Axial images. Therefore, the pixels constituting any i-th row of the j-th coronary image are the pixels of the j-th row of the i-th PET Axial image.

8 (b) shows a process of generating a sagittal image. Referring to FIG. 8B, the sagittal image may be generated as many as the number of columns of the PET Axial image, and any j th sagittal image is a group of pixels of the j th column of the PET Axial images. Therefore, the pixels forming an i-th row in the j-th sagittal image are the same as the pixels of the j-th column of the i-th PET Aixal image.

The width and height of each of the generated coronal and sagittal images are the same as the width of the PET Axial image and the height is the longevity of the PET Axial image. For sagittal images, the width is equal to the height of the PET Axial image and the height is equal to the coronal image. If the values of the pixel spacing and the slice thickness of the PET Axial image are different as in the MIP, the coronal image generating unit 24 and the sagittal image generating unit 26 have the height of the coronal and sagittal image by the ratio of (Slice Thickness / Pixel Spacing). Should be adjusted. Therefore, the heights of the coronal and sagittal images can be expressed as in Equation 3 below.

New Height = Old Height * (Slice Thickness / Pixel Spacing)

When adjusting the heights of coronary and sagittal images according to Equation 3, interpolation is required, and bilinear interpolation and bicubic interpolation are mainly used.

The creation of coronal and sagittal images is dynamically generated depending on the situation. Therefore, the PACS according to the present invention does not generate and store all coronary and sagittal images in advance. The dynamic generation timing of the coronal and sagittal images is created when the user selects an arbitrary location on the PET Axial image or on the already created coronal and sagittal images. At this time, a line showing the selected position on each image of PET Axial, coronal and sagittal images is displayed together. PET Axial, Coronal and Sagittal images are cross-referenced to each other so that the change of position in the PET Axial image affects the coronal and sagittal images, and the change in position in the coronal images affects the PET Axial, sagittal images. Positional changes in the sagittal image also affect the PET Axial, the sagittal image. 9 is a view showing the position after the user selects the location of the lesion on the PET Axial image to generate coronary and sagittal images.

Finally, the fusion image generator 28 generates a fusion image. According to an embodiment, the fusion image generator 28 uses an alpha blend method when generating the fusion image.

 Generation of the fusion image (Fusion image) is largely generated in two steps. The first is the registration process that matches the inspection site of the PET image and the CT image, and the second is the process of actually synthesizing the image.

The registration process is a process of matching test sites through a phantom experiment as shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b). 10 (a) and 10 (b) are diagrams illustrating registration through a Phantom image, respectively. At this time, the fusion image generating unit 28 once to four times the CT image (CT 512 X 512, PET 128 X 128) based on the CT Slice to move the PET image to match the CT Slice. Subsequently, the fusion image generator 28 enlarges the PET image little by little and repeats the movement so as to match the CT slice as much as possible. The registration process is performed only once when setting the equipment, and through this process, the magnification ratio and the moving position of the PET image are obtained.

The fusion image generator 28 fuses the image according to Equation 4 below.

New_Pixel = αPixel1 + (1-α) Pixel2

In Equation 4, α is a constant that enables one image to occupy the other image by a predetermined amount. The fusion image generator 28 may adjust α, that is, opacity. Therefore, if Pixel1 is an arbitrary Pixel value of the PET image and Pixel2 is an arbitrary Pixel value of the CT image, the image may be a composite image (0 <α <1) depending on how the α value is determined. Or CT image (α = 0). 11 is α Shows the composition of the image as the value changes. Referring to FIG. 11, a fusion image is shown when α values are 0.71, 0.5, and 0.25, respectively. The generation time of the fusion image may be made after selecting a portion of the MIP image and receiving a CT image corresponding to the PET Axial image from the server when the PET Axial image corresponding to the position is selected.

The controller 10 displays all or some of the medical images generated as described above on the display 40 according to a predetermined condition or a user's request. Specifically, the controller 10 automatically displays the horizontal axis image of the position on the display 40 when the user displays the MIP image on the display 40 and the user presses the position of the lesion on the MIP image. In this case, the controller 10 may display the coronal and sagittal images of the corresponding position on the display 40 together. Of course, the CT image and the fusion image related to the corresponding position on the horizontal axis image may be displayed. To this end, the controller 10 has cross-reference information between various types of medical images. Different types of images are linked to each other according to cross-reference information. At this time, the various types of images are correlated with respect to the region of interest. The present invention provides a Standard Uptake Value (SUV) value that is a quantitative value in the region of interest definition.

As such, the controller 10 places various types of images on the screen of the display 40-at least two types of images of PET images, CT images, MIP images, sagittal images, coronary images, and fusion images. The user can compare the lesions on different planes. An example of the screen of the display 40 according to the invention is shown in FIG. 12.

Referring to FIG. 12, a PET image, a CT image, a MIP image, a sagittal image, a coronary image, and a fusion image are displayed on a screen of the display 40 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the full screen configuration of the medical image viewer according to the present invention includes a MIP image portion showing MIP images at 8 frames per second, and a PET image showing a corresponding PET Axial image when a user selects a region to be viewed from the MIP image. Image part, CT image part showing CT image matching PET image, Fusion image part fusion of PET image and CT image, Coronary image and sagittal image are generated when user selects random part on PET image It consists of a coronal image portion and a sagittal image portion.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 12, a line showing the user's selection position on each image of the PET Axial, coronal and sagittal images is displayed together. The lines shown show where different kinds of images are correlated.

The display 40 displays various medical images, messages, and the like under the control of the controller 10. The display 40 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor (TFT), an organic electroluminescence (EL), and the like. The user interface 30 outputs a signal corresponding to the controller 10 when the user selects a predetermined portion on the image displayed on the display 40. In addition, the user interface 30 includes various numeric keys and function keys so that a user can operate the PACS.

Meanwhile, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the SUV value is calculated as in Equation 5 below.

   SUV = BQML weight / dose * 1000

In Equation 5, BQML is a value obtained by multiplying a pixel value of a received DICOM image by DICOM header information rescale slope (DICOM tag: 0028 1053). Weight is the weight of the patient, read from DICOM header information (DICOM tag: 0010 1030). Dose refers to the amount of radiopharmaceutical administered to patients who have corrected the decay (decay), and is obtained as in Equation 6 below.

Dose = iv_dose * decay_factor

In Equation 6, iv_dose is read from DICOM header information (DICOM tag: 0018 1074), and decay_factor is a constant for correcting the amount of radiopharmaceuticals collapsed when the actual patient is taken from the amount of radiopharmaceuticals initially administered to the patient. Obtained as in Equation 7.

Decay_factor = exp (-0.693 * ((acq_time-iv_time) / Half_life))

Where exp is an exponential function and 0.693 is a constant that corresponds to the natural logarithm function ln2. Acq_time is read from the DICOM header information (DICOM tag: 0008 0032), which is the time taken to actually shoot. iv_time is read from the DICOM header information (DICOM tag: 0018 1072), which is the time when the radiation medicine was administered to the actual patient. Half_life refers to the half-life of radiopharmaceuticals and is used by reading from DICOM header information (DICOM tag: 0018 1075).

Using the above equations, the SUV value is provided as a region of interest (ROI) definition method. If the size of the ROI can be freely adjusted with a rectangle, the average value of 9 pixels centered on the maximum ROI, the maximum ROI, and the average value within the ROI are described. The region of interest definition uses a toggle method and allows you to define the region of interest by pressing the button to obtain the SUV value.

An embodiment of the medical image display method in the above-described PACS is summarized with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 13, first, the PACS determines whether there is a request for displaying a medical image from a user in step 110. If the user requests the display of the medical image, the PACS generates and displays a plurality of MIP images from the PET Axial image in step 120. The PACS then receives an area of interest on the MIP image displayed in step 130 from the user. The PACS displays the PET Axial image of the ROI input from the user in step 140. The PACS displays a CT image matching the PET Axial image in step 150, and generates and displays a fusion image by fusing the PET image and the CT image in step 160. The PACS determines whether the user selects a predetermined portion on the displayed PET Axial image in step 170. If the user selects a predetermined portion on the displayed PET Axial image, the PACS proceeds to step 180 to generate and display sagittal and coronary images of the selected portion.

Meanwhile, in the detailed description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described medical image display method, the generation of the sagittal and coronal images is performed when the user selects a predetermined portion on the PET Axial image after the PET Axial image is displayed on the screen. Therefore, the generating of the sagittal and coronal images may be performed before the CT image displaying step or the melting image generating step. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the claims below but also by the equivalents of the claims.

As noted above, PACS according to the present invention can provide a fusion image without requiring additional storage space for the fusion image. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to find tumors quickly and easily find important organs other than tumors, and to view fusion images, 3D PET images, and MIP images at a time so that users can easily find and confirm the desired information.

In addition, the conventional screen capture method requires an expert's help in transmitting the image to the PACS and requires additional work by the user. According to the present invention, the error of the user can be reduced when the medical image is transmitted to the PACS and the expert's help is provided. This is not necessary. In addition, according to the present invention it is possible to quantitatively analyze radiopharmaceuticals using PET images in PACS.

As such, according to the present invention, since the PACS can obtain the necessary images as in the equipment at any time in the PACS, it can be very helpful for the study of the clinicians, in particular, in setting the treatment plan of the patient It can play an important role. In addition, according to the present invention, when explaining the lesion to the patient who performed the PET / CT test, the entire lesion can be displayed dynamically so that the explanation can be facilitated, thereby leading to an understanding of the patient.

Claims (13)

In the medical image storage transmission system for providing a variety of medical images, A storage unit for storing basic medical images, A medical image generator for generating a 3D medical image from the basic medical images; A display for displaying the basic medical image and the 3D medical image; And a controller configured to read and display the medical images related to the predetermined position from the storage unit when the predetermined position on the medical image is selected by the user. The medical image storage transmission system of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the medical image generator to generate medical images related to the predetermined position when a predetermined position on the medical image is selected by a user. The medical image storage transmission system of claim 1, wherein the controller displays the stored medical images and the generated medical images on one screen. The medical image storage transmission system of claim 1, wherein the base image is at least one of a PET axial image and a CT image. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the medical image generating unit comprises: a MIP image generating unit generating a maximum intensity projection (MIP) image from the PET axial image, a coronal image generating unit generating a coronal image from the PET axial image, and the PET axial image And at least one of a sagittal image generating unit generating a sagittal image from a fusion image generating unit generating a fusion image from the PET axial image and the CT image. The medical image storage transmission system of claim 5, wherein the fusion image generator uses an alpha blend method. The medical image storage transmission system of claim 5, wherein the fusion image generator is configured to adjust the opacity of the PET axial image and the CT image. The medical image storage transmission system according to claim 1, wherein the different kinds of medical images are connected to be cross-referenced. A method of displaying a medical image in a medical image storage transmission system including a storage unit for storing basic medical images, the method comprising: Generating and displaying a 3D medical image from the basic medical images; And if a predetermined position on the medical image is selected by a user, reading and displaying medical images related to the predetermined position from a storage unit. The method of claim 9, wherein when a predetermined position on the medical image is selected by a user, the medical image storage transmission method comprises generating and displaying medical images related to the predetermined position. The method of claim 9, wherein the stored medical images and the generated medical images are displayed on one screen. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the base image is at least one of a PET axial image and a CT image. The method of claim 9, wherein the generating of the medical image comprises: generating a maximum intensity projection (MIP) image from a PET axial image, generating a coronal image from the PET axial image, and generating a sagittal image from the PET axial image. And generating at least one fusion image from the PET axial image and the CT image.

Images