WO2005013255A2

WO2005013255A2 - Method and device for graphical display

Info

Publication number: WO2005013255A2
Application number: PCT/EP2004/008601
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans Lehrach; Silke Sperling; Dominik Seelow
Original assignee: MAX-PLANCK-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V.
Priority date: 2003-08-01
Filing date: 2004-07-30
Publication date: 2005-02-10
Also published as: WO2005013255A3; DE10335359A1; DE10335359B4

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for simultaneously displaying a plurality of data sets each of which is provided with several data fields on a screen, in particular for displaying medical patient data. Said invention is characterised in that individual data fields are graphically displayed on the screen by a colour field (2) of a given colour and/or a determined graphic brightness, respectively, wherein the colour and/or brightness of respective colour fields (2) depends on the value of the corresponding data field. A device for carrying out said method is also disclosed.

Description

Method and device for graphic display

The invention relates to a method for the simultaneous display of a large number of data records, each with a plurality of data fields on a screen, in particular for the display of medical patient data, according to the preamble of claim 1, and a corresponding device according to claim 17.

In recent years, databases with patient data have been increasingly built up in the medical field, the patient data being able to contain, for example, phenotypic information (eg age, gender, 0 ₂ saturation, blood pressure, etc.) and genetic information about the respective patient. By evaluating a large number of patient data, the dependence of certain clinical pictures on the associated genetic constellations can then be recognized. For this purpose, the patient data are displayed, for example, in a matrix on a screen, the individual patient data records being arranged next to one another in columns, for example, while the individual data fields of the patient data records arranged one above the other each have a phenotypic size (e.g. age, gender, blood pressure, etc.) or genetic information in alphanumeric form Play shape.

A disadvantage of this alphanumeric representation of the patient data is the difficult optical evaluation, since even extreme values of the patient data only stand out very little. The invention is therefore based on the object of improving the visual analyzability of the patient data in the above-described method for displaying patient data or in a corresponding device.

This object is achieved with respect to a method by the features of claim 1 and with respect to a device by the features of claim 17.

The invention is based on the knowledge that the visual

The ability to analyze graphically represented data (e.g. patient data) is made considerably easier by displaying the data in color, as this makes it easier to record extreme values and the relationships between the data.

The invention therefore encompasses the general technical teaching of representing the individual data fields of the data records to be graphically represented in each case by color fields with a specific color, the color being determined as a function of the value of the respective data field.

Instead of the color of the individual color values, the brightness of the individual color fields can also be determined as a function of the value of the associated data field, in order to make it easier for the viewer to visually analyze the data presented. For the sake of simplicity, however, only the color of the color fields is referred to below, it being pointed out that the individual color fields can also be monochrome and differ only in their brightness.

When displaying the blood pressure, for example, red color fields can indicate an excessively high blood pressure, whereas a adjusted blood pressure is shown by a green color field. Between these extreme values, intermediate values can be represented by appropriate colors, such as yellow or orange, in order to give the user an intuitive overview of the condition of the respective patient.

The assignment of the values of the individual data fields to the resulting color values can be done, for example, using mathematical formulas that can be freely configured for each data field of the data records.

In a variant of the invention, the data are normalized before they are displayed in color, i.e. the data (e.g. blood pressure) is evaluated based on other data (e.g. patient age). For example, a blood pressure of 130 mm of mercury is abnormal in a three-month-old infant and should therefore be represented by a red color field, whereas the same blood pressure is normal in a 30-year-old person and is accordingly represented by a green color field.

The normalization of the data to be displayed can be integrated into the calculation of the respective color values, in that the color value of a color field is calculated not only as a function of the value of the associated data field, but also as a function of other values.

The data are preferably normalized in each case in a data record by not only taking into account the values of the respectively associated data fields when calculating the color values for the individual color fields, but also the values of other data fields of the same data record. However, within the scope of the invention it is also possible to normalize the data across data sets. Here, the color values for the individual color fields are calculated not only as a function of the values of the associated data fields, but also as a function of the values of the data fields of other data sets. For example, it is possible to not only take into account the actual age of a patient in the colored representation of the age, but also the age values of the entire patient collective. If the patient's age deviated significantly from the average patient's age, it could then be displayed in red, whereas good agreement with the average patient's age could be shown in green.

The two variants of normalization within a data set described above and normalization across data sets on the other hand can also be used in combination with one another, so that any data fields and data records can be taken into account during normalization.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention it is further provided that a pointer is shown on the screen, which can be moved by a user through a manual input device in order to select one of the color fields shown, detailed information about the selected color field being shown on the screen can be. The user can thus move the pointer on the screen with a so-called mouse, for example, and select one of the color fields shown, whereupon the detailed information about the selected color field is displayed within a so-called pop-up window. The composition of those shown in the pop-up window Detailed information can be freely configured by the user in advance. For example, when configuring the detailed information to be displayed, the user could individually indicate for each data field of a data record which detailed information should be displayed when such a field is selected.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention it is further provided that not only the data to be displayed itself are reproduced on the screen, but also additional statistical values that were obtained from the data. For example, the average value, the standard deviation or the frequency across all data records can be calculated and displayed for each data field.

The statistical values are preferably also not displayed in alphanumeric form, but rather as color fields with specific color values which correspond to the statistical value.

Here, too, the statistical values can be normalized to make it easier for the user to identify significant values.

It should also be mentioned that the invention can not only be used for the representation of medical or biological data, but also enables the graphical representation of any other data in which an optical analysis is to be facilitated.

It should also be mentioned that the data to be displayed are not necessarily read from a single database. Rather, it is also possible for the data to be read from several databases or files (eg Excel files). The data from the various databases are then normalized across databases and visualized in multiple colors, with statistical analysis also being possible.

Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the subclaims or are explained in more detail below together with the description of the preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the figures. Show it:

La a screen window with phenotypic and genetic patient data,

FIG. 1b shows a screen window with genetic detail data for the genetic data from FIG.

2a shows a screen window with phenotypic patient data,

2b shows a screen window with genetic data on the patient data from FIG. 2a,

3a and 3b, the method according to the invention in the form of a flow chart and

Fig. 4 is a simplified diagram of an inventive device for performing the method.

The illustration in FIG. 1 a shows a large number of patient data records, both data fields with phenotypic

Contain patient data (e.g. age, blood pressure, gender, (^ saturation) as well as data fields with genetic patient data. The patient data are shown in matrix form in a screen window 1, the patient data records being arranged next to one another in columns, while the individual data fields of the data records are arranged one above the other.

The individual data fields of the data records are represented by color fields 2 with specific color values, the color values of the individual color fields 2 being calculated as a function of the value of the associated data field. Because of the black and white representation, the different color values of the color fields 2 in the drawing are replaced by corresponding hatching.

The color values of the individual color fields 2 not only reflect the value of the associated data field, but are also normalized as a function of the values of other data fields.

For the data fields or color fields 2 representing the blood pressure, normalization of the data record takes place in that the blood pressure is evaluated according to the age of the patient. For example, a blood pressure of 130 mm of mercury is abnormal in a three-month-old infant and is accordingly represented by a red color field, whereas the same blood pressure is normal in a 30-year-old person and is accordingly represented by a green color field. The normalization for the data fields of blood pressure takes place exclusively within the individual data records, whereby data fields other than the patient's age can also be taken into account in the normalization.

In contrast, other data fields, such as patient age, are normalized across data records. So can For example, a patient's age that deviates greatly from the average age of the patient population recorded is represented by a red color field, whereas an average patient's age is represented by a green color field. In this way, the viewer can immediately recognize age-related outliers and, if necessary, sort them out during the analysis.

Furthermore, color fields 3, 4 and a bar-shaped color field 5 are shown in the screen window 1, which reproduce statistical data relating to the patient data.

In color field 3, for example, the average value of the associated data field over all patient data sets is shown in color, while color field 4 shows the standard deviation of the values of the associated data field over all patient data sets in color. The color field 5, on the other hand, gives the frequency of the occurrence of the associated characteristic (e.g. male gender) in color in the data records.

In addition, the user can move a pointer 6 in the screen window 1 by means of a mouse or another hand-held input device and thereby select certain color fields 2-5. When one of the color fields 2-5 is selected, a so-called pop-up window 7 then appears with detailed information on the associated data record or data field. The user can freely configure in advance which detailed information is displayed in the pop-up window 7, this configuration being able to be carried out individually for each data field. When a color field representing the blood pressure is selected, patient data relevant to blood pressure (for example age, weight) can be displayed in the pop-up window 7, for example, while the patient is selected the health field of the color field, detailed information about previous illnesses is displayed.

The genetic patient data shown in the lower four lines of the screen window 1 are only summary and therefore only allow a limited assessment. The user can therefore obtain a more precise overview of the genetic patient data by using the pointer 6 to select color fields 2 with gene data, whereupon a further screen window 8 shown in FIG. 1b is opened. In the screen window 8, genetic detail information is again shown in color in a matrix, the lower four lines in the screen window 1 corresponding to the columns in the screen window 8.

The genetic detailed information is also represented in the screen window 8 by color fields 9 arranged in a matrix, the color values of the color fields 9 being able to be normalized internally and / or across datasets and reproducing the genetic detailed information.

Alternatively, there is also the possibility that the gene data shown in the lower four lines of the screen window 1 already contain detailed patient-specific genetic information. Further genetic information can then be displayed in the screen window 8, which is not necessarily patient-specific, but rather, for example, represents information about the location of a gene in the genome, its relationship to other genes or information about its protein localization in the cell.

Finally, the user can also select individual color fields 9 in the screen window 8 using a pointer 10, whereupon detailed information on the selected genetic data is displayed in a pop-up window 11.

FIGS. 2a and 2b show screen windows 1 'and 2' which largely correspond to the screen windows 1, 2 described above, so that in order to avoid repetition reference is made to the above description and the same reference numerals are used for corresponding elements, which are only used to differentiate them are marked by an apostrophe.

A special feature of this exemplary embodiment is that the screen window 1 'only shows phenotypic patient data, but no genetic patient data, which are shown exclusively in the screen window 8'.

If the user selects one of the analysis groups A, B or C in the lower three lines with the pointer 6 'in the screen window 1', the screen window 8 'shown in FIG. 2b opens, which relates to the three analysis groups A, B and C indicates the associated gene data. The analysis groups A, B, and C each form data sets that are arranged next to one another in columns in the screen window 8 ′, while the individual gene data are each arranged in a cell-like manner below one another.

If the user selects certain gene data in the screen window 8 'with the pointer 6', the screen window 8 shown in FIG. 1b opens, in which gene detail data associated with the gene data is shown, as has already been described above. FIGS. 3a and 3b show the display method according to the invention in the form of a flow chart, which is described below.

In a first step, the patient records are read from one or more patient databases or files (e.g. Excel files).

The statistical values shown in color fields 3-5 are then calculated from the data records.

In a next step, color values associated with the calculated statistical values are then calculated in order to be able to represent the color fields 3-5 with a meaningful color.

The values of the data records read from the database are then normalized by calculating a normalized value from the values of the individual data fields in accordance with a predetermined function. The normalization can take place within the data record or across data records and can be freely configured by the user by specifying a corresponding function.

The data records and the statistical values are then shown on the screen with the associated color values in a matrix, which is shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b, 2a and 2b.

After the data records have been displayed on the screen, it is continuously checked whether the user has selected a color field with the pointer 6 or 6 '. If necessary, the pop-up window 7 or 7 'is then shown on the screen, which shows detailed information on the selected data record, the compilation of the detailed information shown in the pop-up window 7 or 1' being freely available to the user can be configured.

In a further step it is then checked whether the user has selected one of the gene data fields in the lower four lines of the matrix with the pointer 6. If necessary, the method then proceeds to the method section in FIG. 3b, where the individual gene data records with the gene detail data are read from the database.

The gene detail data read out are in turn normalized in accordance with a predefined, freely configurable function within the data record and / or across data records, whereupon corresponding color values are then displayed.

The gene data records are then again shown in matrix form in the screen window 8.

Here, too, it is continuously checked whether the user has selected one of the color fields 9 with the pointer 10.

If necessary, the pop-up window 11 then again displays detailed information on the selected gene data.

FIG. 4 finally shows a schematic representation of a device according to the invention for performing the method according to the invention described above.

The device according to the invention essentially consists of a computing unit 12 which is connected on the input side with a data bank 13 is connected and reads a large number of patient data records from the database 13.

On the output side, the computing unit 12 is connected to a screen driver 14 which controls a screen 15 for the graphic representation of the screen windows 1, 8 and 1 ', 8' shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b and 2a, 2b.

The computing unit 12 internally initially has a normalizer 16, which calculates corresponding normalized data records from the data records read from the database 13, the normalization in the normalizer 16 being able to take place internally and / or across data records.

The normalized data sets are then passed on from the normalizer 16 to a computing unit 17, which calculates corresponding color values from the values of the normalized data sets, which are passed on to the screen driver 14, so that the screen driver 14 can control the screen 15 accordingly.

Furthermore, the computing unit 12 has a computing unit 18 which calculates statistical values from the data records read out of the database 13, which are shown in FIG.

The arithmetic unit 18 is therefore connected on the output side to a further arithmetic unit 19, which calculates corresponding color values from the statistical values and controls the screen driver 14 accordingly.

The invention is not restricted to the preferred exemplary embodiments described above. Rather, a large number of variants and modifications are possible, which if make use of the inventive idea and therefore fall within the scope of protection.

Claims

EXPECTATIONS

1. A method for the simultaneous display of a large number of data records, each with a plurality of data fields on a screen (15), in particular for the display of medical patient data, characterized in that the individual data fields on the screen (15) each have a color field (2, 2 ' , 9, 9 ') are graphically represented with a specific color and / or brightness, the color and / or brightness of the respective color field (2, 2', 9, 9 ') being determined as a function of the value of the associated data field becomes.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the individual color fields (2, 2 ', 9, 9') on the screen (15) in the form of a matrix are arranged one above the other in a cell or column-like manner.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the color and / or brightness of at least one of the color fields (2, 2 ¹ , 9, 9 ') shown on the screen is not only determined as a function of the value of the associated data field , but also depending on at least one other value.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the color and / or brightness of at least one of the on the

Color fields (2, 2 ', 9, 9') shown on the screen (15) are not only determined as a function of the value of the associated data field, but also as a function of the value of at least one other data field of the same data record.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a pointer (6, 6 ¹ , 10, 10 ') is shown on the screen (15), which can be moved by a user by a manual input device to one of the selected color fields (2, 2 ', 9, 9') to be selected, with detailed information on the selected color field (2, 2 ', 9, 9') being displayed on the screen (15).

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the detailed information on the color field (2, 2 ', 9, 9') selected by the user contains a data record identifier and / or the value of at least one specific data field of the associated data record.

7. The method according to claim 5 or β, characterized in that it is freely configurable in advance which detail information is displayed when a color field (2, 2 ', 9, 9') is selected.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the configuration of the detailed information to be displayed when selecting a color field (2, 2 ', 9, 9') individually for the individual color fields (2, 2 ', 9, 9') of a data record can be done.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that when configuring the detailed information to be displayed when selecting a color field, individual data fields of the associated data record can be selected.

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the following steps: - calculation of a statistical value from the values of several data fields,

- calculation of a color value from the statistical value,

- Representation of the statistical value as a color field (3-5) with the corresponding color value.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the statistical value is calculated in each case from the values of corresponding data fields of a plurality of data records.

12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the individual data records are each assigned to a living being, the individual data fields reflecting individual features of the respective living being.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the data fields reflect a selection of the following features:

- Age of the respective living being - Weight of the respective living being

- Height of the respective living being

- Gender of the respective living being

- Oxygen saturation in the blood of the living being

- Health status of the respective living being.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the color and / or brightness of the individual color fields reflects the biological or medical significance of the values of the associated data fields.

15. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the individual data records each have the same number of data fields.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the individual data records each have a different number of data fields.

17. Device for displaying data records consisting of several data fields on a screen (15), in particular for displaying patient data, with a database interface for reading out the data records from a database (13), - a screen driver (14) for controlling the screen (15 ) corresponding to the values of the individual data fields of the data records read from the database (13), characterized by a first arithmetic unit (12) connected on the input side to the database interface and on the output side to the screen driver (14), which from the values of the individual data fields corresponding color values and / or calculates brightness values and controls the screen driver (14) to display color fields (2, 2 ', 9, 9') with the respective color values and / or brightness values.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, characterized by a second arithmetic unit (18) connected on the input side to the database interface, which calculates at least one statistical value from the values of a plurality of data fields and a corresponding color value and / or brightness value from the statistical value, and the screen driver (14) to display at least one color field (3-5) with the color value and / or the brightness value.

19. Device according to claim 17, characterized by a third arithmetic unit (16) connected on the input side to the database interface, which from the values of several data fields corresponds to normalized values for a subsequent determination of the color values and / or the brightness values.