JP2002230165A - Medical image management system, method for distributing medical image and computer readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medical image management system, a medical image distribution method and a computer readable recording medium which can secure security, reduce the load of maintenance or the like and produce large convenience for the management of a hospital. SOLUTION: In the medical image management system allowed to be connected to other computers through communication lines, a network server 1 is provided with 'an ASP function' capable of distributing medical image data through the communication lines and distributing also medical image viewer software capable of displaying medical images.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for realizing remote diagnosis, and more particularly to a medical image management system and a medical image management system for distributing, via a communication line, a radiological medical image generated in a modality such as CT. The present invention relates to a distribution method and a computer-readable recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, with the advancement of medical equipment and information processing technology, medical images generated by various modalities such as CT, MR, DR, RI, and DSA are transmitted via a communication line such as a LAN. It has become possible to store the images on a server and observe the stored images from a terminal via a communication line by a doctor, to make a diagnosis, and to centrally manage the finding data together with the images in the server.

[0003] Such a system is called PACS (Picture Archive Communication), and is widely used in relatively large hospitals, mainly for medical images generated in the radiology department.

Further, with the spread of PACS, a standard called DICOM has been established for the format of medical image data, and many modalities are now compatible with DICOM.

[0005] For this reason, in the construction of PACS, multi-vendor adoption using modalities of various manufacturers has been progressing, and attempts have been made to incorporate it into a hospital information system (HIS).

On the other hand, it is not realistic to introduce PACS, which requires a large amount of cost, in small and medium clinics, but even in these small and small clinics, there is a desire to seek the opinions of highly specialized doctors in large hospitals. There is also.

For this reason, a large hospital and several small and
V and ISDN are connected by communication lines, and medical images generated in small and medium clinics are transmitted to large hospitals. Specialists in large hospitals perform remote image diagnosis and transmit findings to small and medium clinics. .

For example, there is a case where a network is formed around a university hospital in a prefecture.

The advantage of PACS can be enjoyed by small and medium clinics by this remote image diagnosis, and there is an advantage that patients do not need to go to a large remote hospital.

[0010] In the transmission of medical information, it is important to ensure security.

For this reason, especially when exchanging medical information with the outside as in remote image diagnosis, for example, a gateway device is introduced into both hospitals, and a firewall and an encryption device are operated on the gateway. ing. For example, an encrypted VPN communication device automatically encapsulates and encrypts transmission data.

[0012] The situation as described above is, for example, "new medical treatment".
It was introduced in the September 2000 issue.

[0013]

However, there is a need for a function of adjusting contrast in observing a medical image, and there are special circumstances such as a finding format which is medical and has no standard. As for the image reference terminal, the finding terminal, etc.), running general-purpose software on a normal PC is insufficient in function.

[0014] For this reason, hospitals usually use dedicated terminals prepared by traders and PCs in which dedicated software is installed.

As described above, security is important when transmitting medical data. In particular, installing a gateway server in each clinic, such as in remote image diagnosis, is costly and secures administrators. However, there was a problem in terms of difficulty in maintaining and updating.

Under the circumstances described above, there has been a demand for a medical information system that can be used from a normal PC and that secures security and reduces the maintenance burden.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for investment in a large-scale server system and a large amount of browsing software as in a conventional PACS, and to provide a PACS. A medical image management system, a medical image distribution method, and a computer-readable system that can construct a network system for browsing, secure security and reduce the burden of maintenance, etc., and bring great convenience to hospital operation It is to provide a recording medium.

[0018]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical image management system connectable to another computer via a communication line.
Medical image distribution means for distributing medical image data via the communication line, and medical image viewer distribution means for distributing also medical image viewer software capable of displaying the medical image when the medical image distribution means is distributed And a medical image management system characterized by having:

According to a second aspect, there is provided the medical image management system according to the first aspect, wherein the medical image is compressed by a secret system.

Further, in a third aspect, there is provided a medical image management system connectable to another computer via a communication line, and security is protected so that reproduction and display cannot be performed via the communication line. Medical image distribution means for distributing the applied medical image data, and security release software distribution means for distributing also software having a function of releasing the security protection when distributing the medical image distribution means, A medical image management system is provided, wherein the software has an attribute that is not stored on the distribution side.

According to a fourth aspect, in the third aspect, the security protection is to compress data in a secret format, and the release of the security is to decompress the compression. A medical image management system is provided.

A fifth aspect is a method for distributing a medical image to another computer via a communication line.
Distributing medical image data via the communication line; and distributing medical image viewer software capable of displaying the medical image when distributing the medical image. An image distribution method is provided.

Further, in a sixth aspect, the present invention is a recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to distribute a medical image to another computer via a communication line, wherein the program is transmitted to the computer via the communication line. Providing a computer-readable recording medium, comprising: distributing image data; and, when distributing the medical image, distributing medical image viewer software capable of displaying the medical image. Is done.

According to the above-described first to sixth aspects, the following operations are provided.

That is, in the first aspect of the present invention, medical image data is distributed via a communication line by the medical image distribution means, and the medical image distribution means distributes the medical image data when the medical image distribution means distributes the medical image data. Medical image viewer software capable of displaying images is distributed.

In a second aspect, in the first aspect, the medical image is compressed in a secret system.

Further, in the third aspect, the medical image data is distributed by the medical image distribution means via the communication line, and the medical image data which has been protected so as not to be displayed, is distributed by the security release software distribution means. Software having a function of releasing the security protection is distributed at the time of distribution by the distribution means, and the software has an attribute that is not stored on the distribution side.

According to a fourth aspect, in the third aspect, the data is compressed in a secret form for security protection, and when the security protection is released,
The above compression is decompressed.

In the fifth mode, medical image data is distributed via a communication line, and at the time of distribution of the medical image, medical image viewer software capable of displaying the medical image is distributed.

Furthermore, in the sixth aspect, medical image data is distributed to a computer via a communication line under a program, and the medical image viewer software capable of displaying the medical image when distributing the medical image. Is delivered.

[0031]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a medical image management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. This system has at least a PACS function and a Web server function and an ASP function. The network server 1 stores an input image in a non-versatile (non-public) compression / decompression technology. Software for compression / decompression is stored. Hereinafter, the system will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, CT2a, M
The modalities 2 such as the RI 2b and the laser film digitizer 2c are connected to the network server 1,
It is connected to the dedicated terminal 7 and the network terminals 3a and 3b.

The network server 1 is connected to an external terminal 5a of a neighboring hospital via a router 6, an access router 4a, an ISDN line 8a, and an access router 4c. I
It is connected to an external terminal 5b of a nearby clinic via an SDN line 8b and an access router 4d.

In such a configuration, CT2a, MR
Image data output from modalities 2 such as I2b, laser film digitizer 2c, etc.
The data is taken into the network server 1 and compressed and stored by a unique compression technique. Here, the original compression technology,
For example, it refers to a closed system.

This image is transmitted to the network terminal 3 by the Web distribution function built in the network server 1.
The data can be browsed from a and 3b. At the time of browsing, data compressed by a dedicated decompression technique is decompressed and can be browsed.

In particular, when browsing with the network terminals 3a and 3b, software for browsing is distributed simultaneously with image data by an application service provider (ASP) function, so that dedicated software is installed. It is possible to browse even a network terminal that has not been set up.

That is, since a medical image requires a function of adjusting contrast, a function of inputting finding data is required, and a unique security is applied,
Although a unique image viewer is required, by sending the unique image viewer together with the medical image, the medical image can be observed even if the receiving side does not have an environment specializing in the medical image. Therefore, for example, a normal PC without special software installed can be used as a terminal.

Here, “ASP” generally refers to a system that owns a data center provided with necessary software and an externally accessible network line and provides applications to customers. In the system of the embodiment, the network server 1 plays the role of the data center.

On the other hand, the image compressed and stored in the network server 1 is transmitted to the router 6, the access router 4a, the IS by the remote access function built in the server 1.
It can be viewed on the external terminal 5a of a nearby hospital via the DN line 8a and the access router 4c. Similarly, router 6,
The information can be viewed on the external terminal 5b of a nearby clinic via the access router 4b, the ISDN line 8b, and the access router 4d.

Here, the “remote access function”
Generally, this means inputting data or a job from a remote terminal and using a database or the like in a data center. In this embodiment, the external terminals 5a and 5b access the database in the network server 1. It means to do.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the medical image data that has been security-protected on the transmission side is prepared, and is transmitted to the reception side together with the software having the function of releasing the security protection of the medical image data.

In this case, the program having the security release function is not stored on the receiving side (for example,
Java applet). Good security protection can be selected only by authenticating the authority when accessing the system.

Even if a medical image alone leaks to a third party, the medical image cannot be observed.

Further, since the release program is not stored on the receiving side, the release program can be used only when accessing the system.

Therefore, only the authorized access authority can access the system, and the security can be released by executing the release program.

It is needless to say that another system may be used to secure the medical image.

Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The processing flow of the medical image management system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

In the network server 1, the DICOM format image data from the modality 2 is compressed and stored (step S1).

When an access operation is performed on the external terminals 5a and 5b (step S2), the external terminals 5a and 5b make an access request to the network server 1 for an HTML file (step S3). When the HTML file is downloaded from the network server 1 (step S4), the external terminals 5a and 5b
The ML file is analyzed (Step S5).

The HTML file contains Java.
A tag for starting the applet, a parameter for instructing the number of images to be used for the Java applet, an image file name, and the like can be included.

Subsequently, the external terminals 5a and 5b issue a request for a JAVA (registered trademark) applet to the network server 1 (step S6). Then, the external terminals 5a,
5b receives the distribution of the JAVA applet (step S
7).

The Java applet used by the system according to this embodiment includes DICOM to JPEG
That perform the conversion process to

Subsequently, the external terminals 5a and 5b request an image from the network server 1 (step S).
8). The network server 1 compresses the medical image in a closed system (step S9) and distributes the compressed image to the external terminals 5a and 5b (step S10). On the external terminals 5a and 5b side, the JAVA applet is activated by a JAVA plug-in file to decompress the image (step S11), and further, the decompressed medical image is displayed (step S12).

Next, the JAVA applet is activated by a JAVA plug-in file to create a report (step S13), and the report is compressed by the JAVA applet in a closed mode (step S14) and distributed to the network server 1 side. (Step S15). The network server 1 decompresses this report (step S16) and stores it (step S17).

At the external terminals 5a and 5b, the access to the network server 1 is released, and the JAVA applet disappears at the same time (step S18).

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the report.

As shown in FIG. 3, the report, ie, the test report, includes the test date, patient's mission, ID number, date of birth, age, gender, hospital name, medical department, doctor in charge,
The inspection site, the contrast agent, the number of films, and the like can be entered. Furthermore, it is also possible to enter an inspection report as a finding and attach an image.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is a matter of course that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the format of the medical image is
Of course, the present invention is not limited to DICOM.

[0060]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
PAC without the need to invest in a large-scale server system or a large amount of browsing software like the conventional PACS
A medical image management system, a medical image distribution method, and a computer readable system that can construct a network system for S and browsing, ensure security and reduce the burden of maintenance, etc., and bring great convenience to hospital operation It is possible to provide a simple recording medium.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a medical image management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining in detail a processing flow of the medical image management system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a report created by the medical image management system according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Network Server 2 Modality 3 Network Terminal 4 Access Router 5 External Terminal 6 Router 7 Dedicated Terminal 8 ISDN Line

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor: Mitsuru Yagishita 3-4, Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Olympus Sales Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor: Seiji Kawamoto 3--4, Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Olympus Sales Stock In-company (72) Inventor Masahiro Itakura 3-4 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Olympus Sales Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hisashi Shimada 3-4 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Olympus Sales Co., Ltd. (72) Invention Person Toshihiko Sato 561-10 Akazawa, Yataita-cho, Utsunomiya-shi, Tochigi In-house doctor net (72) Inventor Noriyuki Iida 561-10 Akazawa, Yaita-cho, Utsunomiya-city, Tochigi Pref.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A medical image management system connectable to another computer via a communication line, comprising: a medical image distribution unit for distributing medical image data via the communication line; A medical image viewer distribution unit that also distributes medical image viewer software capable of displaying the medical image. 2. The medical image management system according to claim 1, wherein the medical image is compressed by a secret system. 3. A medical image management system connectable to another computer via a communication line, wherein the medical image data is protected from being reproduced and displayed via the communication line. And a security release software distribution unit that also distributes software having a function of releasing the security protection at the time of distribution of the medical image distribution unit. A medical image management system having an attribute that is not stored. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the security protection is to compress data in a secret format, and the release of security is to decompress the compression. The medical image management system described. 5. A method for distributing a medical image to another computer via a communication line, the method comprising: distributing medical image data via the communication line; Distributing medical image viewer software capable of displaying the medical image display method. 6. A recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to distribute a medical image to another computer via a communication line, wherein the program causes the computer to distribute medical image data via the communication line. And a step of distributing medical image viewer software capable of displaying the medical image at the time of distributing the medical image.