JPH11312200A - Medical image database device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To economically construct a database so that only necessary data can be stored for a long time within a limited storage capacity of a medical image database. An examination is performed by each examination apparatus to obtain digitized medical image data (301), and information accompanying the image data is input by a computer or the like attached to the examination apparatus (302). Then, image storage information indicating the storage period of the image data is input (303). The computer attached to the medical image database calculates the scheduled image erasure date according to the input image storage information (30).
4), this is stored in a database together with the image data and the accompanying information (305). The database is searched from time to time (311), the current time is compared with the planned erasure date of the image data, and the image data that has passed the planned erasure date is deleted (314).

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 device used in the medical field, and more particularly to a medical image database device capable of holding only necessary data for a long time within a limited storage capacity. The present invention relates to a medical image database device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In medical practice, various medical images have conventionally been used for diagnosis. There are various types of medical images, such as X-ray images, X-ray computed tomography images (CT images), nuclear magnetic resonance tomography images (MRI images), pathological images, endoscopic images, and ultrasonic images. The accumulation and storage of these medical images have been performed in different forms depending on the acquisition form of each image. For example, an X-ray image or the like is recorded on an X-ray film, and since the image is observed by placing the film on a viewer called a Schaukasten, storing the X-ray film itself has been performed for many years. In addition, pathological images and the like are obtained by staining tissues and cells of a human body and enlarging and displaying the images with a microscope. For storing and storing the images, microscopic images are photographed, and the photographs are accumulated and stored. For other medical images, almost the same storage and preservation method was used using films and photographs.

On the other hand, with the recent improvement of computers and their peripheral technologies, these medical images are converted into digital data using a scanner or the like, and are converted into digital image data in an electronic memory medium (semiconductor memory, magnetic memory,
Medical image databases to be stored and stored in magneto-optical memories have been developed and used. As a result, what used to be different storage methods (films, photos, preparations, etc.)
By storing and storing digital data in an integrated manner in electronic memory, data retrieval, reference, and duplication become much easier, and the space required for data storage can be significantly reduced. became. Further, with the recent development of communication and network technologies, image data transfer and the like can be easily performed.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a general medical image database apparatus. The medical image database device includes various inspection devices 10 (X-ray imaging device 14, X-ray CT device 1).
1, the MRI apparatus 12), a computer 20 connected to each examination apparatus, a medical image database main body 30, an image display terminal 40, and a network connecting these apparatuses.

FIG. 2 shows a conventional example of a flowchart when image data is input to the medical image database 30 and when an image is displayed. First, when an examination is performed by each examination apparatus 10 and a digital image is acquired (step 201), the connected computer 20 causes the patient I to be examined to be examined.
Information associated with the acquired image data, such as D, patient name, patient's date of birth, gender, age, examination date, imaging region, and imaging conditions, is input (step 202). The acquired image data and the input accompanying information are sent together to the image database device 30 via the network. The image database device 30 collectively stores the input image data and accompanying information under the control of the computer 31 in a database 3.
2 (step 203). When displaying the stored image, the user inputs desired image data and accompanying information based on the patient ID, examination date, and the like from a display terminal 40 connected to the image database device 30 via a network, and performs a search. A request is made (step 211), and the computer 31 outputs a search result from the database 32 to the display terminal 40 (step 212). The display terminal 40 displays the searched image data, accompanying information, and the like on a computer screen (step 213).

[0006] Incidentally, in a large hospital, a medical image generated per day at a medical site is an X-ray CT, M
Images of RI, CR, X-ray film, etc. are combined and converted into digital data, for example, 10 GB (gigabyte) of data
(Data "Medical Image Information System: HOPE / DrABLE" Ota, et al., FUJ
ITSU, 46,2, pp. 168-175). Even if one year is 200 days, 2 TB (terabytes) of data is generated annually and registered in the database. Assuming that these data are stored on a magneto-optical disk having a capacity of 600 MB, as many as 3,300 disks are required annually.

In the medical image database apparatus, since a large amount of image data is input to the database every day, an enormous storage capacity is required to store them. To alleviate this, the image is compressed and stored according to the storage period or the reference frequency.

[0008]

Although a large number of medical images are generated every day, there are some features in storing and referring to them. That is, (1) a medical image has a large amount of data per image, (2) it is required by law to save for a certain period (for example, two years in the case of a radiographic image), and (3) the reference frequency is image generation. (4) In general, it is rarely referred after a certain period of time except for images of academic value or images for medical education. (5) Medical care A lossless compression method that does not cause distortion is recommended for use in diagnosis. (6) Once acquired image data is not changed and then read only from the database and displayed.

[0009] From such a viewpoint, the above-mentioned conventional medical image database apparatus has several problems.
First, the amount of data recorded in the database monotonically increases with time. When the amount of stored data is enormous, problems such as an increase in image search time and an increase in the area occupied by an image storage medium (a floppy disk, an MO, a magnetic tape, or the like) for recording an image occur. These not only adversely affect the operability of the system, but also increase the cost of purchasing storage media for storing large amounts of data and the cost of maintaining and managing these storage media over time. Means to go. Furthermore, in order to alleviate the above-mentioned problem, if an attempt is made to discard image data that has passed a certain period of time after image acquisition, it is necessary to determine whether or not to discard each image because the importance level differs for each stored image. However, there is a problem in that it requires a huge amount of time and effort.

According to the present invention, in a database device for storing and storing medical images, it is possible to store only necessary data for a long time within a limited storage capacity of the database, thereby making the database economical. Its purpose is to facilitate construction and maintenance and management of medical image data.

[0011]

According to the present invention, in a medical image database for storing medical images, at the time of registering or referencing medical image data, a storage period is set according to the importance of the image. Means for automatically deleting image data that has passed the set storage period, etc., and automatically discarding unnecessary images in consideration of the reference form unique to medical images. The main feature is to construct a comprehensive medical image database.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Some specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Note that the basic configuration of the medical image database device is the same as that of FIG.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a flowchart when image data is input, and FIG. 3B is a flowchart when image data is deleted. In FIG. 3, the shaded portion is a functional portion which is a feature of the present embodiment.

First, an operation flow at the time of inputting image data will be described with reference to FIG. An inspection is performed in each inspection apparatus 10 to obtain digitized medical image data (step 301). Next, information (patient ID, name and birth date, age, gender, examination date, examination location, image acquisition conditions, etc.) accompanying the acquired image is input from the computer 20 attached to the examination apparatus 10 (step 30).
2). In this embodiment, image storage information is further input from the computer 20 or the like (step 303). This is to input the storage period after judging how important the acquired image is. The storage period may be input in the form of inputting a specific date of erasure, such as “normal storage” (deletion after the legal storage period has elapsed), “permanent storage” (basically no deletion), and “end of medical care”. Alternatively, an option such as “Erase after the legal storage period elapses” may be prepared in advance, displayed on a display of the computer 20, or the like, and selected from among them. If necessary, the information of the person who entered the image storage period is also stored. Next, the computer 31 of the database device 30 calculates a scheduled image erasure date based on the input image storage information (step 304), and inputs this to the database 32 together with the image data and the accompanying information. (Step 305).
Therefore, when the image data is stored in the database 32, in addition to the image data and the attached information, information relating to the image deletion such as the planned erasure date, the planned erasure date, and the like is also stored. .

Next, an operation flow at the time of erasing image data will be described with reference to FIG. The computer 31 is shown in FIG.
The processing shown in (b) is automatically performed at any time. That is, a comparison is made between the internal clock of the database 32 and the scheduled erasure date of the stored image data to search for image data that has passed the planned erasure date (step 311). Then, the searched image data is automatically deleted from the database 32 (step 314). Here, in some cases, as a final confirmation before deletion, an image data search result list with the date of erasure is displayed (step 312), and the database administrator or doctor makes a final confirmation of whether data can be deleted. (Step 313), and automatically deletes the image data determined to be erasable (step 314). On the other hand, with respect to the data determined to be erasable, the storage form after that is input again. After recalculating the planned erasure date (step 315), the calculation result and the name of the confirmer may be stored again in the database (step 316).

FIG. 4 is a diagram for qualitatively explaining the effect of the medical image database device according to the present embodiment in comparison with a conventional medical image database device. In the figure, the horizontal axis represents the elapsed time since the database was introduced, and the vertical axis represents the amount of data stored in the database or the cost related to data storage. With conventional database devices, there is no concept of automatically erasing unnecessary data, so the amount of data increases over time, and the cost of storing and managing data increases accordingly. I will do it. On the other hand, in the database device of the present invention, the date to be erased is input at the time of data input, and the database automatically deletes unnecessary data based on the information. The amount saturates at some point if the amount of data input daily is constant. After the saturation, the data volume slightly increases, which corresponds to the fact that the data that has been permanently stored is gradually accumulated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, conventionally, data having a possibility of being referred to as close to zero as possible is automatically erased, and a storage area for newly created data is secured, so that the database can be stored. This makes it possible to minimize the capacity and significantly reduce the cost for storage.

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is characterized in that when searching for and displaying an image once stored in the database, the date to be deleted can be changed and recalculated. FIG. 5 shows a flow for searching and outputting an image from the database and displaying the image on an image display device or the like in this embodiment.

First, an image search and output request is issued from the image display terminal 40 connected to the image database device 30 via the network (step 501). This is performed by inputting a patient ID, a patient name, a date of birth, and the like among information attached to the image. The computer 31 searches the database 32 for desired image data based on the information, and outputs it to the image display terminal 40 (step 502).
When the image display device 40 displays the output image, usually the accompanying information is also displayed, but in this embodiment, in addition, the planned erasure date set at the time of data input is also displayed (step 503). Then, it asks the image display person (usually a doctor, a laboratory technician, a nurse, etc.) whether or not there is a change in the scheduled image deletion date (steps 504, 505). If there is a change request, the information is input (step 507), sent from the image display device 40 to the image database device 30, and the computer 31 recalculates the planned date of image data deletion according to the change request. The above is registered in the database 32 (steps 508 and 509).

Even if there is no change in the deletion schedule, an image with a high reference frequency has a high probability of being a more important image. Therefore, the computer 31 recalculates a planned deletion date in accordance with the reference frequency. The result is registered in the database (steps 506, 508, 509). This corresponds to, for example, changing the scheduled deletion date to a value extended by one year each time an image is referenced and registering it in the database.

By applying this embodiment, it is possible to extend the storage period of image data according to the reference frequency and importance, thereby avoiding a situation in which an image to be referenced later has already been deleted. be able to.

[Embodiment 3] FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention. 2. Description of the Related Art As computer technology and communication technology have advanced, systems for digitizing and storing and managing various types of information have been introduced to medical sites.
The ordering system is a system that manages information (medical record, consultation appointment information, examination information, prescription information, etc.) required when a patient receives a medical examination at a hospital. The electronic medical record system has conventionally been based on paper. The diagnosis history is digitized and managed. In addition, there is an accounting system such as a medical accounting system that incorporates accounting processes unique to the medical field, such as insurance claims. In the present embodiment, the image database device 30
Is to automatically obtain information that affects the storage period of image data, recalculate the estimated date of erasing image data, and then resave the data in the database. FIG. 6 shows an example of the flow.

First, from an information system 600 such as an ordering system or an electronic medical record system, information on the end of medical treatment of a patient, information on medical images obtained from a certain patient, information on an image serving as a basis for diagnosis, etc. Is input to the image database device 30 (steps 601 and 60).
2,603). Input of information is automatically performed via a hospital LAN or the like. For these input data, the computer 31 searches for image data relating to the relevant patient or relevant image data (step 6).
11) The rescheduled date is recalculated according to a preset calculation procedure (step 612), and the information is returned to the database 32 (step 613). The preset procedure is the medical care end information, and if the image storage information at the time of data input is saved as legal age from the end of medical care, image data is deleted based on the input medical care end information Recalculate the planned date and make the database 32
It is to save again. In addition, from the electronic medical record system, of the multiple images acquired in the examination performed on a specific patient, only the image that is the basis of the diagnosis is extracted, and the image is stored for a longer period (in some cases, The date to be erased may be recalculated and the value may be stored so as to permanently store the value.

According to the present embodiment, information relating to image storage is automatically obtained from another system, and the scheduled erasure date is updated. Therefore, image data storage according to the reference probability and importance of image data. Is more reliable.

[Embodiment 4] FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The image database device serves as an interface with the outside and manages the entire database device;
A recording medium such as a RAID disk array, an external recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk (MO) or a magnetic tape, a driver for writing, reading, and erasing data in these external storage media, and a storage shelf 720 for storing the external recording medium
It is composed of Usually, database server 7
00, the RAID disk, and the driver 710 are connected to a network, and data can be read, written, and erased as needed. On the other hand, a magneto-optical disk or a magnetic tape cannot read, write, or erase data unless it is mounted on a driver.

In consideration of such a situation, the present embodiment provides:
The image database device: First, the image data input to the database is
1. A means for storing in a recording medium such as an ID disk which can be read and written and erased at any time; 2. means for transferring image data of which the scheduled erasure date is close (for example, data having the same scheduled erasure date) among the image data stored on the RAID disk to an external recording medium; When outputting image data stored in an external recording medium, it is necessary to attach the external recording medium to a driver. The image data is read from the external recording medium, and when the storage period of the image data is changed, the image data in the external recording medium is deleted, and the image data is newly written on a recording medium such as a RAID disk which can be read and written at any time. 3. means for storing; A database server manages image numbers, accompanying information, scheduled erasure dates, data storage locations (RAID disk address numbers, magneto-optical disk numbers, addresses, and the like) using a stored image data table and the like, and a database server. It is characterized in that the server has a means for managing the recording medium, the range of the planned erasure date of the data stored in the recording medium, the free space of the recording medium, and the like, using an image data storage medium management table or the like.

As in this embodiment, of the recording media constituting the image database, those which can be read and written and erased at any time are discriminated from those which cannot, and the image data is transferred to an external recording medium according to the scheduled erasure date. , It is possible to use the external recording medium efficiently.

In addition, the medical image database device according to the present invention enables a low-cost and efficient database in consideration of the characteristics of storing medical images.
For data storage that shows a similar tendency (storage of data in which the amount of individual data is large and its value is lost over time after image storage, or the value is suddenly lost due to an event such as the end of medical treatment) The image database device according to the present invention can be applied to this.
For example, in electronic publishing, electronic editing, and the like, image data and the like generated in the middle are very valuable until the publication is completed, but once completed, the intermediate product is almost useless. However, there are some intermediate products that can be applied to other occasions. Therefore, by entering information on the data storage period when entering or referencing data, and automatically deleting unnecessary data from the database based on that information, only the necessary data is stored for the required period. Becomes possible.

Further, as a standardization of data output from the diagnostic imaging apparatus, an ACR-NEMA standard dedicated to radiographic images is defined. Further, regarding the storage medium for image data, standardization of a 5-inch magneto-optical disk called IS & C standard has been performed. Here, ACR-NEM
A (American College Radiology-NationalElectr)
ical Manufactures Association is a digital image communication standard in the United States, and IS & C (Image
Save & Carry) is a registered trademark of the Medical Information System Development Center. In the medical image database device according to the present invention, the format of the collected image data is A
By adopting the CR-NEMA standard and the IS & C standard as an output medium, it is possible to ensure compatibility with other systems.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In a database device that stores and stores medical images,
At the time of registering or referencing medical image data in the database, there are provided a means for setting a storage period according to the importance of the image, a means for automatically erasing image data that has passed the set storage period, and the like. As a result, only the necessary data can be stored for a long time within the limited storage capacity, and the economical construction of the database and the simplification of maintenance and management of medical image data can be realized. There is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a general configuration of a medical image database device.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of a conventional medical image database device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of a first embodiment of the medical image database device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the effect of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of a second embodiment of the medical image database device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of a third embodiment of the medical image database device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a fourth embodiment of the medical image database device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Inspection apparatus 20 Computer attached to inspection apparatus 30 Medical image database main body 31 Computer attached to medical image database 32 Database 40 Image display terminal

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Tatsuya Fujii Inventor Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image database for storing and storing digital image data and digital information associated with the image data, a unit for inputting the image data and the associated information into the database, and a unit for searching the database A medical image database apparatus having means for outputting retrieved data, means for inputting a data storage term together with the image data and accompanying information, and automatically deleting data after the storage term from the database. And a medical image database device. 2. The medical image database apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for changing an image data retention period when image data is output and referenced from the database. 3. The medical image database device according to claim 1, wherein the storage device changes a storage term of stored image data by an operation from a system connected to the database device via a network. A medical image database device having means for newly storing the storage term in a database. 4. The medical image database device according to claim 1, wherein the image data input to the database is stored in a recording medium that can be read and written and erased at any time, and the image data is read and written and erased as needed. Means for collectively transferring image data whose storage expiration dates are close among image data stored in the recording medium to an external recording medium; and reading the image data from the external recording medium when reading the image data from the external recording medium. Means for erasing from a medium and newly saving on a readable / writable recording medium, means for managing the storage location for each image data, managing the data storage period in the recording medium, and the amount of data in the recording medium And a medical image database device.