Information processing apparatus and information processing method

• US 10,013,727 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2008
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Iwase, Yoshihiko, Katayama, Akihiro, Imamura, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Gort, Elaine L
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TRANG T
• Application Number:
  US12/673,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20110019882A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,596 Days
• Field of Search: 382128
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS

Abstract

A report concerning the contents obtained by interpretation based on a medical image can be efficiently created without any constraints of expression. An information processing apparatus according to this invention includes an image analysis unit which acquires information concerning a region name or disease name based on an analysis result on the input medical image, an input unit which inputs the result obtained by interpreting the medical image as character information, a conversion candidate prediction unit which outputs conversion candidates concerning the input character information, and a display control unit which displays the input character information upon converting the character information into character information selected from the conversion candidates. The apparatus further includes a priority level setting unit which sets priority levels in advance for character information output as the conversion candidates.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, which is communicably connected to a database, for creating a report concerning an interpretation result on a medical image, the information processing apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the information processing apparatus to;

receive a medical image obtained by imaging an object by using a medical imaging apparatus from the database;

receive region information found in the received medical image;

input at least one first character relating to the medical image;

determine a first text candidate and a second text candidate from a plurality of text candidates in a candidate table, based on the at least one first character, wherein the first text candidate describes a first region, and the second text candidate describes a second region, wherein a character length of the first text candidate and a character length of the second text candidate are longer than a character length of the at least one first character;

determine an interpretation status for the first region and the second region, wherein the interpretation status does not include information representing whether or not the first text candidate and the second text candidate were selected, and wherein the interpretation status indicates whether the medical image has been interpreted;

detect an abnormality in the medical image by performing image processing on the medical image;

determine, based on the determined interpretation status and the detected abnormality, a priority level for the first text candidate and the second text candidate, wherein if the first region has already been interpreted and the second region has not yet been interpreted, a priority level for the first text candidate is determined to be higher than a priority level for the second text candidate, wherein if an abnormality has been detected in the first region and the abnormality has not been detected in the second region, a priority level for the first text candidate is determined to be higher than a priority level for the second text candidate; and

visually present, based on the determined priority levels for the first text candidate and the second text candidate, the first text candidate and the second text candidate in this order.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first text candidate and the second text candidate include a plurality of characters for conversion of the at least one first character.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the memory stores further instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the information processing apparatus to set priority levels to preferentially present the plurality of characters as the first text candidate and the second text candidate, which concern a result of an analysis of the medical image.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of characters to be presented as the first text candidate and the second text candidate is at least one of a region name included in the medical image.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information processing apparatus arranges the plurality of characters concerning the at least one first character, and presents the plurality of characters as the first text candidate and the second text candidate on the basis of the set priority levels and a number of times of presentation in the past.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information processing apparatus sets in advance the priority levels for the plurality of characters to be non-preferentially presented as the first text candidate and the second text candidate.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the memory stores further instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the information processing apparatus to recognize the medical image of a plurality of medical images and to recognize a display condition for the medical image, and

wherein the information processing apparatus sets the priority levels to preferentially present the plurality of characters of the medical image, which are included in the display condition.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the memory stores further instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the information processing apparatus to acquire, by analyzing the medical image, the priority levels for giving increased priority to a region in which an abnormality has been detected than priority given to a region in which an abnormality has not been detected, and

wherein the at least one first character is converted to characters that are selected from among the plurality of characters.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medical image comprises a plurality of images, and

wherein a priority level of a text candidate concerning the region information and a disease name, which is from the plurality of images, is increased.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the first text candidate, and the second text candidate includes a word and a phrase.

11. A method for creating a report concerning an interpretation result on a medical image, the method comprising:

receiving a medical image obtained by imaging an object by using a medical imaging apparatus from a database;

receiving region information found in the medical image;

inputting at least one first character relating to the medical image;

determining a first text candidate and a second text candidate from a plurality of text candidates in a candidate table, based on the at least one first character, wherein the first text candidate describes a first region, and the second text candidate describes a second region, wherein a character length of the first text candidate and a character length of the second text candidate are longer than a character length of the at least one first character;

determining an interpretation status for the first region and the second region, wherein the interpretation status does not include information relating where or not the first text candidate and the second text candidate were selected, and wherein the interpretation status indicates whether the medical image has been interpreted;

detecting an abnormality in the medical image by performing image processing on the medical image;

determining, based on the determined interpretation status and the detected abnormality, a priority level for the first text candidate and the second text candidate, wherein if the first region has already been interpreted and the second region has not yet been interpreted, a priority level for the first text candidate is determined to be higher than a priority level for the second text candidate, wherein if an abnormality has been detected in the first region and the abnormality has not been detected in the second region, a priority level for the first text candidate is determined to be higher than a priority level for the second text candidate; and

visually presenting, based on the determined priority levels for the first text candidate and the second text candidate, the first text candidate and the second text candidate in this order.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first text candidate and the second text candidate include a first plurality of characters for conversion of the at least one first character.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising setting priority levels to preferentially present the first plurality of characters as the first text candidate and the second text candidate, which concern a result of an analysis of the medical image.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising acquiring, by analyzing the medical image, the priority levels for giving increased priority to a region in which an abnormality has been detected than priority given to a region in which an abnormality has not been detected,

wherein the at least one first character is converted to characters that are selected from among the first plurality of characters.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program which executes a method for creating a report concerning an interpretation result on a medical image, the method comprising:

receiving a medical image obtained by imaging an object by using a medical imaging apparatus from a database;

receiving region information found in the medical image;

inputting at least one first character relating to the medical image;

determine a first text candidate and a second text candidate from a plurality of text candidates in a candidate table, based on the at least one first character, wherein the first text candidate describes a first region, and the second text candidate describes a second region, wherein a character length of the first text candidate and a character length of the second text candidate are longer than a character length of the at least one first character;

determining an interpretation status for the first region and the second region, wherein the interpretation status does not include information relating where or not the first text candidate and the second text candidate were selected, and wherein the interpretation status indicates whether the medical image has been interpreted;

detecting an abnormality in the medical image by performing image processing on the medical image;

determining, based on the determined interpretation status and the detected abnormality, a priority level for the first text candidate and the second text candidate, wherein if the first region has already been interpreted and the second region has not yet been interpreted, a priority level for the first text candidate is determined to be higher than a priority level for the second text candidate, wherein if an abnormality has been detected in the first region and the abnormality has not been detected in the second region, a priority level for the first text candidate is determined to be higher than a priority level for the second text candidate; and

visually presenting, based on the determined priority levels for the first text candidate and the second text candidate, the first text candidate and the second text candidate in this order.