Advanced medical image processing wizard

• US 10,025,479 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2014
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeraRecon Inc. (Fortive Corp.)
• Original Assignee: TeraRecon Inc. (Fortive Corp.)
• Inventors: Zhao, Tiecheng, Iwase, Akio, Kihara, Nobuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nabi, Reza
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rodriguez, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US14/495,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20150089365A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,392 Days
• Field of Search: 715708
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/31 for the rectum, e.g. proctoscopes, sigmoidoscopes , colonoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/10 Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7435 Displaying user selection data, e.g. icons in a graphical user interface
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/504 for diagnosis of blood vessels, e.g. by angiography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/51 for dentistry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/22 Social work or social welfare, e.g. community support activities or counselling services
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/008 Specific post-processing after tomographic reconstruction, e.g. voxelisation, metal artifact correction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

An automatic medical image processing system includes a series of operation stages, each automating specifying the image processing parameters for processing medical images. In response to an image processing indicator, a first medical image is automatically identified, including determining a first image operation and image processing parameters, without user intervention. The first image operation is performed on the first medical image based on the image processing parameters. A second medical image is generated and transmitted to the client device to be presented therein. The client device displays a message prompting the user whether the user is satisfied with the second medical image. In response to a user input from the client device indicating that the user is unsatisfied with the second medical image, one or more remedial options are presented to allow the user selecting a remedial action to reprocess the first medical image.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing medical images, the method comprising:

presenting a medical image processing interface that processes the medical images based on a plurality of image processing parameters, wherein the medical image processing interface provides an option to select either an advanced image processing system or an automatic image processing system;

in response to receiving a selection of the advanced image processing system, providing, by the advanced image processing system, an advanced medical image processing interface, the advanced medical image processing interface including a plurality of input fields that require a user to manually specify the plurality of image processing parameters; and

in response to receiving a selection of the automatic image processing system, providing, by the automatic image processing system, an automatic medical image processing interface having a series of operation stages automating a plurality of user interactions to obtain the plurality of image processing parameters, wherein providing the automatic medical image processing interface comprises

in response to an image processing indicator received from a client device, automatically identifying a first medical image based on the image processing indicator and determining, without user intervention, image operations including one or more image processing parameters associated with the operation stages,

performing the image operations on the first medical image based on the obtained image processing parameters, generating a second medical image,

transmitting the second medical image to the client device to be presented on a display of the client device,

causing the client device to display a message prompting the user whether the user is satisfied with the second medical image,

in response to receiving an indication that the user is unsatisfied with the second medical image, presenting one or more remedial options to reprocess the first medical image,

in response to receiving a selection of a first remedial option, determining an operation stage associated with the first remedial option, and invoking the advanced image processing system to allow the user, via the advanced medical image processing interface, to manually modify one or more image processing parameters of the operation stage associated with the first remedial option,

in response to receiving a selection of one of the remedial options indicating that the user wishes to examine specific steps concerning how the first medical image was processed, invoking the advanced image processing system to cause the client device to display detailed image processing parameters associated with one or more of the steps involved in processing the first medical image, and to allow the user, via the advanced medical image processing interface, to step through the steps to confirm accuracy in processing the first medical image at each of the one or more of the steps, to specify at least some of the image processing parameters and change results of at least one of the steps for reprocessing the first medical image, wherein changed data associated with the chanced results is propagated through following steps when the first medical image is reprocessed, and

reprocessing the first medical image based on the modified image processing parameters obtained by the advanced image processing system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting one or more remedial options to the first medical image comprises:

in response to receiving a selection of a second remedial option, automatically modifying at least one of the image processing parameters based on the selected remedial option; and

reprocessing the first medical image based on the modified image processing parameters.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein providing an automatic medical image processing interface further comprises:

causing the client device to display a processing timeline having a plurality of processing stages, each being represented by one of a plurality of graphical representations on the processing timeline; and

visually indicating via one of the graphical representations on the processing timeline which of the processing stages is a current processing stage.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

indicating via a first of the graphical representations that the current processing stage is a first processing stage, in response to a request received from a user for processing a first medical image associated with a first patient;

indicating via a second of the graphical representations that the current processing stage is a second processing stage, in response to presenting the second medical image at the client device; and

indicating via a third of the graphical representations that the current processing stage is a third processing stage, when the user is prompted to confirm whether the user is satisfied with the second medical image.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing an automatic medical image processing interface further comprises:

transmitting to the client device a graphical representation representing a human body of a patient having a plurality of selectable tags to be displayed therein, each selectable tag corresponding to one of a plurality of medical procedures performed on one or more body areas of the human body; and

in response to a first selection of a first of the tags corresponding to a first medical procedure, presenting a list of one or more medical images associated with the first medical procedure, including the act medical image.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

automatically determining a body area identifier (ID) identifying a body area corresponding to the first tag;

determining a list of one or more medical images based on the body area ID and a patient ID identifying the patient; and

transmitting the list of medical images to the client device to be displayed therein.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining a procedure ID identifying the first medical procedure, wherein the medical images are associated with the first medical procedure performed on a body area identified by the body area ID.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein providing an automatic medical image processing interface further comprises:

transmitting to the client device a list of one or more medical appointments of a patient that have been previously scheduled with one or more medical physicians;

for each of the appointments, indicating whether there is at least one medical image associated with the medical appointment; and

in response to a second selection selecting one of the medical appointments, transmitting to the client device a list of one or more medical images associated with the selected medical appointment, including the first medical image.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising automatically determining an appointment ID identifying the selected appointment, wherein the medical images are identified further based on the appointment ID and the patient ID.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein providing an automatic medical image processing interface further comprises:

transmitting to the client device a List of medical procedures that have been performed on a patient;

for each of the medical procedures, indicating whether there is at least one medical image associated with the medical procedure; and

in response to a third selection selecting one of the medical procedures, presenting a list of one or more medical images associated with the selected medical procedure, including the first medical image.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising automatically determining a procedure ID identifying the selected medical procedure, wherein the medical images are identified based on the procedure ID and the patient ID.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein providing an automatic medical image processing interface further comprises:

transmitting to the client device a list of one or more medical conditions of a patient;

for each of the medical conditions, indicating whether there is at least one medical image associated with the medical condition; and

in response to a fourth selection selecting one of the medical conditions, presenting a list of one or more medical images associated with the selected medical condition, including the first medical image.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising automatically determining a medical condition ID identifying the selected medical condition, wherein the medical images are identified based on the medical condition ID and the patient ID.

14. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for processing medical images, the operations comprising:

presenting a medical image processing interface that processes the medical images based on a plurality of image processing parameters, wherein the medical image processing interface provides an option to select either an advanced image processing system or an automatic image processing system;

in response to receiving a selection of the advanced image processing system, providing, by the advanced image processing system, an advanced medical image processing interface, the advanced medical image processing interface including a plurality of input fields that require a user to manually specify the plurality of image processing parameters; and

in response to receiving a selection of the automatic image processing system, providing, by the automatic image processing system, an automatic medical image processing interface having a series of operation stages automating a plurality of user interactions to obtain the plurality of image processing parameters, wherein providing the automatic medical image processing interface comprises

in response to an image processing indicator received from a client device, automatically identifying a first medical image based on the image processing indicator and determining, without user intervention, image operations including one or more image processing parameters associated with the operation stages,

performing the image operations on the first medical image based on the obtained image processing parameters, generating a second medical image,

transmitting the second medical image to the client device to be presented on a display of the client device,

causing the client device to display a message prompting the user whether the user is satisfied with the second medical image,

in response to receiving an indication that the user is unsatisfied with the second medical image, presenting one or more remedial options to reprocess the first medical image,

in response to receiving a selection of a first remedial option, determining an operation stage associated with the first remedial option, and invoking the advanced image processing system to allow the user, via the advanced medical image processing interface, to manually modify one or more image processing parameters of the operation stage associated with the first remedial option,

in response to receiving a selection of one of the remedial options indicating that the user wishes to examine specific steps concerning how the first medical image was processed, invoking the advanced image processing system to cause the client device to display detailed image processing parameters associated with one or more of the steps involved in processing the first medical image, and to allow the user, via the advanced medical image processing interface, to step through the steps to confirm accuracy in processing the first medical image at each of the one or more of the steps, to specify at least some of the image processing parameters and change results of at least one of the steps for reprocessing the first medical image, wherein changed data associated with the changed results is propagated through following steps when the first medical image is reprocessed, and

reprocessing the first medical image based on the modified image processing parameters obtained by the advanced image processing system.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein presenting one or more remedial options to reprocess the first medical image comprises:

in response to receiving a selection of a second remedial option, automatically modifying at least one of the image processing parameters based on the selected remedial option; and

reprocessing the first medical image based on the modified image processing parameters.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein providing an automatic medical image processing interface further comprises:

causing the client device to display a processing timeline having a plurality of processing stages, each being represented by one of a plurality of graphical representations on the processing timeline; and

visually indicating via one of the graphical representations on the processing timeline which of the processing stages is a current processing stage.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

indicating via a first of the graphical representations that the current processing stage is a first processing stage, in response to a request received from a user for processing a first medical image associated with a first patient;

indicating via a second of the graphical representations that the current processing stage is a second processing stage, in response to presenting the second medical image at the client device; and

indicating via a third of the graphical representations that the current processing stage is a third processing stage, when the user is prompted to confirm whether the user is satisfied with the second medical image.

18. A system for processing medical images, comprising:

a processor;

an interface system executed by the processor to process the medical images based on a plurality of image processing parameters, wherein the medical image processing interface provides an option to select either an advanced medical image processing interface or an automatic medical image processing interface;

an advanced image processing system executed by the processor to provide the advanced medical image processing interface, the advanced medical image processing interface including a plurality of input fields that require a user to manually specify the plurality of image processing parameters; and

an automatic image processing system executed by the processor to provide the automatic medical image processing interface having a series of operation stages automating a plurality of user interactions to obtain the plurality of image processing parameters, wherein providing the automatic medical image processing interface comprises

in response to an image processing indicator received from a client device, automatically identifying a first medical image based on the image processing indicator and determining, without user intervention, image operations including one or more image processing parameters associated with the operation stages,

performing the image operations on the first medical image based on the obtained image processing parameters, generating a second medical image,

transmitting the second medical image to the client device to be presented on a display of the client device,

causing the client device to display a message prompting the user whether the user is satisfied with the second medical image,

in response to receiving an indication that the user is unsatisfied with the second medical image, presenting one or more remedial options to reprocess the first medical image,

in response to receiving a selection of a first remedial option, determining an operation stage associated with the first remedial option, and invoking the advanced image processing system to allow the user, via the advanced medical image processing interface, to manually modify one or more image processing parameters of the operation stage associated with the first remedial option,

in response to receiving a selection of one of the remedial options indicating that the user wishes to examine specific steps concerning how the first medical image was processed, invoking the advanced image processing system to cause the client device to display detailed image processing parameters associated with one or more of the steps involved in processing the first medical image, and to allow the user, via the advanced medical image processing interface, to step through the steps to confirm accuracy in processing the first medical image at each of the one or more of the steps, to specify at least some of the image processing parameters and change results of at least one of the steps for reprocessing the first medical image, wherein changed data associated with the changed results is propagated through following steps when the first medical image is reprocessed, and

reprocessing the first medical image based on the modified image processing parameters obtained by the advanced image processing system.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein presenting one or more remedial options to reprocess the first medical image comprises:

in response to receiving a selection of a second remedial option, automatically modifying at least one of the image processing parameters based on the selected remedial option; and

reprocessing the first medical image based on the modified image processing parameters.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein providing an automatic medical image processing interface further comprises:

causing the client device to display a processing timeline having a plurality of processing stages, each being represented by one of a plurality of graphical representations on the processing timeline; and

visually indicating via one of the graphical representations on the processing timeline which of the processing stages is a current processing stage.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the automatic image processing system is to:

indicate via a first of the graphical representations that the current processing stage is a first processing stage, in response to a request received from a user for processing a first medical image associated with a first patient;

indicate via a second of the graphical representations that the current processing stage is a second processing stage, in response to presenting the second medical image at the client device; and

indicate via a third of the graphical representations that the current processing stage is a third processing stage, when the user is prompted to confirm whether the user is satisfied with the second medical image.