Systems and methods for independent assessment of image data

• US 10,140,420 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2012
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Merative US LP
• Original Assignee: Merge Healthcare Incorporated (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: DeVries, Jon T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thirugnanam, Gandhi
• Application Number:
  US13/650,370
• Publication Number:
  US 20130094728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,237 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• 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: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

Systems and methods for managing at least one medical image that includes image data and metadata. One method includes generating, at a processor, a number of copies of the at least one medical image, wherein the number of copies is equal to a number of independent reviewers associated with the at least one medical image. Each of the copies includes the image data and the metadata. The method also includes modifying the metadata of each of the copies to include a unique identifier, and storing the copies to at least one image storage device.

Claims

1. A method for managing at least one medical image, the method comprising:

receiving information regarding the at least one medical image, the information including a clinical trial identifier associated with the at least one medical image;

determining, at a first processor, a number of copies needed of the at least one medical image based on the clinical trial identifier associated with the at least one medical image;

generating, at the first processor, a unique identifier for each copy;

storing metadata from the at least one medical image and the unique identifier for each copy;

linking, at the first processor, the unique identifier for each copy with the metadata from the at least one medical image to indicate which copies are generated based on the at least one medical image;

de-identifying the at least one medical image prior to generating the number of copies of the at least one medical image; and

providing, to a second processor, the number of copies needed and the unique identifiers,

wherein the second processor generates the number of copies of the at least one medical image, modifies the metadata of each of the copies based on one of the unique identifiers, and stores the copies to at least one image storage device, and

wherein each medical image includes an image object, and wherein generating the unique identifier for each copy includes generating a unique value for at least one field of a header of the image object.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, through a user interface, parameters associated with a clinical trial and storing the parameters.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the number of copies needed includes assessing parameters associated with a clinical trial.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the number of copies needed includes determining a number of independent reviewers associated with a clinical trial.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the number of independent reviewers includes determining a minimum number of independent reviewers associated with the clinical trial.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the number of independent reviewers includes determining a maximum number of independent reviewers associated with the clinical trial.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the unique value for the at least one field includes generating a unique value for a study universal identification field.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the unique value for the at least one field includes generating a unique value for at least one of a patient identification field, a medical record number field, and an accession number field.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing each of the unique identifiers to a different reviewer, each unique identifier allowing a reviewer to access and review one of the copies independently of the remaining copies.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising accessing an image assessment associated with each copy that is linked to the at least one medical image and comparing the image assessments of the copies linked to the same at least one medical image to determine when additional image assessments are needed.

11. A system for managing at least one medical image, the system comprising:

a first processor configured to;

receive information regarding the at least one medical image, the at least one medical image including image data and metadata, the information including a clinical trial identifier associated with the at least one medical image;

determine a number of copies needed of the at least one medical image based on the clinical trial identifier associated with the at least one medical image;

generate a number of unique identifiers, the number of unique identifiers equal to the number of copies needed; and

provide, to a second processor, the number of copies needed and the unique identifiers,

link the unique identifier for each copy with the metadata from the at least one medical image to indicate which copies are generated based on the at least one medical image, and

store the unique identifiers and the information regarding the at least one medical image to associate the unique identifiers with the at least one medical image,

wherein the second processor de-identifies the at least one medical image prior to generating the number of copies of the at least one medical image, generates the number of copies of the at least one medical image, modifies the metadata of each of the copies to include one of the unique identifiers, and stores the copies to at least one image storage device, and

wherein each medical image includes an image object, and wherein the unique identifiers each include a unique value for at least one field included in each image object.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a user interface coupled to the first processor, the user interface configured to receive parameters associated with a clinical trial from a user and provide the parameters to the first processor.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first processor stores the parameters to at least one non-transitory memory module.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first processor is configured to determine a number of copies needed of the at least one medical image by accessing the parameters stored in the at least one non-transitory memory module.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the number of copies needed equals a number of independent reviewers of the at least one medical image.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one field includes at least one of a unique value for a study universal identification field, a patient identification field, a medical record number field, and an accession number field.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the first processor is further configured to provide each of the unique identifiers to a different reviewer, each unique identifier allowing a reviewer to access and review one of the copies independently of the remaining copies.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the first processor is further configured to access an image assessment associated with each of the copies that include unique identifiers associated with the at least one medical image, and compare the image assessments of the copies associated with the at least one medical image to determine when additional image assessments are needed.

19. The system of claim 11, further comprising the second processor, the second processor configured to temporarily store the at least one medical image and provide the information regarding the at least one medical image to the first processor.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one image storage device includes at least one of a radiology information system, a picture archiving and communication system, and a clinical image management system.