Method and computer readable medium for merging studies

• US 20020188475A1
• Filed: 06/07/2001
• Published: 12/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Luszcz, Joseph M., Filteau, Sheila, Collamore, Brian, Banta, Christina
• Granted Patent: US 8,015,031 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• 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

Abstract

A method and a computer readable medium for merging two or more separate unique studies based upon context-specific content, and merging the two or more separate studies, each with a unique identifier, into a composite study containing artifacts of the two or more merged studies, with the composite study having a single unique identifier.

Claims

1. A study merging method, comprising:

merging a patient'"'"'s first medical study with a logically related second medical study, such that the resultant composite study is the first medical study and has a study identifier of the first medical study, wherein the merging includes an automatic adding of medical information of the second medical study to the first medical study.

2. The study merging method of claim 1, wherein the medical information is at least one of medical images, patient measurements, findings, comments, waveforms, Doppler audio, and a medical study report.

3. The study merging method of claim 2, wherein patient measurement information of the first medical study is computed, based on the patient measurements in the second medical study, upon merging the first and second medical studies.

4. The study merging method of claim 1, wherein stage information of the second medical study is added to the first medical study according to a protocol attribute of the second medical study.

5. The study merging method of claim 1, wherein the first and second medical studies include unique identifiers according to a DICOM standard.

6. The study merging method of claim 1, wherein a series instance identifier, for a series of the second medical study, is added to the first medical study without generating a new series instance identifier in the first medical study for said series of the second medical study.

7. The study merging method of claim 1, wherein new medical information of the second medical study is added to the composite study based on the new medical information including a study identifier of the second medical study.

8. The study merging method of claim 1, further comprising identifying the first and second medical studies and initiating said merging from a terminal remote from a storage unit containing either of the first and second medical studies.

9. A study merging method, comprising:

merging a patient'"'"'s first medical study with a logically related second medical study, such that medically context-specific information stored in at least one of the first and second medical studies is merged based upon a protocol of at least one of the first and second studies, the protocol being indicated by an attribute of at least one of the first and second studies.

10. The study merging method of claim 9, wherein the medically context-specific information is stage information.

11. The study merging method of claim 9, wherein the medically context-specific information is measurement information.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the medical information is at least one of medical images, patient measurements, findings, comments, waveforms, Doppler audio, and a medical study report.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein patient measurement information of the first medical study is computed, based on the patient measurements in the second medical study, upon merging the first and second medical studies.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein stage information of the second medical study is added to the first medical study according to a protocol attribute of the second medical study, upon merging the first and second medical studies.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the first and second medical studies include unique identifiers according to a DICOM standard.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein a series instance identifier, for a series of the second medical study, is added to the first medical study without generating a new series instance identifier in the first medical study for said series of the second medical study.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein new medical information of the first or second medical studies is added to the composite study based on the new medical information including a study identifier of either of the first or second medical studies.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, further comprising controlling the computer to notify a user when the new information is added to the merged first medical study.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 12, further comprising controlling the computer to delete a distinct database identity of the second medical study.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 12, further comprising controlling the computer to identify the first and second medical studies and initiating said merging from a terminal remote from a storage unit containing either of the first and second medical studies.

12. A computer readable medium comprising a program to control a computer to:

merge a patient'"'"'s first medical study with a logically related second medical study, such that the resultant composite study is the first medical study and has a study identifier of the first medical study, wherein the merging includes an automatic adding of medical information of the second medical study to the first medical study.

22. A computer readable medium comprising a program to control a computer to:

merge a patient'"'"'s first medical study with a logically related second medical study, such that medically context-specific information stored in at least one of the first and second medical studies is merged based upon a protocol of at least one of the first and second studies, the protocol being indicated by an attribute of at least one of the first and second studies.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the medically context-specific information is stage information.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the medically context-specific information is measurement information.

26. The medical study merging method of claim 25, wherein the composite study is the first medical study.

25. A medical study merging method, comprising:

identifying a patient'"'"'s related first and second medical studies to be merged;

merging the first medical study with the second medical study, such that a resultant composite study has a study identifier different from at least one of the first and second medical studies, wherein the merging includes an automatic adding of a series of the second medical study to the composite study, the series of the second medical study having a series identifier the same as a pre-merge corresponding series identifier, with the series of the second medical study including at least an artifact with an artifact identifier the same as a pre-merge corresponding artifact identifier, such that the composite study includes series and corresponding series identifiers from both the pre-merged first and second medical studies.