Data processing and feedback method and system

• US 20040120557A1
• Filed: 12/18/2002
• Published: 06/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Avinash, Gopal B., Walker, Matthew J., Sabol, John M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,187,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/28 for medicine
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/60 relating to pathologies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A technique is provided for offering feedback, including feedback for patient care and for training purposes for medical professionals and human operators. The technique includes accessing data, such as image data, for evaluation by a human operator. The data is then analyzed via a computer-assisted data operating algorithm, and the analysis may further include analysis of supplemental data accessed from an integrated knowledge base. Based upon the analysis feedback is provided to the operator, such as for completing or complementing the evaluation, correcting analysis by the human operator, or otherwise informing the human operator of similarities or differences between the analyses.

Claims

1. A method for performing an operation on data comprising:

accessing data from a repository, the data including a feature of interest identifiable from the data;

receiving an assessment from a human operator regarding the feature of interest in the accessed data;

accessing supplemental data including a known correct assessment of a similar feature of interest identifiable from the supplemental data;

analyzing the accessed data, the received assessment and the supplemental data via a computer-assisted data operating algorithm; and

providing feedback to the human operator based upon the analysis.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is representative of an image and an image is reconstructed and displayed for analysis by the human image reader.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessed supplemental data is clinical or non-clinical data from a data repository.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the supplemental data includes data derived from image data for a population of patients exhibiting similar features of interest.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the supplemental data includes data selected from a group consisting of electrical resource data, imaging resource data, laboratory data, histologic data, financial data, and demographic data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted diagnosis algorithm.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted processing algorithm.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted acquisition algorithm.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback is based upon a difference between feature detection by the human operator and feature detection performed by the algorithm.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback is based upon a difference between feature segmentation by the human operator and feature segmentation performed by the algorithm.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback is based upon a difference between feature classification by the human operator and feature classification performed by the algorithm.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback includes an instructional report provided to the human operator.

13. A method for processing medical data comprising:

accessing first image data from a repository;

reconstructing and displaying a medical diagnostic image based upon the first image data;

receiving data from a human image reader regarding a reader feature of interest in the displayed image;

accessing second image data derived from an integrated knowledge base including data from a plurality of controllable and prescribable data resources;

analyzing the first and second image data via a computer-assisted data operating algorithm to generate a result data set identifying a computer feature of interest in the image data;

comparing the result data set to the data from the human image reader; and

providing feedback to the human image reader based upon the analysis.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first image data is derived from data from a first imaging modality and the second image data is derived from data from a second imaging modality different from the first modality.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the second image data includes data derived from image data for a population of patients exhibiting similar features of interest.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising accessing and analyzing supplemental data including data selected from a group consisting of electrical resource data, imaging resource data, laboratory data, histologic data, financial data, and demographic data.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the first and second image data is analyzed after the data is received from the human image reader.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted diagnosis algorithm.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted processing algorithm.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted acquisition algorithm.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein the feedback is based upon a difference between feature detection by the human image reader and feature detection performed by the algorithm.

22. The method of claim 13 wherein the feedback is based upon a difference between feature segmentation by the human image reader and feature segmentation performed by the algorithm.

23. The method of claim 13 wherein the feedback is based upon a difference between feature classification by the human image reader and feature classification performed by the algorithm.

24. A system for performing an operation on medical data comprising:

a data repository for storing medical data;

a programmed computer system configured to access the data from the repository, to receive an assessment from a human operator regarding a feature of interest identifiable from the data, to access supplemental data including a known correct assessment of a similar feature of interest identifiable from the supplemental data, to analyze the accessed data, the received assessment and the supplemental data via a computer-assisted data operating algorithm, and to provide feedback to the human image operator based upon the analysis.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the data repository comprises an integrated knowledge base configured to store data from a plurality of controllable and prescribable data resources, and wherein the computer system is configured to store the parameter modification in an integrated knowledge base.

26. The system of claim 24, further comprising a display device for displaying a reconstructed image based upon the data.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted diagnosis algorithm.

28. The system of claim 24, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted processing algorithm.

29. The system of claim 24, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted acquisition algorithm.

30. The system of claim 24, further comprising a workstation at which the display device is located, and wherein the computer system is at least partially remote from the workstation.

31. The system of claim 24, wherein the repository is configured for storing supplemental clinical or non-clinical data.

32. The system of claim 24, wherein the supplemental data includes data derived from image data for a population of patients exhibiting similar features of interest.

33. The system of claim 24, wherein the supplemental data includes data selected from a group consisting of electrical resource data, imaging resource data, laboratory data, histologic data, financial data, and demographic data.

34. A system for processing medical image data comprising:

a data repository for storing medical image data;

a display device for displaying a reconstructed image based upon the image data; and

a programmed computer system configured to access image data from the repository, to reconstruct a medical diagnostic image from based upon the image data, to display the image via the display device, to receive data from a human image reader regarding a reader feature of interest in the displayed image, to access supplemental data from an integrated knowledge base including clinical and non-clinical data from a plurality of controllable and prescribable data resources, to analyze the image data and the supplemental data via a computer-assisted data operating algorithm to generate a result data set, to compare the result data set to the data from the human image reader, and to provide feedback to the human image reader based upon the analysis.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the image data is derived from data from a first imaging modality and the supplemental data is derived from data from a second imaging modality different from the first modality.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein the supplemental data includes data derived from image data for a population of patients exhibiting similar features of interest.

37. The system of claim 34, wherein the supplemental data includes data selected from a group consisting of electrical resource data, imaging resource data, laboratory data, histologic data, financial data, and demographic data.

38. The system of claim 34, wherein the image data is analyzed after the data is received from the human image reader.

39. The system of claim 34, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted diagnosis algorithm.

40. The system of claim 34, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted processing algorithm.

41. The system of claim 34, wherein the computer-assisted data operating algorithm is a computer-assisted acquisition algorithm.

42. The system of claim 34, wherein the feedback is based upon a difference between feature detection by the human image reader and feature detection performed by the algorithm.

43. The system of claim 34, wherein the feedback is based upon a difference between feature segmentation by the human image reader and feature segmentation performed by the algorithm.

44. The system of claim 34 wherein the feedback is based upon a difference between feature classification by the human image reader and feature classification performed by the algorithm.

45. The system of claim 34, further comprising a workstation at which the display device is located, and wherein the computer system is at least partially remote from the workstation.

46. A system for processing medical data comprising:

means for accessing data from a repository, the data including a feature of interest identifiable from the data;

means for receiving an assessment from a human operator regarding the feature of interest in the accessed data;

means for accessing supplemental data including a known correct assessment of a similar feature of interest identifiable from the supplemental data;

means for analyzing the accessed data, the received assessment and the supplemental data via a computer-assisted data operating algorithm; and

means for providing feedback to the human operator based upon the analysis.

47. A system for processing medical data comprising:

means for accessing first image data from a repository;

reconstructing and displaying a medical diagnostic image from based upon the first image data;

means for receiving data from a human image reader regarding a reader feature of interest in the displayed image;

means for accessing second image data derived from an integrated knowledge base including data from a plurality of controllable and prescribable data resources;

means for analyzing the first and second image data via a computer-assisted data operating algorithm to generate a result data set identifying a computer feature of interest in the image data;

means for comparing the result data set to the data from the human image reader; and

means for providing feedback to the human image reader based upon the analysis.

48. A computer executable program comprising:

at least one machine readable medium;

computer code stored on the at least one machine readable medium comprising instructions for accessing data from a repository, the data including a feature of interest identifiable from the data, receiving an assessment from a human operator regarding the feature of interest in the accessed data, accessing supplemental data including a known correct assessment of a similar feature of interest identifiable from the supplemental data, analyzing the accessed data, the received assessment and the supplemental data via a computer-assisted data operating algorithm, and providing feedback to the human operator based upon the analysis.

49. A computer executable program comprising:

at least one machine readable medium;

computer code stored on the at least one machine readable medium comprising instructions for accessing first image data from a repository, reconstructing and displaying a medical diagnostic image from based upon the first image data, receiving data from a human image reader regarding a reader feature of interest in the displayed image, accessing second image data derived from an integrated knowledge base including data from a plurality of controllable and prescribable data resources, analyzing the first and second image data via a computer-assisted data operating algorithm to generate a result data set identifying a computer feature of interest in the image data, comparing the result data set to the data from the human image reader, and providing feedback to the human image reader based upon the analysis.