Storage and access method for an image retrieval system in a client/server environment

• US 20050108365A1
• Filed: 10/29/2004
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Dorn, Karlheinz, Becker, Detlef, Pusztai, Artur
• Granted Patent: US 7,831,683 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures

Abstract

An image retrieval system has a network server, at least one client terminal and a data archive of a multiuser file management system, spatially separated from server and client, of a file server. A reduced data stream is now transmitted between server and client and includes a header for transmitting address and meta information with an additional data field that includes an access key to the bulk data stored in the external data archive. This reduces the data volume to be transmitted during image retrieval, and thus reduces the network utilization in the transmission of the data stream occurring between server and client. As a result of this, the time period required to transfer the modified data stream between server and client terminal is correspondingly short.

Claims

1. An access method for an image retrieval system in a data transmission network organized using the client/server principle, for enabling access to image data that are stored in a data archive of a file server that is spatially remote with reference to the geographical location of a client terminal accessing the image data, comprising:

transmitting to the file server an access key to access at least a portion of the image data that is requested by the client terminal from a network server, wherein the access key is transmitted from the network server to the client terminal, for indirectly addressing the at least a portion of the image data.

2. The access method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmitting includes:

transmitting a search request of the client terminal to a network server in order to request a portion of an image data sequence stored in the data archive;

transmitting a formatted data stream from the network server to the client terminal, including a header for transmitting address data with an additional data field for an access key to the requested portion of the image data stored in the external data archive;

accessing the client terminal to the at least a portion of the image data by transmitting the access key to the file server; and

transmitting the at least a portion, requested by the network server, of the image data from the file server to the client terminal.

3. The access method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the access key is a pointer to a section of the image data of a file that contains the image data in plain form.

4. The access method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the data stream transmitted from the network server to the client terminal is a data stream formatted using the DICOM standard that includes merely a header for transmitting address information with an additional data field for the access key to the portion, requested by the client terminal, of the image data stored in the data archive.

5. The access method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transmission is of the same formatted data stream from the network server to a number of client terminals, the header of this data stream including an additional data field for an access key to one and the same portion, requested by the client terminal, of the image data stored in the data archive, as a result of which the client terminals are enabled, after a request on the network server, to access the portion of these image data at the same time.

9. The access method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the access key is a pointer to a section of the image data of a file that contains the image data in plain form.

10. The access method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the data stream transmitted from the network server to the client terminal is a data stream formatted using the DICOM standard that includes merely a header for transmitting address information with an additional data field for the access key to the portion, requested by the client terminal, of the image data stored in the data archive.

11. The access method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the transmission is of the same formatted data stream from the network server to a number of client terminals, the header of this data stream including an additional data field for an access key to one and the same portion, requested by the client terminal, of the image data stored in the data archive, as a result of which the client terminals are enabled, after a request on the network server, to access the portion of these image data at the same time.

12. The access method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the transmission is of the same formatted data stream from the network server to a number of client terminals, the header of this data stream including an additional data field for an access key to one and the same portion, requested by the client terminal, of the image data stored in the data archive, as a result of which the client terminals are enabled, after a request on the network server, to access the portion of these image data at the same time.

6. An image retrieval system in a data transmission network organized using the client/server principle, for enabling access to image data that are stored in a data archive of a file server that is spatially remote with reference to the geographical location of a client terminal accessing the image data, comprising:

a network server for transmitting a formatted data stream to the client terminal upon request of at least a portion of the image data from the network server by the client terminal, wherein the data stream includes a header for transmitting address data with an additional data field for an access key to the requested portion of the image data stored in the data archive.

7. The image retrieval system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the access key is a pointer to a section of the image data of a file that contains the image data in plain form.

8. The image retrieval system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the data stream transmitted from the network server to the client terminal is a data stream formatted using the DICOM standard that includes merely a header for transmitting address information with an additional data field for the access key to the portion, requested by the client terminal, of the image data stored in the data archive.

13. The image retrieval system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the data stream transmitted from the network server to the client terminal is a data stream formatted using the DICOM standard that includes merely a header for transmitting address information with an additional data field for the access key to the portion, requested by the client terminal, of the image data stored in the data archive.

14. An access method for an image retrieval system in a data transmission network organized using the client/server principle, for enabling access to image data that are stored in a data archive of a file server that is spatially remote with reference to the geographical location of a client terminal accessing the image data, comprising:

transmitting a formatted data stream to the client terminal upon request of at least a portion of the image data from the network server by the client terminal, wherein the data stream includes a header for transmitting address data with an additional data field for an access key to the requested portion of the image data stored in the data archive.

15. The access method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the access key is a pointer to a section of the image data of a file that contains the image data in plain form.