Medical image management system

• US 20050143646A1
• Filed: 02/25/2005
• Published: 06/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Heart Imaging Technologies LLC (Intelerad Medical Systems Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Heart Imaging Technologies LLC (Intelerad Medical Systems Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kim, Raymond J., Chen, Enn-Ling, Judd, Robert M.
• Application Number:
  US11/067,020
• Publication Number:
  US 20050143646A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/407
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/50 of still image data
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/915 Image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/941 Human sciences
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

A method of managing medical images is disclosed. The method comprises converting a medical image data to Internet browser compatible format, determining a region of diagnostic interest of the medical image, and adjusting image quality of the medical image based upon the region of diagnostic interest.

Claims

1. A method of managing medical images comprising:

converting a medical image data to Internet browser compatible format;

determining a region of diagnostic interest of the medical image; and

adjusting image quality of the medical image based upon the region of diagnostic interest.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the medical image comprises a series of movie frames and adjusting the image quality comprises searching each movie frame for a brightest pixel.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising scaling each movie frame such that the brightest pixel is scaled to a maximum brightness level of a standard Internet compatible format.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising pulling at least two medical images, including the medical image, from at least two scanners.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least two scanners are manufactured by at least two manufacturers.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least two scanners generate images corresponding to at least two modalities.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising posting the converted medical image data to a medical image database.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to a user input, selecting at least one of a plurality of medical images.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising displaying the one medical image at a browser.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying the converted image to a first user at a first location; and

simultaneously displaying the converted image to a second user at a second location different from the first location.

11. The method of claim 2, further comprising setting a movie frame rate based on a diagnostic question.

12. The method of claim 2, further comprising setting a movie frame rate based upon physiological information.

13. A method of managing medical images for storage in a data base comprising:

determining a region of diagnostic interest of a medical image;

cropping the medical image to include the region of diagnostic

interest and to reduce the data to be stored in the database; and

storing the cropped medical image in the database.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising adjusting image quality based upon the region of diagnostic interest.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the adjusting comprises scaling the image according to a standard Internet compatible format.