Method and apparatus for monitoring the transportation of medical images on a communication network

• US 20050196030A1
• Filed: 02/12/2004
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Monga, Indermohan, Schofield, Bruce, Travostino, Franco
• Granted Patent: US 7,958,225 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/132
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests

Abstract

A method and apparatus for monitoring the transportation of medical images on a communication network includes a medical image transport service (MITS) that may be used to notify clients of the status of scheduled requests. The MITS may be configured to provide numerous notifications, such as the scheduled time for delivery, changes in scheduled time for delivery, delays associated with delivery at the scheduled time, and likely resolutions to network or other delays attendant to the requested transaction. The notifications may be sent in-band on the network or out-of-band on a parallel network. Where the notification relates to a delayed transaction, the notification message may contain the reason for the delay, the source of the delay, its location, and if other images can still be retrieved. The notification may also include a likely resolution of the problem and an estimate of when the problem will be resolved.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring the transmission of medical images on a network, the method comprising the steps of:

monitoring a transaction request, said transaction relating to the delivery of medical images on a network; and

notifying an entity associated with the transaction request as to the status of the transaction request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity associated with the transaction request is a client application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of notifying comprises notifying the entity when the transaction request is delayed on the network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of notifying comprises notifying the entity of a scheduled time for delivery of the medical image.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of notifying comprises notifying the entity of a change in scheduled time for delivery of the medical image.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of notifying comprises notifying the entity of a delay in scheduled delivery of the medical image.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of notifying comprises notifying the entity of the reason for the delay, the source of the delay, the location of the delay, and if other images can still be retrieved.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of notifying comprises notifying the entity of a likely resolutions to the delay.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the network is a first network, and wherein the step of notifying comprises sending a notification on a second network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second network is separate from the first network, and wherein the notification is a data message generated on the second network.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the data message is at least one of an e-mail, a pager message, and a voice message.

12. A medical image transport service configured to monitor the transmission of medical images on a network, comprising:

a data management service, said data management service being configured to monitor the transmission of medical images on the network; and

a client interface configured to provide notifications to a client related to the status of the transmissions of medical images on the network.

13. The medical image transport service of claim 12, further comprising a network resource manager configured to interface network devices in the network to resolve delays in the network attendant to transmission of medical images on the network.