Diagnosis support system and method and server to be used therein

• US 20050223045A1
• Filed: 03/24/2005
• Published: 10/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ohta, Yasunori, Funahashi, Takeshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,720,693 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/941 Human sciences

Abstract

A diagnosis support method capable of promoting upload of a large amount of case image data. This method includes the steps of: transmitting case image data and case region information from a provider to a server in order to register case images; recording the case image data and so on; transmitting the case region information from a requester to the server in order to refer to a case image; retrieving the case image data; transmitting list information of the case images; displaying the list of the case images; identifying a selected case image; retrieving the case image data and incrementing a number of times of use; transmitting the retrieved case image data; displaying the case image; and transferring the amount of money in accordance with the number of times of use of the respective case image data to the account of the provider.

Claims

1. A diagnosis support method to be used in a diagnosis support system configured by connecting a plurality of client terminals arranged in a plurality of medical institutions respectively, a database server arranged in a data center, and a terminal in a financial institution via a network, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting image data to be registered as case image data, case region information representing a region of a case image, and information for identifying a providing client terminal arranged in a provider from said providing client terminal to said database server in order to register the case image;

(b) recording the received image data as the case image data and recording the case region information and account information in said financial institution opened by the provider in a recording medium in correspondence with the case image data in said database server;

(c) transmitting case region information and information for identifying a requesting client terminal from said requesting client terminal to said database server in order to refer to a case image;

(d) retrieving a corresponding case image data recorded in said recording medium on the basis of the received case region information in said database server;

(e) transmitting list information of case images represented by the case image data retrieved at step (d) from said database server to said requesting client terminal;

(f) displaying a list of the case images on the basis of the received list information in said requesting client terminal;

(g) transmitting information for identifying a case image selected from among the list of the case images and information for identifying said requesting client terminal from said requesting client terminal to said database server;

(h) retrieving the corresponding case image data recorded in said recording medium on the basis of the information for identifying the selected case image and incrementing by one a number of times of use which represents how many times said case image data is retrieved in said database server;

(i) transmitting the case image data retrieved at step (h) from said database server to said requesting client terminal;

(j) displaying a case image on the basis of the received case image data in said requesting client terminal; and

(k) calculating an amount of money in accordance with the number of times of use of the respective case image data recorded in said recording medium for each predetermined period in said database server and transferring the calculated amount of money from said database server to the account in said financial institution opened by the provider of the respective case image data.

2. The database server according to claim 1, wherein:

step (a) includes transmitting information for identifying a patient who is a subject of the case image together with the case image data from said providing client terminal to said database server;

step (b) includes recording a plurality of case images in time sequence relating to a same region of a same patient as image group data in said recording medium in association with each another, and recording information for identifying an image group and information about a degree of advanced state of disease in said recording medium in correspondence with a respective case image data included in the image group data;

step (h) includes retrieving corresponding image group data recorded in said recording medium on the basis of the information for identifying the selected case image; and

step (i) includes transmitting the image group data retrieved at step (h) together with the degree of advanced state corresponding to the respective case image data included in the image group data from said database server to said requesting client terminal.

3. A diagnosis support system configured by connecting a plurality of client terminals arranged in a plurality of medical institutions respectively, a database server arranged in a data center, and a terminal in a financial institution via a network, said system comprising:

a client terminal for transmitting image data to be registered as case image data, case region information representing a region of a case image, and information for identifying a providing client terminal arranged in a provider to said database server in order to register the case image, transmitting case region information and information for identifying a requesting client terminal to said database server in order to refer to a case image, displaying a list of case images on the basis of a list information received from said database server and transmitting information for identifying a case image selected from among the list of the case images and information for identifying said requesting client terminal to said database server, and displaying a case image on the basis of the case image data received from said database server; and

a database server for recording, when the case image data is registered, the image data received from said providing client terminal as the case image data and recording the case region information and account information in said financial institution opened by the provider in a recording medium in correspondence with the case image data, retrieving a corresponding case image data recorded in said recording medium on the basis of the case region information received from said requesting client terminal when the case image is referred to by said requesting client terminal, transmitting list information of case images represented by the retrieved case image data to said requesting client terminal, retrieving the corresponding case image data recorded in said recording medium on the basis of the information for identifying the case image selected from among the list of the case images, incrementing by one a number of times of use which represents how many times said case image data is retrieved, transmitting the retrieved case image data to said requesting client terminal, calculating an amount of money in accordance with the number of times of use of the respective case image data recorded in said recording medium for each predetermined period, and transferring the calculated amount of money to the account in said financial institution opened by the provider of the respective case image data.

4. The diagnosis support system according to claim 3, wherein:

said providing client terminal transmits information for identifying a patient who is a subject of the case image together with the case image data in order to register the case image; and

said database server records, when the case image is registered, a plurality of case images in time sequence relating to a same region of a same patient as image group data in said recording medium in association with each another and records information for identifying an image group and information about a degree of advanced state of disease in said recording medium in correspondence with a respective case image data included in the image group data, and retrieves, when a requesting client terminal refers to a case image, a corresponding image group data recorded in said recording medium on the basis of the information for identifying the selected case image, and transmits the retrieved image group data together with the degree of advanced state corresponding to the respective case image data included in the image group data to said requesting client terminal.

5. A database server arranged in a data center of a diagnosis support system and connected to a plurality of client terminals arranged in a plurality of medical institutions respectively and a terminal in a financial institution via a network, said database server comprising:

reception control means for receiving image data to be registered as case image data, case region information representing a region of a case image, and information for identifying a providing client terminal arranged at a provider from said providing client terminal when a case image is registered, and receiving case region information or information for identifying a case image selected from among a list of case images and information for identifying a requesting client terminal from said requesting client terminal when the case image is referred to by said requesting client terminal;

data management means for recording, when the case image is registered, the image data received by said reception control means from said providing client terminal as the case image data and recording the case region information and account information in said financial institution opened by the provider in said recording medium in correspondence with the case image data, and incrementing, when a case image is referred to by said requesting client terminal, by one a number of times of use which represents how many times a corresponding case image data recorded in said recording medium is retrieved on the basis of the case region information or the information for identifying the case image received by said reception control means from said requesting client terminal;

retrieval control means for retrieving, when the case image is referred to by said requesting client terminal, the corresponding case image data recorded in said recording medium on the basis of the case region information or the information for identifying the case image received by said reception control means from the requesting client terminal;

transmission control means for transmitting, when the case image is referred to by said requesting client terminal, the case image data retrieved by said retrieval control means to said requesting client terminal; and

charge management means for calculating an amount of money in accordance with the number of times of use of the respective case image data recorded in said recording medium for each predetermined period and transferring the calculated amount of money to the account in said financial institution opened by the provider of the respective case image data.

6. The database server according to claim 5, wherein:

said reception control means receives, when the case image is registered, information for identifying a patient who is a subject of the case image together with the case image data from said providing client terminal;

said data management means records, when the case image is registered, a plurality of case images in time sequence relating to a same region of a same patient as image group data in said recording medium in association with each another, and records information for identifying an image group and information about a degree of advanced state of disease in said recording medium in correspondence with the respective case image data included in the image group data;

said retrieval control means retrieves, when the case image is referred to by said requesting client terminal, corresponding image group data recorded in said recording medium on the basis of the information for identifying the selected case image; and

said transmission control means transmits the retrieved image group data together with the degree of advanced state corresponding to the respective case image data included in the image group data.

7. The database server according to claim 5, wherein said data management means records the number of times of use of the respective case image data as well as the case region information and the account information in said recording medium in correspondence with the respective case image data.

8. The database server according to claim 5, wherein said information for identifying the case image includes a case image file name given to a data file storing the case image data.

9. The database server according to claim 5, wherein said list information includes data for representing the plurality of case images retrieved by said retrieval control means as reduced images.