Image storage and display system, maintenance system therefor, and image storage and display method

• US 20050238255A1
• Filed: 03/08/2005
• Published: 10/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kondo, Takashi, Niwa, Kenichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,602,981 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/305
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/115 Selection of the code volume for a coding unit prior to coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/12 Selection from among a plurality of transforms or standards, e.g. selection between discrete cosine transform [DCT] and sub-band transform or selection between H.263 and H.264
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/162 User input
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/60 using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/63 using sub-band based transform, e.g. wavelets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6377 directed to server one-way streaming services wherein the source is controlled by the destination H04L65/613
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 Transmission by the client directed to the server

Abstract

The invention provides an image storage and display system including: an image storage server that includes an image file storing unit for storing image data; and image display terminals that are connected to the image storage server via a network and display an image sent from the image storage server. In the image storage and display system, the image storage server includes: an information managing unit that acquires and manages information on a system including at least one of environmental information and operation information of the system; and an image file compressing unit that sets an optimum compression ratio on the basis of the information to compress the image and stores the image in the image file storing unit. According to the constitution, it is possible to reduce time for, for example, adjustment of a compression ratio of an image by a user or a service person by automatically optimizing the compression ratio.

Claims

1. An image storage and display system comprising:

an image storage server that includes an image file storing unit for storing image data; and

image display terminals that are connected to the image storage server via a network and display an image sent from the image storage server, wherein

the image storage server includes;

an information managing unit that acquires and manages information on a system including at least one of environmental information and operation information of the system; and

an image file compressing unit that sets an optimum compression ratio on the basis of the information to compress the image and stores the image in the image file storing unit.

2. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein the environmental information includes apparatus information on the network itself, apparatus information on apparatuses connected to the network, and information on applications installed in the respective apparatuses.

3. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein the operation information includes information on users of the image display terminals and information on operation that is applied to images displayed on the image display terminals by the users and affects a quality of the image.

4. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein the image file compressing unit applies at least one compression form to identical images to generate plural compressed images with different compression ratios and stores the compressed images in the image file storing unit.

5. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein

the image display terminals include an input unit that receives designation of information on compression of an image, and

the image file compressing unit generates an image with a compression ratio received by the input unit and transmits the image to the image display terminals.

6. An image storage and display system according to claim 5, wherein, when a compression ratio is not designated by the input unit, the image file compressing unit transmits a compressed image with a highest compression ratio to the image display terminals.

7. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein

the image file compressing unit generates plural images, for which at least one of a compression ratio and a compression method is different, from one image and, after dividing these images into identical plural parts, selects different parts from the respective images and combines the parts into one new image constituting substantially the entire original image, and transmits the composite image to the image display terminals, and

the image display terminals display the plural partial images.

8. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein

the image file compressing unit generates plural images, for which at least one of a compression ratio and a compression method is different, from one image and, after dividing these images into identical plural parts, combines the parts into one new image in which identical parts of the respective images are arranged in parallel, and transmits the composite image to the image display terminals, and

the image display terminals display the plural partial images.

9. An image storage and display system according to claim 7, the image display terminals receives designation of positions and sizes of the partial images via the input unit.

10. An image storage and display system according to claim 7, wherein the image display terminals display the compression ratios of the respective images in at least one of character strings or bar graphs together with the displayed images with the different compression ratios.

11. An image storage and display system according to claim 7, wherein the image display terminals display at least one of characters indicating the compression methods of the respective images, sizes of the compressed images, and parameters affecting qualities of the images together with the displayed images for which the compression method is different.

12. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein

the image storage server includes a control unit that stores a storage history of image information of the image file storing unit, and

the control unit calculates a period in which there is no free space in the image file storing unit on the basis of the stored storage history.

13. An image storage and display system according to claim 12, wherein the control unit monitors a history concerning operation for image compression ratios in the image display terminals and, after elapse of a period calculated by the control unit or a period that does not exceed the period and is set in advance, sets an optimum compression ratio on the basis of obtained information, and selects an optimum compression form to compress an image and store the image in the image storing unit.

14. An image storage and display system according to claim 12, wherein the control unit monitors histories concerning operation for image compression ratios in the image display terminals and, when a period calculated by the control unit or a period, which does not exceed the period calculated by the control unit and is set in advance, elapses, sets an optimum compression ratio on the basis of obtained information, and selects an optimum compression form to compress an image and store the image in the image storing unit and, at the same time, deletes other compressed image data and original image data from the image file storing unit.

15. An image storage and display system according to claim 13, wherein the image file compressing unit monitors histories concerning operation for image compression ratios in the image display terminals during a period that does not exceed the period calculated by the control unit and is set in advance, and, every time when new information on a compression ratio is obtained, resets an optimum compression ratio and reselects an optimum compression form to compress an image and store the image in the image file storing unit, and, after the set period elapses, deletes other compressed image data and original image data from the image file storing unit.

16. An image storage and display system according to claim 13, wherein the histories concerning operation for image compression ratios in the image display terminals include a compression form that respective terminals can cope with.

17. An image storage and display system according to claim 13, wherein the image file compressing unit monitors the histories concerning image compression ratios in the image display terminals even after elapse of the period that does not exceed the period calculated by the control unit and is set in advance.

18. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein, on the basis of apparatus information of the respective terminals obtained from the information managing unit, the image storage server judges whether a program for image display is transmitted to the respective terminals to cause the terminals to execute the program or only a program for image display executed in the image storage server is transmitted.

19. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein the image file compressing unit selects a history concerning operation for image compression ratio in the image display terminals from the information acquired by the information managing unit and monitors the history.

20. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein

while displaying medical images in the image display terminals, the image storage server is connected, via a network, to a diagnostic reading support system on the outside that creates a diagnostic reading report in a diagnostic reading report terminal and at least the diagnostic reading support system refers to the medical images or the diagnostic reading report is referred to by the image storage server, and

the diagnostic reading support system acquires information on required image compression on the basis of a table set in advance, creates a diagnostic reading report with a reference screen using an image based on the information, and returns the diagnostic reading report to the image storage server.

21. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein

the information managing unit acquires information on specifications of the image display terminals and information on applications running on the image display terminals as environmental information of the system and acquires operation history information concerning image qualities in the image display terminals,

the image file compressing unit selects candidate compression ratios on the basis of the specification information, the application information, and the operation history information and transmits the selected candidate compression ratios to the image display terminals,

the image display terminals have setting devices that display the candidate compression ratios and set a desired compression ratio among the candidate compression ratios, and

the image file compressing unit compresses the image in accordance with the compression ratio set by the setting device.

22. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein the image file compressing unit selects different plural candidate compression ratios and compresses an image at the plural compression ratios to store the compressed images in the image file storing unit.

23. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein the image file compressing unit transmits a signal for requesting confirmation on whether image compression may be started to the image display terminals before starting the image compression.

24. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein the image file compressing unit transmits a signal for requesting designation of a desired compression ratio and compresses an image at a designated compression ratio.

25. An image storage and display system according to claim 1, wherein, to a specified image, the image file compressing unit does not apply a compression ratio, which is set on the basis of information on compression of the image.

26. An image storage and display method comprising:

an image file storing step of causing an image storage server to store image data; and

an image display step of causing image display terminals to acquire an image, which is stored in the image file storing step, via a network and display the image, wherein

the image file storing step includes;

an information managing step of acquiring and managing information on a system including at least one of environmental information and operation information of a system for realizing the image storage and display method; and

an image file compressing step of setting an optimum compression ratio on the basis of the information to compress and store the image.

27. An image storage and display method according to claim 26, wherein

in the information managing step, information on specifications of the image display terminals and information on applications running on the image display terminals are acquired as environmental information of the system and operation history information concerning image qualities in the image display terminals is acquired as the operation information,

in the image file compressing step, candidate compression ratios are selected on the basis of the specification information, the application information, and the operation history information and the selected candidate compression ratios are transmitted to the image display terminals,

in the image displaying step, the image display terminals are caused to display the candidate compression ratios to set a desired compression ratio among the candidate compression ratios, and

in the image file compressing step, the image is compressed in accordance with the compression ratio set in the setting step.

28. A maintenance system for performing maintenance for an image storage and display system with remote control, comprising:

an image storage server that includes an image file storing unit for storing image data; and

image display terminals that are connected to the image storage server via a network and display an image sent from the image storage server, wherein

the image storage server includes;

an information managing unit that acquires and manages information on a system including environmental information and operation information of the system; and

an image file compressing unit that sets an optimum compression ratio on the basis of the information to compress the image and stores the image in the image file storing unit, wherein

the maintenance system acquires information on required image compression from the image storage and display system on the basis of a table set in advance and, after analyzing the information, sets the information in the image storage and display system as updated information.