Medical image data processing system

• US 20060242144A1
• Filed: 01/10/2006
• Published: 10/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Esham, Matthew Paul, Chi, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US11/328,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20060242144A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing

Abstract

A system determines a most recent medical image study accessed or used by a healthcare worker and identifies the most up to date instance of a medical image study stored in a distributed environment with multiple DICOM storage nodes, for example. A medical image data acquisition and processing system, involves multiple sources of medical image data accessible via a network. The medical image data comprises one or more sets of medical images of a particular patient individually including an associated medical image set identifier. A search processor automatically initiates a search of the multiple sources to identify existence of sets of medical images of a particular patient having a duplicate first medical image identifier, in response to a user command to access a set of medical images having the first medical image identifier. An image data processor, in response to identifying sets of medical images of a particular patient having the duplicate first medical image identifier, determines a set of the sets of medical images likely to have been updated most recently.

Claims

1. A medical image data acquisition and processing system, comprising:

a plurality of sources of medical image data accessible via a network, said medical image data comprising one or more sets of medical images of a particular patient individually including an associated medical image set identifier;

a search processor for automatically initiating a search of said plurality of sources to identify existence of sets of medical images of a particular patient having a duplicate first medical image identifier, in response to a user command to access a set of medical images having said first medical image identifier; and

an image data processor for, in response to identifying sets of medical images of a particular patient having said duplicate first medical image identifier, determining a set of said sets of medical images likely to have been updated most recently.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said image data processor determines said set of said sets of medical images likely to have been updated most recently in response to modification data associated with a set of medical images, said modification data comprises at least one of, (a) a last modified date and (b) a last modified time, associated with a set of medical images.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein

said modification data is associated with at least one of, (i) an individual medical image, (ii) a series of images and (iii) an instance of a series of images.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said image data processor determines said set of said sets of medical images likely to have been updated most recently by determining a number of at least one of, (i) series of images, (ii) instances of series of images and (iii) individual images, in a set of medical images.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein

said image data processor determines said set of said sets of medical images likely to have been updated most recently as being a set having the largest value of said number.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said search processor identifies whether, identified sets of medical images of a particular patient having said duplicate first medical image identifier, have duplicate image data content.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein

said search processor identifies whether, identified sets of medical images of a particular patient having said duplicate first medical image identifier, have duplicate image data content in response to a value derived by a function of image identifier values associated with said identified sets.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein

said function of image identifier values is a function of image identifiers associated with at least one of, (i) a series of images, (ii) an instance of a series of images and (iii) an individual image.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein

said function is a checksum.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said sets of medical images are DICOM compatible group of images comprising at least one of, (i) an image study, (b) a series of images, (ii) an instance of a series of images and

said first medical image identifier is a DICOM compatible medical image set identifier.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said image data processor merges said identified sets of medical images having said duplicate first medical image identifier based on a determination said identified sets of medical images having said duplicate first medical image identifier are substantially identical in response to at least one of, (a) a last modified indicator indicating a last modified time or date, (b) a largest number of series of images and (c) a derived value provided by a function of image identifier values associated with individual studies of said identified medical image studies.

12. A medical image data acquisition and processing system, comprising:

a plurality of sources of medical image data accessible via a network, said medical image data comprising one or more sets of medical images of a particular patient individually including an associated medical image set identifier;

a search processor for,

automatically initiating a search of said plurality of sources to identify existence of sets of medical images of a particular patient having a duplicate first medical image identifier, in response to a user command to access a set of medical images having said first medical image identifier and

identifying whether, identified sets of medical images of a particular patient having said duplicate first medical image identifier, have duplicate image data content; and

an image data processor for, in response to identifying sets of medical images of a particular patient having said duplicate first medical image identifier, determining a set of said sets of medical images likely to have been updated most recently.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein

said search processor identifies whether, identified sets of medical images of a particular patient having said duplicate first medical image identifier, have duplicate image data content in response to a derived value provided by a function of image identifier values associated with said identified sets.

14. A system according to claim 13, wherein

said function of image identifier values is a function of image identifiers associated with at least one of, (i) a series of images, (ii) an instance of a series of images and (iii) an individual image.

15. A system according to claim 14, wherein

said function is a checksum.

16. A system according to claim 12, wherein

said image data processor determines said set of said sets of medical images likely to have been updated most recently in response to modification data associated with a set of medical images, said modification data comprises at least one of, (a) a last modified date and (b) a last modified time, associated with a set of medical images.

17. A system according to claim 16, wherein

said modification data is associated with at least one of, (i) an individual medical image, (ii) a series of images and (iii) an instance of a series of images.

18. A system according to claim 12, wherein

said image data processor determines said set of said sets of medical images likely to have been updated most recently by determining a number of at least one of, (i) series of images, (ii) instances of series of images and (iii) images in an individual set of medical images.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein

said image data processor determines said set of said sets of medical images likely to have been updated most recently as being a set having the largest value of said number.

20. A medical image data acquisition and processing system, comprising:

a plurality of sources of medical image data accessible via a network, said medical image data comprising one or more medical image studies of a particular patient individually including an associated medical image set identifier, an individual medical image study comprising one or more images series;

a search processor for automatically initiating a search of said plurality of sources to identify existence of medical image studies of a particular patient having a duplicate first medical image identifier, in response to a user command to access a medical image study having said first medical image identifier; and

an image data processor for, in response to identifying medical image studies of a particular patient having said duplicate first medical image identifier, determining a study of said medical image studies likely to have been updated most recently in response to at least one of, (a) a last modified indicator indicating a last modified time or date, (b) a largest number of series of images and (c) a derived value provided by a function of image identifier values associated with individual studies of said identified medical image studies.

21. A system according to claim 20, wherein

said image data processor determines said study of said medical image studies likely to have been updated most recently by determining the largest number of at least one of, (i) instances of series of images and (ii) individual images, in a medical image study.

22. A medical image data acquisition and merging system, comprising:

a plurality of sources of medical image data accessible via a network, said medical image data comprising one or more sets of medical images of a particular patient individually including an associated medical image set identifier;

a search processor for automatically initiating a search of said plurality of sources to identify existence of sets of medical images of a particular patient having a duplicate first medical image identifier, in response to a user command to access a set of medical images having said first medical image identifier; and

an image data processor for,

determining identified sets of medical images having said duplicate first medical image identifier are substantially identical in response to at least one of, (a) a last modified indicator indicating a last modified time or date, (b) a largest number of series of images and (c) a derived value provided by a function of image identifier values associated with individual studies of said identified medical image studies and

merging identified sets of medical images determined to be substantially identical.

23. A system according to claim 22, wherein

said image data processor automatically determines identified sets of medical images having said duplicate first medical image identifier are substantially identical and automatically merges identified sets of medical images determined to be substantially identical.

24. A system according to claim 22, wherein

said image data processor determines identified sets of medical images having said duplicate first medical image identifier are substantially identical and merges identified sets of medical images determined to be substantially identical, in response to user command.