MEDICAL IMAGE INTERPRETING APPARATUS AND CURSOR-MOVING METHOD

• US 20070219651A1
• Filed: 03/14/2007
• Published: 09/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2006
• 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: Masuzawa, Takashi, Niwa, Kenichi, Kondo, Takashi, Kawakami, Jun, Minakuchi, Maki
• Granted Patent: US 8,188,971 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/83
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

In the medical image interpreting apparatus having a pointing device for moving a cursor, medical image, interpretation report, and cursor are displayed on a display screen, and initial movement information and information on the destination of movement of the cursor are linked and stored, via the pointing device when the cursor begins to move, said initial movement information relevant to the initial movement is retrieved to obtain the linked information on the destination of movement and the cursor is moved to the destination of movement indicated in the obtained information on the destination of movement. Due to this, just by slightly moving the cursor, the cursor jumps to the desired destination of movement, therefore, it becomes possible to omit an operation of the pointing device in between. Due to this, the operation load of the pointing device is reduced, thus preventing an operator'"'"'s thought in creating an interpretation report from being destructed, and the enhancement in interpreting efficiency and the reduction of interpretation mistakes are achieved.

Claims

1. A medical image interpreting apparatus for supporting the interpretation of a medical image and the creation of an interpretation report, comprising:

a pointing device configured to move a cursor;

a display part configured to display said medical image, said interpretation report, and said cursor on a display screen;

a storage part configured to store initial movement information and information on the destination of movement of said cursor to be associated together;

a retrieving part configured to retrieve from said storage part said initial movement information relevant to the initial movement when said cursor begins to move as manipulated by said pointing device, obtaining said associated information on the destination of movement; and

a cursor moving part configured to move said cursor to a destination of movement indicated in said information on the destination of movement obtained by said retrieving part.

2. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 1

further comprising a detecting part configured to detect a specific operation, wherein

said retrieving part operates based on movement of said cursor after said specific operation is detected.

3. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said initial movement information includes information on the origin of movement and an initial movement direction.

4. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said initial movement information includes information on the origin of movement and an initial movement direction,

said information on the origin of movement is region information of said display screen divided into a plurality of regions, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

a determining part configured to determine a region to which the origin of movement of said cursor belongs, when said cursor begins to move via said pointing device.

5. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a detecting part configured to detect a specific operation to instruct a learning mode, and

a learning part configured to allow said storage part to store said initial movement information and said information on the destination of movement by obtaining the same from the state of movement of the cursor via said pointing device after said specific operation is detected.

6. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 1

further comprising:

a detecting part configured to detect a specific operation to instruct a learning mode, and

a learning part configured to allow said storage part to store said initial movement information and said information on the destination of movement by obtaining the same from the state of movement of the cursor via said pointing device after said specific operation is detected, wherein

said learning part calculates an average position of each destination of movement with respect to the same initial state of movement of said cursor and allows said storage part to store the average position as said information on the destination of movement.

7. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said storage part further stores a prescribed process and prescribed distance information, wherein

the medical image interpreting apparatus further comprises:

a distance determining part configured to determine whether the distance between the destination of movement indicated in said information regarding the destination of movement and a highlighted character string is within the distance according to said distance information, when said string on said interpretation report is highlighted and said medical image is dragged, and

an incorporating part configured to incorporate said prescribed process on said highlighted character string, when said distance is within the range according to said distance information.

8. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

said prescribed process is a linking process for said dragged medical image to said highlighted character string.

10. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

said work incorporation destination is a character string on said interpretation report.

11. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

said selected data is said medical image.

12. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

said work incorporation destination is a character string on said interpretation report,

said selected data is said medical image, and

said prescribed process is linkage of said medical image to said work incorporation destination.

14. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 11

further comprising a button corresponding to each of said areas, wherein

said moving part is configured to move said cursor onto said area corresponding to a pressed button, when said determining part determines that said cursor has moved onto one of said areas and any one of said buttons has been pressed.

15. A medical image interpreting apparatus according to claim 11 further comprising

an area generating part configured to preliminarily allow said display part to display one of said areas among said set of areas, and configured to allow said display part to display a designated region as the other of said set of areas, when the region is designated on said display screen, wherein

said determining part determines whether said cursor has made a drag-movement to one of said areas while maintaining the drag-state of said medical image, and

said cursor moving part moves said cursor onto the other of said areas while maintaining said drag-state, when said determining part determines that said drag-movement has been made.

9. A medical image interpreting apparatus for supporting the interpretation of a medical image and the creation of an interpretation report, comprising:

a pointing device configured to move a cursor;

a work area storage part configured to store a work area associated with a prescribed process,

a display part configured to display said medical image, said work area, said interpretation report, and said cursor on a display screen;

a storage part configured to store an instructed work incorporation destination, and

an incorporating part configured to incorporate said prescribed process with respect to selected data into said work incorporation destination, when the selected data is dragged and dropped into said work area.

13. A medical image interpreting apparatus for supporting the interpretation of medical image and the creation of an interpretation report, comprising:

a pointing device configured to move a cursor;

a display part configured to display said medical image, said interpretation report, said cursor, and at least a set of areas on a display screen;

a determining part configured to determine the movement of said cursor with respect to one of said areas; and

a cursor moving part configured to move said cursor onto the other of said areas, when said determining part determines that said cursor has moved onto one of said areas.

16. A cursor-moving method of a medical image interpreting apparatus that has a pointing device for moving a cursor and supports interpretation of a medical image and the creation of an interpretation report, comprising:

allowing initial movement information and information on the destination of movement of said cursor to be stored preliminarily in said medical image interpreting apparatus to be associated together;

allowing said medical image, said interpretation report, and said cursor to be displayed on a display screen;

retrieving said initial movement information relevant to the initial movement when said cursor begins to move via said pointing device so as to obtain the associated information on the destination of movement; and

moving said cursor to the destination of movement indicated in the obtained information on the destination of movement.

17. A cursor-moving method according to claim 16, further comprising

storing said prescribed process and prescribed distance information;

determining whether the distance between the destination of movement indicated in said information regarding the destination of movement and a highlighted character string is within the distance according to said distance information, when said string on said interpretation report is highlighted and said medical image is dragged; and

incorporating said prescribed process on said highlighted character string, when said distance is within the range according to said distance information.

20. A cursor-moving method according to claim 16, wherein

said medical image interpreting apparatus further comprises a plurality of input buttons,

preliminarily associates one button with each of said areas, and

moves said cursor onto said area corresponding to a pressed button, when it is determined that said cursor has moved onto one of said areas and any one of said buttons has been pressed.

21. A cursor-moving method according to claim 16, further comprising:

allowing one of said set of areas to be displayed preliminarily,

allowing a designated region to be displayed as the other of said set of areas when the region is designated on said display screen,

determining whether said cursor has made a drag-movement to one of said areas while maintaining the drag-state of said medical image, and

moving said cursor onto the other of said areas while maintaining said drag-state, when determined that said drag-movement has been made.

18. A cursor-moving method of a medical image interpreting apparatus that has a pointing device for moving a cursor and supports the interpretation of a medical image and the creation of an interpretation report, comprising:

allowing a work area associated with a prescribed process to be stored preliminarily in said medical image interpreting apparatus,

allowing said medical image, said work area, said interpretation report, and said cursor to be displayed on a display screen,

storing an instructed work incorporation destination, and

incorporating said prescribed process with respect to selected data into said work incorporation destination, when the selected data is dragged and dropped into said work area.

19. A cursor-moving method of a medical image interpreting apparatus that has a pointing device for moving a cursor and supports the interpretation of a medical image and the creation of an interpretation report, comprising:

allowing said medical image, said interpretation report, said cursor, and a set of areas to be displayed on a display screen,

determining the movement of said cursor with respect to one of said areas, and

moving said cursor onto the other of said areas, when it is determined that said cursor has moved onto one of said areas.