WORKFLOW TEMPLATE MANAGEMENT FOR MEDICAL IMAGE DATA PROCESSING

• US 20100049740A1
• Filed: 08/21/2008
• Published: 02/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeraRecon Inc. (Fortive Corp.)
• Original Assignee: TeraRecon Inc. (Fortive Corp.)
• Inventors: Saito, Motoaki, Iwase, Akio, Zhao, Tiecheng, Simha, Vikram, Taylor, Robert J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,370,293 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: N/A
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

Some embodiments of a workflow management system to process medical image data generated by a medical imaging device have been presented. In one embodiment, a user selects a workflow template with a predefined set of image processing stages, and applies the workflow template to the medical image data. Each of the predefined set of image processing stages in the workflow template includes one or more image processing operations. Each of the image processing operations is capable of generating metadata for processing the medical image data. The medical image data is then processed through each of the predefined image processing stages. The result of processing is a collection of metadata. Each metadata in the collection can be applied to the medical image data to generate a medical image view.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

storing a workflow template comprising a plurality of predefined image processing operations associated with a type of medical diagnosis or processing;

in response to receiving medical image data of a patient, applying the workflow template to the medical image data to generate a workflow scene having one or more scenes, said applying the workflow template comprising

automatically performing the plurality of image processing operations on the medical image data in a predetermined sequence without user intervention to generate metadata of the one or more scenes; and

using the metadata and the medical image data to generate one or more three-dimensional (3D) views of the patient on a server.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

arranging the plurality of image processing operations into one or more image processing stages, each of said one or more image processing stages corresponding to a distinct one of the one or more scenes.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying the metadata in response to user input during a validation phase after the plurality of image processing operations have been performed; and

storing the workflow scene in a networked storage device after the validation phase.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting the workflow scene into a report.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the workflow scene is stored as a Digital Imaging and Communications In Medicine (DICOM) object.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting video data of the one or more 3D views from the server to a client machine on which the one or more 3D views are displayed.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the client machine includes a personal computer.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the client machine includes a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the workflow template comprises a user-specific default workflow template.

10. A computer readable storage medium that embodies a workflow template, which comprises instructions that, when executed by a processor, will cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving medical image data from a networked medical imaging device; and

processing the medical image data in a predefined sequence of image processing stages to generate a workflow scene for a predetermined clinical workup, the workflow scene comprising a plurality of scenes.

11. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein each of the predefined sequence of image processing stages is associated with a distinct one of the plurality of scenes.

12. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprises:

storing the workflow scene as a Digital Imaging and Communications In Medicine (DICOM) object in a networked storage device.

13. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the predefined sequence of image processing stages includes a ribcage removal stage.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the predefined sequence of image processing stages includes selecting a centerline through a vessel.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the predefined sequence of image processing stages includes displaying a curved reformat of the vessel and measuring a diameter at each of a plurality of locations of the vessel.

16. A medical image data processing system comprising:

a storage device to store medical image data from a medical imaging device; and

a workflow management server coupled with the storage device, to generate a medical image view using the medical image data and metadata, wherein the metadata has been generated from application of a workflow stage of a workflow template onto the medical image data.

17. The medical image data processing system of claim 16, further comprising:

a preprocessing server coupled with the workflow management server and the storage device, to automatically apply the workflow template to the medical image data to generate the metadata, and to store the metadata in the storage device.

18. The medical image data processing system of claim 16, wherein the workflow management server automatically applies the workflow template to the medical image data to generate the metadata and stores the metadata in the storage device.

19. A method to process medical image data generated by a medical imaging device, comprising:

receiving a user selection of a predefined set of workflow stages, wherein each image processing stage of the set comprises one or more image processing operations, each of which is capable of generating metadata for processing the medical image data; and

generating a collection of metadata elements by applying each of the predefined set of workflow stages to the medical image data.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein each metadata element of the collection comprises a plurality of image processing parameters.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

applying a metadata element of the collection to the medical image data to produce a medical image view.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

adjusting the medical image view by updating the metadata element associated with the medical image view.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

storing the updated metadata element with the collection of metadata elements.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

automatically applying one workflow stage of the set to the medical image data to generate a metadata element to be stored in the collection.

25. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

storing a metadata element automatically generated by one workflow stage of the set to the collection.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

generating a second metadata element of the collection using a second workflow stage of the set, based on a first metadata element of the collection generated by a first workflow stage of the set.

27. A computer readable storage medium that provides instructions that, when executed by a processor, will cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

applying an workflow stage to the medical image data to generate metadata, wherein the workflow stage is selected from a predefined set of workflow stages, and each workflow stage of the set comprises one or more image processing operations each of which is used to generate metadata for processing the medical image data; and

storing the generated metadata element with a collection of metadata elements.

28. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, further comprising:

applying a metadata element of the collection to the medical image data to generate a medical image view.

29. The computer readable storage medium of claim 28, further comprising:

adjusting the medical image view by updating the metadata element associated with the medical image view.

30. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, further comprising:

storing the updated metadata element with the collection of metadata elements.

31. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, further comprising:

storing the updated metadata element with another collection of metadata elements.

32. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, further comprising:

applying a second image processing stage of the set to a first metadata element generated by a first image processing stage of the set, to generate a second metadata element.

33. A method to process medical image data generated by a medical imaging device, comprising:

creating a workflow template for a type of medical diagnosis, wherein the workflow template is applied to the medical image data to generate a collection of metadata; and

adding a first workflow stage to the workflow template, wherein the first workflow stage is selected from a predefined set of workflow stages each of which comprises one or more image processing operations to generate metadata for processing the medical image data.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

adding a second workflow stage to the workflow template, wherein the second workflow stage comprises image processing operations recorded during adjustments of a medical image view.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the second workflow stage is dependent on the first workflow stage.