Method and apparatus for automated quality assurance in medical imaging

• US 20110257919A1
• Filed: 06/23/2011
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qami Co.
• Original Assignee: Qami Co.
• Inventors: Reiner, Bruce
• Granted Patent: US 8,957,955 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/81
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/502 for diagnosis of breast, i.e. mammography
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/40 relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture
• 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: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades

Abstract

The present invention relates to a computer-implemented quality assurance system, which includes the steps of retrieving quality assurance and supporting information from a database; receiving information on technical variables from monitoring of the patient, and on radiographic equipment in the performance of an imaging study; generating a quality assurance score after said imaging study based on said technical variables and said quality assurance and supporting information; and performing a quality assurance analysis of the imaging study based on the quality assurance score.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for quality assurance in radiology, comprising:

retrieving quality assurance and exposure parameters from a database of a computer system;

receiving information on technical variables, including radiation exposure parameters, from radiographic equipment in the performance of an imaging study on said individual patient;

determining whether a cumulative exposure exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

utilizing one of specialized relatively low-dose protocols, imaging examinations without ionizing radiation, and/or analysis of future imaging examination requests, when said cumulative exposure exceeds said predetermined threshold.

2. A computer-implemented method for quality assurance in radiology, comprising:

recording radiation exposure parameters from imaging studies using an imaging apparatus, and storing said exposure parameters in a database of a computer system;

recording predetermined protocol parameters in said database; and

cross-referencing said protocol and exposure parameters with clinical data on an individual patient, pertinent to examination indication, laboratory data, and diagnosis, in order to make a comparison and analysis with said imaging studies, to thereby improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce radiation exposure by minimizing additional and unnecessary imaging studies.

3. A computer-implemented method for quality assurance in radiology, comprising:

performing a pre-scan of an anatomic region of a patient to create a pixel density map of said anatomic region, using said imaging apparatus; and

performing a histogram analysis of a pixel density of said pixel density map to compute optimum radiation exposure parameters, including both image quality and radiation exposure dose; and

storing said optimum exposure parameters in said database and utilizing said optimum exposure parameters before said imaging study is repeated, to improve at least image quality.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

performing an existing peak analysis to noise (PSNR) analysis to evaluate a variability in pixel data to quantitatively measure an amount of noise contained within an image in one of said imaging studies; and

calculating an inflection point at which a reduction in said radiation dose is achieved without clinically significant degradation in said image quality.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

correlating said one of said imaging studies with previous imaging studies and examinations and patient information stored in said database.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

analyzing said pixel density map obtained over said anatomic region in conjunction with said PSNR analysis to produce an automated correction to provide a required diagnostic information at a lowest radiation dose to said patient.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

performing an analysis of said imaging studies for use in technologist education and training, development of decision support programs, and patient outcomes analysis.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said decision support programs are customized to end-user preferences, specific clinical indication and a patient anatomy being evaluated, and are automatically provided to a user.

9. A computer system for quality assurance in radiology, comprising:

at least one memory which contains at least one program having the steps of;

retrieving quality assurance and exposure parameters from a database of a computer system;

receiving information on technical variables, including radiation exposure parameters, from radiographic equipment in the performance of an imaging study on said individual patient;

determining whether a cumulative exposure exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

utilizing one of specialized relatively low-dose protocols, imaging examinations without ionizing radiation, and/or analysis of future imaging examination requests, when said cumulative exposure exceeds said predetermined threshold; and

a processor for executing the program.

10. A computer system for quality assurance in radiology, comprising:

at least one memory which contains at least one program having the steps of;

recording radiation exposure parameters from imaging studies using an imaging apparatus, and storing said exposure parameters in a database of a computer system;

recording predetermined protocol parameters in said database; and

cross-referencing said protocol and exposure parameters with clinical data on an individual patient, pertinent to examination indication, laboratory data, and diagnosis, in order to make a comparison and analysis with said imaging studies, to thereby improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce radiation exposure by minimizing additional and unnecessary imaging studies; and

a processor for executing the program.

11. A computer system for quality assurance in radiology, comprising:

at least one memory which contains at least one program having the steps of;

performing a pre-scan of an anatomic region of a patient to create a pixel density map of said anatomic region, using said imaging apparatus; and

performing a histogram analysis of a pixel density of said pixel density map to compute optimum radiation exposure parameters, including both image quality and radiation exposure dose; and

storing said optimum exposure parameters in said database and utilizing said optimum exposure parameters before said imaging study is repeated, to improve at least image quality; and

a processor for executing the program.

12. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to execute instructions of a program, the program comprising the steps of:

retrieving quality assurance and exposure parameters from a database of a computer system;

receiving information on technical variables, including radiation exposure parameters, from radiographic equipment in the performance of an imaging study on said individual patient;

determining whether a cumulative exposure exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

utilizing one of specialized relatively low-dose protocols, imaging examinations without ionizing radiation, and/or analysis of future imaging examination requests, when said cumulative exposure exceeds said predetermined threshold.

13. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to execute instructions of a program, the program comprising the steps of:

recording radiation exposure parameters from imaging studies using an imaging apparatus, and storing said exposure parameters in a database of a computer system;

recording predetermined protocol parameters in said database; and

cross-referencing said protocol and exposure parameters with clinical data on an individual patient, pertinent to examination indication, laboratory data, and diagnosis, in order to make a comparison and analysis with said imaging studies, to thereby improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce radiation exposure by minimizing additional and unnecessary imaging studies.

14. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to execute instructions of a program, the program comprising the steps of:

performing a pre-scan of an anatomic region of a patient to create a pixel density map of said anatomic region, using said imaging apparatus; and

performing a histogram analysis of a pixel density of said pixel density map to compute optimum radiation exposure parameters, including both image quality and radiation exposure dose; and

storing said optimum exposure parameters in said database and utilizing said optimum exposure parameters before said imaging study is repeated, to improve at least image quality.