FUNDUS DRAWING ANALYSIS IN OPHTHALMOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTICS

• US 20190318473A1
• Filed: 04/11/2018
• Published: 10/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LifeSoft, LLC
• Original Assignee: LifeSoft, LLC
• Inventors: Merlau, Daniel Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 10,733,725 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0058 for multiple images
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/12 for looking at the eye fundus, e.g. ophthalmoscopes A61B3/13 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30041 Eye; Retina; Ophthalmic
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• 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 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for fundus drawing analysis in ophthalmological diagnostics. A fundus drawing analysis for ophthalmological diagnostics method includes first specifying a set of ophthalmological pathological features of an eye and then generating a database query with the specified set. Thereafter, the database query may be submitted to a database of ophthalmological meta-data regarding different fundus images generated for different eyes so as to retrieve a sub-set of the ophthalmological meta-data. Then, those of the different fundus images that correspond to the sub-set are identified and the identified different fundus images are retrieved. Finally, the retrieved fundus images are displayed in a user interface of a medical image processing host computing system along with a statistical indication of a number of each of the ophthalmological pathological features present in the retrieved fundus images.

Claims

1. A fundus drawing analysis for ophthalmological diagnostics method comprising:

specifying in a user interface of a medical image processing host computing system comprising memory and at least one processor, a set of ophthalmological pathological features of an eye;

generating a database query with the specified set;

submitting the database query to a database of ophthalmological meta-data regarding different fundus images generated for different eyes;

retrieving in response to the querying a sub-set of the ophthalmological meta-data;

identifying ones of the different fundus images corresponding to the sub-set of the ophthalmological meta-data;

retrieving the identified ones of the different fundus images; and

,

displaying the retrieved fundus images in the user interface of the medical image processing host computing system along with a statistical indication of a number of each of the ophthalmological pathological features present in the retrieved fundus images.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the specifying comprises:

rendering a blank fundus canvas in the user interface;

annotating the blank fundus canvas with one or more glyphs representative of corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features;

generating corresponding meta-data indicating the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the one or more glyphs annotating the blank fundus canvas; and

,

including in the set the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the generated meta-data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the specifying comprises:

loading from fixed storage of the host computing system, a fundus image previously annotated with one or more glyphs representative of corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features;

generating corresponding meta-data indicating the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the one or more glyphs; and

,

including in the set the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the generated meta-data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the specifying comprises:

loading from fixed storage of the host computing system, a fundus image previously annotated with one or more glyphs representative of corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features;

extracting from the fundus image, associated meta-data indicating the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the one or more glyphs; and

,

including in the set the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the generated meta-data.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein that annotating comprises:

selecting a display of a tool palette of different glyphs, each representative of a different one of the ophthalmological pathological features; and

,

dragging and dropping onto different portions of the blank fundus canvas, different ones of the glyphs of the tool palette.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the generated meta-data includes an indication of a position of each of the glyphs on the blank fundus canvas.

7. A data processing system configured for fundus drawing analysis for ophthalmological diagnostics comprising:

a host computing system comprising at least one computer with memory and at least one processor;

a medical imaging application executing in the memory of the host computing system providing a user interface enabling a drawing canvas and accepting drawing input onto the canvas;

a database accessible in the host computing system of ophthalmological meta-data regarding different fundus images generated for different eyes; and

,

a fundus drawing analysis module coupled to the medical imaging application and comprising program instructions enabled upon execution in the memory to perform;

specifying in the user interface a set of ophthalmological pathological features of an eye;

generating a database query with the specified set;

submitting the database query to the database regarding different fundus images generated for different eyes;

retrieving in response to the querying a sub-set of the ophthalmological meta-data;

identifying ones of the different fundus images corresponding to the sub-set of the ophthalmological meta-data;

retrieving the identified ones of the different fundus images; and

,

displaying the retrieved fundus images in the user interface along with a statistical indication of a number of each of the ophthalmological pathological features present in the retrieved fundus images.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the specifying comprises:

rendering a blank fundus canvas in the user interface;

annotating the blank fundus canvas with one or more glyphs representative of corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features;

generating corresponding meta-data indicating the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the one or more glyphs annotating the blank fundus canvas; and

,

including in the set the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the generated meta-data.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the specifying comprises:

loading from fixed storage of the host computing system, a fundus image previously annotated with one or more glyphs representative of corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features;

generating corresponding meta-data indicating the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the one or more glyphs; and

,

including in the set the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the generated meta-data.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the specifying comprises:

loading from fixed storage of the host computing system, a fundus image previously annotated with one or more glyphs representative of corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features;

extracting from the fundus image, associated meta-data indicating the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the one or more glyphs; and

,

including in the set the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the generated meta-data.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein that annotating comprises:

selecting a display of a tool palette of different glyphs, each representative of a different one of the ophthalmological pathological features; and

,

dragging and dropping onto different portions of the blank fundus canvas, different ones of the glyphs of the tool palette.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the generated meta-data includes an indication of a position of each of the glyphs on the blank fundus canvas.

13. A computer program product for fundus drawing analysis for ophthalmological diagnostics, the computer program product including a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a device to cause the device to perform a method including:

specifying in a user interface of a medical image processing host computing system comprising memory and at least one processor, a set of ophthalmological pathological features of an eye;

generating a database query with the specified set;

submitting the database query to a database of ophthalmological meta-data regarding different fundus images generated for different eyes;

retrieving in response to the querying a sub-set of the ophthalmological meta-data;

identifying ones of the different fundus images corresponding to the sub-set of the ophthalmological meta-data;

retrieving the identified ones of the different fundus images; and

,

displaying the retrieved fundus images in the user interface of the medical image processing host computing system along with a statistical indication of a number of each of the ophthalmological pathological features present in the retrieved fundus images.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the specifying comprises:

rendering a blank fundus canvas in the user interface;

annotating the blank fundus canvas with one or more glyphs representative of corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features;

generating corresponding meta-data indicating the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the one or more glyphs annotating the blank fundus canvas; and

,

including in the set the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the generated meta-data.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the specifying comprises:

loading from fixed storage of the host computing system, a fundus image previously annotated with one or more glyphs representative of corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features;

generating corresponding meta-data indicating the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the one or more glyphs; and

,

including in the set the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the generated meta-data.

16. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the specifying comprises:

loading from fixed storage of the host computing system, a fundus image previously annotated with one or more glyphs representative of corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features;

extracting from the fundus image, associated meta-data indicating the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the one or more glyphs; and

,

including in the set the corresponding ones of the ophthalmological pathological features of the generated meta-data.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein that annotating comprises:

selecting a display of a tool palette of different glyphs, each representative of a different one of the ophthalmological pathological features; and

,

dragging and dropping onto different portions of the blank fundus canvas, different ones of the glyphs of the tool palette.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the generated meta-data includes an indication of a position of each of the glyphs on the blank fundus canvas.