Network system for medical images

• US 6,381,348 B2
• Filed: 08/27/1998
• Issued: 04/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takeo, Hideya
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancuso, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tabatabai, Abolfazl
• Application Number:
  US09/141,520
• Publication Number:
  US 20020006215A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,342 Days
• Field of Search: 382/128, 382/129, 382/130, 382/132, 382/131, 700/102, 600/509, 358/500, 710/7, 359/143
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/922 including image analysis

Abstract

Appropriate image processing is carried out on image information input to a network. Processing completion or incompletion judging means in a QC-WS reads header information of image information input from an image information inputting apparatus to the network, and judges whether or not the image information has been processed. If the image information has been judged as processing incomplete, the information is sent to an image processing apparatus to be processed thereby and output from an image information outputting apparatus. If the image information has been judged as processing complete, the image information is output from the image information outputting apparatus as it is.

Claims

1. A medical image network system having an image information inputting apparatus for inputting image information representing a medical image connected with an image information outputting apparatus for reproducing the image information as a visible image, said image inputting apparatus providing the medical image of an object being imaged by exposing the object to an electromagnetic source, said system comprising:

a processing completion or incompletion judging means for reading processing completion or incompletion information from at least one of;

a header portion and data portion of the image information having been input to the network and judging whether or not the image information has been image-processed based on the processing completion or incompletion information; and

an image processing apparatus for carrying out predetermined image processing on image information that has been judged by the processing completion or incompletion judging means as image processing incomplete.

3. The medical image network system according to claim 1, wherein said header information indicates whether the image information has been subject to at least one of frequency enhancement, tone processing, enlargement processing, and reduction processing.

8. The medical image network system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one of said header portion and said data portion indicates whether the image information has been subject to at least one of frequency enhancement, tone processing, enlargement processing, and reduction processing.

10. The medical image network system according to claim 3, wherein said network transmits image information which has undergone predetermined image processing and further transmits image information which has not undergone predetermined processing.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said image inputting apparatus provides the medical image from a multi-dimensional spatial scan of the object being imaged.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said medical image is formed from at least one of:

a CT process, a CR process, and an MRI process.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein said image inputting apparatus detects irradiation emitted by the object as a result of exposing the object to the electromagnetic source.

2. A medical image network system having an image information inputting apparatus for inputting image information representing a medical image connected with an image information outputting apparatus for reproducing the image information as a visible image, said system comprising:

a processing completion or incompletion judging means for reading processing completion or incompletion information from at least one of;

a header portion and data portion of the image information having been input to the network and judging whether or not the image information has been image-processed based on the processing completion or incompletion information;

an image processing apparatus for carrying out predetermined image processing on image information that has been judged by the processing completion or incompletion judging means as image processing incomplete; and

image quality judging means comprising a monitor unit for inputting information having been judged as processing complete by the processing completion or incompletion judging means and image information having been processed by the image processing apparatus and for reproducing a visible image representing the image information, a judgment inputting unit for receiving input of judgment regarding image quality of the visible image, and an outputting unit for outputting image information whose quality judgment result is fair to the image information outputting apparatus and for returning image information whose quality judgment result is not fair to the image processing apparatus for additional processing.

4. The medical image network system according to claim 2, wherein said header information indicates whether the image information has been subject to at least one of frequency enhancement, tone processing, enlargement processing, and reduction processing.

9. The medical image network system according to claim 2, wherein said at least one of said header portion and said data portion indicates whether the image information has been subject to at least one of frequency enhancement, tone processing, enlargement processing, and reduction processing.

11. The medical image network system according to claim 4, wherein said network transmits image information which has undergone predetermined image processing and further transmits image information which has not undergone predetermined processing.

5. A medical image network comprising:

a plurality of imaging apparatuses for inputting image information representing a medical image, which each output image information including a header portion to indicate whether the image information has undergone refinement image processing;

a header reader for reading the header portion; and

an image refinement apparatus for further processing the image information based on a state of the header portion.

6. The image network according to claim 5 further comprising:

a monitor to output a visible image processed by the image refinement apparatus; and

an input device operable by a user to transmit the image information to the image refinement apparatus when the visible image has an unacceptable quality.

7. The image network according to claim 6 further comprising a reproduction device to reproduce the visible image displayed on the monitor when the visible image is determined to have acceptable quality.

12. The image network according to claim 5, wherein said network transmits image information which has undergone refinement image processing and further transmits image information which has not undergone refinement image processing.