Network system for radiographing radiation-images

• US 7,197,529 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2002
• Issued: 03/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Corporation (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Corporation (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Motoki, Wataru, Nakagawa, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky; Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US10/108,158
• Publication Number:
  US 20020152287A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,826 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/203, 709200-202, 709217-227, 378/162, 378/98, 378/98.8, 378 28- 29, 378/167, 378/169, 382128-132
• US Class Current: 709/200
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/00 Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis; Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis combined with radiation therapy equipment instruments measuring radiation intensity for application in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting, G01T1/161; apparatus for taking X-ray photographs G03B42/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4216 using storage phosphor screens
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4494 Means for identifying the diagnostic device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/563 involving image data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32 Circuits or arrangements for control or supervision between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device, e.g. between a still-image camera and its memory or between a still-image camera and a printer device H04N1/38, H04N1/387 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0089 Image display device

Abstract

There is described a radiographic imaging system to read radiation image stored in a radiation-image storing sheet. The radiographic imaging system includes a plurality of controllers, each of which has an image-display section; a plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus to read a radiation image stored in a radiation-image storing sheet so as to generate image data; and a network to link the plurality of controllers and the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus; wherein the controller requests a radiation-image reading apparatus to transmit the image data, read by the radiation-image reading apparatus, to the controller. The radiation-image reading apparatus reads a sheet-discrimination information in regard to each of the radiation-image storing sheets, and transmits the sheet-discrimination information to the plurality of controllers, and one of the controllers requests the radiation-image reading apparatus to transmit the image data to the controller, based on the sheet-discrimination information sent from the radiation-image reading apparatus.

Claims

1. A radiographic imaging system, comprising:

a plurality of controllers, each of which is adapted to register a photographing order for a subject and to receive image data, and each of which includes an image-display section to display the received image data;

a plurality of radiation-image reading apparatuses, at least a plurality of which generate image data from respective radiation images stored in respective radiation-image storing mediums, in accordance with one said photographing order for a target patient from one of the controllers; and

a network to link the plurality of controllers and the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatuses to each other;

wherein the controller that has registered the one said photographing order for the target patient is specified, and each of the radiation-image reading apparatuses that have generated image data in accordance with the one said order transmit the generated image data of the target patient to the specified controller through the network so that the specified controller displays the image data of the target patient; and

wherein the plurality of controllers are prioritized in advance, and when the generated image data cannot be transmitted to the specified controller, the radiation-image reading apparatuses transmit the generated image data to a given one of the controllers having a highest priority among the controllers able to receive the image data among the plurality of controllers.

2. The radiographic imaging system of claim 1,

wherein the controller that has registered the one said photographing order reads medium-discrimination information identifying the radiation-image storing mediums, and when the radiation-image reading apparatuses transmit the generated image data, each radiation image reading apparatus correlates, stores and transmits the image data and the medium-discrimination information read from the radiation-image storing medium.

3. The radiographic imaging system of claim 1, wherein each of the controllers is adapted to request one of the radiation-image reading apparatuses to transmit the image data thereto.

4. The radiographic imaging system of claim 1, wherein any of the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatuses is capable of reading the radiation-image storing mediums.

5. The radiographic imaging system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the radiation-image reading apparatuses is a standing- or laying-posture radiographing apparatus which is connected to the network and which includes one of the radiation-image storing mediums and reads the radiation image stored in the radiation-image storing medium so as to generate the image data.

6. The radiographic imaging system of claim 1,

wherein, when the image data cannot be transmitted to the controller having the highest priority degree, the radiation-image reading apparatuses transmit the image data to another one of the controllers having a next-highest priority degree among the plurality of controllers.

7. A radiographic imaging system, comprising:

a plurality of image data generating apparatus, each of which includes an image data generating section for generating image data representing a radiation image formed by radiation rays penetrated through a subject, an image data storing section for temporarily storing the image data generated by the image data generating section, and an image-data transmitting section for transmitting the image data which is read from the image data storing section;

a plurality of controllers, each of which includes an image data receiving section capable of receiving the image data transmitted by the image-data transmitting section, and an image display for displaying the radiation image based on the image data; and

a network to link the plurality of image data generating apparatuses and the plurality of controllers to each other;

wherein one of the controllers registers a photographing order for a target patient, and at least a plurality of the image generating apparatuses generate image data in accordance with the photographing order, and wherein the one of the controllers is specified and each image data generating apparatus that has generated the image data in accordance with the photographing order sends the generated image data of the target patient to the specified controller through the network so that the specified controller displays the image data of the target patient;

wherein a priority degree is attached to each of the plurality of controllers according to a priority order of the plurality of controllers, and when the generated image data cannot be transmitted to the specified controller, the image data generating apparatuses transmit the image data to a given one of the controllers having a highest priority degree among the plurality of controllers; and

wherein, when the image data cannot be transmitted to the controller having the highest priority degree, the image data generating apparatuses transmit the image data to another one of the controllers having a next-highest priority degree among the plurality of controllers.

8. A radiographic imaging system, comprising:

a plurality of controllers, each of which is adapted to register a photographing order for a subject and to receive image data, and each of which includes an image-display section to display the received image data;

a plurality of radiation-image data generating apparatuses, at least a plurality of which generate image data from respective radiation images stored in respective radiation-image storing mediums in accordance with one said photographing order for a target patient from one of the controllers; and

a network to link the plurality of controllers and the plurality of radiation-image data generating apparatuses to each other;

wherein the controller that has registered the one said photographing order for the target patient is specified, and the plurality of controllers are prioritized in advance; and

wherein each of the radiation-image data generating apparatuses transmits the image data of the target patient generated from the stored radiation image to both;

(i) the specified controller through the network so that the specified controller displays the image data of the target patient, and (ii) a given one of the controllers having a highest priority among the controllers able to receive the image data among the plurality of controllers.