Remote cine viewing of medical images on a zero-client application

• US 9,338,207 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2014
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Merative US LP
• Original Assignee: Merge Healthcare Incorporated (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Lingley, William A. N.
• Primary Examiner(s): JEAN GILLES, JUDE
• Application Number:
  US14/333,280
• Publication Number:
  US 20140330931A1
• Time in Patent Office: 664 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/229, 709/203, 709/204, 709/205
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2350/00 Solving problems of bandwidth in display systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/022 Centralised management of display operation, e.g. in a server instead of locally
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/027 Arrangements and methods specific for the display of internet documents
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/25 with rate being modified by the source upon detecting a change of network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

Systems and methods for remotely viewing medical images on a client device having a zero-client web application with a buffering module. The zero-client web application receives an image series selection from a user and receives corresponding series details from a web server. The zero-client web application generates an off-screen image array according to the series details. The buffering module outputs image requests based on the series details to a web server. The web server is in communication with a medical image database storing images in a non-web browser compatible format (e.g., DICOM). The buffering module then populates the off-screen image array with converted medical images received from the web server. The zero-client web application further includes an on-screen image and a display module. The display module sequentially sets converted medical images of the off-screen array as the on-screen image to stream the converted medical images.

Claims

1. A method of viewing medical images on a remote device using a zero-client web application, the method comprising:

receiving an image series selection via the zero-client web application, the zero-client web application in communication with a web server;

outputting image requests to the web server based on the image series selection, wherein the web server is in communication with a medical image database storing images in a non-web browser compatible format;

receiving, from the web server, converted medical images in response to the image requests, wherein the converted medical images are in a web browser compatible format;

populating an off-screen image array with the converted medical images received from the web server; and

streaming the converted medical images on the zero-client web application using the off-screen image array.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving series details from the web server; and

generating, by the zero-client web application, the off-screen image array according to the series details.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a bandwidth of a connection between the zero-client web application and the web server;

determining a sustainable streaming rate based on the bandwidth;

receiving, from the user, a requested streaming rate via the zero-client web application; and

during a buffering stage, streaming the medical images at a frame rate that is the lower of the requested streaming rate and a percentage of the sustainable streaming rate.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

determining that the web server has completed sending the medical images in response to the image series request; and

streaming the medical images at the requested streaming rate.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein streaming the converted medical images comprises:

setting a first medical image within the off-screen image array as an on-screen image to display the first medical image;

setting a next medical image from the off-screen image array as the on-screen image to display the next medical image in place of the first medical image; and

sequentially setting subsequent medical images of the off-screen image array as the on-screen image to stream the medical images.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein setting the next medical image from the off-screen image array as the on-screen image includes setting a src attribute of the on-screen image to a src attribute of the next medical image.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining viewer parameters including a window size that indicates a size of a display window of the zero-client web application; and

outputting the viewer parameters to the web server,

wherein the received medical images have been formatted by the web server according to the viewing parameters.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the web browser compatible format is one of Portable Network Graphics (PNG) and Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) and the non-web browser compatible format is Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM).

9. A client device for remotely viewing medical images, the client device comprising:

a communication interface enabling communications between a zero-client web application and a web server, wherein the zero-client web application receives an image series selection;

a buffering module that outputs image series requests to the web server, wherein the web server is in communication with a medical image database storing images in a non-web browser compatible format;

an off-screen image array populated with converted medical images received from the web server in response to the image series requests, wherein the converted medical images have been converted to a web browser compatible format from the images in the medical image database in the non-web browser compatible format; and

a display module that streams the converted medical images on the zero-client web application using the off-screen image array.

10. The client device of claim 9, wherein the display module further

determines a bandwidth of the connection between the zero-client web application and the web server;

determines a sustainable streaming rate based on the bandwidth;

receives, from a user, a requested streaming rate via the zero-client web application; and

streams the converted medical images at a frame rate that is the lower of the requested streaming rate and a percentage of the sustainable streaming rate.

11. The client device of claim 10, wherein the display module further

determines that the web server has completed sending the converted medical images in response to the image series request, and

streams the converted medical images at the requested streaming rate.

12. The client device of claim 9, wherein streaming the converted medical images using the off-screen image array includes setting a src attribute of an on-screen image to a src attribute of a converted medical image.

13. The client device of claim 9, wherein

the zero-client web application determines viewer parameters including a window size that indicates a size of a display window of the zero-client web application,

the buffering module outputs the viewer parameters to the web server, and

the received converted medical images are formatted by the web server according to the viewing parameters.

14. The client device of claim 9, wherein

the zero-client web application further receives series details from the web server corresponding to the image series selection and generates the off-screen image array according to the series details;

and

the buffering module populates the off-screen image array with the converted medical images received from the web server.

15. A method of viewing medical images on a remote device using a zero-client web application, the method comprising:

receiving an image series selection via the zero-client web application;

establishing a connection between the zero-client web application and a web server;

receiving series details from the web server;

generating, by the zero-client web application, an off-screen image array according to the series details;

outputting, by a buffering module, image requests to the web server based on the series details, wherein the web server is in communication with a medical image database;

receiving, from the web server, medical images in response to the image requests, the medical images being in a web browser compatible format;

populating, by the buffering module, the off-screen image array with the medical images received from the web server;

displaying a first medical image from the off-screen image array as an on-screen image to display the first medical image;

displaying a next medical image from the off-screen image array as the on-screen image in place of the first medical image; and

sequentially displaying subsequent medical images of the off-screen image array as the on-screen image to stream the medical images.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining a bandwidth of the connection between the zero-client web application and the web server;

determining a sustainable streaming rate based on the bandwidth;

receiving, from the user, a requested streaming rate via the zero-client web application; and

during a buffering stage, streaming the medical images at a frame rate that is the lower of the requested streaming rate and a percentage of the sustainable streaming rate.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining that the web server has completed sending the medical images in response to the image series request; and

streaming the medical images at the requested streaming rate.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein displaying the next medical image from the off-screen image array as the on-screen image includes setting a src attribute of the on-screen image to a src attribute of the next medical image.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

obtaining viewer parameters including a window size that indicates a size of a display window of the zero-client web application; and

outputting, by the buffering module, the viewer parameters to the web server,

wherein the received medical images are formatted by the web server according to the viewing parameters.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the medical image database includes images stored in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format.