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

• US 9,769,226 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2017
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• 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:
  US15/460,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20170187765A1
• Time in Patent Office: 187 Days
• Field of Search: 709206, 709203, 709208, 709210, 709204
• 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 client device for remotely streaming medical images, the client device comprising:

a zero-client web application;

a communication interface enabling communications between the zero-client web application and a web server;

a display;

a processor coupled to the display and the communication interface, the processor configured to execute the zero-client web application to;

receive an image series selection;

output 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;

populate an off-screen image array 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

stream, on the display, the converted medical images using the off-screen image array.

2. The client device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the zero-client web application to:

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

determine a sustainable streaming rate based on the bandwidth;

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

stream 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.

3. The client device of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the zero-client web application to:

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

stream the converted medical images at the requested streaming rate.

4. The client device of claim 1, 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.

5. The client device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the zero-client web application to:

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

output the viewer parameters to the web server, wherein the received converted medical images are formatted by the web server according to the viewing parameters.

6. The client device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the zero-client web application to:

receive series details from the web server corresponding to the image series selection and generate the off-screen image array according to the series details; and

populate the off-screen image array with the converted medical images received from the web server.

7. The client device of claim 1, wherein, to stream the converted medical images, the processor is further configured to:

set a first medical image of the converted medical images within the off-screen image array as an on-screen image to display the first medical image;

set a next medical image of the converted medical images within 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 set subsequent converted medical images of the off-screen image array as the on-screen image.

8. The client device of claim 1, wherein the converted medical images are streamed at a frame rate and, to determine the frame rate, the processor is further configured to:

determine an amount of time elapsed to download a first amount of the converted medical images from the web server,

determine a sustainable frame rate based on the amount of time elapsed, and

select the frame rate to be a percentage of the sustainable frame rate.

9. The client device 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).