Multi-modality medical image viewing

• US 10,096,382 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2012
• Issued: 10/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Zhu, Yang-Ming, Wu, Xiangyu, Nortmann, Charles A., Sukalac, Ronald W., Cochoff, Steven M., Love, L. Alan, Chen, Richard Cheng-Hsiu, Dauterman, Chris A., Ahuja, Madhavi, Maniawski, Dawn M.
• Primary Examiner(s): AMIN, JWALANT B
• Application Number:
  US13/593,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20120320093A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,237 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/05 Detecting, measuring or recording for diagnosis by means of electric currents or magnetic fields; Measuring using microwaves or radio waves impedance plethysmography A61B5/0295; measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof A61B5/11; detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof A61B5/24
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/00 ICT specially adapted for the handling or processing of medical images computed tomography A61B6/03
• 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 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

A medical imaging system (10) comprises one or more displays (66). A viewer device (86) generates an interactive user interface screen (80) on the display (66), which viewer device (86) enables a user to simultaneously inspect selected image data of multiple patients or multiple images.

Claims

1. A medical imaging system comprising:

a display for displaying a user interface screen;

an interface component for controlling the user interface screen to display images of DICOM formatted medical imaging data;

one or more processors programmed to perform steps of;

processing DICOM formatted medical imaging data into images;

defining attributes of a layout of series of images of DICOM formatted medical imaging data to be displayed on the display for a view by a user;

building a complete display protocol for selected image data based at least on the defined layout attributes, wherein the selected image data includes studies including series;

based on studies sorting rules, determining a succession in which the studies are to be displayed;

based on series role sorting rules, selecting a reference series in the study determined to be displayed first; and

based on series sorting rules and the selected reference series, determining a preferred order for series display

wherein the one or more processors is further programmed to perform steps of;

building the full display protocol; and

executing the full display protocol;

further including a protocol engine which establishes a viewing network based on the full display protocol; and

further including a link controller which dynamically links viewers with an associated image data based on linking rules in response to user'"'"'s interactions such as changing fusion states in viewers.

2. A medical imaging method comprising:

generating an interactive user interface screen on a display;

controlling the user interface screen to display images of DICOM formatted medical imaging data with an interface component;

processing DICOM formatted medical imaging data into images;

simultaneously inspecting selected image data of multiple patients or multiple images on the display;

defining attributes of a layout of the images; and

displaying the images with the defined attributes on the display for a view by a user;

wherein the selected image data includes studies including series and further including determining a succession in which the studies are to be displayed and based on studies sorting rules; and

further including building a complete display protocol based at least on the defined layout attributes;

further including;

based on series role sorting rules, selecting a reference series in the study determined to be displayed first;

based on series sorting rules and the selected reference series, determining a preferred order for series display;

identifying matching layouts based at least on the determined preferred order for the series display;

based on layout sorting rules and identified matching layouts, determining a succession of launching layouts; and

executing the determined preferential layout;

further including building the full display protocol, and executing the full display protocol;

further including establishing a viewing network based on the full display protocol; and

further including automatically linking viewers with an associated image data based on linking rules.

3. A medical imaging method comprising:

generating an interactive user interface screen on a display;

controlling the user interface screen to display images of DICOM formatted medical imaging data with an interface component;

processing DICOM formatted medical imaging data into images;

simultaneously inspecting selected image data of multiple patients or multiple images on the display;

defining attributes of a layout of the images; and

displaying the images with the defined attributes on the display for a view by a user;

wherein the selected image data includes studies including series and further including determining a succession in which the studies are to be displayed and based on studies sorting rules;

further including;

controlling the display of fused and non fused images with a toggle switch; and

automatically connecting or disconnecting viewers with an associated image data based on a status of the toggle switch; and

further including building a complete display protocol based at least on the defined layout attributes; and

further including;

based on series role sorting rules, selecting a reference series in the study determined to be displayed first;

based on series sorting rules and the selected reference series, determining a preferred order for series display;

identifying matching layouts based at least on the determined preferred order for the series display;

based on layout sorting rules and identified matching layouts, determining a succession of launching layouts; and

executing the determined preferential layout.

4. The method as set forth in claim 3, further including modifying the executed layout, and saving the modified layout as an icon.

5. The method as set forth in claim 3, further including controlling display of oblique images including:

determining an oblique angle; and

setting an oblique display based on the determined oblique angle.

6. A medical imaging system including:

at least one display;

one or more processors programmed to perform the method as set forth in claim 3.