Knowledge-based ordering systeming for radiological procedures

• US 20080172249A1
• Filed: 01/17/2007
• Published: 07/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GMBH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Mayer, Klaus, Glaser-Seidnitzer, Karlheinz, Muller, Mike
• Granted Patent: US 7,885,828 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/40 relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems

Abstract

A system and method may generate a radiological request by which to conduct a radiological procedure that employs a series of procedural steps to acquire internal images of a patient. Each step may have a corresponding protocol item which affects image quality and the time required to complete the step. A database may be maintained that includes protocol items and patient characteristic data. A rule-based algorithm may accept patient characteristic data as input. Based upon one or more patient characteristics, an overall protocol by which to conduct the radiological procedure may be determined. The tailored protocol may include steps that are selected, omitted, and/or altered based upon a patient characteristic. The patient characteristics may be medical restrictions, such as age, pregnancy, allergies, artificial joints, or other limitations. As a result, the protocol items may be automatically selected based upon patient specific characteristics, and/or an anatomical structure to be examined.

Claims

1. A data processing system for planning radiological requests, the system comprising:

a processor operable to accept medical information and determine a protocol by which to conduct a radiological procedure by employing a rule-based algorithm acting upon the medical information.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the rule-based algorithm employed determines the protocol based upon an anatomical structure to be examined and a patient characteristic.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the processor is operable to control an imaging device to conduct the radiological procedure in accordance with the protocol.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the protocol results in enhanced image quality in the images acquired by the imaging device.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the imaging device is a modality.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the protocol results in reduced procedure time.

7. The system of claim 2, the system comprising a database operable to store data identifying the patient characteristic, wherein the processor is operable to retrieve the data from the database.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the protocol reduces an amount of radiation to which the patient is exposed to during the radiological procedure.

9. A data processing system for planning radiological requests, the system comprising:

a processor operable to employ a rule-based algorithm to determine a protocol by which to conduct a radiological procedure based upon a patient characteristic and an anatomical structure to be examined.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the protocol comprises a list of protocol items to be employed during the course of the radiological procedure.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the protocol determined enhances image quality of images acquired during the radiological procedure.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the protocol determined reduces an amount of time required to complete the radiological procedure.

13. The system of claim 9, the system comprising a database operable to store patient data identifying the patient characteristic, wherein the processor is operable to retrieve the patient data from the database.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the patient characteristic pertains to the anatomical structure to be examined.

15. A method of planning a radiological request, the method comprising:

automatically tailoring a protocol by which to conduct a radiological procedure by accounting for a patient characteristic via a processor.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the protocol comprises a list of protocol items to be employed during the radiological procedure.

17. The method of claim 15, the method comprising accepting the patient characteristic as an input parameter for a rule-based algorithm that determines at least one protocol item associated with the protocol based upon an anatomical structure to be examined and the patient characteristic.

18. The method of claim 15, the method comprising integrating a rule-based algorithm into software associated with a radiology or clinical information system to facilitate the automatic selection of the protocol.

19. The method of claim 15, the method comprising conducting the radiological procedure with a medical imaging device in accordance with the protocol such that image quality of the images acquired is enhanced.

20. A computer-readable medium having instructions executable on a computer, the instructions comprising:

employing an algorithm operable to accept a patient characteristic as an input parameter and select a protocol item to be employed during a radiological procedure based upon the patient characteristic.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the algorithm is operable to accept an anatomical structure to be examined as a second input parameter.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, the instructions comprising controlling an imaging device during the radiological procedure in accordance with the protocol item selected.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the protocol item selected comprises a set of physical parameters that control an acquisition of an image by the imaging device.