NON-DICOM OBJECT ATTACHMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM

• US 20120240067A1
• Filed: 11/28/2011
• Published: 09/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Codonics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Codonics Incorporated
• Inventors: Bauman, Aaron A., Siekmann, Rem O., Burke, Glenn T.
• Granted Patent: US 9,690,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/764
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/65 stored on portable record carriers, e.g. on smartcards, RFID tags or CD
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

Provided is a method and apparatus for storing content on a portable computer-readable medium. A computer system receives a request to store a medical image and additional data in a different format on the portable computer-readable medium. The medical image and the additional data to be stored are received in a computer memory, and an association is established between the additional data and the medical image so the additional data is stored with the medical image on the portable computer-readable medium. The medical image and the additional data are stored on the portable computer-readable medium with an application that, when executed by a user computer, grants a user access to both the medical image and the additional data on the portable computer-readable medium.

Claims

1. A method of storing content on a portable computer-readable medium, the method comprising:

with a computer system, receiving a request to store, on the portable computer-readable medium, a medical image in a standardized format compliant with a medical imaging standard for communicating medical images between computer systems adapted to receive the medical images in the standardized format;

receiving a request to store additional data in a second format, other than the standardized format, on the portable computer-readable medium;

receiving, in a non-transitory, computer-readable memory operatively connected to the computer system, the medical image and the additional data to be stored on the portable computer-readable medium;

associating the additional data with the medical image so the additional data is stored with the medical image on the portable computer-readable medium; and

storing the medical image and the additional data on the portable computer-readable medium with content that, when processed by a user computer to which the portable computer-readable medium has been introduced, provides a user an option to access to both the medical image and the additional data on the portable computer-readable medium from a common user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the medical image in the standardized format requires a viewer compliant with the standardized format adapted to present the medical image in the standardized format to the user, and cannot be presented by another application used to present the additional data to the user.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising storing the viewer on the portable computer-readable medium with the medical image and the additional data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the viewer is automatically executed in response to the user accessing the medical image with the application.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising storing the viewer on the portable computer-readable medium, wherein the viewer is executable from the portable computer-readable medium.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the content stored on the portable computer-readable medium comprises an application that is executable by the user computer from the portable computer-readable medium.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving the additional data comprises receiving a file in a format other than the standardized format over a communication network, wherein the file is stored in a memory provided to a remotely-located computer terminal that transmitted the request to store the additional data on the portable computer-readable medium.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the content is indicative of an application that is locally stored and executable by the user computer to present the user with the option to access the medical image and the option to access the additional data in a common user interface.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the medical imaging standard is a DICOM standard.

10. A computer system that stores content on a portable computer-readable medium, the computer system comprising:

a request receiving component that receives;

a request to store, on the portable computer-readable medium, a medical image in a standardized format compliant with a medical imaging standard for communicating medical images between computer systems adapted to receive the medical images in the standardized format, and

a request to store additional data in a second format, other than the standardized format, on the portable computer-readable medium;

a non-transitory, computer-readable memory that stores the medical image, the additional data to be stored on the portable computer-readable medium, and content that, when processed by a user computer, provides a user selectable options to access to both the medical image and the additional data on the portable computer-readable medium from a common user interface;

a processing component that associates the additional data with the medical image so the additional data is stored with the medical image on the portable computer-readable medium; and

a writing component that stores the medical image, the additional data and the content on the portable computer-readable medium.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the request receiving component comprises a network interface that receives the request to store the medical image and the request to store the additional data as a network communication over a communication network.

12. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the additional data is locally stored in a computer memory provided to a remotely-located computer terminal from where the request to store the additional data is transmitted.

13. The computer system of claim 10 further comprising a user interface that an operator uses to enter the request to store the medical image on the portable computer-readable medium.

14. A method of presenting content on a portable computer-readable medium provided to a user with a user computer, the method comprising:

with the user computer, determining that the portable computer-readable medium stores a medical image and additional data, wherein the medical image is in a standardized format compliant with a medical imaging standard for communicating medical images between computer systems each provided with a viewer specifically adapted to view medical images in the standardized format, and the additional data is in a second format, other than the standardized format;

on a display of the user computer, presenting the user with a user interface for accessing both the medical image and the additional data;

in response to receiving a selection of an option from the user interface to access the medical image input by the user via the user computer, executing the viewer using the user computer to present the medical image to the user; and

in response to receiving a selection of an option from the user interface to access the additional data input by the user via the user computer, executing a default application installed on the user computer for presenting the additional data in the second format to the user.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the medical image format is medical imaging standard is a DICOM-compliant format.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the viewer is executed from the portable computer-readable medium and the default application is executable from a computer memory provided to the user computer.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein said presenting the user with the user interface is initiated automatically, as an autorun feature, in response to introduction of the portable computer-readable medium to the user computer.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein said presenting the additional data in the second format to the user comprises:

determining that the additional data comprises a plurality of different data types; and

categorizing the plurality of different data types by type when displayed to the user via the user computer.