JP6038276B2 - Medical image data management system, medical image data management device, medical image data management program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for managing medical image data.

  With the recent spread of image inspection devices in the medical field, opportunities for using medical images in medical institutions are expanding. In addition, due to the improvement in performance of various image inspection apparatuses, the amount of generated medical image data has been increasing year by year. The obligation of medical institutions to store medical images is stipulated by law in Japan to be two years, but there are few medical institutions that actually store all generated medical image data without deleting them. Absent.

  In order to manage a large amount of medical image data as described above safely, efficiently, and at a low cost, utilization of a data center is also progressing in the medical field. In addition to storing data using the storage (internal storage device) in the medical institution, creating a backup using the data center (external storage device) reduces the storage capacity in the medical institution and at the time of a disaster. Can reduce the risk of data loss.

  Since the internal storage device is installed in a medical institution, it is often connected by a LAN (Local Area Network) having a close physical distance to the user and a high communication speed. Therefore, when the user refers to the image data stored in the internal storage device, there is an advantage that it can be referred to quickly. On the other hand, there is a demerit that it is difficult to increase the storage capacity of the internal storage device because there is not enough space in the medical institution.

  Since the external storage device is installed in the data center, the physical distance between the external storage device and the user is long, and the external storage device is often connected by a WAN (Wide Area Network). Therefore, there is a demerit that it takes time when the user refers to the image data stored in the external storage device. On the other hand, since the capacity of the data center can be increased simply by updating the contents of the contract with the data center operator, there is a merit that it is generally easy to increase the storage capacity.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for storing medical images that are likely to be reused in an internal storage device while ensuring free space in the internal storage device with limited storage capacity. Yes. Specifically, it is determined whether or not image data can be deleted from the internal storage device based on information such as an examination reservation, and the image data determined to be deleteable is transmitted to the external storage device and deleted from the internal storage device. As a result, the internal storage device is effectively used.

JP 2006-271451 A

  In Patent Document 1, it is determined whether or not image data in the internal storage device can be deleted based on information such as examination reservation. However, whether or not the judgment criterion is appropriate varies depending on the free space in the internal storage device, etc. Therefore, in order to optimize the judgment criterion according to the actual usage situation, the usage situation is fed back. It seems necessary to reset the criteria.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and dynamically determines the conditions for deleting medical image data from the internal storage device included in the medical image data management system according to the use status of the medical image data. The purpose is to provide technology to be updated.

  The medical image data management system according to the present invention includes a first storage unit that stores medical image data and a second storage unit that is connected to the first storage unit via a network, and the first storage unit and the second storage unit. The condition for deleting the medical image data from the first storage unit is updated based on the results of transmitting and receiving the medical image data between.

  According to the medical image data management system of the present invention, conditions for deleting medical image data from the first storage unit can be dynamically updated based on the operation results of the system to improve the operation efficiency of the storage device. it can.

  Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of embodiments.

1 is a configuration diagram of a medical image data management system 1000 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram of an image management server 100. FIG. 6 is an operation sequence diagram of the medical image data management system 1000. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining processing in which the transmission / reception analysis unit 105 updates the deletion condition data stored in the deletion condition storage unit 107. It is a flowchart explaining the detail of S401. It is a figure which shows the example of the download track record which the transmission / reception database 104 stores. It is a figure which shows the example of the analysis setting data describing the process target by the transmission / reception analysis part 105 which the analysis setting memory | storage part 106 stores. It is a flowchart explaining the detail of S402. It is an example of a screen for setting a deletion condition provided by the deletion condition designating unit 109. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the transmission / reception database 104 in Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining details of S402 in the second embodiment.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a medical image data management system 1000 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The medical image data management system 1000 is a system for managing medical image data used in the medical institution 400, and includes an image management server 100 (corresponding to a medical image data management device), a medical image imaging device 200, and an image reference terminal. 300 and a data center 600. The medical institution 400 accommodates devices other than the data center 600. The data center 600 is a facility installed outside the medical institution 400 and is connected to each device in the medical institution 400 via the network 500.

  The medical image capturing apparatus 200 captures an image to inspect the subject and stores it in the image management server 100 as medical image data. The medical imaging apparatus 200 may be an image inspection apparatus such as a CT (Computed Tomography) device, an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) device, a US (UltraSonography) device, or a PET (Position Emission Tomography) device. An optimal image inspection apparatus is selected depending on the inspection purpose and the condition of the subject.

  The image reference terminal 300 is a terminal for referring to medical image data stored in the image management server 100. The user of the image reference terminal 300 sets an image deletion condition using a screen shown in FIG. The image deletion condition will be described later.

  The image management server 100 is generally called a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) server, and transmits and receives medical image data between the medical image capturing apparatus 200 and the image reference terminal 300.

  FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram of the image management server 100. The image management server 100 includes an internal storage device 101, an image transmission / reception unit 102, a transmission / reception recording unit 103, a transmission / reception database 104, a transmission / reception analysis unit 105, an analysis setting storage unit 106, a deletion condition storage unit 107, an image deletion unit 108, and a deletion condition designation. Unit 109 and image input / output unit 110. The data center 600 includes an external storage device 601.

  The internal storage device 101 and the external storage device 601 are storage devices that store medical image data, and can be configured using, for example, a hard disk device. The internal storage device 101 is connected to the medical image capturing device 200 and the image reference terminal 300 via the image input / output unit 110. The image input / output unit 110 receives medical image data captured by the medical image capturing apparatus 200 and stores it in the internal storage device 101, or reads out medical image data from the internal storage device 101 in response to a request from the image reference terminal 300. Reply. The medical imaging device 200 and the image reference terminal 300 do not directly access the external storage device 601, and these devices operate on the assumption that all medical image data is stored in the internal storage device 101.

  The image transmission / reception unit 102 transmits / receives medical image data between the internal storage device 101 and the external storage device 601. Specifically, the medical image data stored in the internal storage device 101 is transmitted to the external storage device 601 to create a backup. If the medical image data that the image input / output unit 110 is trying to read from the internal storage device 101 does not exist in the internal storage device 101, the medical image data is acquired from the external storage device 601 and stored in the internal storage device 101. Store. The identifiers of medical image data stored in the internal storage device 101 and the external storage device 601 may be managed using, for example, an appropriate management table.

  The transmission / reception recording unit 103 records in the transmission / reception database 104 the results of transmission / reception of the medical image data by the image transmission / reception unit 102. An example of transmission / reception recording will be described again with reference to FIG. The transmission / reception database 104 can be configured by storing data files in a storage device such as a hard disk device. A storage device different from the internal storage device 101 may be used, or a storage area of the internal storage device 101 may be used. The same applies to the analysis setting storage unit 106 and the deletion condition storage unit 107.

  The transmission / reception analysis unit 105 updates the deletion condition stored in the deletion condition storage unit 107 based on the transmission / reception record stored in the transmission / reception database 104. A specific update procedure will be described later. The analysis setting storage unit 106 stores data describing a processing target when the transmission / reception analysis unit 105 updates the deletion condition based on the transmission / reception record. A specific example will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The deletion condition storage unit 107 stores deletion condition data describing conditions for deleting medical image data from the internal storage device 101. The image deletion unit 108 deletes medical image data from the internal storage device 101 in accordance with the description of the deletion condition data stored in the deletion condition storage unit 107.

  The deletion condition designating unit 109 presents a screen described later with reference to FIG. 9 to the user. The user can specify deletion conditions using the screen. The deletion condition designation unit 109 receives the designation input and reflects it in the deletion condition data in the deletion condition storage unit 107.

  The image transmission / reception unit 102, the transmission / reception recording unit 103, the transmission / reception analysis unit 105, the analysis setting storage unit 106, the image deletion unit 108, the deletion condition designation unit 109, and the image input / output unit 110 are hardware such as a circuit device that realizes these functions. It can also be configured using hardware, or can be configured by executing a software implementing these functions by an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

  FIG. 3 is an operation sequence diagram of the medical image data management system 1000. The vertical axis represents time series events, and the horizontal axis represents each device in the system. A shaded rectangle indicates a period during which medical image data exists in each apparatus. Hereinafter, each step of FIG. 3 will be described.

(FIG. 3: Steps S301 to S302)
The user of the medical image capturing apparatus 200 performs image inspection and captures medical image data (S301). The medical image capturing apparatus 200 stores the generated medical image data in the apparatus or a storage device (not shown) attached to the apparatus. The user of the medical image capturing apparatus 200 transfers the medical image data from the medical image capturing apparatus 200 to the internal storage device 101 (S302). Although the transferred medical image data remains on the medical image capturing apparatus 200 for a while, the medical image data transferred to the internal storage device 101 is generally operated so as to be deleted in order from the oldest examination date and time. .

(FIG. 3: Step S303)
The image transmission / reception unit 102 backs up the medical image data stored in the internal storage device 101 to the external storage device 601 based on a predetermined schedule such as a time zone of midnight every day. For convenience of explanation, transmission of medical image data from the internal storage device 101 to the external storage device 601 is called upload, and transmission of medical image data from the external storage device 601 to the internal storage device 101 is called download. By S303, the medical image data exists in both the internal storage device 101 and the external storage device 601.

(FIG. 3: Step S303: Supplement)
Thereafter, the free space of the internal storage device 101 decreases as the medical image data is stored in the internal storage device 101. If the total capacity of the internal storage device 101 is used up, the system operation may become unstable. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a free space of the internal storage device 101 to some extent. This lower limit of the free capacity is preferably determined for each medical institution 400 in consideration of the total capacity of the internal storage device 101, the amount of medical image data generated per day, the amount of medical image data to be uploaded or downloaded, and the like. In the first embodiment, for the sake of explanation, “10% of the total capacity of the internal storage device 101” is set as the lower limit value of the free capacity. That is, in the medical institution 400, 90% of the total capacity of the internal storage device 101 is used for storing medical image data, and the remaining 10% is temporarily stored (for example, transferred from the medical image capturing apparatus 200). The image data being downloaded or the image data being downloaded from the external storage device 601 is temporarily saved).

(FIG. 3: Step S304)
When the free space of the internal storage device 101 becomes 10% or less, it is necessary to determine whether or not medical image data can be deleted from the internal storage device 101 based on some criteria. The deletion condition storage unit 107 stores deletion condition data describing this criterion as a deletion condition. For example, it is considered that the medical image data is less likely to be used again as the examination date and the last reference date are older. Is considered desirable. Here, for convenience of explanation, the last reference date is used as the deletion condition. The image deletion unit 108 determines medical image data to be deleted according to the description of the deletion condition data, and deletes it from the internal storage device 101.

(FIG. 3: Steps S305 to S308)
Medical image data deleted from the internal storage device 101 is stored only in the external storage device 601. Therefore, when a reference request for the medical image data is issued from the medical imaging device 200 or the image reference terminal 300, the image transmission / reception unit 102 downloads the medical image data from the external storage device 601, and the internal storage device 101. (S305). Thereafter, processing for deleting medical image data from the internal storage device 101 (S306, S308) and processing for downloading from the external storage device 601 (S307) are repeated. The same applies to S308 and subsequent steps.

  When S305 and S307 are executed, power costs for operating the device and labor costs due to waiting time are generated. Therefore, an operation that reduces the amount of download communication and waiting time as much as possible is required. Ideally, all medical image data for which a reference request is issued from the image reference terminal 300 is not deleted from the internal storage device 101. However, since the storage capacity of the internal storage device 101 is limited, in practice Operation is impossible. Therefore, the present invention provides a method for dynamically updating the condition for deleting medical image data from the internal storage device 101 in accordance with the operation status of the system in order to provide the operation as ideal as possible in the medical institution 400. .

  In the present invention, the deletion condition is configured by a combination of two types of conditions. The first type of condition is called a basic condition. The basic condition is a condition that is established as a deletion condition by itself. For example, it designates that the free space to be secured in the internal storage device 101 and the last reference date should be deleted in chronological order. To describe in accordance with the example described above, “when the free capacity of the internal storage device 101 becomes 10% or less of the total capacity, images are deleted in order from the oldest reference date and time”.

  The second type of condition is called an additional condition. The additional condition is a condition that does not hold as a deletion condition alone, and is used to adjust the basic condition according to the system operation status. In the present invention, additional conditions suitable for each medical institution using the medical image data download record in the medical institution 400 in order to flexibly cope with various conditions such as business workflow and subject configuration that differ for each medical institution. By generating, the deletion condition is dynamically updated and improved according to the system operation status.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing in which the transmission / reception analysis unit 105 updates the deletion condition data stored in the deletion condition storage unit 107. Hereinafter, each step of FIG. 4 will be described.

(FIG. 4: Step S401)
The transmission / reception recording unit 103 records the result of the image transmission / reception unit 102 downloading medical image data from the external storage device 601 for a predetermined period. This period can be freely set depending on how often the deletion condition is desired to be updated. Here, for convenience, the period is one month. Details of S401 and the download record will be described later.

(FIG. 4: Step S402)
After the one-month download record is recorded, the transmission / reception analysis unit 105 analyzes the download record and creates the additional condition described above. Details of this step will be described later.

(FIG. 4: Steps S403 to S404)
The transmission / reception analysis unit 105 updates the deletion condition by adding the additional condition created in S402 to the current deletion condition (S403). If the deletion condition is further updated, the process returns to S401 again to update the deletion condition (S404). Whether or not to continue updating the deletion condition in S404 may be determined manually by the user, or an upper limit of the number of repetitions or a period may be set in advance and automatically repeated until it is reached. Also good.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the details of S401. Hereinafter, each step of FIG. 5 will be described.

(FIG. 5: Step S501)
A doctor or a radiology engineer instructs the image reference terminal 300 to display medical image data in the work. There may be an instruction to collectively display a plurality of medical image data, or an instruction to display a single medical image data. As a case where batch display is instructed, for example, all images belonging to the same study, all images belonging to the same series, all images of the same subject, and the like may be displayed together.

(FIG. 5: Step S501: Supplement)
When an image inspection is performed using the medical image capturing apparatus 200, generally, imaging is performed a plurality of times. One inspection unit is called a study. The subject is scanned multiple times during a study. One scan unit is called a series. For example, when photographing using a PET device, a slice image of a plurality of parts is included in one series.

(FIG. 5: Step S502)
The image reference terminal 300 issues a request to the image management server 100 to transmit the medical image data designated by the user. The image input / output unit 110 receives the request and checks whether the requested medical image data is stored in the internal storage device 101. If the medical image data is stored, the medical image data is transmitted to the image reference terminal 300, and this flowchart ends. If not, the process proceeds to step S503.

(FIG. 5: Steps S503 to S505)
The image transmission / reception unit 102 acquires medical image data not stored in the internal storage device 101 from the external storage device 601 and stores the medical image data in the internal storage device 101 (download). The transmission / reception recording unit 103 records the download start time (S503) and the download end time (S504) by the image transmission / reception unit 102. The transmission / reception recording unit 103 stores the download record in the transmission / reception database 104 (S505).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a download record stored in the transmission / reception database 104. Each record records the results of each download process performed by the image transmission / reception unit 102. The transmission / reception database 104 includes a series ID field 1041, a download start time field 1042, a download time field 1043, a download data amount field 1044, a device type field 1045, an operator field 1046, and a main disease name field 1047.

  The series ID field 1041 is a field for storing an identifier for identifying a photographing unit for image inspection. Here, an example in which download results are stored in series units is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The download start time field 1042 is a field for storing the time when the download is started. The download time field 1043 is a value calculated based on the difference between the download end time and the download start time. The download data amount field 1044 is a field for storing the medical image data size for each download unit. The device type field 1045 is a field for storing the type of the medical image capturing device 200. The operator field 1046 is a field for storing the identifier (name, ID, etc.) of the user who issued the request to the image management server 100 in S501. The main disease name field 1047 is a field for storing the main disease name of the subject who is the subject of the image examination.

  Generally, since a tag describing attribute information is attached to medical image data, for example, the value of the device type field 1045 can be acquired from the medical image data itself. Fields that cannot be acquired from the medical image data body (for example, the main disease name field 1047) may be acquired from an external system such as an electronic medical record system.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of analysis setting data describing a processing target by the transmission / reception analysis unit 105 and stored in the analysis setting storage unit 106. In the analysis setting data, three pieces of data are set: an analysis target field, a tabulation target field, and a postponement day number. Hereinafter, each data will be described in detail.

  The analysis target field defines which field in the transmission / reception database 104 the transmission / reception analysis unit 105 uses to analyze the download results. In the example shown in FIG. 7, it is defined that the download results are totaled using the value of the device type field 1045 as an analysis target.

  The aggregation target field defines what value is aggregated for the aforementioned analysis target field. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the values of the download time field 1043 are defined to be totaled.

  The postponement days are explained below.

  According to the example shown in FIG. 7, the transmission / reception analysis unit 105 totals the values of the download time field 1043 for the records having the same device type field 1045 among the records recorded in the transmission / reception database 104. As a result, it is possible to specify the type of the medical image capturing apparatus 200 having the longest total time for downloading the medical image data from the external storage device 601. For example, when the total time when the medical image data captured by the CT device is downloaded from the external storage device 601 is the longest, it is preferable to keep the medical image data captured by the CT device in the internal storage device 101 as much as possible. It can be estimated that it is desirable from the viewpoint of reduction.

  In order to keep the medical image data in the internal storage device 101, it is considered that the date and time for deleting the medical image data from the internal storage device 101 may be postponed. Accordingly, the analysis setting data shown in FIG. 7 is defined so that the deletion date / time is postponed for seven days for the medical image data. The transmission / reception analysis unit 105 applies the postponement days to the deletion condition as the additional condition described above. Thereby, an additional condition can be created based on the download record, and the deletion condition can be dynamically updated.

  Supplement the analysis target fields. As an analysis target field, an ID that uniquely identifies a subject is used, and as a scene in which the image reference terminal 300 acquires a plurality of medical image data, typically, medical image data of the same subject is batched. It may be possible to refer to them. Then, it seems that it is the most direct to total the download time field 1043 or the download data amount field 1044 for each subject. However, when these values are totaled for each subject, the same number of total results as the number of subjects are created, and a large number of total results having a small total value are obtained, which is not used as a total. Therefore, in the present invention, instead of counting for each subject, counting is performed on the basis of fields that tend to be somewhat similar in terms of download.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, it is considered that the device type field 1045, the operator field 1046, and the main disease name field 1047 are suitable as analysis targets. This is because medical image data having the same value generally has a tendency to be collectively referred to. As other fields suitable as analysis objects, for example, a medical department to which a person described in the operator field 1046 belongs, an imaging region of medical image data, and the like can be considered. These fields may be used alone as analysis targets or may be combined.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the details of S402. Hereinafter, each step of FIG. 8 will be described.

(FIG. 8: Step S801)
The transmission / reception analysis unit 105 acquires each field (analysis target field Ft, totalization target field Fi, addition days Dx) stored in the analysis setting storage unit 106. It is assumed that the analysis setting storage unit 106 stores the analysis setting data illustrated in FIG. Since Fi calculates the total value later, it is desirable to specify a numerical field. However, when specifying a field having a discrete value, the number of records having the same value may be used as the total value.

(FIG. 8: Step S802)
The transmission / reception analysis unit 105 calculates the total value (Sum (Fi)) of the field specified by Fi for the records having the same value specified by Ft, and the value of Ft from which the maximum Sum (Fi) is obtained. (Max (Ft)) is acquired. According to the example shown in FIG. 7, the values of the download time field 1043 are summed up for the records having the same value in the device type field 1045, and the value of the device type field 1045 having the maximum sum is obtained. Here, it is assumed that Sum (Fi) of the record in which the device type field 1045 = CT is the maximum.

(FIG. 8: Step S803)
The transmission / reception analysis unit 105 generates an additional condition using Fi, Max (Ft), and Dx. For example, an additional condition “however, an image with the device type field 1045 = CT is determined to be deleted by adding 7 days to the last reference date” is generated. With this additional condition, it is possible to update the deletion condition so that the CT image occupying the most download time is less likely to be deleted from the internal storage device 101. For example, when the basic condition is “delete images in order from the oldest reference date / time”, the updated deletion condition is “delete images in order of oldest reference date / time. However, the device type field 1045 = CT. A certain image is deleted by adding 7 days to the last reference date and time.

  FIG. 9 is an example of a screen for setting a deletion condition provided by the deletion condition designating unit 109. The user of the image reference terminal 300 can specify basic conditions using the screen shown in FIG. In addition, when the transmission / reception analysis unit 105 has already created a plurality of additional conditions, it can also be specified which one of them should be adopted. The screen shown in FIG. 9 has a basic condition area 1091 and an additional condition area 1092.

  The basic condition area 1091 is an area for setting basic conditions. In this area, items to be defined as basic conditions include (a) a minimum value of the free capacity to be secured in the internal storage device 101, and (b) a standard for the order of deleting medical image data from the internal storage device 101. Can be specified. Regarding the order of deletion, (b1) the date and time of examination performed using the medical image capturing apparatus 200, (b2) the date and time of creation of medical image data, (b3) the last update date and time of medical image data, and (b4) the last date of medical image data One of the reference date and time can be selected. In the example shown in FIG. 9, since “10%” and “last reference date” are selected, the basic condition is “if the free capacity in the internal storage device 101 becomes 10% or less of the total capacity, the final reference is made. Delete in order from the medical image data with the oldest date and time. "

  The additional condition area 1092 is an area for setting additional conditions. Each time the transmission / reception analysis unit 105 executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, a new addition condition is created and stored in the deletion condition storage unit 107. If there are a plurality of additional conditions, it is possible to select on this area which one is to be adopted. In the example shown in FIG. 9, since three records of additional conditions are displayed, it can be seen that the flowchart of FIG. 4 has been executed three times so far.

  Each additional condition can be selected to be applied or excluded as a deletion condition. In the example shown in FIG. 1 and No. Since the record 3 is applied, the additional condition is “however, the image with the device type field 1045 = CT is determined to be deleted by adding 7 days to the last reference date.” “However, the main disease name field 1047. = For images with liver cancer, delete is determined by adding 7 days to the last reference date.

  When the conditions set in each area are combined, the deletion condition is “when the free capacity of the internal storage device 101 becomes 10% or less of the total capacity, the images with the oldest reference date are deleted in order. For images with the type field 1045 = CT, delete determination is made by adding 7 days to the last reference date and time, and for images with the main disease name field 1047 = liver cancer, deletion determination is made by adding 7 days to the last reference date and time. " In this case, the CT image of the liver cancer subject is added with a total of 14 days to the last reference date, and it is determined whether or not it can be deleted.

<Embodiment 1: Summary>
As described above, the medical image data management system 1000 according to the first embodiment dynamically sets the conditions for deleting medical image data from the internal storage device 101 according to the results of downloading the medical image data from the external storage device 601. Update to Thereby, it is possible to optimize the deletion condition in accordance with the operation status of each medical institution having different conditions such as business workflow and subject configuration.

  In addition, the medical image data management system 1000 according to the first embodiment totals the download results by using any one or more of the device type field 1045 to the main disease name field 1047 as an analysis target. Since medical image data having the same value in these fields is likely to be collectively referred to when image diagnosis is performed, the medical image data is particularly targeted for analysis of the results of downloading medical image data from the external storage device 601. It is considered useful.

  In addition, the medical image data management system 1000 according to the first embodiment defines conditions for deleting medical image data from the internal storage device 101 separately for basic conditions and additional conditions, and dynamically updates only the additional conditions. . Thereby, only the deletion condition depending on the operation status of the system can be appropriately updated according to the specific status.

  In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the external storage device 601 exists in the data center 600 installed outside the medical institution 400, but it is considered that the load related to download is the same in other arrangements. . For example, even when the external storage device 601 is installed in another medical institution, or when it is installed in a location different from the internal storage device 101 in the medical institution 400, the medical image data is downloaded via the network. Since the points are the same, the configuration according to the first embodiment can be applied.

<Embodiment 2>
In the second embodiment of the present invention, an operation when the image management server 100 has a prefetch function will be described. Since the configuration other than the prefetch function is the same as that of the first embodiment, the following description will focus on differences.

  The prefetch function is a function for downloading medical image data from the external storage device 601 in advance, which is not present in the internal storage device 101 but is expected to be issued an access request soon. With the prefetch function, it is possible to shorten the waiting time when referring to the medical image data and improve the work efficiency.

  Information that can be used as a trigger for performing the prefetch function includes (a) examination reservation information, (b) medical image data transmitted from the medical image capturing apparatus 200, and (c) an image that the user performs on the image reference terminal 300. A reference operation can be given as an example. The image transmission / reception unit 102 performs a prefetch function using these as a trigger, and downloads medical image data from the external storage device 601 in advance.

  When using examination reservation information as a trigger, an examination reservation of a subject is input in an electronic medical record system, a radiology system, a PACS server equipped with an examination reservation function, etc. as a trigger. Medical image data is downloaded to the internal storage device 101 in advance. When using medical image data transmitted from the medical image capturing apparatus 200 as a trigger, for example, a radiology engineer is transmitted using the work of transmitting medical image data captured by the medical image capturing apparatus 200 to the image management server 100 as a trigger. The past medical image data of the subject associated with the medical image data (for example, using the subject ID described in the tag information of the image) is downloaded to the internal storage device 101 in advance. In the case of using an image reference operation as a trigger, a past medical image data of the same subject is downloaded to the internal storage device 101 in advance using an operation performed on the image reference terminal 300 by the user to refer to the image. deep.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the transmission / reception database 104 according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the transmission / reception database 104 has a prefetch flag field 1048 in addition to the configuration described in FIG. The prefetch flag field 1048 holds a flag value indicating whether or not each download process has been performed by the prefetch function. True is stored for downloads performed by the prefetch function, and False is stored for other downloads.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the details of S402 in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, step S1101 is newly added between steps S801 and S802. The other steps are the same as in FIG.

(FIG. 11: Step S1101)
The transmission / reception analysis unit 105 extracts a record in which the value of the prefetch flag field 1048 is False, and sets this as an analysis target in the following steps. The medical image data that can be acquired in advance by the prefetch function is not stored in the internal storage device 101 because it is covered by the prefetch function even if it is deleted from the internal storage device 101. However, it is considered that there will be no operational problems such as an increase in download waiting time. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the download by the prefetch function is excluded from the aggregation target.

<Embodiment 2: Summary>
As described above, the medical image data management system 1000 according to the second embodiment excludes the medical image data acquired from the external storage device 601 by the prefetch function from the download results totaling target. Thereby, it is possible to enhance the effect of updating the deletion condition data by counting and using only the download processes that lead to an increase in the waiting time of the user.

<Embodiment 3>
In the first and second embodiments described above, the basic conditions that can be set on the basic condition area 1091 have been described. However, the image deletion unit 108 uses other preliminary conditions to store the medical image in the internal storage device 101. Data can also be deleted. For example, the medical image data of the subject who is hospitalized in the medical institution 400 is highly likely to be referenced in the near future, and therefore the deletion may be postponed. Alternatively, medical image data having a small data size has a small load even when downloaded from the external storage device 601, and therefore may be preferentially deleted from the internal storage device 101. These conditions can be used as a preliminary condition for overwriting the basic condition, or can be used as an additional condition. In either case, the deletion condition data in the deletion condition storage unit 107 can be recorded.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the transmission / reception analysis unit 105 can also automatically determine additional conditions to be adopted. For example, since past download records are stored in the transmission / reception database 104, for each additional condition combination pattern, the pattern is temporarily applied to the past download records to reduce the amount of download data or time. The combination pattern with the largest reduction amount can be automatically selected.

<About modification>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes various modifications. The above embodiment has been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and is not necessarily limited to the one having all the configurations described. A part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. The configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of a certain embodiment. Further, with respect to a part of the configuration of each embodiment, another configuration can be added, deleted, or replaced.

  Each of the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, and the like may be realized in hardware by designing a part or all of them, for example, with an integrated circuit. Each of the above-described configurations, functions, and the like may be realized by software by interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function by the processor. Information such as programs, tables, and files for realizing each function can be stored in a recording device such as a memory, a hard disk, an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

  100: Image management server 101: Internal storage device 102: Image transmission / reception unit 103: Transmission / reception recording unit 104: Transmission / reception database 105: Transmission / reception analysis unit 106: Analysis setting storage unit 107: Deletion condition storage unit 108 : Image deletion unit, 109: Deletion condition specification unit, 110: Image input / output unit, 200: Medical imaging device, 300: Image reference terminal, 400: Medical institution, 500: Network, 600: Data center, 601: External storage Apparatus 1000: Medical image data management system.

Claims (12)

A first storage unit that stores medical image data captured by the medical imaging apparatus;
A second storage unit connected to the first storage unit via a network;
The medical image data stored in the first storage unit is copied and transmitted to the second storage unit, or the medical image data stored in the second storage unit is acquired and the first memory is acquired. An image transmission / reception unit stored in the unit;
A transmission / reception recording unit for recording a transmission / reception record in which the image transmission / reception unit transmits / receives the medical image data between the first storage unit and the second storage unit;
A deletion condition storage unit for storing deletion condition data describing a condition for deleting the medical image data stored in the first storage unit from the image transmission / reception unit transmitted to the second storage unit;
An image deletion unit for deleting the medical image data from the first storage unit according to the deletion condition data;
A transmission / reception analysis unit that updates the deletion condition data based on the transmission / reception record recorded by the transmission / reception recording unit;
Equipped with a,
The deletion condition data is composed of a combination of one or more basic conditions that do not change according to the transmission / reception record of the medical image data and zero or more additional conditions that change according to the transmission / reception record of the medical image data,
The transmission / reception analysis unit updates the additional condition among the conditions described in the deletion condition data,
The transmission / reception analysis unit includes:
The image transmission / reception unit aggregates at least one of the data size of the medical image data acquired from the second storage unit or the time required for acquisition from the second storage unit,
The medical image data management system , wherein the additional condition is updated so that a time limit for deletion from the first storage unit is postponed for the medical image data whose summation result is a certain threshold value or more . The transmission / reception analysis unit includes:
According to the attribute information of the medical image data, at least one of the data size of the medical image data acquired from the second storage unit and the time required for acquisition from the second storage unit is collected by the image transmission / reception unit. And
The said additional condition is updated so that the time limit to delete from the said 1st memory | storage part may be postponed about the said medical image data corresponding to the said attribute information with the largest total result. Medical image data management system. The transmission / reception analysis unit, as the attribute information,
Type were taken the medical image data the medical imaging device, the medical imaging device physician identifier using the medical image inspected using the data main disease name, department, and the medical image data to which the doctor belongs The medical image data management system according to claim 2, wherein the tabulation is performed on at least one of the imaging parts as an analysis target. The basic condition is any one of a date and time when an examination for photographing the medical image data is performed, a creation date and time of the medical image data, a last update date and time of the medical image data, and a last reference date and time of the medical image data. The medical image data management system according to claim 1, wherein the system is configured to designate that the oldest medical image data should be deleted preferentially. The transmission / reception analysis unit includes:
One or more new additional conditions are created based on a result of continuously performing the aggregation for a predetermined period, and at least one or more of them is used to update a condition described in the deletion condition data. The medical image data management system according to claim 1. The medical image data management system includes:
A condition designating unit that presents the new additional condition created by the transmission / reception analysis unit and receives a designation input designating any one or more of the presented additional conditions,
The medical image data management system according to claim 5, wherein the deletion condition storage unit stores the additional condition corresponding to the designation input received by the condition designation unit. The deletion condition data is configured to designate a free capacity to be secured in the first storage unit,
The image deletion unit
When the free capacity of the first storage unit does not reach the free capacity specified by the deletion condition data,
Of the medical image data stored in the first storage unit, the free space of the first storage unit reaches a value specified by the deletion condition data, which is transferred to the second storage unit by the image transmission / reception unit. The medical image data management system according to claim 1, wherein the deletion is performed according to the deletion condition data. The medical image data management system includes:
An image input / output unit that reads and outputs the medical image data stored in the first storage unit in response to a read request for the medical image data stored in the first storage unit;
The image transmission / reception unit includes:
Of the medical image data not stored in the first storage unit but stored in the second storage unit, what is predicted to be read by the image input / output unit is used by the image input / output unit. Before trying to read from one storage unit, obtain from the second storage unit in advance and store in the first storage unit,
The transmission / reception analysis unit includes:
The medical image data management system according to claim 1, wherein the medical image data acquired from the second storage unit by the image transmission / reception unit according to the prediction is excluded from the aggregation target. A first storage unit that stores medical image data captured by the medical imaging apparatus;
The medical image data stored in the first storage unit is copied and transmitted to a second storage unit connected to the first storage unit via a network, or the second storage unit stores the medical image data. An image transmitting / receiving unit that acquires the medical image data and stores the medical image data in the first storage unit;
A transmission / reception recording unit for recording a result of the image transmission / reception unit transmitting and receiving the medical image data between the first storage unit and the second storage unit;
A deletion condition storage unit for storing deletion condition data describing a condition for deleting the medical image data stored in the first storage unit from the image transmission / reception unit transmitted to the second storage unit;
An image deletion unit for deleting the medical image data from the first storage unit according to the deletion condition data;
A transmission / reception analysis unit that updates the deletion condition data based on the record recorded by the transmission / reception recording unit;
Equipped with a,
The deletion condition data is composed of a combination of one or more basic conditions that do not change according to the transmission / reception record of the medical image data and zero or more additional conditions that change according to the transmission / reception record of the medical image data,
The transmission / reception analysis unit updates the additional condition among the conditions described in the deletion condition data,
The transmission / reception analysis unit includes:
The image transmission / reception unit aggregates at least one of the data size of the medical image data acquired from the second storage unit or the time required for acquisition from the second storage unit,
The medical image data management apparatus , wherein the additional condition is updated so that a time limit for deletion from the first storage unit is postponed for the medical image data whose summation result is a certain threshold or more . The transmission / reception analysis unit includes:
According to the attribute information of the medical image data, at least one of the data size of the medical image data acquired from the second storage unit and the time required for acquisition from the second storage unit is collected by the image transmission / reception unit. And
The said additional condition is updated so that the time limit to delete from the said 1st memory | storage part is postponed about the said medical image data corresponding to the said attribute information with the largest tabulation result. Medical image data management device. The medical image data stored in the first storage unit that stores the medical image data captured by the medical imaging apparatus is copied and transmitted to the second storage unit connected to the first storage unit via the network. Or an image transmitting / receiving step of acquiring the medical image data stored in the second storage unit and storing it in the first storage unit,
A transmission / reception recording step for recording a result of transmission / reception of the medical image data between the first storage unit and the second storage unit in the image transmission / reception step;
The medical image data stored in the first storage unit from the first storage unit according to deletion condition data describing conditions for deleting the medical image data transmitted to the second storage unit in the image transmission / reception step. Image deletion step to delete image data,
A transmission / reception analysis step for updating the deletion condition data based on the record recorded in the transmission / reception recording step;
A medical image data management program causing a computer to execute the,
The deletion condition data is composed of a combination of one or more basic conditions that do not change according to the transmission / reception record of the medical image data and zero or more additional conditions that change according to the transmission / reception record of the medical image data,
In the transmission / reception analysis step, the computer
Executing the step of updating the additional condition among the conditions described in the deletion condition data;
In the transmission / reception analysis step, the computer
A step of counting at least one of a data size of the medical image data acquired from the second storage unit or a time required for acquisition from the second storage unit in the image transmission / reception step;
Updating the additional condition so that a time limit for deletion from the first storage unit is postponed for the medical image data whose summation result is a certain threshold value or more;
Execute
A medical image data management program characterized by the above. In the transmission / reception analysis step, the computer
In accordance with the attribute information of the medical image data, at least one of the data size of the medical image data acquired from the second storage unit and the time required for acquisition from the second storage unit in the image transmission / reception step Step to do,
Updating the additional condition for the medical image data corresponding to the attribute information having the largest tabulation result so that a time limit for deletion from the first storage unit is postponed;
The medical image data management program according to claim 11, wherein:

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