JP6320859B2 - Medical image processing device - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a medical image processing apparatus.

  In general, medical image imaging apparatuses such as an X-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and patient images captured by the medical imaging apparatus (hereinafter referred to as examination images) Medical image processing apparatus for storing medical images and medical images (hereinafter referred to as users) referring to examination images stored in the medical image processing apparatus and creating medical findings reports for the examination images There is a medical image diagnostic system in which an observation apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a client terminal) is connected to a network. The inspection image captured by the medical image capturing apparatus is transmitted from the medical image capturing apparatus to the medical image processing apparatus. The medical image processing apparatus stores the received examination image data in a storage medium such as NAS (Network Attached Storage) and registers information such as examinations and patients in a DB (Database). In this case, the NAS is mainly installed in a server room in the hospital.

  By the way, in recent years, medical image processing apparatuses capable of storing inspection image data outside the hospital have appeared. This medical image processing apparatus stores inspection image data in an external data storage service that can be used via a network. External data storage services exist outside the hospital. If this external data storage service is used, the cost for purchasing and managing the storage medium can be reduced, and therefore the cost is lower than storing the data of the inspection image in the hospital. In addition, external data storage services are generally more redundant than hospital systems, and thus have high fault tolerance. In addition, external data storage services generally have data centers in disaster-resistant areas, and are less likely to lose data due to disasters, so they are highly disaster-resistant.

JP 2009-247540 A

  However, the external data storage service has a lower data transmission / reception speed than the NAS provided in the hospital network. Therefore, in the external data storage service, only inspection images that are less frequently referenced and that have passed several months from the imaging date are stored, and inspection images captured within the last few months are stored in a hospital storage medium. This is a common operation. Inspection images are expected to increase in the future due to the operation of medical image diagnostic systems. Therefore, in order to reduce the management cost and power consumption cost of in-hospital facilities, further ingenuity is required for reducing the data amount of inspection images stored in the hospital. Further, considering the merits of the external data storage service such as cost, fault tolerance, and disaster resistance, it is desired to further increase the ratio of the amount of inspection image data stored in the external data storage service.

  An object of the present embodiment is to provide a medical image processing apparatus that can further reduce the data amount of an inspection image stored in a hospital storage medium as compared with the conventional technique.

  A medical image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a first storage unit that stores a plurality of medical images associated with series identification information in a medical image processing apparatus that transmits and receives medical images via a network; An image movement processing unit that moves the medical image from the first storage unit to a second storage unit provided on the network when the movement condition is met. The image movement processing unit leaves a medical image corresponding to a predetermined amount of image turning data among the plurality of medical images included in the same series in the first storage unit, and the predetermined image turning data A first movement process for moving a medical image other than the medical image corresponding to the amount from the first storage unit to the second storage unit is performed.

1 is a block diagram showing a medical image diagnostic system including a medical image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The block diagram which shows the medical image processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a processing unit of the medical image processing apparatus. The figure which shows an example of the LUT (Look Up Table) utilized for calculation of the turning speed in the turning speed calculation part shown in FIG. The figure which shows the number of images stored in a high-speed storage medium and a low-speed storage medium. The figure which shows the test | inspection image memorize | stored in the low-speed storage medium shown in FIG.

  The medical image processing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a medical image diagnostic system including a medical image processing apparatus 2 according to this embodiment.

  The medical image diagnostic system shown in FIG. 1 is a medical image imaging apparatus 1 such as an X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging apparatus or a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (MRI), and the medical image imaging apparatus 1 performs imaging. Medical image processing apparatus 2 for storing the inspection image, a client terminal 3 for creating a medical observation report for the inspection image by referring to the inspection image stored in the medical image processing apparatus 2, and a high-speed storage medium 4 And a low-speed storage medium 5. The medical image capturing apparatus 1, the medical image processing apparatus 2, and the client terminal 3 are connected via a LAN (Local Area Network). The medical image processing apparatus 2 is connected to the high-speed storage medium 4 and the low-speed storage medium 5 by a cable, a network, or the like. Note that the high-speed storage medium 4 and the low-speed storage medium 5 may be connected to each other via a LAN (Local Area Network) similarly to the medical image capturing apparatus 1, the medical image processing apparatus 2, and the client terminal 3.

  The medical image imaging apparatus 1 generates examination image data obtained by imaging a patient's body and the like. The medical image imaging apparatus 1 performs imaging a plurality of times in one examination. For this reason, the examination image includes a plurality of medical images. In addition, an image number representing the imaging order is assigned to the plurality of medical images. The captured examination image is transmitted to the medical image processing apparatus 2 in the DICOM format.

  The medical image processing apparatus 2 receives the examination image captured by the medical image imaging apparatus 1 and stores the received examination image in a high-speed storage medium 4 described later. The medical image processing apparatus 2 stores, for example, a series unit such as a time series in which inspection images are captured. A plurality of medical images included in the stored examination images are arranged in series based on the image number. In addition, the medical image processing apparatus 2 manages the image information of the examination image captured by the medical image capturing apparatus 1 using the DB. In addition, the medical image processing apparatus 2 uses an inspection image that matches a specific condition as a low-speed storage medium 5 described later.

  The client terminal 3 receives and displays examination image data stored in the medical image processing apparatus 2 in accordance with the user's instruction so that the user can make a diagnosis. The client terminal 3 reads and displays a plurality of medical images stored in a low-speed storage medium 5 described later in a time that does not affect interpretation performed by the user. For example, the client terminal 3 reads data of a plurality of medical images stored in the low-speed storage medium 5 until the interpretation from the oldest medical image to the latest medical image in the series is completed. The user performs diagnosis by displaying and referring to the stored inspection image using the client terminal 3 connected to the network. An image display application is used for displaying the inspection image by the client terminal 3. Generally, the image display application is provided by the medical image processing apparatus 2 as a Web-based client application. This image display application has an examination list for designating examinations and patients to be displayed. When the user selects a specific examination, patient, or the like from the examination list, the data of the target examination image is transmitted from the medical image processing apparatus 2 to the image display application operating on the client terminal 3. The image display application displays the received inspection image data as an image. In the client terminal 3, not only an image display application but also other applications such as an interpretation report creation application and an electronic medical record creation application may be executed simultaneously.

  Note that each of the above applications does not have to be a web-based application. Each of the above applications may be installed in the client terminal 3 in advance or may be a stand-alone type application. When a specific URL is accessed from the client terminal 3, an image display application is displayed.

  The high-speed storage medium 4 receives a request from the medical image processing apparatus 2 and stores examination images, that is, data of a plurality of medical images associated with series identification information. Typically, the high-speed storage medium 4 is a NAS connected to the medical image processing apparatus 2 via a hospital LAN.

  The low-speed storage medium 5 receives a request from the medical image processing apparatus 2 and stores examination images, that is, data of a plurality of medical images associated with series identification information. Further, in response to a request from the medical image processing apparatus 2 or the image display application, the stored examination image data is transmitted to the request source.

  In the present embodiment, the low-speed storage medium 5 is mainly assumed to be a data storage service provided by a third party outside the hospital, but the scope of application of the present embodiment is not limited thereto. The communication with the medical image processing apparatus 2 can be applied to other storage media whose speed is lower than that of the high-speed storage medium 4. For example, an optical disk changer may be used. In the optical disc changer, the inspection image is stored on an optical disc such as a DVD. Then, these optical disks are stored in large quantities, and when there is a request from the medical image processing apparatus 2, the inspection image data is read from the optical disk including the requested inspection image and transmitted. A series of processes of searching for an optical disk including the requested inspection image, reading out the inspection image data, and transmitting the image is slower than the speed at which the inspection image data is received from the NAS via the hospital LAN. Therefore, this embodiment can be applied. The low-speed storage medium 5 includes both a device that is slow in reading and writing data such as an optical disc, and a device that is slow in communication speed with a service such as an external data storage service. There may be a plurality of the low-speed storage media 5.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the medical image processing apparatus 2 shown in FIG.

  The medical image processing apparatus 2 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a storage unit 21, a storage unit 22, an input unit 23, a display unit 24, a transmission unit 25, a reception unit 26, and a processing unit 27.

  The storage unit 21 is a storage device equipped with a storage medium such as a ROM (Read-Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 21 is used as a work area by the processing unit 27 described later, for example. That is, the storage unit 21 is used to temporarily store data generated by the processing by the processing unit 27.

  The storage unit 22 is a storage device equipped with a storage medium for long-term storage such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and NAS (Network Attached Storage). The storage unit 22 stores, for example, medical image data transmitted from the medical image capturing apparatus 1. The storage unit 22 stores information on examinations and patients.

  The input unit 23 receives various commands and information input from the user via the input device. The input unit 23 transmits an input signal corresponding to the input operation of the input device by the user to the processing unit 27. Note that examples of the input device include a pointing device such as a mouse and a trackball, a selection device such as a switch button, or a keyboard.

  The display unit 24 includes an image synthesis circuit, a VRAM (Video Random Access Memory), and a display device. Examples of the display device include a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and a plasma display.

  The transmission unit 25 transmits instructions and various medical data to the client terminal 3 and the low-speed storage medium 5. For example, the transmission unit 25 transmits an input signal corresponding to an input operation of the input unit 23 by the user. The transmission unit 25 transmits various instructions and medical data generated by the processing unit 27 described later to the client terminal 3 and the low-speed storage medium 5. In addition, the transmission unit 25 transmits various medical data transmission requests to the low-speed storage medium 5.

  The receiving unit 26 receives data and operation instructions from the medical imaging device 1, the client terminal 3, and the external data storage service. The receiving unit 26 receives various medical data transmitted from the low-speed storage medium 5 in response to the transmission request.

  The processing unit 27 is a control device that functions as the center of the medical image processing apparatus 2. The processing unit 27 includes an integrated circuit in which an electronic circuit made of a semiconductor is enclosed in a package having a plurality of terminals. The processing unit 27 executes the program stored in the storage unit 21 when a start instruction is input by the user via the input unit 23. The processing unit 27 displays various information for the user on the display unit 24 using a lot of graphics. The processing unit 27 provides a GUI (Graphical user Interface) that allows basic operations to be performed by the input unit 23.

  Further, the processing unit 27 determines a test image to be stored externally and a test image to be stored locally, and executes a process for storing the test image to be stored externally. Here, “external storage” refers to an inspection image to be externally stored instructed by an image classification unit 27-2, an external storage data amount calculation unit 27-5, and a key image peripheral identification unit 27-6, which will be described later, as the low-speed storage medium 5 to store. The local storage is to store the inspection image captured by the medical image capturing apparatus 1 in the high-speed storage medium 4.

  Here, a specific functional configuration example of the processing unit 27 of the medical image processing apparatus 2 in the present embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the processing unit 27 of the medical image processing apparatus 2 shown in FIG.
3 includes an image information management unit 27-1, an image classification unit 27-2, a turning speed calculation unit 27-3, a data reading speed identification unit 27-4, and an external storage data amount calculation unit 27-5. , A key image peripheral identification unit 27-6 and an external storage processing unit 27-7.

  The image information management unit 27-1 generates a trigger for starting the selection processing of the inspection image to be externally stored and the external storage processing (starting the processing after the image classification unit 27-2 described later). The image information management unit 27-1 generates the trigger in response to an event such as reception of an inspection image, setting of a key image for the inspection image, and passage of a certain period from the imaging date. An inspection image reception event occurs when the medical image processing apparatus 2 receives an inspection image. A key image setting event occurs when a user uses an image display application to display an inspection image and sets a key image on the image display application. In the event of the elapse of a certain period from the imaging date, the image information management unit 27-1 checks the examination registered in the medical image processing apparatus 2 at regular intervals, and x days have elapsed since the imaging date since the previous check. Occurs when there is a new inspection. The above x is generally determined by initial setting of a product or setting by a service engineer.

  Although the key image setting event is generated when the user sets a key image using an image display application, the event other than the key image may be targeted. For example, when an annotation or measurement is performed, it may be regarded as a key image setting event. A new event such as an annotation / measurement event may be defined. Further, the setting of the key image is not necessarily performed on the image display application. For example, if there is a dedicated application or the like for setting a key image, even if the key image is set using the application, it may be regarded as a key image setting event. Further, an operation of pasting an image on the report creation support application may be regarded as a key image setting event.

  In addition, the image information management unit 27-1 checks the examination registered in the medical image processing apparatus 2 at regular intervals in order to detect an event that has elapsed for a certain period from the examination date. However, it does not necessarily have to be at regular intervals. For example, the check may be performed using a user operation as a trigger.

  For example, the image classification unit 27-2 has passed a certain period of time from an unread image, an already imaged image, and an imaging date (examination date) for an inspection image that has been triggered to start processing by the image information management unit 27-1. It classifies into three. The image classification unit 27-2 classifies inspection images in series units. The image classification unit 27-2 stores an inspection image that is stored in the high-speed storage medium 4 and for which a certain period has not elapsed since the date of imaging and for which a key image that is a basis for image diagnosis is not set, as an uninterpreted inspection image. Classify into: Further, the image classification unit 27-2 classifies inspection images stored in the high-speed storage medium 4, for which a certain period of time has not elapsed since the date of imaging, and for which a key image has been set, into interpretation-ready inspection images. The image classification unit 27-2 classifies the inspection image stored in the high-speed storage medium 4 and having passed x days from the imaging date (inspection date and time) into the inspection image after a certain period has elapsed from the imaging date. The above x is generally determined by initial setting of a product or setting by a service engineer.

  The inspection image classified as unread is output to the turning speed calculation unit 27-3. Further, the inspection image classified as having been interpreted is output to the key image periphery specifying unit 27-6. In addition, the inspection images classified as having passed for a certain period from the date of image capture are output to the external storage processing unit 27-7.

  In the image classification unit 27-2, the inspection images are classified into three types, but need not necessarily be three. Further, the above three types are not necessarily required. The inspection image may be classified into two types, for example, that a certain period has elapsed since the imaging date and that a certain period has not elapsed since the imaging date. Further, there may be a classification such as a completely cured patient reflecting the patient's condition in the real world. Since there is basically no reference to examination images of completely cured patients, all of the examination images can be stored externally.

  Further, the image classification unit 27-2 may further perform classification for each modality. The three types of classification are applied only to CT and MR examinations, for example. Further, other modalities such as CR (Computed Radiography) may be applied to only two types of non-interpretation and the passage of a fixed period from the imaging date. Further, all images may be stored in the high-speed storage medium 4 without applying the processing after the turning speed calculation unit 27-3 to the unread CR.

  The turning speed calculation unit 27-3 calculates the turning speed per inspection image representing the speed of the turning operation for each combination of at least one of modality, part, case, and the like. As a calculation method, there are a method using a preset LUT (Look Up Table) and a method of statistically calculating based on actual interpretation data.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an LUT used for calculating a turning speed in the turning speed calculation unit 27-3 illustrated in FIG. In the method of calculating the turning speed by using the LUT set in advance, the LUT is set as shown in FIG. 4, for example. Generally, the LUT is set by an initial setting of a product or a service engineer.

  The turning speed is acquired by assigning a corresponding line from the LUT using information on cases included in the modality, part, inspection purpose, etc. of the target inspection as a key. For example, when the modality is CT, the part is the head, and the case is cerebral infarction, the turning speed is 0.3 seconds / sheet.

  When there is no corresponding row in the LUT, it is possible to use an average value of the turning speeds of partially corresponding rows. For example, when case information cannot be acquired for the purpose of examination, the modality can be set to CT, and the average value of the turning speed of the row where the part is the head can be set as the turning speed.

  Further, in the statistical calculation method, no LUT is given in advance. The user actually measures the operation of turning the image on the image display application, collects the cases, and statistically calculates the turning speed for the combination of the modality, the part, and the case from the cases.

Here, a specific example of calculating the turning speed is shown.

For example, suppose that inspection A includes series X, Y, and Z. X is a scano image, the number of images is 1, Y is a series image having 300 images, and Z is a series image having 250 images. X is determined to be a scano image based on the number of images, and the scano image is excluded from the measurement target because it is inappropriate as a turning speed calculation example. Assume that Y takes 75 seconds to display all images, and Z takes 75 seconds to display all images. The turning speed of this inspection at this time is obtained as follows.

  Collect examples of the turning speed of each inspection. Then, an average value of cases is obtained for each combination of modality, part, and case, thereby calculating a turning speed in the combination.

  In the example of the LUT, the LUT including the columns of modality, part, case, and turning speed is shown, but the LUT is not limited to this embodiment. For example, columns such as the user name and the presence / absence of contrast may be added, or a column of only modality, part, and turning speed may be used.

  Further, a method using the LUT and a statistical calculation method may be used in combination. For example, the LUT value may be used for combinations existing in the LUT, and statistically calculated otherwise.

  The data reading speed specifying unit 27-4 calculates the data reading speed per sheet when acquiring the inspection image from the low speed storage medium 5. As a calculation method, there are a method using a preset value and a method for statistically calculating based on an actual data reading speed.

The method using the setting uses a preset value of the data reading speed for each low-speed storage medium 5. For example, the following setting is considered as an example.

  In the above example, it is considered that the low-speed storage medium A has a data reading speed of 0.5 s / sheet, and the low-speed storage medium B has a data reading speed of 0.7 s / sheet.

  In addition, in the statistical calculation method, no setting is given in advance. The speed when the image is actually received from the low-speed storage medium 5 is measured, collected as a case, and the speed is statistically calculated from the case.

Here, a specific example of calculating the data reading speed is shown below.

For example, suppose that inspection A includes 300 inspection images, and it takes 150 seconds to receive all the inspection images. At this time, the data reading speed in the inspection A is obtained as follows.

  In this way, cases of data reading speed of each inspection image are collected. And the data reading speed from the low-speed storage medium 5 is calculated | required by calculating | requiring the average value of a some test | inspection.

  Note that a method of using the setting and a method of statistical calculation may be used in combination. For example, a method of using a set value for the data reading speed of the low-speed storage medium 5 existing in the setting and statistically calculating otherwise may be used.

  The external storage data amount calculation unit 27-5 is a medical device for external storage based on the data reading speed calculated by the turning speed calculation unit 27-3 and the data reading speed calculated by the data reading speed specifying unit 27-4. The amount of image data is calculated. The data amount of the medical image stored externally is set to a data amount that does not affect interpretation by the user.

  For example, the external storage data amount calculation unit 27-5 uses the image number representing the imaging order in the same series as a reference until the interpretation from the oldest medical image to the latest medical image in the series is completed. The amount of data for completing the data reading of a plurality of medical images from the storage medium 5 is calculated.

  The image to be stored externally is the tail image of the inspection (or a certain series if there are multiple series). The tail image of the examination (or series) is stored externally, and when the user starts interpretation from the top image, acquisition of the tail data stored externally is started. It is the role of the external storage data amount calculation unit 27-5 to determine the external storage data amount that does not affect the user's interpretation.

Specifically, the number of images stored in the high speed storage medium 4 and the low speed storage medium 5 is calculated by the following simultaneous equations. The turning speed and the data reading speed are obtained by the turning speed calculating section 27-3 and the data reading speed specifying section 27-4, respectively. Further, the number of images in the entire inspection is determined by the target inspection.

  The purpose of the above simultaneous equations is to obtain the point i that the i-th and subsequent images are stored externally for the inspection image having x images. The point i obtained by the above simultaneous equations is that, for example, when the user starts interpretation from the first image and reaches the i-th image, all images after the i-th image can be acquired from the low-speed storage medium 5. This is a point that satisfies the condition.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the number of images stored in the high-speed storage medium 4 and the low-speed storage medium 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the medical image processing apparatus 2 has, for example, an examination A having 600 images. The turning speed for the modality, part and case of this examination A is 0.25 seconds / sheet. The data reading speed from the low-speed storage medium 5 is 0.5 seconds / sheet. At this time, the number of images stored in the high-speed storage medium 4 and the number of images stored in the low-speed storage medium 5 are obtained by the following simultaneous equations.

Solving the simultaneous equations gives the following values:

  It takes about 100 seconds for the user to start interpretation from the first image and to reach the 400th image. Also, it takes 100 seconds to receive the 400th to 600th images from the low-speed storage medium 5. In other words, if image reception from the external storage data service is started simultaneously with the start of image interpretation by the user, all inspection images to which the 400th and subsequent image numbers are assigned when the user's interpretation reaches the 400th image. It has been acquired. Thereby, the number of images stored in the high-speed storage medium 4 can be reduced without affecting the user's interpretation.

  Although the amount of data to be stored externally is determined with the number of images as a unit, the number of images may not be a unit. For example, MB (megabyte) units may be used. For example, 200 MB is stored in the hospital's high-speed storage medium 4 and 100 MB is stored in the low-speed storage medium 5. May be.

  The simultaneous equations are just an example, and other methods for determining the point i are also conceivable. In the simplest example, for example, there is a method of obtaining by a ratio. In this example, the number of inspection images is stored at a ratio of 7: 3 in the hospital high-speed storage medium 4 and the external low-speed storage medium 5 (external data storage service). Further, in a more complicated example, when the interpretation by the user reaches the point i, i + 1 images can always be acquired (where 1 ≦ i ≦ the number of previous images−1). It is also possible to define.

  According to the above definition, it is not necessary that all images after i have been acquired when the interpretation reaches point i. It is only necessary to continue reading data from the external data storage service while reading images after the point i, and reading the latest image data before the reading reaches the latest image.

  Here, the external storage data amount calculation unit 27-5 calculates the external data based on the data reading speed calculated by the turning speed and data reading speed specifying unit 27-4 calculated by the turning speed calculation unit 27-3. Although the amount of medical image data to be stored is calculated, the present invention is not limited to this. The external storage data amount calculation unit 27-5 determines the data amount for image turning, i.e., local data, based on at least one of the turning speed, the data reading speed, and the data size of a plurality of medical images included in the series. The amount of medical image data to be stored may be calculated. A medical image having a data amount other than the calculated local medical image is stored externally.

  The key image periphery specifying unit 27-6 determines a peripheral region of the key image stored in the in-hospital high-speed storage medium 4 among the examination images in which the key image is set. The inspection image in which the key image is set has been interpreted, and when the user refers to it next time, it is considered that only the periphery of the key image is confirmed rather than from the top of the image. Therefore, the key image periphery specifying unit 27-6 determines the key image and how many peripheral slices are stored in the in-hospital high-speed storage medium 4. As a method for determining the peripheral region, there is mainly a method by setting.

In the method by setting, the number of slices to be considered as the periphery of the key image is set in advance in the setting file. For example, the following setting is considered as an example.

  In the above example, the key image slice position ± 10 slices is regarded as the key image periphery. After the key image peripheral area is specified, the external storage processing unit 27-7 is instructed to store the area other than the area as an external storage target.

  The external storage processing unit 27-7 moves the medical image from the high speed storage medium 4 to the low speed storage medium 5 provided on the network when a predetermined movement condition is met. The external storage processing unit 27-7 executes external storage of the inspection image to be externally stored that is instructed by the image classification unit 27-2, the external storage data amount calculation unit 27-5, and the key image periphery identification unit 27-6. .

  The external storage processing unit 27-7, for example, leaves a medical image corresponding to a predetermined amount of data for turning images among a plurality of medical images included in the same series in the high-speed storage medium 4, and for predetermined turning pages. A medical image other than the medical image corresponding to the data amount is moved from the high speed storage medium 4 to the low speed storage medium 5. The external storage processing unit 27-7 has a medical amount of data that does not affect the interpretation performed by the user among the plurality of medical images of the series that are not interpreted based on the turning speed and the data reading speed. The image is moved from the high speed storage medium 4 to the low speed storage medium 5.

  Specifically, the external storage processing unit 27-7 reads data of a plurality of medical images from the low-speed storage medium 5 until the interpretation from the oldest medical image to the latest medical image in the series is completed. A medical image having a data amount to be completed is moved from the high-speed storage medium 4 to the low-speed storage medium 5. The external storage processing unit 27-7 uses the image number representing the imaging order in the same series as a reference, the number of the plurality of medical images in the same series is the number of the plurality of medical images stored in the high-speed storage medium 4 and the low speed. The sum of the number of medical images stored in the storage medium 5 and the product of the number and turning speed of the plurality of medical images stored in the high-speed storage medium 4 and the plurality of medical images stored in the low-speed storage medium 5 When the product of the number of medical images and the data reading speed is equal, the latest image number is assigned from the medical images to which the total number of medical images stored in the high-speed storage medium 4 plus the first image number is assigned. The medical image is moved from the high speed storage medium 4 to the low speed storage medium 5.

  The external storage processing unit 27-7 moves the key image specified by the key image periphery specifying unit 27-6 and the medical image other than the key image periphery from the high speed storage medium 4 to the low speed storage medium 5.

  Further, the external storage processing unit 27-7 moves the inspection image classified as having passed for a certain period from the imaging date from the high speed storage medium 4 to the low speed storage medium 5.

  In the above-described example, an example in which an image is stored in the medical image processing apparatus 2 has been described. However, the application range of the present embodiment is not limited to the medical image processing apparatus 2. For example, the present invention can also be applied to the client terminal 3 equipped with an image display application that stores images in its own device. In order to display an image on such a client terminal 3, it is necessary to transmit and store an image in advance from the medical image processing apparatus 2 to the client terminal 3 (described as prefetch). On the other hand, the storage capacity of the storage medium that the client terminal 3 has is limited. Therefore, by applying the medical image processing apparatus 2 according to this embodiment, the number of images stored in each examination (or series) can be reduced, and more examination data can be prefetched in advance. is there.

  When the client terminal 3 is a portable terminal, the storage capacity of the internal storage medium is further limited, and this embodiment is useful.

  Further, the concept of the present embodiment can be applied not only to the data reading speed with the low-speed storage medium 5 but also to the compression / decompression speed of the image. In the medical image processing apparatus 2, for example, the inspection image file is stored in a compressed state in order to reduce the storage capacity of the image. On the other hand, in order to display an image on the client terminal 3, the developed image data is necessary. For this reason, the reception of an image display request from the client terminal 3 is used as a trigger, and an image is developed and transmitted to the client terminal 3. Cost. Therefore, the image of the first half of the inspection (or series) is stored in an uncompressed state, and the latter half is stored in a compressed state. Then, it is possible to shorten the time until image transmission by expanding the compressed image while immediately transmitting the uncompressed image to the client terminal 3. The idea of this embodiment can be applied to determine which image is to be compressed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an inspection image stored in the low-speed storage medium 5 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. Out of the inspection images in which the series is configured from the images, the inspection image at the tail of the series, the image that has been interpreted and is set as the key image at the time of interpretation, and the inspection image other than the periphery of the key image are stored in the low-speed storage medium 5 Is possible.

  According to the above configuration, the medical image processing apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment is stored in the NAS (Network Attached Storage) of the medical image processing apparatus 2, the local HDD (Hard Disc Drive) of the client terminal 3, the storage medium of the portable terminal, and the like. It is possible to reduce the amount of inspection image data stored. Therefore, in the medical image processing apparatus 2, it is possible to reduce the number of NAS facilities, and it is possible to reduce costs for maintenance and maintenance costs. Further, in the client terminal 3 and the mobile terminal, it is possible to reduce the amount of inspection image data for each inspection and store more inspection image data in the terminal.

  Therefore, the medical image processing apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment can reduce the amount of examination image data stored in the hospital storage medium without affecting the operation of interpretation, and can reduce the facility management cost and power consumption cost in the hospital. Can be reduced.

  Here, the external storage processing unit 27-7 may move some of the series of medical images from the high speed storage medium 4 to the low speed storage medium 5 at a predetermined ratio.

  Further, the client terminal 3 reads a plurality of medical images stored in the low-speed storage medium 5 from the low-speed storage medium 5 in a time that does not affect the interpretation performed by the user. At this time, the client terminal may read data of a plurality of medical images stored in the low-speed storage medium 5 until the interpretation from the oldest medical image to the latest medical image in the series is completed.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Medical image pick-up device, 2 ... Medical image processing apparatus, 3 ... Client terminal, 4 ... High speed storage medium, 5 ... Low speed storage medium, 21 ... Memory | storage part, 22 ... Storage part, 23 ... Input part, 24 ... Display part , 25 ... transmitting section, 26 ... receiving section, 27 ... processing section, 27-1 ... image information management section, 27-2 ... image classification section, 27-3 ... turning speed calculation section, 27-4 ... data reading speed specification 27-5, an external storage data amount calculation unit, 27-6, a key image peripheral identification unit, 27-7, an external storage processing unit.

Claims (12)

In a medical image processing apparatus that transmits and receives medical images via a network,
A first storage unit that stores a plurality of medical images associated with identification information of the series;
An image movement processing unit configured to move the medical image from the first storage unit to a second storage unit provided on the network when a predetermined movement condition is satisfied,
The image movement processing unit leaves a medical image corresponding to a predetermined amount of image turning data among the plurality of medical images included in the same series in the first storage unit, and the predetermined image turning data A medical image processing apparatus that performs a first movement process of moving a medical image other than a medical image corresponding to a quantity from the first storage unit to a second storage unit.   A data reading speed indicating a turning speed representing a turning speed of a user in the process of interpreting the medical image, a speed of reading a medical image from the second storage unit provided on the network. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a calculation unit configured to calculate based on at least one of a data size of the medical image.   The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the turning speed is calculated for each combination of at least one of a modality, a part, and a case.   The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the turning speed is calculated based on a table set in advance according to an instruction from the user.   The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the data reading speed is calculated based on a preset value set in accordance with an instruction from the user.   2. The medical image according to claim 1, wherein the image movement processing unit performs a second movement process of moving a medical image that has exceeded a predetermined storage period in the first storage unit from the first storage unit to the second storage unit. Image processing device. An image classification unit that classifies the plurality of medical images stored in the first storage unit according to whether or not the user interprets the images based on any one of the plurality of medical images in the same series. Equipped,
The image movement processing unit, from the first storage unit, outputs a medical image having a data amount that does not affect interpretation performed by the user among a plurality of medical images of the same series that are not subjected to the interpretation. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a third movement process for moving to the storage unit is performed.   The image movement processing unit includes a plurality of pieces of medical image data from the second storage unit before the interpretation from the oldest medical image to the latest medical image in the same series where the interpretation is not performed. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a medical image having a data amount to be read is moved from the first storage unit to the second storage unit.   The image movement processing unit performs a fourth movement process of moving a part of the plurality of medical images of the same series from the first storage unit to the second storage unit at a predetermined ratio determined in advance. The medical image processing apparatus according to 1. A key image periphery specifying unit for specifying a key image for interpretation and a medical image around the key image from a plurality of medical images included in the same series;
The medical image according to claim 1, wherein the image movement processing unit performs a fifth movement process of moving the specified key image and a medical image other than the periphery of the key image from the first storage unit to the second storage unit. Processing equipment. A data reading unit that reads a plurality of medical images stored in the second storage unit from the second storage unit in a time that does not affect interpretation performed by a user;
The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an output unit that outputs a medical image read by the data reading unit to an external device.   12. The data reading unit according to claim 11, wherein the data reading unit reads data of a plurality of medical images stored in the second storage unit until the interpretation from the oldest medical image to the latest medical image in the series is completed. Medical image processing apparatus.

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