Patent Application
20080071895
The accompanying drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention, wherein:
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.
In order to provide some context for this description, an exemplary environment in which exemplary embodiments can be employed will now be described with respect to
As an alternative to the transmission of images to the film processing lab, images may be digitally recorded and processed in each of the rooms 202-206. In yet another embodiment, different kinds of images may be recorded and stored in one or more digital imaging/processing device(s) 207. In either scenario, the digitally recorded images may be processed and the report generated in the device 207 and delivered directly to the database 210.
Upon completion of the image processing and the report write up, the processed images and report are relocated to a database 210. According to an exemplary embodiment, the DICOM images are stored in a photosharing section of database 210, while the JPEG images are stored in a filesharing section of database. Upon sending the images from the film processing lab 208 to the database 210, a notification signal is sent to server 212 by database 210. The server 212 then processes the notification message, matches it to information stored in database 210 and retrieves contact information for the relevant physician(s) (and/or patient). Notification of a viewable image is then sent from server 212 through a network, such as the Internet 214, to another server 216 and a notification device 218 (multiple notification devices (not shown) could be used based on user preferences). While the Internet 214 is shown as an example of a network useful for notifications, it should be appreciated that any other suitable network may be used.
Upon receipt of the notification, the user has the ability to view the image on the notification device 218 or upon display 220. In some cases, notification device 218 might only be capable of viewing the image a particular format, such as the JPEG format, so the user has the option of using display 220 (e.g., part of a personal computer in the physician's office or hospital) which is in communication with server 216 to view the higher quality image (DICOM image in this example) if desired. Additionally, there may be two-way communications between server 212 and both notification device 218 and server 216, which allow the user to query server 212 to determine the status of images to be viewed as will be described in more detail below.
Notification devices according to exemplary embodiments can be any electronic device capable of both receiving notification messages from a server and then being able to also view the referenced image in at least one of the image formats in which the medical image is stored in database 210. For example a notification device could be a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cell phone capable of receiving and displaying digital images, such as JPEG images, or any other electronic device capable of receiving and displaying the desired images. According to one exemplary embodiment, the notification message allows the user to see which image is currently ready for viewing as well as other images in the queue. For example, if a physician had two patients that had undergone both x-rays and MRIs, the physician could use her or his notification device to determine the status of the images. Then, the images ready for viewing could be listed on a display of the notification device 218 in a manner which is visually distinguishable from those images that were still being processed as shown in
Additional or alternative visual techniques could be used to differentiate viewable images from images that are still being processed, such as black lettering for viewable images and grayed out lettering for images that are still being processed. The manner in which the notification device 218 is updated can vary as well. For example, according to one exemplary embodiment, the server 212 can “push” status updates to the notification device 218 as new images become available for viewing. Alternatively, the notification device 218 can query the server 212 when the user actuates an update command. Similarly, instead of a three-step process, i.e., notification, request, image delivery, the notification message could contain the medical image and/or report itself so that the physician could immediately view the image without first requesting it from server 212.
According to another exemplary embodiment, a method for processing an image is illustrated in the flowchart of
According to one exemplary embodiment, notification messages are sent out through instant messaging. Referring back to
According to another exemplary embodiment, images can be displayed and manipulated on an electronic device that is also used as the notification device 218. For example, after a notification message has been received by a notification device 218 (in this example, a cell phone), the user sends back the request to server 212 to have the image sent to her or his cell phone. The cell phone receives the image and the user, e.g., the physician, decides to manipulate the image, e.g., to see features of the medical image which are significant to diagnose the patient. Exemplary image manipulation options may be to use various buttons to perform functions such as zooming, panning or rotating the image in order to better view the area of interest to assist in quick and timely patient diagnosis.
According to yet another exemplary embodiment, the server 212 knows the capabilities of the notification device 218, e.g., by retrieving pre-stored capabilities data from the database 210 indexed, e.g., by physician. Alternatively, for those embodiments where a request message is explicitly transmitted by the user of the notification device 218, the request message can include device capabilities information therein. In either event, the server 212 knows what format notification device 218 is capable of receiving images in, e.g., both DICOM and JPEG images or just JPEG images, and transmits the requested image(s) in those format(s) which the requesting device is capable of handling.
The above-described exemplary embodiments are intended to be illustrative in all respects, rather than restrictive, of the present invention. Thus the present invention is capable of many variations in detailed implementation that can be derived from the description contained herein by a person skilled in the art. All such variations and modifications are considered to be within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the following claims. No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items.
