Patent Application
20110213774
Existing medical image storage systems typically store images indexed by patient identifiers. Such systems are well suited to searching for images for a particular patient using simple database queries. However, they are not suited to more complicated search criteria and advanced searches, because more detailed information is not available. Medical professionals may wish to be able to perform more advanced searches.
A system having a first data storage element storing a first set of data including patient images and a second data storage element storing a second set of data that is derived from the first set of data, the second set of data including searchable data that is descriptive of the first set of data and excludes the patient images.
A method for storing a first set of data including patient images, extracting, from the first set of data, searchable data that is descriptive of the first set of data to create a second set of data, the second set of data excluding the patient images and storing the second set of data.
The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments describe systems and methods for providing databases of medical information that support advanced search queries.
Existing systems for storing patient images, such as Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (“PACS”) are typically indexed by patient information. This information may include patient name and birth date, other patient identifiers, or study identifiers. Querying such an index for data using patient or study identifiers is simple and effective; however, searching based on other criteria is difficult or impossible. Therefore, though such databases are useful for some purposes, additional utility can be achieved by adapting existing databases to be queried in newer, more complex ways.
The bot 130 and the filter 140 are typically software applications that reside on the system 100, although they may be located elsewhere, and may be stored in separate locations from one another. For example, different portions of a hospital may have separate PACS databases or there may be separate PACS databases at a series of affiliated hospitals. The bot 130 and the filter 140 may reside at one of these hospitals or portions of the hospital, but may have access to all the PACS databases. Additionally, the search database 120 may be located remotely from the patient image repository database 110 or may be located at the same location. The operation of these elements will be described in further detail below. The system 100 also includes a search interface 150, which may be part of a clinical application provided so that users may access the search database 120 through a user interface.
In step 230, the filter 140 processes the images retrieved from the repository database 110 in order to provide searchable information for the search database 120. This processing step includes filtering images stored in the repository database 110 to extract searchable data. The data may be stored in the images (e.g., in a DICOM format) or derivable therefrom. The exact nature of the data to be extracted depends on the purpose for which the search database 120 is to be used; further, the extracted data is typically limited to that data which is relevant to the purpose of the search database 120. Pixel data stored in the images in the repository database 110 is typically removed from the data in order to obtain a search database 120 of a more manageable size; for a repository database 110 storing images in a DICOM format, pixel data may comprise 95% to 99% of the stored data volume. Thus, removal of the pixel data will result in a manageably sized database.
In step 240, the extracted data is added to the searchable search database 120. The first time the method 200 is performed, this step 240 includes the creation of a new searchable search database 120; subsequently, data is added to an existing search database 120. As discussed above, the search database 120 may be of any type suitable for storing this data, but preferably is of a type dedicated to this task. Thus, at the completion of step 240, the search database 120 is current and can be searched by a user. As described above, the search database 120 will be significantly smaller than the repository database 110 and is also optimized based on the data that is included. That is, as described herein, the exemplary embodiments create smaller databases that have new searchable indexes from the larger database. However, these new searchable indexes are created using existing indices that are previously generated based on knowledge of the field in the original database resulting in an optimized database. Thus, searching the search database 120 becomes faster and easier than searching the repository database 110. Further, many types of searches may be possible using the search database 120 that could not be accomplished at all using solely the repository database 110.
In step 250, the search database 120 is queried by the search interface 150. As described above, the query may take a more detailed form than what would be possible with the patient image repository database 110. For example, a user may search for all mammography structured reports containing more than three findings, or all dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI scans of the prostate with a temporal resolution of better than two seconds. The specific form of the query may vary from embodiment to embodiment, and may take any of various forms depending on the specific information that a user desires. For example, in one embodiment, the query may be text-based; in another, it may use a set of filters.
In step 260, the results of the query of step 250 are provided to the user. This may involve displaying results as a list, in a table, or in various other formats known in the art. Results will typically include references to entries in the patient image repository database 110, which can then be retrieved by the user via methods that are known in the art.
By the implementation of the above exemplary embodiments, users may be able to search for patient information using queries that are more detailed than those possible with existing methods. Further, such searches may utilize multiple search terms in a manner not allowed by existing methods. In addition, since the search database 120 contains only the relevant data (e.g., with image data being removed), faster searches may be performed.
In the above example, the search database 120 contains data for a single image repository database 110. However, it should be understood that the search database 120 may include data from multiple image databases or from other types of databases, allowing a user to search multiple storage locations using a single search database 120.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations, provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is also noted that the claims may include reference signs/numerals in accordance with PCT Rule 6.2(b). However, the present claims should not be considered to be limited to the exemplary embodiments corresponding to the reference signs/numerals.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2009/054817 | 10/29/2009 | WO | 00 | 5/5/2011 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61114551 | Nov 2008 | US |
