Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Health care management
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-25
2001-08-07
Millin, Vincent (Department: 2764)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Health care management
C600S300000, C128S920000, C128S922000, C128S923000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06272469
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to medical diagnostic and imaging systems which are configured to execute protocols for examinations, image acquisition, and so forth. More particularly, the invention relates to a technique for making such protocols available to a system user, for easily selecting such protocols and installing them for use, and for transmitting protocols to diagnostic systems where they can be executed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Medical diagnostic and imaging systems are ubiquitous in modem health care facilities. Such systems provide invaluable tools for identifying, diagnosing and treating physical conditions and greatly reduce the need for surgical diagnostic intervention. In many instances, final diagnosis and treatment proceed only after an attending physician or radiologist has complemented conventional examinations with detailed images of relevant areas and tissues via one or more imaging modalities.
Currently, a number of modalities exist for medical diagnostic and imaging systems. These include computed tomography (CT) systems, x-ray systems (including both conventional and digital or digitized imaging systems), magnetic resonance (MR) systems, positron emission tomography (PET) systems, ultrasound systems, nuclear medicine systems, and so forth. In many instances, these modalities complement one another and offer the physician a range of techniques for imaging particular types of tissue, organs, physiological systems, and so forth. Health care institutions often dispose of several such imaging systems at a single or multiple facilities, permitting its physicians to draw upon such resources as required by particular patient needs.
Modem medical diagnostic systems typically include circuitry for acquiring image data and for transforming the data into a useable form which is then processed to create a reconstructed image of features of interest within the patient. The image data acquisition and processing circuitry is often referred to as a “scanner” regardless of the modality, because some sort of physical or electronic scanning often occurs in the imaging process. The particular components of the system and related circuitry, of course, differ greatly between modalities due to their different physics and data processing requirements.
In medical diagnostic systems of the type described above, imaging or examination protocols are commonly employed for performing a series of functions, typically designed to produce image data which can be later reconstructed. While the particular physics of the system dictates the types of protocols which are employed, all modalities will execute a range of such protocols to provide specific types of images as required by the specific anatomy or diagnosis involved. For example, in MRI systems pulse sequences are typically defined by protocols that include a series of pulses designed to excite gyromagnetic material in a subject of interest and to sense emissions from the gyromagnetic material in response to the pulses. In CT systems, other protocols are used to command x-ray emissions and movements of a system gantry as well as other components for successive acquisition of a multitude of image data sets which are later reconstructed into a useful image.
Such protocols are typically installed on scanners initially and may be expanded by purchase or license of additional software or hardware needed to execute the protocols. In many systems, additional protocols can be executed on existing components, and their installation is accomplished by simply loading the protocol software on to the existing system controller. Moreover, attempts have been made to provide a limited degree of remote upgrading of certain modality scanners through network connections.
While the current protocol distribution and upgrade systems are generally satisfactory in many respects, they are not within drawbacks. For example, the mere fact that a protocol is available on a scanner may not provide operations personnel with sufficient information on how to execute or implement the protocol, configuration parameters most useful in executing the protocol, and so forth. Often, textual manuals need to be consulted for this purpose. In other situations, clinicians or radiologists may contact a protocol vendor to obtain information on installation or configuration parameters. Moreover, where protocols are distributed by supports such as computer discs or other memory devices, the memory devices must be transported and the protocols installed by operations personnel or a field service engineer in a rather time consuming and somewhat inefficient manner. Even where software upgrades to some scanners have been made available via networks, the user is not generally provided with sufficient information for installation and use of the new protocol. Similarly, the user may not be aware of the existence of the new protocol or its availability or utility.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved system for providing protocols in medical diagnostic equipment. There is a particular need for a technique which is user friendly to the scanner operator and provides a clear listing of available protocols as well as new protocols as they become available. There is also a need for an improved technique for accessing a series of protocols from a listing or library, and for loading the protocol for execution on a diagnostic system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a novel approach to handling imaging and diagnostic system protocols designed to respond to these needs. The system may be integrated in a scanner interface which includes pages accessible through a browser-type or other graphical user interface system. At least one of the pages may be devoted to a listing and description of protocols installed on or available for the particular scanner. The technique may also be employed on centralized management stations, such as a station linking several scanners in a radiology department of a medical institution. The system may also provide information on preferred or useful configuration parameters for carrying out the protocol. The interface may also permit the protocol to be loaded or requested for specific examinations by simply selecting the protocol from a menu.
In a preferred arrangement, new or improved protocols may be made available through an interactive communications system which links the scanners to a centralized service facility. The service facility may transmit messages to the scanner to inform the operations personnel of the existence and availability of the new protocol. The protocol may then be downloaded or transmitted automatically or upon request by the institution. The technique allows protocols for a large variety of scanners, scanner types, modalities, and manufacturers to be easily distributed through the service center. The service center may also provide a library of available protocols which may be installed on memory media or transmitted via a network. Accounting for distribution of the protocols may also be performed by the system, such as for transmitting protocols in accordance with subscriptions and so forth.
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Howards Koritzinsky Ianne Mae
Reich John Aurthur
Fletcher Yoder & Van Someren
GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC
Millin Vincent
Rosen Nicholas David
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