Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-23
2003-06-03
Mizrahi, Diane D. (Department: 2175)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
active
06574629
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a picture archiving and communication system which includes improved image routing, retrieval and display capabilities, among other things. The invention has particular utility in a hospital, or group of hospitals, since it facilitates inter-departmental access to patient images produced by different types of imaging modalities.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern hospitals, like any other business, make use of digital computers and networking technology to manage different types of data. Much of this data, such as admissions information and the like, can be handled without the use of specialized hardware and software. On the other hand, certain types of clinical data, in particular medical images, cannot be managed in the conventional manner. Rather, specialized hardware and software is required to route, retrieve and view this data. This specialized hardware and software is known in the art as a picture archiving and communication system (or “PACS”).
In general, a PACS includes one or more imaging modalities, an archive, and plural reviewing stations. The imaging modalities take images of a patient using technologies such as X-ray, computed tomography (“CT”), magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”), nuclear medicine (“NM”), and ultrasound (“US”), to name a few. The images are then stored in the archive, from which they may be subsequently retrieved and viewed on a reviewing station. The imaging modalities, the archive, and reviewing stations are typically integrated either via a local area network (“LAN”) or a wide area network (“WAN”).
Conventional PACS suffer from several drawbacks, particularly in the areas of routing, retrieving and displaying images. With respect to image routing, in conventional PACS, an imaging modality takes an image of a patient and then the image is routed to an archive, where it is stored. Thereafter, a user at a reviewing station must retrieve the image from the archive in order to view the image. This system is inefficient for a number of reasons. For example, it requires the user to retrieve images manually, and thereby expend extra time and effort to complete the review process. In this regard, when the PACS network is busy, different users often compete for system resources, resulting in a slow system response and thereby further increasing the time required to complete the review process.
With respect to image retrieval, as noted above, conventional PACS require a user to retrieve an image from a central archive. This can be inefficient, especially if a copy of the image is located in an area of the PACS which is more easily accessible to the user than the archive. Moreover, when dealing with “studies” (i.e., one or more images of, e.g., a body part of a patient), conventional PACS retrieve an entire study before any images therefrom are actually displayed to the user. Again, this is inefficient, since it prolongs the reviewing process.
With respect to displaying images, conventional PACS typically provide a fixed set of controls by which a user may sort, select and display certain studies and/or images. While these controls may be sufficient in some circumstances, oftentimes users will find them inadequate to meet their particular needs. On the other hand, this fixed set of controls may also be more than the user desires and/or may have characteristics, such as an undesirable screen location or the like, that the user finds inconvenient.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a PACS which addresses the foregoing and other drawbacks of conventional PACS. In particular, there exists a need for a PACS with improved routing, retrieval and display capabilities which enhance the overall efficiency of the system, and which make the system more user-friendly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the foregoing needs. In particular, the present invention is a PACS with routing, retrieval and display capabilities that surpass those of its conventional counterparts, and with additional enhancements and features that make the subject PACS both efficient and user-friendly.
Generally speaking, the PACS of the present invention includes core components arranged in a cluster. These core components include an archive station which has access to a long-term memory for storing image data, and a reviewing station which has a display for displaying images based on received image data. Also included in the core components is a network gateway, which interfaces to a non-core component so as to receive image data therefrom, and which routes the image data to at least one of the archive station and the reviewing station based on a set of routing rules in the network gateway. Finally, a database server manages access to the image data, and stores information relating to the image data.
According to one aspect, the PACS includes a plurality of reviewing stations, each which is designated to receive images based on predetermined routing rules. In this aspect, the network gateway receives the images from an external source, determines, which if any, of the reviewing stations that each image should be routed to based on the predetermined routing rules, and routes images to appropriate reviewing stations. By routing the images to appropriate stations, rather than blindly routing all images to a central archive (as is done in conventional PACS), the present invention reduces the amount of time it takes for users to access and view the images.
In preferred embodiments, the invention determines the routing rules based on one or more of the following: a set destination, a radiology specialty, image status, a referring physician, patient location, time, image category, and imaging modality. Moreover, the invention provides a way for the user to set the routing rules by selecting one or more of the foregoing options, thereby enabling the user to generate customized routing tailored to specific needs. In particularly preferred embodiments, the user selects the above options using one or more forms which are accessible via hyperlinks. This feature, in particular, makes the PACS easy to use.
In other preferred embodiments, the network gateway is able to determine if received images and their corresponding information comport with what is already stored in the PACS. Specifically, the network gateway determines if any received images include additional information that is inconsistent with corresponding information on the PACS, and corrects the additional information in any such received images prior to routing the images. Thus, the network gateway both prevents flawed (i.e., “broken”) images from entering the PACS and/or from corrupting currently-existing PACS data. This feature is particularly advantageous in the medical field, where data accuracy can literally mean the difference between life and death.
In still other preferred embodiments, the network gateway is able to route images to a plurality of other (e.g., non-reviewing) stations in accordance with predetermined routing rules. Examples of these other stations include the archive station and PACS extensions (i.e., non-core components), most notably a referring physician station which displays images received from the network gateway and a clinical station which also displays such images. Similarly, the network gateway may also route images to peripherals, such as a Web server which sends the images out over the Internet and a printer which prints the images.
According to another aspect, the PACS pre-fetches images (and/or summaries of information relating to the images) in response to a scheduled event. In this regard, “pre-fetching” refers to the process of automatically (i.e., without user intervention) retrieving images (and/or summaries) before the scheduled event. In this aspect, the PACS includes at least one station capable of displaying the images, and a network gateway which communicates with the station and a remote source (e.g., a hospital radiology information system, or “RIS”). The network gateway rece
Cooke, Jr. Robert E.
Gaeta Michael G.
Henrici John G.
Kaufman Dean M.
Agfa Corporation
Michaelis Brian L.
Mizrahi Diane D.
Mofiz Apu M
Pysher Paul A.
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