Dicom real-time image encoding method and system based on image cloud

Abstract

The application discloses a DICOM real-time image coding method and system based on an image cloud. In order to overcome the problem that the prior art cannot change the compression coding format in real time, is not flexible enough and cannot meet all needs after storing the DICOM image file compressed and coded by a preset image compression coding algorithm, the application comprises the following steps: S1: the image cloud sends a request for downloading a DICOM image file to a download service according to needs; S2: the download service obtains DICOM source file data from a storage module and reads a DICOM image file data stream into memory; S3: DICOM image file data is parsed in the memory, and image data is extracted and compressed in real time; and S4: the compressed and coded DICOM image data is transmitted to the image cloud through an external network. Only the original DICOM image file is stored in the storage space, the real-time image compression coding mode is used for compression coding, and the DICOM image file can be downloaded flexibly according to actual needs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical imaging, and in particular to a DICOM real-time image encoding method and system based on image cloud. Background Technology

[0002] A Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) is an information system specifically designed for the management of medical imaging examination images, encompassing image storage, transmission, display, and processing. The medical examination image storage format adopts the DICOM 3.0 (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) standard.

[0003] The hospital-wide PACS system covers the imaging information of the entire hospital and links multiple imaging departments such as radiology, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, endoscopy, and pathology to respond to their needs for medical imaging data.

[0004] Imaging cloud is a technology that uploads and archives imaging data from the entire PACS system of a single hospital or multiple hospitals to a cloud platform, enabling cross-hospital and cross-regional interconnection of medical imaging examination data. Doctors or patients can access reports and DICOM images through mobile devices. This is of great significance for realizing remote imaging diagnosis, consultation services, sharing of medical imaging information, mutual recognition of examination and test results, improving the efficiency of medical services, and reducing the time patients spend traveling back and forth to the hospital.

[0005] Real-time computing is a continuous, low-latency, event-triggered computational task. It has three main characteristics: real-time and unbounded data flow, continuous and efficient computation, and streaming and real-time data integration. In contrast, batch computing is a batch-based, high-latency, proactively initiated computation, focusing more on batch data operations and proactive initiation.

[0006] Image coding refers to the transformation, encoding, and compression of image data while meeting certain fidelity requirements. This involves removing redundant data to reduce the amount of data needed to represent a digital image, thus facilitating image storage and transmission. In other words, it's a technique that represents the original pixel matrix with less data, either with lossy or lossless methods; it's also known as image compression coding.

[0007] DICOM images are typically stored without image compression and encoding, resulting in large data volumes. Downloading over an intranet is feasible due to the fast network speed. However, downloading over an internet connection is often subject to firewall speed limits and low bandwidth, severely impacting user experience. Existing solutions usually compress and encode DICOM image files using a preset image compression algorithm before storage, but this cannot be changed in real-time, lacking flexibility and failing to meet all needs. To overcome these shortcomings, this invention aims to provide a DICOM image encoding method and apparatus based on real-time image cloud computing. This method triggers DICOM image encoding upon download and retrieval, flexibly addressing the problem of slow retrieval speeds when DICOM image data is large and network bandwidth is low.

[0008] For example, a method for retrieving and compressing medical images, disclosed in Chinese patent literature (publication number CN110633385A), includes the following steps: Step 101, retrieving medical images; Step 201, compressing each image obtained in Step 101; Step 301, importing the programs from Steps 101 and 201 into the RAM of a microcontroller. The microcontroller is equipped with a 5G network communication chip for transmission via a 5G network. The microcontroller also has a USB interface for connection to a hospital computer, enabling the retrieval and compression of medical images and resource sharing between different hospitals. However, this method cannot change the compression encoding format in real time, lacks flexibility, and cannot meet all needs. Summary of the Invention

[0009] This invention primarily addresses the problem that existing technologies, which compress and encode DICOM image files using a preset image compression encoding algorithm before storage, cannot change the compression encoding format in real time, lack flexibility, and cannot meet all needs. It provides a real-time DICOM image encoding method based on an image cloud, using the download event on the calling end as a trigger point for dynamic image compression encoding. This method adapts to the requested image compression encoding format based on actual needs, reducing storage burden, minimizing the risk of disk overflow, reducing enterprise costs, and improving transmission efficiency.

[0010] The above-mentioned technical problems of the present invention are mainly solved by the following technical solutions:

[0011] A DICOM real-time image encoding method based on image cloud includes the following steps:

[0012] S1: Image Cloud sends a request to the Real-Time Computing Service to download DICOM image files based on demand;

[0013] S2: The real-time computing service retrieves DICOM source file data from the storage module and reads the DICOM image file data stream into memory;

[0014] S3: Parses DICOM image file data in memory, extracts and compresses encoded image data in real time;

[0015] S4: Transmit the compressed and encoded DICOM image data to the image cloud via the external network.

[0016] Only the original DICOM image files are stored in the storage space, and they are compressed using real-time image compression encoding. DICOM image files can be flexibly downloaded as needed. The read DICOM image data is compressed and encoded in memory using appropriate image compression encoding algorithms. The compressed DICOM image data is then transmitted to the image cloud client via the external network, effectively reducing the amount of data transmitted, alleviating the pressure on the external network, speeding up image retrieval on the client, and improving the user's viewing experience. At the same time, it does not increase disk consumption, saving enterprise costs.

[0017] Preferably, the files requested for downloading from the image cloud include the original DICOM image files or DICOM image files after image compression encoding; the compression encoding format for the recorded retrieval is TransferSyntax.

[0018] TransferSyntax supports compression encoding formats included in the DICOM standard, such as JPEG, RLE, JPEG2000, and JPEGLS. It supports accessing original DICOM image files, ensuring the normal operation of services requiring original DICOM image files; it also supports real-time image compression encoding formats requested based on actual needs.

[0019] Preferably, in step S2, the compression encoding method 'TransferSyntax' of the file is obtained from the DIOCM file data stream. If the compression encoding method 'TransferSyntax' is the same as the retrieved compression encoding format 'TransferSyntax', then proceed to step S4; otherwise, proceed to step S3.

[0020] The request-based DICOM image encoding trigger mechanism flexibly meets download needs and speeds up downloads.

[0021] Preferably, step S3 includes the following steps:

[0022] S301: Parse DICOM image file data, obtain image-related parameters including file location (Tell), image width, image height, image bit depth (bits), and image channel count (SamplesPerPixel), and determine the size of the uncompressed image;

[0023] S302: Extract image data; obtain the data after the file position Tell in the DICOM image file stream, denoted as Data_s; if TransferSyntax' is a compressed format, then its corresponding encoding method is restored to an uncompressed image; if TransferSyntax' is an uncompressed format, then the uncompressed image data is Data_s;

[0024] S303: Image data compression encoding; Encode the uncompressed data according to the requested encoding method to obtain the encoded image data;

[0025] S304: Write the compressed and encoded image data back to the DICOM image data.

[0026] The request-based DICOM image encoding trigger mechanism flexibly meets download needs and speeds up downloads.

[0027] Preferably, the process of restoring the image to its uncompressed state is as follows:

[0028] A. Iterate through Data_s from the beginning;

[0029] B. Determine the header position Mark_s and tail position Mark_e of the compressed file based on different TransferSyntax's parameters;

[0030] C. Obtain uncompressed data Data_um = Decode(Data_s), where Decode is the corresponding decoding method, and Data_um is the uncompressed image data with a size of size.

[0031] The compressed file is decoded into uncompressed image data using the corresponding decoding method, which facilitates subsequent compression encoding processing.

[0032] Preferably, Data_um is encoded according to the encoding method of TransferSyntax to obtain encoded data Data_cm = Encode(Data_um), where Encode is the corresponding compression encoding method and Data_cm is the compressed image data; according to the DICOM protocol, the compression encoding format of the compressed image data is modified to TransferSyntax, the Tell image data is deleted, and Data_cm is filled into the DICOM image data to generate a new compressed DICOM image file.

[0033] Compression encoding is performed using a real-time image compression method, allowing for flexible download of DICOM image files as needed.

[0034] A DICOM real-time image encoding system based on image cloud, comprising:

[0035] Image cloud is used to upload and archive image data from the entire PACS of a single hospital or multiple hospitals to a cloud platform; it enables cross-hospital and cross-regional interconnection of medical imaging examination data, and doctors or patients can access reports and DICOM images through mobile devices. It is of great significance for realizing remote image diagnosis, consultation services, sharing of medical image information, mutual recognition of examination and test results, improving the efficiency of medical services, and reducing the time patients spend traveling back and forth to the hospital.

[0036] Real-time computing service is used to receive image cloud requests and trigger image data compression encoding events;

[0037] The compression module is used to compress and encode the DICOM image file data that has been queried and retrieved from memory, according to the requested image compression encoding format, using the corresponding algorithm.

[0038] Storage modules are used to store DICOM image files. These include, but are not limited to, storage media such as hard drives, USB flash drives, read-only memory (ROM), and random access memory (RAM).

[0039] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0040] 1. Only the original DICOM image files are stored in the storage space. Real-time image compression encoding is used for compression. DICOM image files can be downloaded flexibly according to actual needs.

[0041] 2. It calculates in real time according to the requested encoding format, and the encoding method is flexible, overcoming the problems of rigid encoding format and untimely response when the original compression encoding technology is used for batch calculation and processing.

[0042] 3. The DICOM image data, after real-time compression and encoding, is transmitted to the image cloud client via the external network, which effectively reduces the amount of data transmitted, reduces the pressure on the external network, speeds up the image retrieval speed on the client, and improves the user's viewing experience.

[0043] 4. Real-time computation and processing in memory does not increase disk consumption, saving enterprises storage resource costs.

[0044] 5. It supports accessing original DICOM image files, ensuring the normal operation of services that require original DICOM image files; it also supports real-time image compression encoding formats requested according to actual needs. Attached Figure Description

[0045] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a DICOM real-time image encoding method based on image cloud according to the present invention.

[0046] Figure 2This is a schematic diagram of the module connection of a real-time image encoding system according to the present invention.

[0047] In the diagram, 1. Image cloud, 2. Storage module, 3. Real-time computing service, 4. Compression module. Detailed Implementation

[0048] The technical solution of the present invention will be further described in detail below through embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0049] Example:

[0050] This embodiment presents a DICOM real-time image encoding system based on image cloud, such as... Figure 2 As shown, it includes image cloud 1, storage module 2, real-time computing service 3, and compression module 4.

[0051] Image Cloud 1 is used to upload and archive image data from the entire PACS of a single hospital or multiple hospitals to the cloud platform; it enables cross-hospital and cross-regional interconnection and interoperability of medical imaging examination data. Doctors or patients can access reports and DICOM images through mobile devices. It is of great significance for realizing remote image diagnosis, consultation services, sharing of medical image information, mutual recognition of examination and test results, improving the efficiency of medical services, and reducing the time patients spend traveling back and forth to the hospital.

[0052] Real-time computing service 3 receives requests from image cloud 1 and triggers image data compression encoding events. It retrieves raw DICOM image data from storage module 2, performs real-time calculation and compression encoding on the DICOM data according to the actual request requirements using compression module 4, and then transmits the DICOM data to image cloud 1 after completion.

[0053] Compression module 4 is used to compress and encode the DICOM image data retrieved from memory according to the requested image compression encoding format, including but not limited to JPEG, RLE and other image compression encoding formats, using the corresponding algorithm to obtain DICOM image compressed encoding data.

[0054] Storage module 2 is used to store DICOM image files. This includes, but is not limited to, storage media such as hard drives, USB flash drives, read-only memory (ROM), and random access memory (RAM).

[0055] This embodiment presents a DICOM real-time image encoding method based on image cloud, employing the aforementioned system, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the specific steps include:

[0056] S1: Image Cloud sends a request to the Real-Time Computing Service to download DICOM image files based on demand.

[0057] When a client needs to download DICOM images, the image cloud sends a request to the real-time computing service to download the required DICOM image file, supporting access to the original DICOM image file or the DICOM image file after image compression and encoding.

[0058] Using this request as the trigger mechanism for DICOM image encoding can flexibly meet download needs and accelerate download speed. The compression encoding format used in this request is TransferSyntax, a compression encoding format supported by the DICOM standard, including JPEG, RLE, JPEG2000, and JPEGLS.

[0059] It supports accessing original DICOM image files, ensuring the normal operation of services that require original DICOM image files; it also supports real-time image compression encoding formats requested according to actual needs.

[0060] S2: The real-time computing service retrieves DICOM source file data from the storage module and reads the DICOM image file data stream into memory.

[0061] In the DIOCM file data stream, obtain the compression encoding method 'TransferSyntax' of the file. If the compression encoding method 'TransferSyntax' is the same as the retrieved compression encoding format 'TransferSyntax', proceed to step S4; otherwise, proceed to step S3.

[0062] The system uses a request-based DICOM image encoding trigger mechanism to flexibly meet download needs and accelerate download speeds. It calculates the encoding format in real time based on the request, offering flexibility in encoding methods and overcoming the problems of rigid encoding formats and untimely responses in batch processing of traditional compression encoding technologies.

[0063] S3: Parses DICOM image file data in memory, extracts and compresses encoded image data in real time.

[0064] S301: Parse DICOM image file data, obtain image-related parameters including file location (Tell), image width, image height, image bit depth (bits), and image channel count (SamplesPerPixel), and determine the size of the uncompressed image.

[0065] The size of the uncompressed image is: size = width * height * SamplesPerPixel * ((bits + 7) / 8).

[0066] S302: Extract image data.

[0067] Retrieve the data following the Tell position in the DICOM image file stream, denoted as Data_s;

[0068] If 'TransferSyntax' is a compressed format, its corresponding encoding method will be restored to an uncompressed image. The specific process is as follows: A. Traverse Data_s from the beginning.

[0069] B. Determine the header position Mark_s and tail position Mark_e of the compressed file based on different TransferSyntax′; for example, the start mark of a JPEG file is ffd8ff and the end mark is ffd9.

[0070] C. Obtain uncompressed data Data_um = Decode(Data_s), where Decode is the corresponding decoding method, and Data_um is the uncompressed image data with a size of size.

[0071] If TransferSyntax′ is in uncompressed format, then the uncompressed image data is Data_s.

[0072] S303: Image data compression encoding; Encode the uncompressed data according to the requested encoding method to obtain encoded image data.

[0073] Data_um is encoded according to the encoding method of TransferSyntax to obtain encoded data Data_cm = Encode(Data_um), where Encode is the corresponding compression encoding method, and Data_cm is the compressed image data.

[0074] S304: Write the compressed and encoded image data back to the DICOM image data.

[0075] According to the DICOM protocol, the compression encoding format of the compressed image data is modified to TransferSyntax, the Tell image data is deleted, and Data_cm is filled into the DICOM image data to generate a new compressed DICOM image file.

[0076] S4: Transmit the compressed and encoded DICOM image data to the image cloud via the external network.

[0077] The DICOM image data, after being compressed and encoded, is transmitted to the image cloud client via the external network. This process effectively reduces the amount of data transmitted, alleviates the pressure on the external network, speeds up the image retrieval process on the client, and improves the user's viewing experience.

[0078] This example uses a computed tomography (CT) scan of a patient at a hospital as the actual data (a total of 606 DICOM files). Under the same network conditions, ten transmission tests were conducted on the original image, JPEG, and RLE image encoding formats respectively. The results are shown in the table below:

[0079] Total data Flow consumption Shortest time Longest time Average time Raw data 305.16 MB 305.16 MB 54.94s 67.04s 60.76s JPEG 115.92 MB 115.92 MB 22.81s 26.99s 23.62s RLE 142.61 MB 142.61 MB 25.98s 35.85s 30.10s

[0080] MB: Mega Byte, a unit of measurement for data size. s: Second, a unit of measurement for time.

[0081] As can be seen from the above data, the solution in this embodiment can not only flexibly use the corresponding encoding format according to the request through real-time calculation, but also reduce the use of storage resources by performing real-time calculation in memory; it can also reduce the amount of data transmitted, greatly improve the transmission speed, and shorten the transmission time by about half.

[0082] This embodiment stores only the original DICOM image files in the storage space, using real-time image compression encoding. DICOM image files are flexibly downloaded as needed. The read DICOM image data is compressed and encoded in memory using appropriate image compression algorithms, and then transmitted to the image cloud client via the external network. This effectively reduces the amount of data transmitted, alleviates external network transmission pressure, speeds up image retrieval on the client, improves the user's viewing experience, and does not increase disk consumption, thus saving enterprise costs.

[0083] It should be understood that the embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, it should be understood that after reading the teachings of this invention, those skilled in the art can make various alterations or modifications to the invention, and these equivalent forms also fall within the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A DICOM real-time image encoding method based on image cloud, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1: Image Cloud sends a request to the Real-Time Computing Service to download DICOM image files based on demand; S2: The real-time computing service retrieves DICOM source file data from the storage module and reads the DICOM image file data stream into memory. It then retrieves the compression encoding method of the file from the DICOM file data stream. If the compression encoding method is the same as the retrieved compression encoding format, proceed to step S4; otherwise, proceed to step S3. S3: Parse DICOM image file data in memory, extract and compress encoded image data in real time, including parsing DICOM image file data to obtain image-related parameters and determine the size of the uncompressed image, restoring the compressed format to uncompressed image data, encoding the uncompressed data according to the requested encoding method, and writing the compressed and encoded image data back to the DICOM image data; S4: Transmit the compressed and encoded DICOM image data to the image cloud client via the external network.

2. The DICOM real-time image encoding method based on image cloud according to claim 1, characterized in that, The files requested for downloading from the image cloud include original DICOM image files or DICOM image files after image compression encoding; the compression encoding format for the records being retrieved is TransferSyntax.

3. The DICOM real-time image encoding method based on image cloud according to claim 2, characterized in that, In step S2, the compression encoding method 'TransferSyntax' of the file is obtained from the DICOM file data stream. If the compression encoding method 'TransferSyntax' is the same as the retrieved compression encoding format 'TransferSyntax', then proceed to step S4; otherwise, proceed to step S3.

4. A DICOM real-time image encoding method based on image cloud according to claim 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that, Step S3 includes the following steps: S301: Parse DICOM image file data, obtain image-related parameters including file location (Tell), image width, image height, image bit depth (bits), and image channel count (SamplesPerPixel), and determine the size of the uncompressed image; S302: Extract image data; obtain the data after the file position Tell in the DICOM image file stream, denoted as Data_s; if TransferSyntax' is a compressed format, then its corresponding encoding method is restored to an uncompressed image; if TransferSyntax' is an uncompressed format, then the uncompressed image data is Data_s; S303: Image data compression encoding; Encode the uncompressed data according to the requested encoding method to obtain the encoded image data; S304: Write the compressed and encoded image data back to the DICOM image data.

5. The DICOM real-time image encoding method based on image cloud according to claim 4, characterized in that, The process of restoring the image to its uncompressed state is as follows: A. Iterate through Data_s from the beginning; B. Determine the header position Mark_s and tail position Mark_e of the compressed file based on different TransferSyntaxes; C. Obtain uncompressed data Data_um = Decode(Data_s), where Decode is the corresponding decoding method, and Data_um is the uncompressed image data with a size of size.

6. The DICOM real-time image encoding method based on image cloud according to claim 4, characterized in that, Data_um is encoded according to the TransferSyntax encoding method to obtain encoded data Data_cm = Encode(Data_um), where Encode is the corresponding compression encoding method and Data_cm is the compressed image data. According to the DICOM protocol, the compression encoding format of the compressed image data is modified to TransferSyntax, the Tell image data is deleted, and Data_cm is filled into the DICOM image data to generate a new compressed DICOM image file.

7. A DICOM real-time image encoding system based on image cloud, using the DICOM real-time image encoding method based on image cloud as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The system includes: Image cloud is used to upload and archive image data from the entire PACS of a single hospital or multiple hospitals to a cloud platform; Real-time computing service is used to receive image cloud requests and trigger image data compression encoding events; The compression module is used to compress and encode the DICOM image file data that has been queried and retrieved from memory, according to the requested image compression encoding format, using the corresponding algorithm. Storage module, used to store DICOM image files.

Images