Clinical in-use state monitoring method for medical ultrasonic equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a clinical in-use state monitoring method for medical ultrasonic equipment. At present, image output of mainstream medical ultrasonic equipment supports a DICOM data standard. According to the method disclosed by the invention, through a standardized image equipment naming method, an equipment identifier in DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) image data is extracted, and in combination with inspection registration information matched with an image access number in a medical information system, the use time and inspection items of inspection equipment are determined, so that the use condition, the efficiency and the benefit of the image equipment are evaluated. The method disclosed by the invention is beneficial to analyzing the long-term operation performance of the equipment, assisting in operation and maintenance and management decision, and providing improvement suggestions for improving the product quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a method for monitoring the actual operation and working status of medical ultrasound equipment, belonging to the field of Internet of Things-based smart medicine. Background Technology

[0002] The demand for refined hospital management, with the goal of "smart management," is increasing daily. Resource optimization, scientific supervision, and decision-making are being incorporated into the needs of smart hospital management. With the rapid development of information technologies such as the Internet and the Internet of Things, hospitals are actively promoting deep interconnection and interoperability between medical equipment data and hospital information systems to achieve more comprehensive and real-time equipment monitoring.

[0003] With the continuous development of medical technology, medical ultrasound equipment is being used more and more widely in primary hospitals. It is projected that by 2025, the annual sales volume of medical ultrasound diagnostic equipment in China will exceed 78,000 units, and the market size will continue to grow, with a large number of domestically produced equipment being used. More accurate and efficient monitoring and management of the working status and usage of medical ultrasound equipment can provide hospital management with more powerful tools and lay a solid foundation for optimizing and improving medical services.

[0004] Interoperability of medical ultrasound equipment data is a crucial direction in the current development of medical equipment. It aims to achieve seamless connection and data sharing between ultrasound equipment and other medical information systems. While some progress has been made in interoperability of medical ultrasound equipment data, challenges and limitations still exist.

[0005] First, with the rapid development of technologies such as the Internet of Things and cloud computing, ultrasound equipment can more easily connect and exchange data with external information systems. For example, through wireless or wired connections, ultrasound equipment can transmit images and data to remote servers or medical information systems, enabling centralized data storage and management.

[0006] Secondly, in terms of standardization, a series of standards and protocols related to medical ultrasound equipment have been established internationally and domestically to regulate the data formats, transmission methods, and interface standards of the equipment. The development and implementation of these standards and protocols help promote data sharing and interoperability between different ultrasound devices, thereby improving the efficiency and quality of medical services.

[0007] Despite some progress, challenges and limitations remain.

[0008] First, technological diversity is a significant issue. Different medical ultrasound devices may employ different technical architectures and data processing methods, leading to differences in data formats and transmission methods. This complicates the development of unified standards, requiring a comprehensive consideration of the characteristics and needs of various devices.

[0009] Secondly, compatibility is another challenge. Even with unified standards, compatibility issues may still exist between ultrasound devices from different manufacturers in practical applications. This can lead to difficulties in data exchange and sharing, affecting the efficiency and quality of medical services.

[0010] Furthermore, coordinating interests during the standard-setting process is also a challenge. Different manufacturers may want to protect their technological advantages and market share, leading to differing opinions on standard setting. There are also differing interpretations of the definitions in some standards.

[0011] To meet the urgent needs of hospital management, IoT-based data acquisition methods are increasingly being used in the interconnection of ultrasound equipment. Current ultrasound equipment data acquisition methods generally utilize intelligent identification and log reading to automatically obtain information such as the workload, start time, and end time of a single device. However, these technologies have disadvantages for ultrasound equipment applications, mainly in the following aspects:

[0012] 1. Technical Stability: Mobile ultrasound equipment may face different operating environments and conditions, such as unstable power supply and equipment vibration. These factors may affect the stability of intelligent recognition technology, leading to a decrease in recognition accuracy or a slowdown in processing speed, or even affecting the normal operation of the equipment.

[0013] 2. High technical threshold: Both automatic log reading methods and intelligent recognition technologies require certain technical knowledge and experience for configuration and maintenance. Specific development is needed for logs from different manufacturers and product models, resulting in high initial R&D costs. There are also security risks associated with third-party data access.

[0014] 3. Data quality: The automatic log reading method and intelligent recognition technology do not support the device's own standard data format. Due to network transmission or image clarity, the data extraction may not be accurate enough, which reduces the consistency and reliability of the data.

[0015] 4. Security and Privacy Protection: Intelligent identification technology and automatic log reading involve the collection and processing of large amounts of data, requiring attention to data security and privacy protection. Insufficient security or vulnerabilities in the technology could lead to data leaks or unauthorized access, posing potential risks to hospitals and patients. Summary of the Invention

[0016] The technical problem this invention aims to solve is that existing equipment performance management relies on installing data acquisition terminals outside the equipment to statistically analyze equipment usage by obtaining the equipment's power-on / off status. This method has the following problems: 1. The equipment installation cost is relatively high; 2. Data acquisition cannot be accurate to the patient and examination method, making it impossible to accurately assess the equipment's performance; 3. The data acquisition terminal has compatibility risks with different equipment brands and models.

[0017] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution of the present invention is to provide a method for monitoring the clinical use status of medical ultrasound equipment, characterized by comprising the following steps:

[0018] Step 1: Based on the DICOM technical standard, standardize the data format of medical ultrasound equipment in use, so that ultrasound equipment generates images that fully comply with the DICOM standard after completing ultrasound examinations, and stores them centrally on the server.

[0019] Step 2: Obtain the equipment information field of each in-use medical ultrasound device from the DICOM file on the server. Based on the equipment information field and the pre-set naming rules, assign a unique asset information identifier to each in-use medical ultrasound device. After receiving the DICOM file, the server parses the information in the DICOM file and stores it in the database. Based on the corresponding asset information identifier, it completes the unique identification of the data in the database.

[0020] Step 3: When each medical ultrasound device in use is examined for the next time, the asset information will be visually displayed on the image.

[0021] Preferably, in step 1, the DICOM standard is the DICOM 3.0 standard.

[0022] Preferably, in step 2, the device information fields include: Station Name, representing the model of the current ultrasound device; Manufacturer Model Name, recording the brand of the current device; Device Serial Number, recording the product serial number of the current device; and AE Title, recording the communication identifier of the current device in the system.

[0023] Preferably, the data in the database is queried according to various conditions through the storage query management module.

[0024] Currently, most mainstream medical ultrasound equipment supports the DICOM data standard for image output. The method disclosed in this invention standardizes the naming method for imaging equipment, extracts equipment identifiers from DICOM image data, and combines this with examination registration information matching the image accession number in the medical information system to determine the usage time and examination items of the examination equipment. This allows for the evaluation of the imaging equipment's usage, efficiency, and effectiveness. The method disclosed in this invention helps analyze the long-term operational performance of equipment, assists in operation and maintenance management decisions, and provides improvement suggestions for product quality enhancement.

[0025] The clinical use status monitoring method for medical ultrasound equipment provided by this invention is based on DICOM technology (standard data for ultrasound equipment), PACS data, artificial intelligence, and OCR technology. It automatically collects data in real time on the workload, usage time, and equipment type of a single device. This invention overcomes the limitations of existing external data acquisition terminals, which are affected by changes in the usage environment and different equipment brands. This invention focuses on scenario-based intelligent data acquisition, analysis, monitoring, performance analysis, and decision-making applications centered on the refined management of medical ultrasound equipment. While achieving the goal of unified data collection and centralized management of the use status of medical ultrasound equipment of different brands, models, and purchase times, it also identifies and proposes improvements for product quality and data interoperability standardization. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The present invention will be further illustrated below with reference to specific embodiments. It should be understood that these 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.

[0027] Because the data acquisition and usage status management of existing medical ultrasound equipment are not yet perfect, the current acquisition methods and log reading methods of external acquisition terminals are affected by changes in the usage environment and different equipment brands, resulting in poor reliability in clinical applications. This invention proposes a method based on ultrasound equipment standard data DICOM technology, PACS data, artificial intelligence and OCR technology to achieve unified acquisition and centralized management of the usage status data of medical ultrasound equipment of different brands, models and purchase times, and to fill the technological gap in this area.

[0028] This invention discloses a data acquisition method based on the device's own standard data, thereby obtaining relevant equipment usage information and fulfilling the monitoring requirements for the in-use status of ultrasound equipment in primary healthcare institutions. The method specifically includes the following steps:

[0029] Step 1: Image Data Format Standardization: Based on the DICOM technical standard, standardize the data format of in-use medical ultrasound equipment, output data that conforms to the standard, and improve data consistency and reliability. This includes the following steps:

[0030] Step 101: The patient completes registration in the ultrasound room;

[0031] Step 102: The patient completes the examination on the ultrasound machine, and the doctor captures dynamic or static images.

[0032] Step 103: Generate images that fully comply with the DICOM 3.0 standard and store them centrally on the server.

[0033] Step 2, Standardization of Equipment-Specific Information: After inspection, the ultrasonic equipment information is written into a DICOM file, standardizing the readable identifiers of the equipment-specific information and developing visualizations. This includes the following steps:

[0034] Step 201: Obtain the device information fields Station Name, AE title, Device Serial Number, and Manufacturer Model Name from the DICOM file. Among them, Station Name represents the model of the current ultrasound equipment being examined, Manufacturer Model Name records the brand of the equipment, Device Serial Number records the product serial number, and AE Title records the communication identifier of the equipment in the system.

[0035] Step 202: Receive DICOM file: The server receives the DICOM object file.

[0036] Step 203, DICOM Information Parsing and Storage: After receiving the DICOM object file, parse the information in the DICOM object file and store it in the database.

[0037] Step 204: Complete the unique identification of device data in the database.

[0038] Step 205: By establishing naming rules, asset information can be uniformly identified and visualized on imagery.

[0039] Step 206: You can use the storage query management module to provide queries based on various conditions.

[0040] The above improvements can better meet the needs of hospitals at all levels for monitoring the in-use status of various types of medical ultrasound equipment, and improve the efficiency and accuracy of data collection for in-use medical ultrasound equipment.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring the clinical use status of medical ultrasound equipment, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Based on the DICOM technical standard, standardize the data format of medical ultrasound equipment in use, so that ultrasound equipment generates images that fully comply with the DICOM standard after completing ultrasound examinations, and stores them centrally on the server. Step 2: Obtain the equipment information field of each in-use medical ultrasound device from the DICOM file on the server. Based on the equipment information field and the pre-set naming rules, assign a unique asset information identifier to each in-use medical ultrasound device. After receiving the DICOM file, the server parses the information in the DICOM file and stores it in the database. Based on the corresponding asset information identifier, it completes the unique identification of the data in the database. Step 3: When each medical ultrasound device in use is examined for the next time, the asset information will be visually displayed on the image.

2. The method for monitoring the clinical use status of a medical ultrasound device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In step 1, the DICOM standard is the DICOM 3.0 standard.

3. The method for monitoring the clinical use status of a medical ultrasound device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In step 2, the device information fields include: Station Name, which represents the model of the current ultrasound device; Manufacturer Model Name, which records the brand of the current device; DeviceSerialNumber, which records the product serial number of the current device; and AE Title, which records the communication identifier of the current device in the system.

4. The method for monitoring the clinical use status of medical ultrasound equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The storage query management module allows you to query data in the database based on various conditions.