Information processing device, method for controlling information processing device, and program

Abstract

To reduce a burden on a radiologist who performs tertiary radiologic interpretation.SOLUTION: An information processing device comprises first acquisition means, second acquisition means and generation means. The first acquisition means acquires a first observation number which indicates the number of observations included in a result of first radiologic interpretation input by a first radiologist in primary radiologic interpretation according to a radiologic interpretation request. The second acquisition means acquires a second observation number which indicates the number of observations included in a result of second radiologic interpretation input by a second radiologist in secondary radiologic interpretation according to the radiologic interpretation request. If a value calculated by using the acquired first observation number and the acquired second observation number satisfies a predetermined condition, the generation means generates information for determining a third radiologist performing tertiary radiologic interpretation according to the radiologic interpretation request.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method for an information processing device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a radiologist photographs a patient using a modality such as a computed tomography (CT) device or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, and then a radiologist interprets the medical images obtained by the photographing.

[0003] However, not all hospitals and clinics have radiology doctors. Therefore, hospitals and clinics that do not have radiology doctors may use a remote radiology service. The remote radiology service is a service in which a requesting facility, a hospital or clinic, requests an image reading from an external image reading center, and the image reading center reads the image.

[0004] When the image interpretation center receives an image interpretation request from a requesting facility, the person in charge at the image interpretation center decides which image interpretation doctor will interpret the image. When deciding which image interpretation doctor to use, the person in charge considers the doctor's field of expertise and schedule, and manually assigns the image interpretation request to the doctor. This makes the work of the person in charge time-consuming. In addition, if the person in charge does not have enough work experience, there is a problem that the load of each doctor cannot be properly distributed.

[0005] Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for automatically determining an image-reading doctor who will interpret a medical image based on the schedules of a plurality of image-reading doctors. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-329190 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The technology described in Patent Document 1 is a technology in which one image reading doctor is assigned to one image reading request. However, Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the case where multiple image reading doctors interpret one image reading request. For example, there is a case where two image reading doctors interpret a medical image related to an image reading request. In this case, the two image reading doctors interpret the images without viewing each other's image reading results, so this type of image reading method is used as a so-called second opinion.

[0008] However, if the interpretation results of the two doctors differ, the requesting facility may be confused as to which interpretation result to trust. Therefore, it is possible for a third doctor to refer to each doctor's interpretation results and perform the final interpretation (third reading). In this case, if a third reading is performed for every interpretation request, there is a problem that the burden on the doctor is heavy.

[0009] The present invention aims to reduce the burden on doctors who perform tertiary image interpretation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The information processing device according to the present invention has the following configuration: That is, the information processing device is characterized by having a first acquisition means for acquiring a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in a first interpretation result input by a first image interpretation doctor in a primary interpretation related to an image interpretation request, a second acquisition means for acquiring a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in a second image interpretation result input by a second image interpretation doctor in a secondary interpretation related to the image interpretation request, and a generation means for generating information for determining a third image interpretation doctor who will perform a tertiary interpretation related to the image interpretation request when a value calculated using the acquired first number of findings and the acquired second number of findings satisfies a predetermined condition. Effect of the Invention

[0011] The present invention makes it possible to reduce the burden on doctors who perform tertiary image interpretation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a business server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow for allocating image interpretation doctors to allocation slots. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a request information table. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a request allocation screen. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an interpretation screen. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow for generating an allocation frame for tertiary interpretation. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an image interpretation result table. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a request information table after an allocation frame for tertiary interpretation has been generated. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a request allocation screen after an allocation frame for tertiary image reading has been generated. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow for generating an allocation frame for tertiary interpretation in the second embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of a business server according to a third embodiment. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow for generating an allocation frame for tertiary interpretation in the third embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of an importance table. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow for generating an allocation frame for tertiary interpretation in the fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, however, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

[0014] <First embodiment> The information processing device in the first embodiment is a device that determines the radiologist to perform the tertiary reading when a value calculated using the number of findings contained in the first reading result obtained in the primary reading and the number of findings contained in the second reading result obtained in the secondary reading satisfies a specified condition.

[0015] Specifically, when an image reading request is transmitted from the requesting facility to the image reading center, the information processing device determines a first image reading doctor who will perform the primary image reading related to the image reading request and a second image reading doctor who will perform the secondary image reading related to the image reading request. Then, the primary image reading and the secondary image reading are performed by the first image reading doctor and the second image reading doctor. At this time, in the primary image reading and the secondary image reading, the first image reading doctor and the second image reading doctor read without viewing each other's image reading results. This is so-called blind double image reading. When each image reading is completed, the information processing device acquires a first image reading result which is the image reading result of the primary image reading and a second image reading result which is the image reading result of the secondary image reading. Then, the information processing device acquires the number of findings included in each image reading result. There are cases where multiple findings are recognized in one image reading. Therefore, the number of findings acquired by the information processing device here is not limited to two. The information processing device calculates the total value of the acquired number of findings and determines whether or not this total value is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If it is determined that the number of images is equal to or greater than the threshold, the information processing device generates information (a tertiary interpretation allocation frame) for determining a third image reading doctor who will perform the tertiary image reading request. Then, the information processing device determines the third image reading doctor using at least this generated information.

[0016] When there are many findings, it is highly likely that the lesion has progressed in multiple locations, such as metastasis. In addition, even if multiple lesions are present but are not related to each other, if there are many lesions, the image reading doctor is likely to overlook them. Therefore, in such a case, it is better to check whether there is an error in the results of the primary image reading and the secondary image reading by tertiary image reading. In the first embodiment, in order to solve such a problem, the information processing device performs the above-mentioned process. In addition, the information processing device in the first embodiment can determine a third image reading doctor for an image reading request that requires tertiary image reading by the above-mentioned process, so that the burden on the third image reading doctor can be reduced compared to determining a third image reading doctor for all image reading requests. Hereinafter, the configuration and process of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 11.

[0017] [System Configuration] 1 shows an example of a system configuration of a remote image reading system as an information processing system according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the remote image reading system includes a data center 100, a requesting facility 110, an image reading center 120, and a home of an image reading doctor (not shown). Each facility is connected to each other via a network 130 such as the Internet so that they can communicate with each other. Note that, although each facility in the first embodiment is described as being a different facility located at a different position in real space, this is not limited thereto. The data center 100 may be present within the image reading center 120, or the requesting facility 110 and the image reading center 120 may be the same facility.

[0018] The data center 100 includes a business server 101, an image management server 102, and a database server 103. The business server 101 corresponds to an example of an information processing device in the present invention. In the first embodiment, the data center 100 is described as a physical server device, but the data center 100 may be configured to operate a required number of virtual servers in one or more server devices using virtualization technology. The request facility 110 includes a client terminal 111 operated by a business person. The image interpretation center 120 includes a client terminal 121 operated by a business person and an image interpretation doctor. Since the business person and the image interpretation doctor operate the image interpretation center 120, multiple (N) client terminals 121 are prepared. In the first embodiment, the client terminal operated by the business person is the client terminal 121-1, and the client terminal operated by the image interpretation doctor is the client terminal 121-2. Since there are a plurality of operators and a plurality of image-reading doctors, a client terminal 121-1 and a client terminal 121-2 may be prepared for each user, or a predetermined number of client terminals 121 may be shared by a plurality of users.

[0019] At the requesting facility 110, a radiologist photographs a patient using a modality (imaging device) such as a CT device, an MRI device, or a CR (computed radiography) device. Medical image data generated by the imaging is collected in a client terminal 111 via various recording media, communication means, etc. The medical image data is, for example, image data in accordance with the DICOM (Digital Imaging and COmmunication in Medicine) standard. The DICOM standard image data is composed of image data and supplementary information including patient information such as the patient name, patient ID, and patient sex, the type of modality, imaging conditions, etc.

[0020] A person in charge of image reading request operations at the requesting facility 110 inputs information required for image reading requests (request information) using a client terminal 111, and transmits the request information together with medical image data to the data center 100. The request information is stored in a database server 103 in the data center 100. The medical image data is transmitted to an image management server 102 in the data center 100. The image management server 102 issues a unique image ID (identification information) for each piece of medical image data and stores it.

[0021] The person in charge of the image interpretation center 120, which receives image interpretation requests from the requesting facility 110, uses the client terminal 121-1 to check whether the image interpretation request information has been input sufficiently, and performs an assignment task of assigning each image interpretation request to an image interpretation doctor. In the assignment task, the person in charge may assign the image interpretation requests manually taking into account the specialty of each image interpretation doctor, or may assign the image interpretation requests by instructing the image interpretation server 101 to perform an automatic assignment process after setting the specialty of each image interpretation doctor and the image interpretation schedule in advance in the business server 101. In the following explanation, it is assumed that assigning image interpretation requests to image interpretation doctors is synonymous with assigning image interpretation doctors to one or more assignment slots corresponding to the image interpretation requests. The assignment slots will be described later.

[0022] The image interpretation doctor who performs the image interpretation downloads the medical image data corresponding to the image interpretation request assigned by the person in charge from the image management server 102 using the client terminal 121-2 (or the image interpretation terminal at home), which is an image interpretation terminal arranged in the image interpretation center 120. When the download is completed, the client terminal 121-2 displays the medical image data on a display device such as a display, and the image interpretation doctor performs the image interpretation while referring to the image interpretation. Then, the image interpretation doctor transmits the image interpretation result to the data center 100. The image interpretation result transmitted from the image interpretation doctor's client terminal 121-2 is stored in the database server 103 of the data center 100. The image interpretation result stored here is stored in association with the request information. After that, the image interpretation result is converted into a format such as a report or a report and returned to the request facility 110. In the first embodiment, the image interpretation center 120 and the image interpretation doctor's home are shown as examples of facilities where the client terminal 121-2 is arranged, but it may be arranged in other places.

[0023] [Hardware configuration] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of each server device and each terminal device included in the remote interpretation system.

[0024] The CPU 201 performs overall control of each device and controller connected to a system bus 204. The ROM 202 or external memory 211 stores a basic input / output system (BIOS), an operating system (OS), and various programs required to realize the functions of each terminal.

[0025] The RAM 203 functions as a main memory, a work area, etc. for the CPU 201. The CPU 201 loads programs and the like required for executing processes from the ROM 202 or the external memory 211 into the RAM 203 and executes them to realize various operations. The input controller 205 controls input from an input device 209 such as a pointing device (not shown) such as a keyboard or a mouse. The video controller 206 controls display on a display 210 (display unit).

[0026] The memory controller 207 controls access to an external memory 211 that stores various data and the like. Examples of the external memory 211 include an external storage device (HD), a flexible disk (FD), and a compact flash (registered trademark) memory connected to a PCMCIA card slot via an adapter. The communication I / F controller 208 connects to and controls communication with external devices via a network (for example, the network 130 shown in FIG. 1). The communication I / F controller 208 is capable of communication using, for example, TCP / IP.

[0027] Various programs for implementing various processes in this embodiment are recorded in the external memory 211, and are executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 203 as necessary. Furthermore, definition files and various information tables used when executing the programs are also stored in the external memory 211, and a detailed description of these will be given later.

[0028] [Function configuration] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the business server 101. The business server 101 has, as functional units, a first acquisition unit 301, a second acquisition unit 302, a generation unit 303, a screen generation unit 304, and an image interpretation doctor determination unit 305.

[0029] The first acquisition unit 301 acquires a first interpretation result, which is a result of the first interpretation performed by the first image interpretation doctor in the primary image interpretation, from the database server 103. The interpretation result includes findings (area where the findings are found, finding name, judgment result, finding text, etc.). When there are multiple areas where findings are found, the image interpretation doctor inputs findings for each of the multiple areas. Therefore, one image interpretation result may include multiple findings. In this case, the image interpretation result includes multiple combinations of areas, finding names, judgment results, finding text, etc. In addition, the first acquisition unit 301 acquires a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the acquired first image interpretation result. The number of findings included in the first image interpretation result indicates the number of combinations described above. It may simply be the number of finding names included in the first image interpretation result. Then, the first acquisition unit 301 outputs the acquired first number of findings to the generation unit 303. In this way, the first acquisition unit 301 corresponds to an example of a first acquisition means for acquiring a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the first reading result input by the first reading physician in the primary reading related to the reading request.

[0030] The second acquisition unit 302 acquires, from the database server 103, second interpretation results that are the results of interpretation by the second image interpretation doctor in the secondary interpretation. The second acquisition unit 302 also acquires a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the acquired second image interpretation results. These processes are similar to those of the first acquisition unit 301. The second acquisition unit 302 then outputs the acquired second number of findings to the generation unit 303. In this way, the second acquisition unit 302 corresponds to an example of a second acquisition means that acquires a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the second image interpretation result input by the second image interpretation doctor in the secondary interpretation related to the image interpretation request.

[0031] The generating unit 303 calculates a value using the number of first findings acquired by the first acquiring unit 301 and the number of second findings acquired by the second acquiring unit 302. Specifically, the generating unit 303 calculates the total value of the number of first findings and the number of second findings. The generating unit 303 may calculate an average value or a difference between the number of first findings and the number of second findings, without being limited to the total value. In addition, a function unit (e.g., a calculating unit) different from the generating unit 303 may calculate the value. Then, the generating unit 303 judges whether the calculated value satisfies a predetermined condition. Specifically, the generating unit 303 judges whether the calculated total value is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If it is judged that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the generating unit 303 generates information for determining a third image reading doctor who will perform the tertiary image reading. The information for determining the third image reading doctor is information indicating an allocation frame for the tertiary image reading. The allocation frame is a virtual frame to which an image reading doctor in charge of image reading is assigned. The image reading doctor determining unit 305 assigns an image reading doctor to this allocation frame. For example, when the image interpretation center 120 receives an image interpretation request for blind double image interpretation, the image interpretation doctor determination unit 305 assigns image interpretation doctors to the allocation slots for primary image interpretation and secondary image interpretation generated when the image interpretation center 120 receives the image interpretation request. In this way, by generating information indicating the allocation slots, a new image interpretation doctor can be determined. Then, the generation unit 303 outputs the generated information to the screen generation unit 304 and the image interpretation doctor determination unit 305. In this way, the generation unit 303 corresponds to an example of a generating means that generates information for determining a third image interpretation doctor who will perform a tertiary image interpretation related to the image interpretation request when a value calculated using the acquired number of first findings and the acquired number of second findings satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0032] The screen generating unit 304 generates a screen by using the information generated by the generating unit 303. Specifically, the screen generating unit 304 generates a request allocation screen for allocating an image reading doctor to an allocation frame for tertiary image reading. The information used when generating the screen is not limited to the information generated by the generating unit 303. The screen generating unit 304 may use information stored in advance in the external memory 211 of the business server 101. The request allocation screen displays an allocation frame for which an image reading doctor has not been determined. This screen is, for example, a web page that can be displayed by a web browser of the client terminal 121. Therefore, the screen generating unit 304 transmits the generated screen to the client terminal 121. Then, the business person issues a manual or automatic allocation instruction to this screen, and the image reading doctor determination unit 305 allocates an image reading doctor to the allocation frame. In this way, the screen generating unit 304 corresponds to an example of a screen generating means that generates a screen for determining the third image reading doctor by using at least the generated information.

[0033] The image reading doctor determination unit 305 assigns an image reading doctor to an allocation slot for which an image reading doctor has not been determined. At that time, the image reading doctor may be automatically assigned to the allocation slot in consideration of the image reading doctor's schedule, field of expertise, experience, etc., or an image reading doctor designated by a person in charge may be assigned to the allocation slot. For example, the technology for automatic assignment may be the technology described in JP2016-035739A or the technology described in Patent Document 1. In this way, the image reading doctor determination unit 305 corresponds to an example of a third determination means for determining the third image reading doctor using at least the generated information.

[0034] [Processing flow] Next, the process flow in the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4 to Fig. 11. First, a series of steps will be described in which a person in charge of an image interpretation center who receives an image interpretation request from a requesting facility assigns image interpretation doctors to an allocation slot (distributes image interpretation requests to image interpretation doctors).

[0035] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of a process for allocating image interpretation doctors to allocation slots.

[0036] In step S401, the client terminal 121-1 displays the request allocation screen 600 transmitted from the business server 101 on the display 210. An example of the request allocation screen 600 is shown in FIG. 6. On the left side of the request allocation screen 600, a list of allocation slots for which the interpretation center 120 has received an interpretation request but the assignment of an interpretation doctor has not been completed is displayed. The information on the allocation slots is managed by the database server 103 in the form shown in the request information table 500 shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, the business server 101 acquires the request information table 500 from the database server 103 and identifies information on the allocation slots for which an interpretation doctor has not been determined (records of the request information table). Then, the request allocation screen 600 is generated using the identified information on the allocation slots, and is transmitted to the client terminal 121-1. The client terminal 121-1 displays the received request allocation screen 600 on the display 210.

[0037] In step S402, the client terminal 121-1 accepts a selection of an allocation slot to which an image reading doctor is to be assigned among the allocation slots displayed on the request allocation screen 600. Then, in step S403, the client terminal 121-1 judges whether or not an automatic allocation button displayed on the request allocation screen 600 has been pressed. If the automatic allocation button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S404. If not, the process waits. In FIG. 4, a process of automatically allocating an image reading doctor to an allocation slot is described, but as described above, the allocation may be performed manually. In the case of manual allocation, the client terminal 121-1 accepts a selection of an image reading doctor to be assigned to the allocation slot for which the selection has been accepted, and creates a pair of the allocation slot and the image reading doctor. Then, information of the pair is transmitted to the business server 101, and the business server 101 may register the pair in the request information table 500.

[0038] In step S404, the client terminal 121-1 instructs the business server 101 to automatically allocate the selected allocation slots. Then, in step S405, the image reading doctor determination unit 305 executes automatic allocation to automatically allocate image reading doctors to the allocation slots selected in step S402. As described above, the automatic allocation may use, for example, the technology described in JP2016-035739A or the technology described in Patent Document 1. In step S406, the image reading doctor determination unit 305 transmits the result of the automatic allocation to the client terminal 121-1.

[0039] In step S407, the client terminal 121-1 displays the result of the automatic allocation on the request allocation screen 600. That is, as shown on the right side of the request allocation screen 600 in Fig. 6, it displays when and how many images each radiologist will interpret. The person in charge at the radiology center checks this content and, if there are no problems, presses the save button.

[0040] In step S408, the client terminal 121-1 determines whether or not the save button has been pressed. If it is determined that the save button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S410. If not, that is, if there is a problem with the result of automatic sorting, the process proceeds to step S409.

[0041] In step S409, the client terminal 121-1 discards the result of the automatic allocation executed in step S405. In step S410, the client terminal 121-1 registers the result of the automatic allocation executed in step S405 in the request information table 500 of the database server 103. In this way, image interpretation doctors are assigned to the allocation slots.

[0042] Thereafter, each image-reading doctor performs image interpretation according to the allocation result. The image-reading doctor interprets the medical images downloaded to the client terminal 121-2 and determines whether or not there are any findings.

[0043] Here, an example of a screen displayed when the image interpretation doctor performs image interpretation on the client terminal 121-2 will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an image interpretation screen. As shown in FIG. 7(a), a medical image 700 to be interpreted is displayed on the display 210. When the image interpretation doctor clicks on a position where a finding is recognized in the displayed medical image 700, a finding input screen 701 is displayed on the medical image. An enlarged view of the finding input screen 701 is shown in FIG. 7(b). As shown in FIG. 7(b), a schema is provided on the left side of the screen, and a finding input field is provided on the right side of the screen. In the schema, a position 702 clicked by the image interpretation doctor is displayed. The finding input field includes a region selection field for selecting a region where a finding is recognized, a finding name selection field for selecting a finding name, a judgment result selection field for selecting a judgment result, a finding text input field for inputting a comment regarding the finding, and an adding finding button for adding a new finding. When the adding finding button is pressed, the findings already input are added to the finding field 703. In this way, when findings are found in multiple locations, the image reading doctor can input multiple findings. The input findings are registered in an image reading result table 900 as shown in Fig. 9. The image reading result table 900 is a data table stored in the database server 103. The image reading result table 900 stores information on the image reading doctor and findings (information on the area where the finding was found, information on the finding name, information on the judgment result, and finding text) for each allocation slot related to an image reading request.

[0044] The client terminal 121 - 2 then accepts the input of the image interpretation results and registers them in the database server 103 .

[0045] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow for generating an allocation frame for tertiary interpretation. The process from step S801 to step S807 is executed by the business server 101.

[0046] In step S801, the business server 101 determines whether all interpretations related to the image interpretation request have been completed. Specifically, when a certain image interpretation request is to be processed, the business server 101 identifies the image interpretation corresponding to the image interpretation request by using the request information table 500. Then, if there is a flag indicating that the identified image interpretation has been completed, the business server 101 determines that the image interpretation has been completed.

[0047] If it is determined in step S801 that the interpretation has been completed, the process returns to step S802. If it is determined that the interpretation has not been completed, the process waits until the interpretation is completed.

[0048] In step S802, the business server 101 determines whether the image reading request to be processed is a blind double reading and whether an allocation slot for tertiary reading has not yet been generated. Whether or not it is a blind double reading can be determined by referring to the image reading method item in the request information table 500. Whether or not an allocation slot for tertiary reading has not yet been generated can be determined by referring to the allocation slot ID. If it is determined to be a blind double reading, the process proceeds to step S803. If it is determined not to be a blind double reading, this series of processes is terminated.

[0049] In step S803, the first acquisition unit 301 acquires the number of findings (first number of findings) included in the first interpretation result input by the first image interpretation doctor in the primary interpretation. Specifically, the number of records having an allocation slot ID of "1" in the image interpretation result table 900 is acquired as the first number of findings. In the example of Fig. 9, the first number of findings is "1".

[0050] In step S804, the second acquisition unit 302 acquires the number of findings (second number of findings) included in the second interpretation result input by the second image interpretation doctor in the secondary interpretation. The second number of findings is also acquired in the same manner as in step S803. In the example of FIG. 9, the second number of findings is "2".

[0051] In step S805, the generating unit 303 calculates the sum of the number of first findings acquired in step S803 and the number of second findings acquired in step S804. In the example of Fig. 9, the sum is "3." As described above, the sum is not limited to the sum, and an average value or a difference between the number of first findings and the number of second findings may be calculated.

[0052] In step S806, the generating unit 303 judges whether the total value calculated in step S805 is equal to or greater than a threshold value. Alternatively, the generating unit 303 may judge whether the total value is greater than a threshold value. The threshold value is set in advance according to the operation of the image interpretation center. If it is judged that the total value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the processing proceeds to step S807. If not, the processing ends.

[0053] In step S807, the generating unit 303 generates an allocation frame for tertiary reading related to the image reading request to be processed in the request information table 500. The request ID "7" in the request information table 500 is an image reading request for blind double reading. FIG. 10 shows an example of the result of generating an allocation frame for tertiary reading for this image reading request. The record at the bottom of the request information table 500 shown in FIG. 10 is the newly generated allocation frame for tertiary reading. In this way, after the allocation frame for tertiary reading is generated, when step S401 in FIG. 4 described above is executed, the generated allocation frame for tertiary reading is displayed on the request allocation screen 600. FIG. 11 shows an example of this display result. On the left side of the request allocation screen 600 shown in FIG. 11, information indicating the allocation frame for tertiary reading related to the request ID "7" described above is displayed. In this state, the image reading doctor determination unit 305 automatically or manually assigns an image reading doctor to the allocation frame, thereby determining a third image reading doctor who will perform the tertiary reading.

[0054] As described above, the business server 101 determines the necessity of tertiary image interpretation according to the number of first findings and the number of second findings, and when tertiary image interpretation is necessary, it is possible to generate information for determining a third image interpretation doctor who will perform the tertiary image interpretation. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden on the third image interpretation doctor compared to determining a third image interpretation doctor for all image interpretation requests.

[0055] Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, the total value of the number of first findings and the number of second findings is compared with a threshold value. However, if the same findings as those included in the first interpretation result are included in the second interpretation result, the total value becomes unnecessarily large. For example, assume that the number of first findings and the number of second findings are both two. In this case, the importance differs between a case where the same findings are input in the first interpretation and the second interpretation and a case where completely different findings are input in the first interpretation and the second interpretation. That is, the former has two locations where findings are recognized, whereas the latter has four locations where findings are recognized, so the latter has more items to be confirmed than the former. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, in the second embodiment, a technology for determining the necessity of a third interpretation more appropriately than the first embodiment will be described.

[0056] The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except for the processing in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, so only the parts that differ from the first embodiment will be described.

[0057] [Processing flow] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the process flow for generating an allocation frame for tertiary reading in the second embodiment. Steps S1201 to S1204 in Fig. 12 are similar to steps S801 to S804 in Fig. 8 described above, and therefore their explanations are omitted. Also, steps S1207 to S1208 in Fig. 12 are similar to steps S806 to S807 in Fig. 8 described above, and therefore their explanations are omitted.

[0058] In step S1205, the second acquisition unit 302 calculates the number of findings included in the acquired second interpretation result excluding findings identical to findings included in the first interpretation result, and acquires this as the second number of findings. Specifically, the second acquisition unit 302 compares each finding included in the first interpretation result with each finding included in the second interpretation result. Then, when a finding identical to a finding included in the first interpretation result is included in the second interpretation result, the second acquisition unit 302 subtracts the number of identical findings from the second number of findings acquired in step S1204. In other words, findings identical to findings included in the first interpretation result are excluded from the count target of the second number of findings. In this way, duplication of findings counted as the number of findings is prevented. In the example of FIG. 9, the finding of the first record which is the first interpretation result and the finding of the third record which is the second interpretation result are identical. Therefore, the number of identical findings "1" is subtracted from the number of second findings "2" acquired in step S1204, and the number of second findings after the calculation becomes "1".

[0059] Whether or not the findings are the same may be determined when all items indicating the findings, such as the site, the finding name, and the judgment result, match each other as shown in the image interpretation result table 900 shown in Fig. 9, or when some of them match. For example, even if the judgment result of the finding included in the first image interpretation result differs from the judgment result of the finding included in the second image interpretation result, the two findings may be determined to be the same as long as the names of the findings match.

[0060] In step S1206, the generating unit 303 calculates the sum of the number of first findings acquired in step S1203 and the number of second findings acquired in step S1205. As described above, the sum is not limited to the sum, and an average value or a difference between the number of first findings and the number of second findings may be calculated. The sum calculated in this way is compared with a threshold value in step S1207.

[0061] As described above, since only unique findings are counted as the number of findings, it is possible to determine the necessity for tertiary interpretation with higher accuracy than in the first embodiment.

[0062] <Variation 2-1> In the second embodiment, it has been described that the determination of whether the finding included in the first image interpretation result and the finding included in the second image interpretation result are the same or not is based on a match determination using each item of the finding shown in the image interpretation result table 900. On the other hand, the finding text included in the image interpretation result table 900 may be used for the match determination. The finding text is a comment on the finding. This is text freely entered by the image interpretation doctor, so it is rare for the text to match completely. Therefore, the business server 101 may perform a semantic analysis of the finding text included in the first image interpretation result and the finding text included in the second image interpretation result by known natural language processing, and determine whether the meanings are the same or not, thereby determining whether the findings are the same or not.

[0063] 7(b), the position 702 where the finding is found is specified on the schema, and this may be stored as an interpretation result in the interpretation result table 900 and used for the match determination in step S1205. In this case, too, it is rare that the position of the finding included in the first interpretation result and the position of the finding included in the second interpretation result completely match. Therefore, the match determination may be performed by determining whether the position of the finding included in the second interpretation result is included within a predetermined range centered on the position of the finding included in the first interpretation result.

[0064] <Variation 2-2> In the second embodiment, in step S1206, the sum of the number of first findings acquired in step S1203 and the number of second findings acquired in step S1205 from which identical findings have been excluded is calculated. However, the processes do not necessarily have to be performed in this order. Specifically, the sum of the number of first findings acquired in step S1203 and the number of second findings acquired in step S1204 is first calculated. Then, the number of findings determined to be identical is subtracted from this sum. Even in this form, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in the second embodiment.

[0065] <Third embodiment> Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the first and second embodiments, if the total value of the number of first findings and the number of second findings is equal to or greater than a threshold value, an allocation frame for tertiary reading is generated. However, even if this condition is not satisfied, tertiary reading may be necessary depending on the judgment result. For example, if the judgment result is input as "further examination required", the patient needs to undergo an examination, which imposes a burden on the patient. Therefore, by having the reading doctor confirm whether "further examination is really required" in the tertiary reading, it is possible to prevent unnecessary burden on the patient. In the third embodiment, a technology for enabling tertiary reading to be performed even in such a case will be described.

[0066] The third embodiment is similar to the first and second embodiments except for the functional configuration of FIG. 3 and the processing in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, so only the parts that differ from the first and second embodiments will be described.

[0067] [Function configuration] 13 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the business server 101. The business server 101 has a first determination unit 1301 and a second determination unit 1302 in addition to the functional units described in the first embodiment.

[0068] The first determination unit 1301 refers to an importance table (importance information) in which the judgment result and the importance are associated with each other, and determines the importance (first importance) of the judgment result included in the first interpretation result input in the primary interpretation. FIG. 15 shows an example of the importance table 1500. In the example shown in FIG. 15, the importance is associated with each judgment result, and is set so that "no abnormality" has the lowest importance and "precision required" has the highest importance. In the third embodiment, the first determination unit 1301 uses such an importance table 1500 to determine the importance of each finding included in the first interpretation result. That is, when the first interpretation result includes multiple findings, multiple importances are determined. Among them, the first determination unit 1301 determines the highest importance as the importance of the first interpretation result. Note that the importance may be associated with information other than the judgment result, such as a site, a finding name, or a finding text. For example, the name of the finding "nodular lesion" may be associated with the importance level "4", and the importance level may be determined based on this. Alternatively, the importance level may be determined for each finding item included in the first interpretation result, and the sum or average value of the importance levels may be determined as the importance level of the first interpretation result. In this manner, the first determination unit 1301 corresponds to an example of a first determination means for determining a first importance level indicating the importance level of the determination result included in the first interpretation result, using importance level information in which the determination result is associated with the importance level.

[0069] The second determination unit 1302 refers to an importance table in which the determination results and the importance are associated with each other, and determines the importance (second importance) of the determination result included in the second interpretation result input in the secondary interpretation. The method of determining the importance is the same as that of the first determination unit 1301. In this way, the second determination unit 1302 corresponds to an example of a second determination means that uses the importance information to determine the second importance indicating the importance of the determination result included in the second interpretation result.

[0070] [Processing flow] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow for generating an allocation frame for tertiary reading in the third embodiment. Steps S1401 to S1406 in Fig. 14 are similar to steps S1201 to S1206 in Fig. 12 described above, and therefore their explanations are omitted. Also, step S1408 in Fig. 14 is similar to step S1208 in Fig. 12 described above, and therefore their explanations are omitted.

[0071] In step S1407, the generating unit 303 determines whether the total value calculated in step S1406 is equal to or greater than a threshold value. Alternatively, the generating unit 303 may determine whether the total value is greater than a threshold value. If it is determined that the total value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S1408. If not, the process proceeds to step S1409.

[0072] In step S1409, the first determination unit 1301 refers to the importance table 1500 and determines, as the first importance, the importance corresponding to the determination result of the finding included in the first image interpretation result. The method of determining the importance is as described above.

[0073] In step S1410, the second determination unit 1302 determines, as the second importance, the importance corresponding to the determination result of the finding included in the second interpretation result, with reference to the importance table 1500. In this step, the method of determining the importance is as described above.

[0074] In step S1411, the generating unit 303 judges whether the first importance acquired in step S1409 or the second importance acquired in step S1410 satisfies a predetermined condition. Specifically, it judges whether the first importance or the second importance is equal to or greater than a threshold. It may be judged whether the first importance or the second importance is greater than a threshold. It may also be judged whether the first importance and the second importance are equal to or greater than a threshold (or whether they are greater than the threshold). Furthermore, it is assumed that the threshold is set in advance according to the operation of the image interpretation center. If it is judged that the first importance or the second importance is equal to or greater than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S1408. If not, this series of processes is terminated.

[0075] As described above, by taking into consideration not only the number of findings but also the importance of the judgment results, it is possible to have the image interpreting doctor perform tertiary interpretation when important findings are input, even if the number of findings is small.

[0076] <Variation 3-1> In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, when the total number of findings is not equal to or greater than the threshold, the determination based on the importance is performed. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 16, only the determination based on the importance may be performed. FIG. 16 is a modified example of the flowchart in FIG. 14. Steps S1601 to S1602 and steps S1608 to S1611 in FIG. 16 are the same as steps S1401 to S1402 and steps S1408 to S1411 in FIG. 14, respectively. When the target image reading request is a blind double image reading, the business server 101 determines a first importance and a second importance, and determines whether either of them is equal to or greater than the threshold. In this way, information for determining a third image reading doctor may be generated by determining the importance without considering the total number of findings.

[0077] <Modification 3-2> In the third embodiment, it is determined whether the first importance or the second importance is equal to or greater than a threshold. Alternatively, it may be determined whether the sum of the first importance and the second importance is equal to or greater than a threshold. In addition, instead of the sum, an average value of the first importance and the second importance or a difference between the first importance and the second importance may be used.

[0078] <Other embodiments> Although the embodiments have been described above in detail, the present invention can also be embodied as, for example, a system, an apparatus, a method, a program, or a storage medium, etc. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of multiple devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

[0079] The present invention also includes a case where a software program for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device directly or remotely, and the present invention also includes a case where the computer of the system or device reads and executes the supplied program code to achieve the functions.

[0080] Therefore, the program code installed in a computer to realize the functional processing of the present invention also realizes the present invention, that is, the present invention includes the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

[0081] In this case, so long as it has the functionality of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, or the like.

[0082] Examples of recording media for supplying the program include flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, MOs, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, etc. In addition, there are magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, ROMs, DVDs (DVD-ROMs, DVD-Rs), etc.

[0083] Another method of supplying the program is to connect to a homepage on the Internet using a browser on a client computer, and then download the computer program of the present invention itself, or a compressed file including an automatic installation function, from the homepage to a recording medium such as a hard disk.

[0084] It is also possible to realize the present invention by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into multiple files and downloading each file from a different homepage. In other words, the present invention also includes a WWW server that allows multiple users to download program files for implementing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer.

[0085] It is also possible to encrypt the program of the present invention, store it on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, and distribute it to users, and have users who meet certain conditions download key information for decrypting the program from a website via the Internet.Then, it is possible to execute the encrypted program using the downloaded key information and install it on a computer.

[0086] The functions of the above-mentioned embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. In addition, the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments can also be realized by the OS running on the computer performing part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program.

[0087] Furthermore, the program read from the recording medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Then, based on instructions from the program, a CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-mentioned embodiment are also realized by this processing.

[0088] It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative examples of the implementation of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by these embodiments. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from its technical concept or main features. [Explanation of symbols]

[0089] 101 Business Server 301 First Acquisition Division 302 Second Acquisition Division 303 Generation part

Claims

1. An acquisition means for acquiring image interpretation results by a plurality of image interpretation subjects; a calculation means for calculating the total number of findings related to the image interpretation results by the first image interpretation subject and the second image interpretation subject by counting findings that are evaluated as the same finding as one finding in the image interpretation results by the first image interpretation subject and the second image interpretation subject; A control means for controlling to perform additional image interpretation when the total value calculated by the calculation means satisfies a predetermined condition; 13. An information processing device comprising:

2. The information processing device described in Claim 1, characterized in that the findings evaluated to be the same findings are findings whose location relative to the findings by the first reading subject and whose location relative to the findings by the second reading subject are within a predetermined range.

3. The information processing device described in Claim 1, characterized in that the findings evaluated to be identical are comments on the findings made by a first subject of image reading and comments on the findings made by a second subject of image reading that are evaluated to be identical in content.

4. The control means, even if the predetermined condition is not satisfied, determines whether or not at least one of the first interpretation result and the second interpretation result is correct. If a specific judgment result is included, If a specific finding name was included, If findings of a specific site were included, 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control for performing additional image interpretation in at least one of the above cases.

5. The information processing device described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the control means controls to perform additional readings even if the specified condition is not satisfied, when the importance of at least one of the judgment result, finding name, and location contained in at least one of the reading results by the first reading subject and the reading results by the second reading subject satisfies a specific condition.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined condition includes that the total value is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control is a control for generating an allocation frame for image interpretation subjects.

8. An information processing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the interpretation result by the first interpretation subject and the interpretation result by the second interpretation subject are the results of interpretations performed without viewing each other's interpretation results.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control means further controls to determine a third subject of image interpretation.

10. 10. The information processing device according to claim 9, wherein the control means controls to generate a screen for determining the third subject of image interpretation, and determines the third subject of image interpretation in response to an instruction from a user on the screen.

11. An acquisition step in which an acquisition means of an information processing device acquires interpretation results by a plurality of interpretation subjects; a calculation step in which a calculation means of the information processing device counts a finding related to the image interpretation result by the first image interpretation subject and a finding related to the image interpretation result by the second image interpretation subject that are evaluated as being the same finding as one finding, thereby calculating a total number of findings related to the image interpretation result by the first image interpretation subject and the second image interpretation subject; a control step of controlling the information processing device so that an additional interpretation is performed when the total value calculated in the calculation step satisfies a predetermined condition; 13. An information processing method comprising:

12. A program for causing at least one computer to function as each of the means of an information processing device described in any one of claims 1 to 10.

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