Image display device, image display system, image display method, and program

Abstract

To enable physicians to accurately understand patients' cumulative radiation exposure doses and ensure medical safety. [Solution] In an image display device, when a medical image is selected by operating the operation unit, the control unit acquires the latest radiation dose information of the patient corresponding to the selected medical image, regardless of the selected medical image, and displays the selected medical image and the latest radiation dose information of the patient on the display unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image display device, an image display system, an image display method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In Japan, an ordinance amending a part of the Enforcement Regulations of the Medical Act was enforced on April 1, 2020, and dose management has been made obligatory for imaging devices with high doses. Along with this, the use of a dose management system that stores and manages the radiation dose from various imaging devices that use radiation and outputs a dose report has become common. In addition, managing the cumulative exposure dose of patients over a long period has also been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a dose management device that manages the exposure dose received by a subject (patient) in association with the imaging date and time, calculates and outputs the cumulative exposure dose obtained by accumulating the exposure doses included in a predetermined period. The dose management device is installed in the radiology department, and dose management is performed in the radiology department.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Incidentally, it is the physician, not the radiologist, who orders the radiography. The physician orders the imaging while referring to the patient's past medical images. However, if the physician does not correctly understand the patient's past medical images and the patient's cumulative radiation dose, there is a possibility that imaging will be performed that exceeds the cumulative radiation dose threshold. For example, if the image display device used by the physician to refer to medical images displays the patient's cumulative radiation dose up to the date and time the medical image was taken, along with past medical images, the physician may order imaging without understanding the radiation dose of imaging performed after that date.

[0005] The objective of this invention is to enable physicians to accurately understand a patient's cumulative radiation dose and ensure medical safety. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To solve the above problems, the image display device according to the present invention is A selection unit for selecting a patient's medical image, An acquisition unit that acquires the radiation dose information of the aforementioned patient, The system comprises a display unit that displays the selected medical image and the patient's radiation dose information, Regardless of the selected medical image, the acquisition unit acquires the latest cumulative radiation dose information of the patient. The display unit displays the latest cumulative radiation dose information.

[0007] Furthermore, the image display system according to the present invention is A selection unit for selecting a patient's medical image, An acquisition unit that acquires the radiation dose information of the aforementioned patient, The system comprises a display unit that displays the selected medical image and the patient's radiation dose information, Regardless of the selected medical image, the acquisition unit acquires the latest cumulative radiation dose information of the patient. The display unit displays the latest cumulative radiation dose information.

[0008] Furthermore, the image display method according to the present invention is A selection process for accepting the selection of patient medical images, An acquisition step for acquiring the radiation dose information of the aforementioned patient, The process includes a display step of displaying the selected medical image and the patient's radiation dose information, The acquisition step acquires the latest cumulative radiation dose information of the patient, regardless of the selected medical image. The display step involves displaying the latest cumulative exposure dose information.

[0009] Furthermore, the program according to the present invention is Computers A selection unit for selecting a patient's medical image. An acquisition unit that acquires the radiation dose information of the aforementioned patient. It functions as a display unit that displays the selected medical image and the patient's radiation dose information. Regardless of the selected medical image, the acquisition unit acquires the latest cumulative radiation dose information of the patient. The display unit displays the latest cumulative radiation dose information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, physicians can accurately grasp the cumulative radiation dose of patients and ensure medical safety. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is an overall configuration diagram of the in-hospital system in this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the main components of the image display device, illustrating its functional configuration. [Figure 3] This flowchart shows the flow of medical image display processing performed by the control unit shown in Figure 2. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the viewer screen displayed in this embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows a modified version of the viewer screen.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

[0013] 〔Configuration of In-Hospital System〕 FIG. 1 shows an example of the system configuration of the in-hospital system 100 (image display system) in an embodiment of the present invention. The in-hospital system 100 is a system provided within a medical facility such as a hospital. As shown in FIG. 1, the in-hospital system 100 includes a RIS 10, a imaging device 20, a console 30, a dose management device 40, an image management device 50, an image display device 60, a HIS 70, etc.

[0014] The RIS 10, the imaging device 20, the console 30, and the dose management device 40 are provided in the radiology department. The imaging device 20 is connected to the console 30. The RIS 10, the console 30, and the dose management device 40 are connected to an in-hospital network N such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network), and can perform data transmission and reception with external devices connected to the in-hospital network N.

[0015] The image management device 50, the image display device 60, and the HIS 70 are provided in the examination room. The image management device 50, the image display device 60, and the HIS 70 are connected to the in-hospital network N, and can perform data transmission and reception with external devices connected to the in-hospital network N. Each device constituting the in-hospital system 100 conforms to the DICOM (Digital Image and Communications in Medicine) standard, and communication between the devices is performed in accordance with DICOM.

[0016] The RIS (Radiology Information System) 10 is a device that manages information related to radiographic examinations. For example, the RIS 10 acquires and stores radiographic order information (examination order information) from the HIS 70 and transmits it to the console 30. The RIS 10 also receives and stores examination result information and other data acquired from the console 30.

[0017] The imaging device 20 is a modality that takes radiographic images of a subject and generates digital medical images, such as a CT scanner, general X-ray imaging device (CR, DR), angiography X-ray diagnostic device (XA), nuclear medicine imaging device, or mammography device. The imaging device 20 transmits the medical images obtained through imaging to the console 30. The console 30 obtains medical images by having the imaging device 20 take images based on the examination order information obtained from the RIS 10. The console 30 also adds supplementary information to the medical images obtained from the imaging device 20. For example, supplementary information is written to the header of the medical image. Supplementary information includes, for example, patient information (patient ID, patient name, date of birth, age, gender, height, weight, etc.) and examination information (examination ID, date and time of shooting, type of modality (imaging device), shooting site, shooting procedure, radiopharmaceutical, series information, image information, etc.). The console 30 also obtains information on the radiation dose used in the examination from the imaging device 20 (irradiation dose in CT, CR, etc., radioactivity of radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear medicine examinations, etc.), generates patient exposure dose information based on the obtained information, and adds it to the medical image. For example, an RDSR (Radiation Dose Structured Report) can be used as patient exposure dose information. The console 30 then transmits medical images and patient dose information to the dose management device 40 and the image management device 50.

[0018] The dose management device 40 is a computer device equipped with a dose database 41 that manages dose information related to radiography. For example, when the dose management device 40 receives medical images and patient exposure dose information from the console 30, it associates the received dose information with patient information, examination information, shooting date and time, etc., and stores it in the dose database 41. Also, when the dose management device 40 receives a request from the image display device 60 to acquire cumulative exposure dose information for a specified patient, it calculates the cumulative exposure dose for the specified patient and transmits it to the image display device 60. Furthermore, the dose management device 40 calculates and displays the cumulative exposure dose for each imaging site of the patient, and calculates and displays the exposure dose for each imaging device 20.

[0019] The image management device 50 is, for example, a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) server. The image management device 50 is equipped with an image database 51 and stores and manages medical images transmitted from the console 30 for each patient and each examination. When the image management device 50 receives a medical image from the console 30, it associates the received medical image with supplementary information such as patient information, examination information, and date and time of acquisition, and stores it in the image database 51. Also, when the image management device 50 receives an image acquisition request from the image display device 60, it reads the specified medical image from the image database 51 and transmits it to the image display device 60. The image management device 50 may be installed outside the examination room.

[0020] The image display device 60 is, for example, a PACS client terminal and a computer device such as a PC (Personal Computer) used by a physician to view medical images.

[0021] Figure 2 shows the functional configuration of the image display device 60. As shown in Figure 2, the image display device 60 includes a control unit 61, an operation unit 62, a display unit 63, a storage unit 64, a communication unit 65, and the like. The various parts of the image display device 60 are connected by a bus 66.

[0022] The control unit 61 consists of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and comprehensively controls the processing operations of each part of the image display device 60. Specifically, the CPU of the control unit 61 reads various processing programs stored in ROM, loads them into RAM, and performs various processing in cooperation with those programs. In this embodiment, the control unit 61 functions as an acquisition unit that acquires patient radiation dose information.

[0023] The operation unit 62 is comprised of a keyboard equipped with cursor keys, character / number input keys, and various function keys, and a pointing device such as a mouse. The operation unit 62 outputs operation signals input by key operations on the keyboard and mouse operations to the control unit 61. The operation unit 62 functions as a selection unit for selecting medical images of patients. The operation unit 62 may also be comprised of a touchscreen. The display unit 63 is configured to include a monitor such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The display unit 63 displays various screens according to the instructions of the display signals input from the control unit 61.

[0024] The storage unit 64 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), non-volatile semiconductor memory, etc., and stores various types of data. The communication unit 65 is composed of a network interface and the like, and transmits and receives data with external devices connected via the hospital network N.

[0025] HIS (Hospital Information Systems) 70 is a system for managing various types of information within a medical facility. HIS 70 includes an electronic medical record system and an ordering system. The electronic medical record system allows, for example, physicians to create electronic medical records, and to store and manage the created electronic medical records. The ordering system, for example, receives input from physicians, generates test order information, and transmits the generated test order information to RIS 10, etc. Note that HIS 70 terminals may be installed in the examination rooms, while the HIS 70 server may be located outside the examination rooms.

[0026] In this embodiment, the image display device 60 and the HIS 70 are separate devices, but the functions of the image display device 60 as a PACS client and the functions of the HIS 70 as a terminal may be provided in a single terminal device.

[0027] Here, the order for radiography (examination order) is made by a physician. In this case, for patients who have undergone radiography in the past, it is necessary to determine the optimal irradiation dose and order the examination, taking into account the cumulative dose from the previous examination, so that the cumulative dose including the dose from the current examination does not exceed the threshold. However, conventionally, dose management has been handled by the radiology department, and the cumulative dose is not displayed when past medical images are displayed. Furthermore, if the cumulative dose up to the time of the medical image is displayed along with past medical images, there is a possibility that the physician may mistakenly believe that the displayed dose is the most recent cumulative dose and order subsequent examinations without knowing the doses from those examinations.

[0028] Therefore, the image display device 60 of this embodiment displays the latest cumulative radiation dose of a patient up to the present when displaying past medical images of the patient, so that a doctor can correctly understand the patient's radiation dose when ordering radiography.

[0029] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of medical image display processing performed in the control unit 61 of the image display device 60. Medical image display processing is performed, for example, when a search screen for searching for previously taken medical images is displayed on the display unit 63, through the cooperation of the CPU of the control unit 61 and a program stored in RAM. The medical image display processing will be described below with reference to Figure 3.

[0030] First, the control unit 61 accepts the operation of the operation unit 62 to select past medical images of the patient to be examined (step S1). For example, the control unit 61 accepts input from the search screen via the operation unit 62, including patient information of the patient to be examined, imaging device (modality), imaging site, and date and time of imaging, and accepts the selection of past medical images of the patient to be examined.

[0031] Next, the control unit 61 acquires the selected medical image from the image management device 50 (step S2). For example, the control unit 61 transmits the image ID of the selected medical image to the image management device 50 via the communication unit 65 to request the acquisition of the medical image with that image ID. The image management device 50 reads the medical image corresponding to the received image ID from the image database 51 and transmits the medical image to the image display device 60. The control unit 61 of the image display device 60 receives (acquires) the medical image transmitted from the image management device 50 via the communication unit 65.

[0032] Next, the control unit 61 determines whether the acquired medical image is a medical image obtained by radiography (step S3). For example, the control unit 61 determines whether the acquired medical image is a medical image obtained by radiography, based on the type of modality included in the supplementary information of the medical image acquired in step S2.

[0033] If the acquired medical image is determined to be a medical image obtained by radiography (Step S3; YES), the control unit 61 acquires the latest cumulative radiation dose information for the patient (Step S4). For example, the control unit 61 transmits the patient ID corresponding to the acquired medical image to the dose management device 40 via the communication unit 65 and requests the latest cumulative exposure dose information for the patient. The latest cumulative exposure dose is the patient's cumulative exposure dose up to the present date and time. That is, if an examination using radiography was performed after the date and time the medical image acquired in step S2 was taken, the latest cumulative exposure dose also includes the exposure dose the patient received during that examination. The starting point (first date and time) for the date and time of the examination when calculating the latest cumulative exposure dose may be the date and time when the patient first underwent an examination using radiography, or an arbitrary starting point such as one year ago or five years ago may be specified. The dose management device 40 receives a patient ID from the image display device 60, and when the latest cumulative exposure dose information for that patient is requested, it calculates the patient's latest cumulative exposure dose based on the patient's exposure dose information stored in the dose DB 41. The dose management device 40 then transmits the calculated cumulative exposure dose image to the image display device 60. The control unit 61 of the image display device 60 acquires the patient's latest cumulative exposure dose information transmitted from the dose management device 40 via the communication unit 65.

[0034] Next, the control unit 61 displays the medical image acquired in step S2 and the patient's latest cumulative radiation dose acquired in step S4 on the display unit 63 (step S5), and then terminates the medical image display process.

[0035] Figure 4 shows an example of the viewer screen 631 displayed on the display unit 63 in step S5. As shown in Figure 4, the viewer screen 631 displays patient information 631a, medical images 631b, examination information 631c, cumulative radiation dose information 631d, etc. Patient information 631a is information such as patient ID and patient name. Medical images 631b are selected medical images. Examination information 631c is information such as examination date and time (imaging date and time), modality (type of imaging device), etc. Cumulative radiation dose information 631d is the patient's latest cumulative radiation dose information.

[0036] As shown in Figure 4, the viewer screen 631 displays the patient's latest cumulative radiation dose along with previously taken medical images. Therefore, when ordering radiography, physicians can accurately understand the patient's cumulative radiation dose up to the present. For example, even if the displayed medical image is not the most recent one, and radiography was performed after that image was taken, the physician can still accurately understand the patient's cumulative radiation dose up to the present. As a result, physicians can use the cumulative radiation dose up to the present as a reference to determine and order the optimal irradiation dose so that the cumulative radiation dose including the ordered radiography does not exceed the threshold.

[0037] On the other hand, if in step S3 it is determined that the acquired medical image is not a medical image obtained by radiography (step S3; NO), the control unit 61 displays the medical image acquired in step S2 on the display unit 63 (step S6) and terminates the medical image display process. For example, the control unit 61 displays a viewer screen on the display unit 63 showing patient information 631a, medical image 631b, and examination information 631c as shown in Figure 4.

[0038] (modified version) In the above embodiment, the control unit 61 displays the patient's latest cumulative radiation dose information along with the medical image on the display unit 63. However, the display unit 63 may also display information on the patient's radiation dose during the examination in which the displayed medical image was taken.

[0039] Figure 5 shows an example of the viewer screen 632 displayed on the display unit 63 by the control unit 61 in a modified example. As shown in Figure 5, the viewer screen 632 displays patient information 632a, medical image 632b, examination information 632c, cumulative radiation dose information 632d, etc. The cumulative radiation dose information 632d is the patient's latest cumulative radiation dose information. In addition, the viewer screen 632 also displays the radiation dose information 632e for this examination. The radiation dose information 632e for this examination is information on the radiation dose the patient was exposed to during the examination in which the medical image 632b was taken. Therefore, when ordering radiography, the physician can correctly grasp the patient's cumulative radiation dose up to the present. Furthermore, by referring to the radiation dose information 632e for this examination, the physician can grasp the radiation dose required for the examination to be ordered.

[0040] As described above, in the image display device 60, when a patient's medical image is selected by operating the operation unit 62, the control unit 61 acquires the latest radiation dose information for that patient, regardless of the selected medical image, and displays the selected medical image and the latest radiation dose information for that patient on the display unit 63. Therefore, even if the displayed medical image is not the most recent one taken, and even if radiography was performed after that image was taken, the physician can accurately determine the patient's cumulative radiation dose. They can then determine and order the optimal irradiation dose so that the cumulative radiation dose, including the ordered imaging, does not exceed the threshold, thereby ensuring medical safety.

[0041] The latest cumulative radiation dose information includes information on the radiation dose the patient received from radiographic examinations performed after the date and time the selected medical image was taken. Therefore, physicians can accurately determine the patient's cumulative radiation dose.

[0042] Furthermore, the control unit 61 acquires the patient's cumulative radiation dose information up to the current date and time as the latest cumulative radiation dose information, and displays the patient's cumulative radiation dose information up to the current date and time on the display unit 63. Therefore, physicians can accurately grasp the patient's cumulative radiation dose up to the present.

[0043] Furthermore, the control unit 61 displays information on the radiation dose the patient received when the selected medical image was taken, as well as the latest cumulative radiation dose information. Therefore, when ordering a radiographic examination, the physician can accurately understand the patient's cumulative radiation dose to date. In addition, the physician can determine the radiation dose required for the examination they are ordering by referring to the radiation dose information from past examinations.

[0044] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0045] For example, in the above embodiment, the case in which the image management device 50 and the image display device 60 are separate components was described, but they may be configured as an integrated unit. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the dose management device 40 calculates the cumulative radiation dose of the patient based on the radiation dose information stored in the dose DB 41, but the cumulative radiation dose may also be calculated by the image display device 60. For example, the radiation dose information of the patient stored in the dose DB 41 may be transmitted from the dose management device 40 to the image display device 60, and the cumulative radiation dose may be calculated by the image display device 60.

[0046] Furthermore, while the above description discloses examples using hard disks, semiconductor non-volatile memory, etc., as computer-readable media for the program according to the present invention, the invention is not limited to these examples. Portable recording media such as CD-ROMs can also be used as other computer-readable media. In addition, carrier waves can be used as a medium for providing the data of the program according to the present invention via a communication line.

[0047] Furthermore, the detailed configuration and operation of each device constituting the in-hospital system can also be modified as appropriate, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0048] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated in detail above, the disclosed embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting. The scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the terms of the appended claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0049] 100 In-hospital systems 10 RIS 20 Imaging device 30 Console 40. Dose control device 50 Image management device 60 Image display devices 61 Control Unit 62 Operation section 63 Display section 64 Storage section 65 Communications Department 66 Bus 70 HIS N In-hospital network

Claims

1. A selection unit for selecting a patient's medical image, An acquisition unit that acquires the radiation dose information of the aforementioned patient, The system comprises a display unit that displays the selected medical image and the patient's radiation dose information, Regardless of the selected medical image, the acquisition unit acquires the latest cumulative radiation dose information of the patient. The display unit is an image display device that displays the latest cumulative radiation dose information.

2. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the latest cumulative radiation dose information includes information on the radiation dose the patient was exposed to during examinations after the date and time the medical image was taken.

3. The acquisition unit acquires the patient's cumulative radiation dose information up to the present date and time as the latest cumulative radiation dose information. The image display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display unit displays the patient's cumulative radiation dose information up to the current date and time as the latest cumulative radiation dose information.

4. The image display device according to claim 2, wherein the inspection is radiography.

5. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays information on the radiation dose the patient was exposed to when the selected medical image was taken and the latest cumulative radiation dose information.

6. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the patient's radiation dose information from a dose management device.

7. A selection unit for selecting a patient's medical image, An acquisition unit that acquires the radiation dose information of the aforementioned patient, The system comprises a display unit that displays the selected medical image and the patient's radiation dose information, Regardless of the selected medical image, the acquisition unit acquires the latest cumulative radiation dose information of the patient. The display unit is an image display system that displays the latest cumulative radiation dose information.

8. A selection process for accepting the selection of patient medical images, An acquisition step for acquiring the radiation dose information of the aforementioned patient, The process includes a display step of displaying the selected medical image and the patient's radiation dose information, The acquisition step acquires the latest cumulative radiation dose information of the patient, regardless of the selected medical image. The display step is an image display method for displaying the latest cumulative radiation dose information.

9. Computers A selection unit for selecting a patient's medical image. An acquisition unit that acquires the radiation dose information of the aforementioned patient. It functions as a display unit that displays the selected medical image and the patient's radiation dose information. Regardless of the selected medical image, the acquisition unit acquires the latest cumulative radiation dose information of the patient. The display unit is a program that displays the latest cumulative radiation dose information.

Images