Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To solve the problem in which: it is troublesome to perform operations to search for relevant medical examination information in order to check a change over time by using an image and refer to the medical examination information at the same time.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus has acquisition means, search means, and display control means. The acquisition means acquires a comparison image created by using a first inspection image and a second inspection image obtained by photographing an analyte on different dates from each other. The search means searches for medical examination information related to a medical examination conducted on the analyte within a period determined based on a first inspection date that is the date of inspection on which the first inspection image is obtained and a second inspection date that is the date of inspection on which the second inspection image is obtained. The display control means causes a display unit to display the comparison image and the medical examination information searched for.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] In the medical field, doctors make diagnoses using medical images taken with various modalities. In particular, in order to observe the progress of a subject's condition, doctors compare multiple images taken with the same modality at different times to observe changes in the subject over time. As a method for supporting doctors in observing changes in the subject over time, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for visualizing changes over time, such as lesions, by presenting a difference image obtained by subtracting a reference image from another comparative image. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-126575 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in actual clinical practice, checking changes over time using images and simultaneously referencing related clinical information requires the user to perform retrieval operations for the medical information, which can be cumbersome. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] An information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises: an acquisition means for acquiring a comparison image generated using a first examination image and a second examination image obtained by photographing a subject at different dates and times; a first examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the first examination image was obtained; and a second examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the second examination image was obtained; a search means for searching, from a memory unit, medical information regarding medical treatment performed on the subject within the period between the first examination date and the second examination date by referring to the medical treatment dates included in the medical information; and a display control means for displaying the comparison image and the searched medical information on a display unit. In addition, an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention has an acquisition means for acquiring a comparison image generated using a first examination image and a second examination image obtained by photographing a subject at different dates and times, a first examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the first examination image was obtained and a second examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the second examination image was obtained, and medical information related to medical treatment performed on the subject, a display control means for displaying the comparison image and the medical information on a display unit, and a determination means for determining whether or not medical treatment related to the medical information was performed within the period between the first examination date and the second examination date by referring to the medical treatment date included in the medical information, and the display control means is characterized in that the medical information determined by the determination means to have been performed within the period is displayed on the display unit in a form distinguishable from other medical information. Furthermore, the information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of pieces of medical information including a consultation date, a second acquisition means for acquiring from the storage unit a first examination image associated with an examination date prior to the period and a second examination image associated with an examination date after the period, the first examination image being identified by referring to information on examination dates associated with a plurality of examination images stored in the storage unit using a period including the consultation dates of the plurality of pieces of medical information, and a comparison image generation means for executing a process of generating a comparison image for comparing the first examination image with the second examination image, and generating an image representing a change between the first examination image and the second examination image as the comparison image. a display control means for displaying the comparison image and the plurality of pieces of medical information on a display unit; The present invention is characterized by having the following. In addition, the information processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a first acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of pieces of medical information including a medical treatment date; a third acquiring means for acquiring from the storage unit a first examination date before the period and a second examination date after the period, the first examination date being specified by referring to information on examination dates associated with the examination images stored in the storage unit using a period including the medical examination dates of the plurality of medical information; a comparison image acquisition means for acquiring, from the storage unit, a comparison image which represents a change between a first examination image corresponding to the first examination date and a second examination image corresponding to the second examination date, using the first examination date and the second examination date; a display control means for displaying the comparison image and the plurality of pieces of medical information on a display unit; The present invention is characterized by having the following. An information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is characterized by comprising an acquisition step of acquiring a comparison image generated using a first examination image and a second examination image obtained by photographing a subject at different dates and times, a first examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the first examination image was obtained, and a second examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the second examination image was obtained, a search step of searching a memory unit for medical information regarding medical treatment performed on the subject within the period between the first examination date and the second examination date by referring to the medical treatment dates included in the medical information, and a display control step of displaying the comparison image and the searched medical information on a display unit. In addition, an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition step of acquiring a comparison image generated using a first examination image and a second examination image obtained by photographing a subject at different dates and times, a first examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the first examination image was obtained and a second examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the second examination image was obtained, and medical information related to medical treatment performed on the subject, a display control step of displaying the comparison image and the medical information on a display unit, and a determination step of determining whether or not medical treatment related to the medical information was performed within the period between the first examination date and the second examination date by referring to the medical treatment date included in the medical information, and the display control step is characterized in that the medical information determined to have been performed within the period is displayed on the display unit in a form distinguishable from other medical information. Furthermore, an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of pieces of medical information including a medical treatment date; Using a period that includes the dates of treatment of multiple medical records, A plurality of items stored in the storage unit By referring to the examination date information attached to the examination image, Identified, said A first examination image having an examination date before the period from the storage unit; 、 A second acquisition step of acquiring a second examination image having an examination date after the period; The first inspection image and the second inspection image Comparison images for comparison Generate Execute the process , an image representing the changes between the first inspection image and the second inspection image. The above Comparison image As A comparison image generating step of generating a comparison image; a display control step of displaying the comparison image and the plurality of pieces of medical information on a display unit; The present invention is characterized by having the following. Further, an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of pieces of medical information including a medical treatment date; Using a period that includes the dates of treatment of multiple medical records, A plurality of items stored in the storage unit By referring to the examination date information attached to the examination image, Identified , The aboveA first examination date before the period and a second examination date after the period are stored in the storage unit. 、 and a third acquisition step of acquiring a comparison image acquisition step of acquiring, from the storage unit, a comparison image that represents a change between a first examination image corresponding to the first examination date and a second examination image corresponding to the second examination date, using the first examination date and the second examination date; a display control step of displaying the comparison image and the plurality of pieces of medical information on a display unit; The present invention is characterized by having the following. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently present to a user a comparison of examination images taken on different examination dates and related medical information. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a medical information processing system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure in the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating in detail the process of step S1010 in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating in detail the process of step S1050 in the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a medical information processing system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure in the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a medical information processing system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure in a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the components described in the embodiment are merely examples, and the technical scope of the present invention is determined by the claims, and is not limited by the following individual embodiments.

[0009] [First embodiment] The medical information processing system according to the first embodiment provides the following functions to users such as doctors and technicians at medical institutions. That is, the medical information processing system allows the user to observe and refer to past examination images and medical information related to a target patient (subject of interest) on whom a medical procedure is to be performed. Furthermore, when the user selects examination images taken at different dates and times as past examination images, a comparison image suitable for comparing and observing the examination images is generated and displayed. Furthermore, medical information closely related to the comparison image is made accessible to reference. Here, the comparison image suitable for comparing and observing the examination images is, for example, a time-dependent subtraction image (hereinafter, referred to as a subtraction image). Moreover, the medical information closely related to the comparison image is, for example, medical information within the period of the examination dates of the examination images used when generating the comparison image. That is, the generation and display of the comparison image makes it easier for the user to visually recognize changes on the examination images that occurred in the patient during the examination period, and allows the user to refer to medical information highly related to the changes that may have a medical causal relationship. This improves the user's work efficiency.

[0010] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a medical information processing system according to a first embodiment. The medical information processing system includes a medical information processing device 10 (information processing device), a medical information database 22, and an examination image database 23, and these devices are communicably connected to each other via a communication means. In this embodiment, the communication means is configured by a LAN (Local Area Network) 21, but may be a WAN (Wide Area Network). The connection method may be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

[0011] The medical information database 22 holds a plurality of past medical information related to a plurality of patients. Each piece of medical information includes the patient name (patient ID), the date of medical treatment (may be the date and time of medical treatment), and the contents of medical treatment (examination name, examination result, diagnosis name, image interpretation report information, medication information, treatment information, patient's chief complaint, etc.). Note that the information included in the medical information is merely an example and is not limited to this. Each piece of medical information is assigned a unique number (medical information ID) to enable identification from other pieces of medical information, and the medical information processing device 10 can read out the information based on the unique number. In addition to reading out the above-mentioned information, the medical information database 22 cooperates with the medical information processing device 10 to provide functions such as list display, summary display, search, and writing.

[0012] The examination image database 23 holds a plurality of examination images related to a plurality of patients and their associated information. The examination images are medical images captured by an imaging diagnostic device (modality) such as CT or MRI, and may be various images such as two-dimensional, three-dimensional, monochrome, and color. The associated information of the examination images includes the patient name (patient ID), examination date information (date when the examination image was captured), and the name of the modality by which the examination image was captured. The examination date information may include not only the date when the examination image was captured but also the time when the examination image was captured. In other words, it may be the examination date and time. A specific example of the associated information is a DICOM tag in the examination image defined by the DICOM (Digital Imaging and COmmunication in Medicine) standard, but is not limited to this. Any information that can be identified based on the examination image may be used. The information included in the associated information is merely an example and is not limited to this. Each examination image and its associated information are assigned a unique number (examination image ID) to enable identification from others, and the medical information processing device 10 can read out the information based on the number. In the case where the examination image is a three-dimensional volume image composed of a plurality of two-dimensional tomographic images, an examination image ID is assigned to each of the two-dimensional tomographic images and to the three-dimensional volume image which is a collection of the two-dimensional tomographic images. In addition to reading out the above-mentioned information, the examination image database 23 is provided with functions such as displaying a list of examination images, displaying thumbnails, searching, and writing information in cooperation with the medical information processing device 10.

[0013] The medical information processing device 10 acquires information held in the medical information database 22 and the examination image database 23 via the LAN 21. The medical information processing device 10 includes, as its functional configuration, a communication IF 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, a storage unit 34, an operation unit 35, a display unit 36, and a control unit 37.

[0014] The communication IF (Interface) 31 is realized by, for example, a LAN card, and controls communication between an external device (for example, the medical information database 22 and the examination image database 23) and the medical information processing device 10 via the LAN 21. The ROM (Read Only Memory) 32 is realized by, for example, a non-volatile memory, and stores various programs, etc. The RAM (Random Access Memory) 33 is realized by, for example, a volatile memory, and temporarily stores various information. The storage unit 34 is realized by, for example, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores various information. The operation unit 35 is realized by, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and inputs instructions from a user into the device. The display unit 36 ​​is realized by, for example, a display, and displays various information to a user (for example, a doctor). The operation unit 35 and the display unit 36 ​​are provided with a function as a graphical user interface (GUI) under the control of the control unit 37.

[0015] The control unit 37 is realized by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, and controls the processing in the medical information processing device 10. The control unit 37 includes, as its functional configuration, an examination image acquisition unit 41, an examination date acquisition unit 42, a medical information acquisition unit 43, a comparison image generation unit 44, and a display processing unit 45.

[0016] The examination image acquiring unit 41 acquires the examination image of the patient from the examination image database 23 via the communication IF 31 and the LAN 21 in accordance with a user operation inputted through the operation unit 35. Then, the examination image acquiring unit 41 outputs the acquired examination image to the examination date acquiring unit 42 and the comparison image generating unit 44.

[0017] The examination date acquiring unit 42 acquires information on the examination date of the examination image acquired by the examination image acquiring unit 41. Then, the examination date acquiring unit 42 outputs the acquired information on the examination date to the medical information acquiring unit 43.

[0018] The medical information acquiring unit 43 performs processing described below based on the examination date information acquired by the examination date acquiring unit 42, and reads out the medical information to be presented to the user from the medical information database 22 via the communication IF 31 and the LAN 21. Then, the medical information acquiring unit 43 outputs the read out medical information to the display processing unit 45.

[0019] The comparison image generating unit 44 performs processing, which will be described later, based on the inspection image acquired by the inspection image acquiring unit 41 to generate a comparison image. Note that a comparison image generated in advance may be acquired. Then, the comparison image generating unit 44 outputs the generated comparison image to the display processing unit 45.

[0020] The display processing unit 45 displays the comparison image generated by the comparison image generating unit 44 and the medical information acquired by the medical information acquiring unit 43 on the display unit 36.

[0021] At least some of the units included in the control unit 37 may be realized as independent devices. Also, each unit may be realized as software that realizes the function. In this case, the software that realizes the function may run on a server via a network such as the cloud. In this embodiment, each unit is realized by software in a local environment.

[0022] Next, the overall processing procedure by the medical information processing device 10 in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 2. In addition, the following will be described using an example in which a CT image is used as an examination image, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this.

[0023] (Step S1010) <Acquisition of inspection image> In step S1010, the examination image acquisition unit 41 executes a process of acquiring an examination image to be processed from the examination image database 23. This process is executed by accepting an operation from the user through a GUI provided by the operation unit 35 or the display unit 36. For example, this can be realized by a GUI that displays a screen as shown in FIG. 3(A) on the display unit 36 ​​and accepts an input from the user through the operation unit 35. At this time, when the user inputs the ID of the patient to be observed in the patient ID input field 110 in FIG. 3(A) and presses the search button 115, the control unit 37 transmits and receives information to and from the examination image database 23 through the examination image acquisition unit 41. Then, the examination image of the patient existing in the examination image database 23 is searched, and the result is presented to the user by displaying it as a thumbnail list 120 of the examination image as shown in FIG. 3(B). At this time, the thumbnail list 120 displays a list of examination images in a plurality of past examinations of the patient in the form of thumbnails. At this time, it is also possible to display each thumbnail so that additional information of the examination image is added to it. For example, the examination date of each examination image may be displayed near the thumbnail image or superimposed on the thumbnail image.

[0024] In the above example, a case where a patient to be observed is searched for using a patient ID has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be possible to search by patient name. In this case, it may be possible to search using either the last name or the first name of the patient to be observed as a condition. If multiple patients are found as a result of the search, a GUI may be provided that displays a list of the multiple matching patients on a pop-up screen or the like, and allows the user to select a patient to be observed from the list on the pop-up screen.

[0025] This GUI can further accept the selection of two desired examination images (a first examination image and a second examination image) from the thumbnail list 120 by the user's operation. Specifically, the thumbnail images can be switched between selected and unselected from the thumbnail list 120 by the mouse operation of the operation unit 35. Then, the first examination image and the second examination image of the patient to be observed by the user are acquired from the selected state of the thumbnail images when the selection completion button 125 is clicked with the mouse. At this time, if the user's selection does not satisfy a predetermined condition, a warning or the like is displayed, and a display is displayed to prompt the user to reselect. The predetermined condition is, for example, when the number of selected images is not two, when the types of imaging devices for the selected two images are different, and the like. In addition, conditions such as the examination dates of the selected two images are not the same, or the interval between the examination dates is within a predetermined range, may be used. In addition, when the user selects one examination image from the thumbnail list 120, only examination images that form a pair that satisfies the above condition may be additionally selected. Furthermore, an inspection image that does not satisfy the condition for being paired with any other images may not be displayed in the thumbnail list 120.

[0026] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, a list of examination dates of examination images of a patient to be observed may be displayed, and a receiving means for receiving input regarding examination dates may be provided so that the user can specify the examination dates (first examination date and second examination date) of the examination images to be processed from the list of examination dates. In this case, the examination images of the accepted examination dates are processed. Then, in step S1020 described later, a comparison image is obtained using a first examination image specified based on the first examination date and a second examination image specified based on the second examination date. In addition, the process of obtaining the examination date of the examination image performed in step S1030 described later can be omitted, and the process from step S1040 onward is performed based on the examination date specified by the user received in the above process.

[0027] By the processing described above, the examination image acquisition unit 41 reads information (image data, additional information) of the first examination image and the second examination image from the examination image database 23, and the medical information processing device 10 stores this information using the ROM 32, RAM 33, memory unit 34, etc.

[0028] (Step S1020) <Generation of comparison image> In step S1020, the comparison image generating unit 44 executes a process of generating a comparison image for comparing the first and second examination images acquired in step S1010. That is, the comparison image generating unit 44 corresponds to an example of an acquisition means for acquiring a comparison image generated using the first and second examination images acquired by photographing the subject at different dates and times. As a method for generating the comparison image, for example, a difference image showing the difference between the first and second examination images can be generated as the comparison image. In this case, it is desirable to perform the difference processing after absorbing the difference (deformation) of the position and shape of the subject depicted in each of the first and second examination images and the difference in image quality between the images. The correction of the deformation between the images and the absorption of the difference in image quality may be performed using any known method, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0029] The method of generating the comparison image is not limited to this, and for example, a superimposed image in which the first inspection image and the second inspection image are superimposed may be generated as the comparison image. In this case, different color channels may be assigned to the first inspection image and the second inspection image, and the superimposed image may be generated as a color image in which the first inspection image and the second inspection image are mixed. Also, the method of generating the comparison image is not limited to this, and for example, an image in which the first inspection image and the second inspection image are arranged side by side may be generated as the comparison image.

[0030] Through the above process, the comparison image generating unit 44 generates a comparison image, which is stored in the medical information processing device 10. Note that, in the present embodiment, the process of generating a comparison image after accepting a selection of an examination image from a user in step S1010 has been described, but if a comparison image has been generated in advance, the generated comparison image may be acquired without generating a new comparison image.

[0031] (Step S1030) <Obtaining Examination Date> In step S1030, the examination date acquisition unit 42 executes a process of acquiring the examination dates of the first and second examination images acquired in step S1010. As described above, the examination date (image capture date) of each image is recorded as incidental information in each of the first and second examination images, and in this processing step, the examination date of each of the first and second examination images is acquired from the incidental information. Note that, although the examination date is used in this embodiment, the examination date and time or the capture date and time may be used. The examination date acquired from the first examination image is referred to as the first examination date, and the examination date acquired from the second examination image is referred to as the second examination date.

[0032] In this embodiment, the following description will be given taking as an example a case where the first examination date is 2010 / 04 / 25 and the second examination date is 2014 / 08 / 21.

[0033] (Step S1040) <Search for medical information> In step S1040, the medical information acquisition unit 43 executes a process of acquiring medical information suitable for reference together with the comparison image from the medical information database 22, based on the first examination date and the second examination date acquired in step S1030. Specifically, the process is executed in the following procedure.

[0034] First, the medical information acquisition unit 43 searches and acquires only the patient of the examination image acquired in step S1010 and the medical information of the same patient from among the multiple pieces of medical information recorded in the medical information database 22. This process is executed by referring to the patient ID, which is the additional information of the examination image acquired in step S1010, and searching for medical information assigned with the same patient ID.

[0035] Next, the medical information acquiring unit 43 extracts, from the search results, medical information related to medical treatments performed within a period between the first and second examination dates based on the first and second examination dates acquired in step S1030. That is, the medical information acquiring unit 43 corresponds to an example of a searching means for searching for medical information related to medical treatments performed on a subject within a period determined based on the first examination date, which is the examination date of the examination on which the first examination image was obtained, and the second examination date, which is the examination date of the examination on which the second examination image was obtained. This process is executed by calculating the relationship between the medical treatment date, which is the incidental information of each medical information, and the first and second examination dates. At this time, medical information on the same date as the first examination date and medical information on the same date as the second examination date may be included in the search results, or may be excluded. That is, the period may be the period from the first examination date to the second examination date, including the first examination date and the second examination date, or the period from the first examination date to the second examination date, not including the first examination date and the second examination date.

[0036] The medical information acquisition unit 43 records the medical information finally extracted by the above procedure. Specifically, the medical information acquisition unit 43 records the medical information ID of the extracted medical information. When there is a plurality of pieces of extracted medical information, the medical information acquisition unit 43 records each of the medical information IDs.

[0037] In the above example, the case where the target medical information is extracted based on the patient ID and the date of medical examination from among the multiple pieces of medical information recorded in the medical information database 22 has been described, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the extraction may be limited to medical information that describes the treatment contents that are likely to cause a change in the examination image. For example, medical information that describes that a drug treatment that is effective in reducing the size of a lesion has a high medical relationship with the change in the examination image of the patient. In addition, medical information that describes that a surgical treatment (surgical treatment) or radiation therapy has been performed on the patient is highly related to the change in the examination image of the patient. As described above, the extraction may be limited to medical information that is highly related to the change in the examination image. For example, a part on the patient's body that shows a large difference in the comparison images can be detected, and medical information including information on the treatment related to that part can be extracted. That is, this process corresponds to an example of a search means that searches for medical information indicating medical treatment contents that may have influenced the change between the first examination image and the second examination image from among the medical information searched based on the period.

[0038] In this embodiment, the following explanation will be given using as an example a case in which in step S1040, medical information for four days, namely, 2010 / 10 / 20, 2011 / 07 / 15, 2012 / 03 / 08, and 2013 / 12 / 20, is extracted by search as medical information for the period between the first examination date (2010 / 04 / 25) and the second examination date (2014 / 08 / 21).

[0039] (Step S1050) <Display> In step S1050, the display processing unit 45 displays the comparison image generated in step S1020 and the medical information acquired in step S1040 on the display unit 36. That is, the display processing unit 45 corresponds to an example of a display control means for displaying the comparison image and the searched medical information on the display unit. FIG. 4 shows an example of a specific display method on the display unit 36. Here, an example will be described in which the comparison image and the medical information are displayed side by side. The comparison image display window 130 in FIG. 4 is a window for displaying the comparison image generated in step S1020 and related information. An image window 132 is further arranged in this window, and the comparison image is displayed. If the comparison image is a three-dimensional image, a slice image of the image is displayed in the image window 132, and the slice image can be switched and displayed by a user operation obtained from the operation unit 35. A medical information display window 140 for displaying the medical information acquired in step S1040 is arranged on the right side of the comparison image display window 130. Here, a list of the medical treatment dates of each medical information extracted by the search in step S1040 is displayed. To the right of each medical date, reference buttons 141 to 144 are displayed for referencing the corresponding medical information. When the user presses the button to the right of the medical information that he / she wants to refer to, the corresponding medical information is displayed in a separate screen so that it can be viewed. For example, when the user wants to refer to the medical information of 2011 / 07 / 15 from the list of medical information, the user presses the reference button 142 to the right of the medical date, and the corresponding medical information is displayed so that it can be viewed. Although an example of displaying the comparison image display window 130 and the medical information display window 140 has been described, the comparison image and the medical information may be displayed in the same window. In addition, the positional relationship between the comparison image display window 130 and the medical information display window 140 is not limited to the positional relationship shown in FIG. 4. The medical information display window 140 may be displayed to the left of the comparison image display window 130, or may be displayed above or below the comparison image display window 130. It is sufficient that the comparison image and the medical information are displayed so that they can be compared.

[0040] By doing so, the first and second examination images obtained by photographing the subject at different dates and times can be observed by the user in a comparative manner, and medical information related to the comparative images can be provided to the user. Another effect is that manually searching for medical information related to the comparative images can lead to input errors, which can cause unnecessary searches and place a processing load on various devices. By doing so, such problems can be solved.

[0041] (Variation 1-1) In the present embodiment, the comparative image and the medical information are displayed in step S1050, and a series of processes are terminated. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, following step S1050, the medical information processing device 10 may receive the results of the comparative interpretation performed by the user based on the comparative image and the medical information, and record the results. Specifically, the comparative image displayed on the image window 132 in FIG. 4 may be made to add an annotation to a part of the comparative image that the user pays attention to (for example, a part where a difference between the examination images is recognized on the comparative image). Furthermore, the findings on the part may be recorded in a text format or the like in association with the annotation. At this time, the user may select medical information that is particularly related to the difference between the examination images from among the medical information displayed in step S1050, and a link to the medical information may be added as related information of the findings. New medical information including links to both the findings on the comparative image and the medical information may be generated. This allows the difference between the examination images confirmed in the comparative image to be associated with past medical information that caused the difference and recorded. Therefore, for example, the record of the past administration of medicine to the patient can be recorded in association with the state of improvement of the disease shown in the examination image, and this information can be referred to again later. In other words, this process corresponds to an example of a recording means for recording the comparison image and the searched medical information in association with each other.

[0042] According to the above method, it is possible to efficiently record the results of the image interpretation performed by the user based on the displayed comparison image and medical information.

[0043] (Variation 1-2) In the present embodiment, in step S1050, the comparative image is displayed together with the medical information obtained by the search in step S1040. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the medical information displayed in step S1050 may be all of the past medical information of the patient. In this case, the medical information obtained by the search in step S1040 may be displayed in a manner that allows it to be distinguished from other medical information.

[0044] Specifically, the comparison image generating unit 44 acquires a comparison image in step S1020, and acquires all past medical information of the patient in step S1040. When the acquired comparison image and medical information are displayed on the display unit 36, it is determined whether the medical date of each medical information is within the period from the first examination date to the second examination date. Medical information for which medical treatment was performed within the period is displayed in red characters, and other medical information is displayed in black characters. Note that the display form of the medical information is not limited to this. The thickness of the characters may be changed, and the color of the frame surrounding the medical information may be changed. Also, an icon or image may be displayed near the medical information. It is sufficient that the medical information related to the medical treatment performed within the period is displayed in a form that can be distinguished from other medical information.

[0045] In other words, this modified example comprises an acquisition means for acquiring a comparison image generated using a first examination image and a second examination image obtained by photographing the subject at different dates and times, and medical information related to the medical treatment performed on the subject, a display control means for displaying the comparison image and the medical information on a display unit, and a judgment means for judging whether the medical treatment related to the medical information was performed within a period determined based on a first examination date, which is the examination date of the examination on which the first examination image was obtained, and a second examination date, which is the examination date of the examination on which the second examination image was obtained, and the display control means corresponds to an example of an information processing device characterized in that, depending on the result of the judgment, the medical information is displayed on the display unit in a form distinguishable from other medical information.

[0046] This has the effect of allowing the user to refer to all past medical information of the patient and to ascertain which of that medical information is closely related to the comparison image.

[0047] (Variation 1-3) In this embodiment, the case where medical information is displayed together with the display of the comparison image in step S1050 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to only display the medical information without displaying the comparison image. In this case, the process of generating the comparison image in step S1020 may be omitted. This provides a mechanism that allows the user to refer to medical information related to the period of the examination between the examination images by selecting examination images of different examination dates. In addition, a mechanism may be provided that allows the user to set whether or not to generate and display the comparison image, and the process may be switched depending on the setting.

[0048] (Variation 1-4) In this embodiment, in step S1040, an example is described in which medical information related to medical treatments performed during the period from the first examination date to the second examination date is searched for, but this is not limited to this. For example, if a patient is given medication or treatment before the first examination date, the effects of the medication or treatment may appear within the period. In such a case, it is better to present to the user not only the medical treatments performed during the period, but also some of the medical treatments performed before the period.

[0049] Therefore, in step S1040, the medical information acquiring unit 43 subtracts a predetermined number of days from the first examination date to calculate the day before the first examination date. Then, the medical information acquiring unit 43 searches for medical information related to medical treatments performed during the period from the calculated date to the second examination date. The predetermined number of days may be a number of days stored in advance in the storage unit 34, or a number of days input by the user may be used.

[0050] In addition, for example, the medical information acquisition unit 43 may check whether or not there is any medical information that may affect the patient in the period between the first and second examination dates, for medical information before the first examination date. If such medical information exists, the medical information acquisition unit 43 may search for any medical information between the date of the relevant medical treatment and the second examination date.

[0051] In this way, it is possible to present to the user some medical treatment details that were performed before the period.

[0052] [Second embodiment] In the first embodiment, an example of a medical information processing device that accepts a selection of a first examination image and a second examination image from a user is described. In the second embodiment, a medical information processing device that accepts a selection of a comparison image from a user and searches for medical information related to the comparison image based on the period from the examination date of the first examination image used in generating the selected comparison image to the examination date of the second examination image is described.

[0053] 5 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a medical information processing system according to the second embodiment. The medical information processing system includes a medical information processing device 50, a medical information database 22, an examination image database 23, and a comparison image database 24, and these devices are connected to each other via communication means so that they can communicate with each other. Note that components having the same functions as those described in the first embodiment are given the same numbers, and detailed descriptions are omitted.

[0054] The comparison image database 24 is a database that records comparison images and supplementary information of the comparison images generated by the medical information processing device 50 described later. A plurality of pieces of information are recorded in the comparison image database 24, and each piece of information is assigned a unique number (comparison image ID). The comparison image database 24 cooperates with the medical information processing device 50 to provide functions such as reading and writing information, displaying a list, displaying thumbnail images, and searching.

[0055] The medical information processing device 50 acquires information held in the medical information database 22, the examination image database 23, and the comparison image database 24 via the LAN 21. The medical information processing device 50 includes, as its functional configuration, a communication IF 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, a storage unit 34, an operation unit 35, a display unit 36, a comparison image generation control unit 38, and a comparison display control unit 39.

[0056] The comparison image generation control unit 38 is realized by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, and controls the comparison image generation process performed by the medical information processing device 50. The comparison image generation process will be described in detail later. The comparison image generation control unit 38 includes, as its functional configuration, an examination image acquisition unit 41, a comparison image generation unit 44, an examination date acquisition unit 42, and an examination image pair generation unit 51.

[0057] The inspection image pair generation unit 51 generates a pair of inspection images that will be used as the basis for comparison images generated by the comparison image generation unit 44 described below, based on the inspection image acquired by the inspection image acquisition unit 41 and the examination date acquired by the examination date acquisition unit 42. Then, the inspection image pair generation unit 51 outputs information on the generated inspection image pair to the comparison image generation unit 44.

[0058] The comparison display control unit 39 is realized by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, and controls the comparison display processing performed by the medical information processing device 50. The comparison display processing will be described in detail later. The comparison display control unit 39 includes, as its functional configuration, a comparison image acquisition unit 52, an examination period acquisition unit 54, a medical information acquisition unit 43, and a display processing unit 45.

[0059] The comparison image acquiring unit 52 acquires the comparison image of the patient and the supplementary information of the comparison image from the comparison image database 24 via the communication IF 31 and the LAN 21 in accordance with a user operation input by the operation unit 35. Then, the comparison image acquiring unit 52 outputs the acquired comparison image and the supplementary information of the comparison image to the examination period acquiring unit 54 and the display processing unit 45.

[0060] The examination period acquiring unit 54 acquires information on the examination date from the additional information of the comparison image acquired by the comparison image acquiring unit 52. Then, the examination period acquiring unit 54 outputs the acquired information on the examination date to the medical information acquiring unit 43.

[0061] At least some of the units included in the comparison image generation control unit 38 and the comparison display control unit 39 may be realized as independent devices. Also, the units included in the comparison image generation control unit 38 and the comparison display control unit 39 may be included in a single control unit. Also, each may be realized as software that realizes a function. In this case, the software that realizes the function may operate on a server via a network such as the cloud. In this embodiment, each unit is realized by software in a local environment.

[0062] Next, the overall processing procedure by the medical information processing device 50 in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6. The medical information processing device 50 in this embodiment executes two processes, a comparison image generation process and a comparison display process. The comparison image generation process is a process for generating a plurality of comparison images based on a group of examination images recorded in the examination image database 23. The comparison display process is a process for displaying the comparison images generated in the comparison image generation process and the associated medical information so that the user can observe and refer to them. The comparison image generation process is executed prior to the comparison display process.

[0063] 6A is a flowchart of the comparative image generating process executed by the medical information processing device 50. Below, the procedure of the process executed by the medical information processing device 50 as the comparative image generating process will be described in detail in the order shown in this flowchart.

[0064] (Step S2110) <Acquisition of inspection image group> In step S2110, the comparison image generation control unit 38 controls the examination image acquisition unit 41 to acquire an examination image related to the subject of interest from the examination image group recorded in the examination image database 23. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which examination images related to the subject of interest on multiple examination dates are recorded in the examination image database 23. In this processing step, all of these examination images are acquired.

[0065] (Step S2120) <Obtaining Examination Date> In step S2120, the comparison image generation control unit 38 controls the examination date acquisition unit 42 to execute a process of acquiring the examination date for each of the multiple examination images acquired in step S2110. The process of acquiring the examination date for each examination image is the same as that in step S1030 of the first embodiment. This process is executed for each of the multiple examination images acquired in step S2110 to acquire the examination date for each of these examination images.

[0066] (Step S2130) <Generation of inspection image pairs> In step S2130, the comparison image generation control unit 38 controls the test image pair generation unit 51 to execute a process of generating pairs of test images to be used in generating a comparison image in a process described later. A specific example of this process will be described. First, the test image pair generation unit 51 generates all unique combinations of all test images acquired in step S2110 as candidates for test image pairs. Furthermore, from among the candidate pairs, pairs that meet a plurality of conditions are generated as test image pairs. The conditions may be, for example, that the test images constituting the pair are taken with the same modality, that the acquired test images are on different test dates, and that the interval between the acquired test dates is within a predetermined range (for example, one month or more and less than three years). A test image pair is generated by the above process.

[0067] (Step S2140) <Generating comparison images> In step S2140, the comparison image generation control unit 38 executes a process of controlling the comparison image generation unit 44 to generate a comparison image for each of the pairs of inspection images generated in step S2130. In this process, the same process as the process from step S1010 to step S1020 in the first embodiment is executed for each pair of inspection images. A detailed description will be omitted here. Furthermore, the comparison image generation unit 44 records information on the inspection date of each inspection image used in generating the comparison image in the supplementary information of the generated comparison image.

[0068] (Step S2150) <Recording of comparison image> In step S2150, the comparison image generation control unit 38 records information about the comparison image generated in step S2140 in the comparison image database 24. Here, in addition to the image information of the comparison image generated in step S2140, information about each examination image that is the source of the comparison image (e.g., supplementary information such as examination image ID and examination date) is also recorded in the comparison image database 24. This allows the medical information processing device 50 to obtain both the comparison image and information about the examination image that is the source of the comparison image from the comparison image database 24 in a comparison display process that is executed later.

[0069] The comparison image generation process in this embodiment is executed by steps S2110 to S2150 described above.

[0070] Next, the comparison display process executed by the medical information processing device 50 in this embodiment will be described in detail. Fig. 6(B) is a flowchart showing the processing procedure executed as the comparison display process by the medical information processing device 50 in this embodiment. Below, the processing procedure executed as the comparison display process by the medical information processing device 50 will be described in detail in the order shown in this flowchart.

[0071] (Step S2210) <Obtaining comparison image> In step S2210, the comparison display control unit 39 controls the comparison image acquisition unit 52 to execute a process of acquiring a comparison image to be processed from the comparison image database 24. At this time, the comparison image acquisition unit 52 acquires a list of the comparison images generated in the comparison image generation process from the comparison image database 24 for the display unit 36, and displays it on the display unit 36. Then, the comparison image acquisition unit 52 accepts an operation from the user via the operation unit 35, and acquires a comparison image that the user focuses on from the list of comparison images. Specifically, the comparison image ID included in the supplementary information of the selected comparison image is passed on to the next processing step via the storage unit 34, etc.

[0072] (Step S2220) <Obtaining inspection period> In step S2220, the comparison display control unit 39 executes a process of controlling the inspection period acquisition unit 54 to acquire the inspection period of the comparison image acquired in step S2210. Here, the inspection period of the comparison image is the period from the inspection date of the older inspection image to the inspection date of the newer inspection image of the two inspection images used to generate the comparison image in the comparison image generation process. The inspection image used to generate the comparison image can be acquired from information recorded as supplementary information of the comparison image.

[0073] (Step S2230) <Search for medical information> In step S2230, the comparison display control unit 39 controls the medical information acquisition unit 43 to execute a process of searching and acquiring medical information related to the comparison image acquired in step S2210 from the medical information database 22. This process is realized by a mechanism for determining the presence or absence of a relationship based on the examination period acquired in step S2220. The specific process content is the same as that of step S1040 in the first embodiment. A detailed description will be omitted here.

[0074] (Step S2240) <Display> In step S2240, the comparison display control unit 39 controls the display processing unit 45 to execute processing for controlling screen display so that the comparison image acquired in step S2210 and the medical information acquired in step S2230 can be referred to. The specific processing is similar to that in step S1050 in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0075] According to the above-described procedure, the medical information processing device 50 in this embodiment allows the user to arbitrarily select a comparison image, and searches for medical information related to the comparison image based on the examination date of each examination image that is the basis of the comparison image. Then, a process is executed to display the searched medical information so that it can be referenced together with the comparison image. Compared to the first embodiment, this embodiment can generate a comparison image prior to the comparison display process for presenting the comparison display to the user. Therefore, the user does not need to wait for the completion of the process of generating the comparison image during the comparison display process. This has the effect of providing a medical information processing system that places less time constraints on the user.

[0076] (Variation 2-1) In this embodiment, the case where medical information related to the comparison image is searched and acquired as the process of step S2230 of the comparison display process has been described as an example, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, after step S2140 of the comparison image generation process, the comparison image generation unit 44 can execute the same process as step S2230 for each of the multiple comparison images generated in step S2140 to acquire medical information related to each of them. Then, in step S2150, when recording the comparison image, the related medical information can also be recorded as additional information. In this case, in step S2230 of the comparison display process, the medical information acquisition unit 43 can acquire the related medical information by reading out the medical information recorded as additional information of the comparison image. This allows the search process of medical information to be completed prior to the comparison display process, which has the effect of providing a system that is more convenient for the user and requires less time. In particular, when complex conditions are used to search for medical information (such as conditions that require advanced recognition processing of the medical details), the time required for the search can be long, so the benefit of being able to complete that processing in advance is significant.

[0077] [Third embodiment] In the first embodiment, an example of a medical information processing device that accepts a selection of a first examination image and a second examination image from a user has been described. In the second embodiment, an example of a medical information processing device that accepts a selection of a comparison image from a user has been described. In the third embodiment, a medical information processing device that accepts a selection of medical information from a user and acquires a comparison image using a first examination image and a second examination image specified based on the selected medical information will be described.

[0078] 7 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a medical information processing system according to the third embodiment. The medical information processing system includes a medical information processing device 60, a medical information database 22, an examination image database 23, and a comparison image database 24, and these devices are connected to each other via communication means so that they can communicate with each other. Note that components having the same functions as those described in the first or second embodiment are given the same numbers, and detailed descriptions are omitted here. Below, differences from the first and second embodiments are described.

[0079] The medical information processing device 60 acquires information held in the medical information database 22, the examination image database 23, and the comparison image database 24 via the LAN 21. The medical information processing device 60 includes, as its functional configuration, a communication IF 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, a storage unit 34, an operation unit 35, a display unit 36, a comparison image generation control unit 38, and a comparison display control unit 40.

[0080] The comparison display control unit 40 is realized by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, and controls the comparison display performed by the medical information processing device 60. The comparison display control unit 40 includes, as its functional configuration, a medical information acquisition unit 56, a medical treatment date acquisition unit 57, a comparison image acquisition unit 58, and a display processing unit 45.

[0081] The medical information acquisition unit 56 acquires, in accordance with a user's operation inputted via the operation unit 35, medical information of interest from the medical information database 22 via the communication IF 31 and the LAN 21. Then, the medical information acquisition unit 56 outputs the acquired medical information to the medical date acquisition unit 57 and the display processing unit 45.

[0082] The medical treatment date acquiring unit 57 acquires information on the medical treatment date from the medical information acquired by the medical information acquiring unit 56. Then, the medical treatment date acquiring unit 57 outputs the acquired information on the medical treatment date to the comparison image acquiring unit 58.

[0083] The comparison image acquisition unit 58 performs processing described below based on the information on the medical examination date acquired by the medical examination date acquisition unit 57, and reads out a comparison image to be presented to the user from the comparison image database 24 via the communication IF 31 and the LAN 21. Then, the comparison image thus read out is output to the display processing unit 45.

[0084] The overall processing procedure by the medical information processing device 60 in this embodiment will be described in detail. The medical information processing device 60 in this embodiment executes two processes, a comparison image generation process and a comparison display process. The comparison image generation process is a process for generating a plurality of comparison images based on a group of examination images recorded in the examination image database 23. The comparison display process is a process for displaying the comparison images generated in the comparison image generation process and the associated medical information so that the user can observe and refer to them. The comparison image generation process is executed prior to the comparison display process.

[0085] In the comparison image generation process, the comparison image generation control unit 38 executes the same processes as those described in steps S2110 to S2150 in the second embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0086] 8 is a flowchart of the comparison display process executed by the medical information processing device 60. Below, the procedure of the process executed by the medical information processing device 60 as the comparison display process will be described in detail in the order shown in this flowchart.

[0087] (Step S3210) <Acquisition of medical information of interest> In step S3210, the comparison display control unit 40 controls the medical information acquisition unit 56 to execute a process of acquiring medical information of interest to the user from the medical information database 22. That is, the medical information acquisition unit 56 corresponds to an example of a first acquisition means for acquiring medical information. As a specific example, a list of all past medical information related to the patient to be processed is acquired from the medical information database 22 and displayed on the display unit 36, and medical information of interest to the user (interesting medical information) is acquired from the list via the operation unit 35.

[0088] (Step S3220) <Obtaining medical treatment date> In step S3220, the comparison display control unit 40 controls the medical treatment date acquisition unit 57 to execute a process of acquiring the medical treatment date included in the medical treatment information acquired in step S3210.

[0089] (Step S3230) <Search for comparison image> In step S3230, the comparison display control unit 40 controls the comparison image acquisition unit 58 to execute a process of acquiring a comparison image related to the medical information acquired in step S3210 from the comparison image database 24. Specifically, the comparison image is acquired by searching for a comparison image generated from an examination image whose examination date is before the medical examination date and an examination image whose examination date is after the medical examination date. That is, the comparison image acquisition unit 58 corresponds to an example of a second acquisition means for acquiring a comparison image generated using a first examination image obtained in an examination performed before the medical examination related to the medical information and a second examination image obtained in an examination performed after the medical examination. In this way, a comparison image related to the medical information acquired in step S3210 is acquired based on the relationship between the examination date and the medical examination date.

[0090] (Step S3240) <Display> In step S3240, the comparison display control unit 40 controls the display processing unit 45 to execute a process of displaying the medical information acquired in step S3210 and the comparison image acquired in step S3230 so that they can be referenced. The process executed by the display processing unit 45 in this step is the same as that in step S2240 in the second embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0091] According to the above-described procedure, the medical information processing device 60 in this embodiment searches for comparison images whose examination period includes the medical date of the medical information selected by the user, and displays them so that they can be referenced together with the medical information. This provides a mechanism for allowing the user to easily reference comparison images that are closely related to the medical information selected by the user.

[0092] (Variation 3-1) In the present embodiment, the comparative image generation process is performed prior to the comparative display process, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the comparative image generation process may be performed following step S3220 of the comparative display process. In this case, based on the consultation date acquired in step S3220, examination images whose examination dates are before the consultation date and examination images whose examination dates are after the consultation date are identified. Then, a comparative image is generated using the identified examination image pair. In other words, a comparative image can be generated only for examination image pairs whose examination period includes the consultation date. This eliminates the need to perform the comparative image generation process prior to the comparative display process, and allows only a limited number of comparison images to be generated, which has the effect of saving the capacity of the comparative image database 24 and reducing the labor required for calculation processing.

[0093] (Variation 3-2) In this embodiment, the case where one piece of medical information is acquired in step S3210 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, multiple pieces of medical information may be acquired in step S3210, and the dates of medical treatment for each piece of medical information may be acquired in step S3220. In this case, in step S3230, comparison images having an examination period that includes the dates of medical treatment for each piece of medical information can be searched for in the comparison image database 24. This provides a mechanism for searching for and observing comparison images related to a series of medical treatments when surgery, medication, etc. are performed over multiple days.

[0094] In the above explanation, an example was given of acquiring a comparison image having an examination period that includes a period including multiple medical treatment dates, but it is also possible to acquire a comparison image whose examination period includes at least one of the multiple medical treatment dates. This provides a mechanism for searching and observing a comparison image related to at least one medical treatment that spans multiple medical treatment dates.

[0095] [Other embodiments] Although the embodiment has been described in detail above, the present invention can be embodied as a system, device, method, program, storage medium, or the like. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system consisting of multiple devices by distributing the functions of a medical information processing device, or may be applied to a device consisting of one device. In addition, the program code itself installed in the computer in order to realize the functions and processing of the present invention by the computer also realizes the present invention. The scope of the present invention also includes the computer program itself for realizing the functions and processing shown in the above-mentioned embodiment. In addition, the computer executes the read program to realize the functions of the above-mentioned embodiment, and the functions of the embodiment may be realized in cooperation with the OS running on the computer based on the instructions of the program. In this case, the OS performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-mentioned embodiment are realized by the processing. Furthermore, the program read from the recording medium may be written to a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, and part or all of the functions of the above-mentioned embodiment may be realized. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. It is also possible to combine at least two of the above-mentioned multiple modified examples. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 10 Medical information processing device 22 Medical Information Database 23 Inspection Image Database 41 Inspection image acquisition unit 42 Examination Date Acquisition Department 43 Medical information acquisition department 44 Comparison image generation unit 45 Display processing section

Claims

1. an acquisition means for acquiring a comparison image generated using a first examination image and a second examination image obtained by photographing a subject at different dates and times, a first examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the first examination image was obtained, and a second examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the second examination image was obtained; A search means for searching, from a storage unit, medical information on medical treatments performed on the subject during the period between the first examination date and the second examination date, by referring to the medical treatment dates included in the medical information; a display control means for displaying the comparison image and the searched medical information on a display unit; 13. An information processing device comprising:

2. The information processing device according to claim 1 , characterized in that the search means detects a region depicted in the comparison image, and searches for medical information including information on the region by referring to medical details included in the medical information.

3. The medical information is stored in the storage unit, including items of medical care content, 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the search means searches the storage unit for medical information including at least one of medical treatment and surgical treatment in the medical treatment contents by referring to the items of the medical treatment contents.

4. the comparison image is stored in the storage unit in association with the first examination date and the second examination date; The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the acquisition means refers to the memory unit based on the comparison image and acquires the first examination date and the second examination date associated with the comparison image.

5. A receiving means for receiving input regarding the first examination date and the second examination date. Further comprising: An information processing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the acquisition means acquires the comparison image generated using the first examination image identified based on the first examination date on which the input was received and the second examination image identified based on the second examination date on which the input was received.

6. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the comparison image is an image showing a difference between the first inspection image and the second inspection image.

7. A recording means for recording the comparison image and the searched medical information in association with each other.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

8. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores medical information of a plurality of subjects.

9. The information processing device according to claim 8, characterized in that the search means searches for medical information having an examination date between the first examination date and the second examination date from the medical information stored in the memory unit.

10. an acquisition means for acquiring a comparison image generated using a first examination image and a second examination image obtained by photographing a subject at different dates and times, a first examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the first examination image was obtained, a second examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the second examination image was obtained, and medical information regarding medical treatment performed on the subject; a display control means for displaying the comparison image and the medical information on a display unit; A determination means for determining whether or not a medical treatment related to the medical information was performed within a period between the first examination date and the second examination date by referring to a medical treatment date included in the medical information; having The information processing device is characterized in that the display control means displays on the display unit medical information that is determined by the determination means to have been performed within the period in a form that is distinguishable from other medical information.

11. A first acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of pieces of medical information including a medical treatment date; a second acquiring means for acquiring from the storage unit a first examination image having an examination date prior to the period and a second examination image having an examination date subsequent to the period, the first examination image having an examination date prior to the period and the second examination image having an examination date subsequent to the period, the first examination image having an examination date prior to the period and the second examination image having an examination date subsequent to the period, the first examination image having an examination date prior to the period and the second examination image having an examination date subsequent to the period, the second ... a comparison image generating means for executing a process for generating a comparison image for comparing the first inspection image with the second inspection image, and generating an image representing a change between the first inspection image and the second inspection image as the comparison image; a display control means for displaying the comparison image and the plurality of pieces of medical information on a display unit; 13. An information processing device comprising:

12. A first acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of pieces of medical information including a medical treatment date; a third acquiring means for acquiring from the storage unit a first examination date before the period and a second examination date after the period, the first examination date being specified by referring to information on examination dates associated with the examination images stored in the storage unit using a period including the medical examination dates of the plurality of medical information; a comparison image acquisition means for acquiring, from the storage unit, a comparison image which represents a change between a first examination image corresponding to the first examination date and a second examination image corresponding to the second examination date, using the first examination date and the second examination date; a display control means for displaying the comparison image and the plurality of pieces of medical information on a display unit; 13. An information processing device comprising:

13. The information processing device according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the plurality of pieces of medical information are associated with at least one of a specific patient ID and a patient name, and the first acquisition means acquires the plurality of pieces of medical information from the memory unit by referring to at least one of the specific patient ID and a patient name specified by a user.

14. 14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the comparison image is a difference image showing a difference between the first inspection image and the second inspection image.

15. an acquiring step of acquiring a comparison image generated using a first examination image and a second examination image obtained by photographing a subject at different dates and times, and a first examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the first examination image was acquired and a second examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the second examination image was acquired; A searching step of searching a storage unit for medical information on medical treatments performed on the subject during a period between the first examination date and the second examination date by referring to the medical treatment dates included in the medical information; a display control step of displaying the comparison image and the searched medical information on a display unit; 13. An information processing method comprising:

16. an acquisition step of acquiring a comparison image generated using a first examination image and a second examination image obtained by photographing a subject at different dates and times, a first examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the first examination image was obtained, a second examination date which is the examination date of the examination on which the second examination image was obtained, and medical information regarding medical treatment performed on the subject; a display control step of displaying the comparison image and the medical information on a display unit; a determination step of determining whether or not a medical treatment related to the medical information was performed within a period between the first examination date and the second examination date by referring to a medical treatment date included in the medical information; having The information processing method is characterized in that the display control step causes the display unit to display medical information determined to have been treated within the period in a form distinguishable from other medical information.

17. A first acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of pieces of medical information including a medical treatment date; a second acquisition step of acquiring from the storage unit a first examination image associated with an examination date prior to the period and a second examination image associated with an examination date subsequent to the period, the first examination image being identified by referring to information on examination dates associated with the multiple examination images stored in the storage unit using a period including the medical treatment dates of the multiple medical information; a comparison image generating step of executing a process of generating a comparison image for comparing the first inspection image with the second inspection image, and generating an image representing a change between the first inspection image and the second inspection image as the comparison image; a display control step of displaying the comparison image and the plurality of pieces of medical information on a display unit; 13. An information processing method comprising:

18. A first acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of pieces of medical information including a medical treatment date; a third acquisition step of acquiring from the storage unit a first examination date before the period and a second examination date after the period, the first examination date being specified by referring to information on examination dates associated with the multiple examination images stored in the storage unit using a period including the medical treatment dates of the multiple medical information; a comparison image acquisition step of acquiring, from the storage unit, a comparison image that represents a change between a first examination image corresponding to the first examination date and a second examination image corresponding to the second examination date, using the first examination date and the second examination date; a display control step of displaying the comparison image and the plurality of pieces of medical information on a display unit; 13. An information processing method comprising:

19. 19. The information processing method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the plurality of pieces of medical information are associated with at least one of a specific patient ID and a patient name, and the first acquisition step is executed to acquire the plurality of pieces of medical information from the memory unit by referring to at least one of the specific patient ID and a patient name specified by a user.

20. A program causing a computer to execute each step of the information processing method according to any one of claims 15 to 19.

Images