Image interpretation management device, image interpretation management system, image management device, image interpretation terminal, analysis device, image interpretation management method and program

Abstract

To allow an active notification to be made when an automatically generated observation result obtained through computer processing and an image interpretation observation result by a doctor constitute a combination that requires an active notification.SOLUTION: A control unit of an image management device disclosed herein is configured to acquire automatically generated observation obtained through computer processing on a medical image in cooperation with a program, acquire a first image interpretation observation generated by a user based on the medical image, determine whether a result of the acquired automatically generated observation and a result of the first image interpretation observation constitute a combination that requires an active notification or not, and actively notify predetermined information when affirmative.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image interpretation management device, an image interpretation management system, an image management device, an image interpretation terminal, an analysis device, an image interpretation management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, with the development of AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology, AI analysis has been introduced into the medical field, and attempts are being made to use AI to assist in the analysis and diagnosis of medical information, such as image diagnosis, which was previously performed by doctors.

[0003] In clinical settings, there is a need to perform tests and diagnoses appropriately and quickly, and to streamline and optimize diagnostics to reduce the burden on doctors. The introduction of AI analysis is expected to contribute to the streamlining and optimization of such diagnostics.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a device that performs priority notification (triage notification) by notifying the user in advance of interpretation based on the results of AI (including CAD (Computer Aided Diagnosis)) analysis of medical images.

[0005] In this triage-style reading style, all images that the AI ​​identifies as positive (images that detect abnormalities) are notified to the doctor as a priority. In other words, the idea behind triage is that images that the AI ​​identifies as positive (images that have a high probability of being cancer or other diseases) are naturally shown to the doctor as having a high priority.

[0006] On the other hand, Patent Document 2 recommends double reading by AI and a doctor in lung cancer screening, and describes that after the primary reading by the primary radiologist is completed, a secondary radiologist evaluates the CAD findings and the results of the primary radiologist's reading (QA (Quality Assurance) type reading). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-178110 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-010577 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] When a triage-type reading style such as that of Patent Document 1 is combined with a QA-type reading style such as that of Patent Document 2 (a reading style in which some kind of action is taken after comparing the AI ​​analysis results with the doctor's reading results), as mentioned above, the idea behind triage is that those that the AI ​​has determined to be positive are shown to the doctor as having a high priority, so it is natural that by sending triage notifications only those cases that the AI ​​and the primary reading doctor have determined to be positive, it is possible to make reading more efficient.

[0009] However, as a result of our investigations, we found that in a QA-type interpretation style, some secondary radiologists have a need to prioritize checking interpretation results in which the AI ​​judges a result to be positive and the primary radiologist judges a result to be negative, in order to prevent the primary radiologist from overlooking an interpretation, and a need to prioritize checking cases in which the interpretation results of the primary radiologist and the AI ​​disagree.In other words, in a QA-type interpretation style, we found that medical facilities and doctors have different needs for the desired combination of active notifications among the combinations of automatically generated findings (AI analysis results) and interpretation findings.Here, an active notification is a notification that is received and displayed without the user (doctor) having to personally attempt to display the information.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems in the conventional technology described above, and aims to enable active notification when the results of automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing and the results of doctor's image interpretation findings are a combination that should be actively notified. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the image interpretation management device of the present invention comprises: a first acquisition unit that acquires automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of medical information; a second acquisition unit that acquires a first image finding created by a first user based on the medical information; A combination of the result of the automatically generated findings and the result of the first image interpretation findings is actively notified. and passive notification combinations. a determination unit that determines whether a storage unit that stores information regarding a notification destination corresponding to a second user different from the first user; When it is determined that the combination is suitable for active notification, the predetermined information is actively notified based on information about a notification destination corresponding to the second user. active A notification unit; a passive notification unit that passively notifies predetermined information when it is determined that the combination is suitable for passive notification; An image interpretation management device comprising: And, If it is determined that neither the combination of active notification nor the combination of passive notification applies, neither the active notification of the predetermined information nor the passive notification of the predetermined information is performed. . The image interpretation management device of the present invention further comprises: a first acquisition unit that acquires automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of medical information; a second acquisition unit that acquires a first image finding created by a first user based on the medical information; A combination of the result of the automatically generated findings and the result of the first image interpretation findings is actively notified. and passive notification combinations. a determination unit that determines whether a storage unit that stores information regarding a notification destination corresponding to a second user different from the first user; When it is determined that the combination is suitable for active notification, the predetermined information is actively notified based on information about a notification destination corresponding to the second user. active A notification unit; a passive notification unit that passively notifies predetermined information when it is determined that the combination is suitable for passive notification; An image interpretation management device comprising: And, The active notification unit When it is determined that the combination is suitable for active notification, actively notifying the first external terminal of predetermined information; The passive notification unit When it is determined that the combination is suitable for the passive notification, the second external terminal is passively notified of predetermined information; If it is determined that the combination does not correspond to either the combination of active notification or the combination of passive notification, neither the active notification of the predetermined information nor the passive notification of the predetermined information is performed. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, when an automatically generated finding obtained by computer processing and a doctor's image interpretation finding are a combination that should be actively notified, active notification can be performed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image interpretation management system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the analysis device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image management device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image interpretation terminal. [Figure 5] 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of a notification setting process executed by the control unit in FIG. 3. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification setting screen. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of a notification control process executed by the control unit in FIG. 3. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of active notification. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of active notification. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an examination list screen on which a passive notification is displayed. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a modified example of the notification setting screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

[0015] [Configuration of the image interpretation management system] FIG. 1 shows an example of the system configuration of an interpretation management system 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1 , the image interpretation management system 100 includes a modality 1, a console 2, an analyzer 3, an image manager 4, an image interpretation terminal 5, an external terminal 6, and the like, which are connected via a communication network such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the Internet. Of the devices constituting the image interpretation management system 100, the modality 1, the console 2, the analyzer 3, the image manager 4, and the image interpretation terminal 5 are connected to an in-hospital network N and conform to the HL7 (Health Level Seven) and DICOM (Digital Image and Communications in Medicine) standards. Communication between these devices is performed in accordance with HL7 and DICOM. The external terminal 6 may be directly connected to the in-hospital network N or may be connected from an external network via a router (not shown). The number of the modality 1, the console 2, the analyzer 3, the image interpretation terminal 5, and the external terminal 6 is not particularly limited.

[0016] (Modality and console configuration) The modality 1 is an image generating device such as an X-ray device (DR, CR), an ultrasound diagnostic device (US), a CT, or an MRI, and based on examination order information sent from a Radiology Information System (RIS) (not shown), etc., it takes an image of the patient's examination target area as a subject, generates a medical image as medical information, and outputs it to the console 2.

[0017] The console 2 is an imaging control device that includes a control unit, a display unit, an operation unit, a communication unit, a storage unit, etc. (not shown), and controls imaging in the modality 1. The console 2 outputs imaging conditions and image reading conditions to the modality 1 based on examination order information transmitted from a RIS (not shown) or the like, and acquires image data of medical images captured in the modality 1. The console 2 also writes additional information (e.g., patient information (patient ID, patient name, date of birth, age, sex, height, weight, etc.), examination information (examination ID, examination date and time, type of modality, examination region, examination type, requesting department, examination purpose, etc.), image identification information (e.g., UID (Unique ID)), etc.) in accordance with the DICOM standard to each medical image acquired from the modality 1 (e.g., in the header of the image file of the medical image), and transmits the medical images with the additional information to the analysis device 3 or the image management device 4.

[0018] (Configuration of the analysis device) The analysis device 3 performs computer-processing analysis (lesion detection) on the medical images sent from the console 2, generates automatically generated findings as analysis results (detection results), and sends (outputs) them to the image management device 4.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the analysis device 3. As shown in FIG. As shown in Figure 2, the analysis device 3 is configured with a control unit 31, a memory unit 32, a data acquisition unit 33, a data output unit 34, an operation unit 35, a display unit 36, etc., and each unit is connected by a bus 37.

[0020] The control unit 31 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory ) and so on, and comprehensively controls the operations of the various parts of the analysis device 3. Specifically, the CPU reads out various processing programs stored in the program storage unit 321 of the storage unit 32, expands them in the RAM, and executes various processes in accordance with the programs.

[0021] For example, the control unit 31 performs computer-processed analysis (lesion detection) on the medical images acquired by the data acquisition unit 33 to generate automatically generated findings, adds image identification information of the medical image used for the analysis to the automatically generated findings, and transmits (outputs) the results to the image management device 4 via the data output unit 34. Here, the computer processing may be, for example, lesion detection using CAD (Computer Aided Diagnosis) or AI analysis using AI (Artificial Intelligence) that performs image diagnosis and image analysis including lesion detection using machine learning.

[0022] In this embodiment, the automatically generated findings include "+" information indicating the presence of an abnormal finding (lesion) or "-" information indicating the absence of an abnormal finding. If an abnormal finding is present, information on the detected location of the lesion, the type and number of abnormal findings, etc. are also included. Furthermore, information on the confidence level of the automatically generated findings is also included.

[0023] The storage unit 32 is configured with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), semiconductor memory, etc., and includes a program storage unit 321 that stores programs for executing various processes, including an analysis program that analyzes medical information and generates automatically generated findings. The storage unit 32 also stores parameters, files, etc. that are necessary for executing the programs stored in the program storage unit 321.

[0024] The data acquisition unit 33 is configured, for example, by a network interface or the like, and is configured to receive data from an external device connected by wire or wirelessly via the hospital network N (and an external network). In this embodiment, the data acquisition unit 33 is configured by a network interface or the like, but it can also be configured by a port into which a USB memory, an SD card, or the like can be inserted.

[0025] The data output unit 34 is configured, for example, by a network interface or the like, and is configured to output data to an external device connected by wire or wirelessly via the hospital network N (and an external network). In this embodiment, the data output unit 34 is configured by a network interface or the like, but a connector for connecting to an external device, a port for various media such as a USB memory, or the like can also be used.

[0026] The operation unit 35 is composed of a keyboard with various keys, a pointing device such as a mouse, or a touch panel attached to the display unit 36. The operation unit 35 allows a user to input data, and specifically outputs operation signals input by key operations on the keyboard, mouse operations, or touch operations on the touch panel to the control unit 31.

[0027] The display unit 36 ​​is configured to include a monitor such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays various screens according to instructions of a display signal input from the control unit 31. The number of monitors is not limited to one, and multiple monitors may be provided.

[0028] The analysis device 3 may be configured integrally with the image management device 4.

[0029] (Image management device configuration) The image management device 4 is, for example, a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) server, and stores and manages image data of medical images output from the console 2, automatically generated findings output from the analysis device 3, and interpretation findings output from the interpretation terminal 5. In this embodiment, the image management device 4 functions as an interpretation management device.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image manager 4. As shown in FIG. As shown in Figure 3, the image management device 4 is configured with a control unit 41, a memory unit 42, a data acquisition unit 43, a data output unit 44, an operation unit 45, a display unit 46, etc., and each unit is connected by a bus 47.

[0031] Control unit 41 is configured with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and comprehensively controls the operation of each unit of image management device 4. Specifically, the CPU reads out various processing programs stored in program storage unit 421 of storage unit 42, expands them in RAM, and executes various processes in accordance with the programs.

[0032] The storage unit 42 is configured with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a semiconductor memory, etc., and includes a program storage unit 421 that stores programs for executing various processes, including a program for executing the notification setting process shown in Fig. 5 and the notification control process shown in Fig. 7. The storage unit 42 also stores parameters, files, etc. that are necessary for executing the programs stored in the program storage unit 421.

[0033] The storage unit 42 also includes an image DB (Data Base) 422. The image DB 422 is a database for storing, in association with each other, medical images transmitted from the console 2, automatically generated findings for the medical images transmitted from the analysis device 3, first image interpretation findings created by a user (primary image interpretation physician) for the medical images, and second image interpretation findings created by a user (secondary image interpretation physician) for the medical images. The image DB 422 has respective storage areas for medical images, automatically generated findings, first image interpretation findings, and second image interpretation findings, and also has an image management table for storing management information for medical images stored in the image DB 422. The image management table has areas for storing information such as patient information for medical images, examination information, image identification information, primary reading physician information, secondary reading physician information, primary reading status information, secondary reading status information, active notification flag, passive notification flag, active notification status information, AI judgment result, user judgment result, identification information for automatically generated findings (e.g., file name of automatically generated findings, etc.), identification information for first reading findings (e.g., file name of first reading findings, etc.), and identification information for second reading findings (e.g., file name of second reading findings, etc.).

[0034] In the area for the status information of the primary interpretation, for example, "uninterpreted", "interpretation in progress", "interpreted", etc. are stored according to the state of the primary interpretation. The area for the status information of secondary interpretation stores, for example, "uninterpreted", "waiting for interpretation", "interpretation in progress", "interpretation completed (approved)", etc., depending on the state of secondary interpretation. The active notification flag field stores a flag indicating whether or not the combination of the results of automatically generated findings of medical images and the results of primary interpretation findings is determined to be a combination for active notification by the notification control process (see FIG. 7) described later. For example, if it is determined that the combination is not a combination for active notification, OFF is stored, and if it is determined that the combination is a combination for active notification, ON is stored. The passive notification flag field stores a flag indicating whether or not the combination of the results of automatically generated findings of medical images and the results of primary interpretation findings is determined to be a combination for passive notification by the notification control process (see FIG. 7) described later. For example, if it is determined that the combination is not a combination for passive notification, OFF is stored, and if it is determined that the combination is a combination for passive notification, ON is stored. The area for the status information of the active notification stores information indicating whether the active notification has not been received ("Not yet"), whether the active notification has been received ("Notified"), or whether the display of the active notification has been completed ("Read"). The AI ​​judgment result field stores whether or not there are any abnormal findings based on automatically generated findings (and if so, the number of abnormal findings). The user determination result area stores the presence or absence of abnormal findings based on the first image interpretation findings (if present, the number of abnormal findings).

[0035] Here, active notification refers to a notification that is received and displayed without the user, the doctor (in this embodiment, the secondary radiology doctor), attempting to display the information himself / herself. For example, this includes a pop-up / blinking notification on the radiology terminal 5, a push notification to the external terminal 6, etc. A passive notification is a notification that is displayed when the user, a doctor (in this embodiment, a secondary radiologist), attempts to display it (it will not be displayed unless the doctor attempts to display it). For example, this includes notifications that will not be displayed unless the doctor launches a specific application or displays a specific screen (for example, a display on the examination list screen).

[0036] The storage unit 42 also has a notification setting storage area 423. The notification setting storage area 423 stores the user ID of the user who made the setting (here, the user ID of the secondary radiology doctor) and the notification setting information set in the notification setting process (see FIG. 5) described later, in association with each other.

[0037] The storage unit 42 also has a notification destination storage area 424. The notification destination storage area 424 stores the user ID of the secondary radiologist and information on the destination of the active notification (first external terminal) in association with each other. Examples of the destination of the active notification include the interpretation terminal 5 used by the secondary radiologist and the external terminal 6 carried by the secondary radiologist. The console 2 may also be the destination of the notification.

[0038] The storage unit 42 also stores an image-interpreting doctor table 425. The image-interpreting doctor table 425 is a table that associates, for example, the type of modality with information (such as user IDs) of the primary image-interpreting doctor and secondary image-interpreting doctor who interpret the medical images captured with that modality. The image interpretation doctor table 425 may store a combination of the type of modality and the requesting department in association with information on the primary image interpretation doctor and the secondary image interpretation doctor.

[0039] The storage unit 42 also stores user information (for example, user ID, password, user name, department, email address, etc.) of users who can access the image interpretation management system 100.

[0040] The data acquisition unit 43 is configured, for example, by a network interface or the like, and is configured to receive data from an external device connected by wire or wirelessly via the hospital network N (and an external network). In this embodiment, the data acquisition unit 43 is configured by a network interface or the like, but it can also be configured by a port into which a USB memory, an SD card, or the like can be inserted.

[0041] The data output unit 44 is configured, for example, by a network interface or the like, and is configured to output data to an external device connected by wire or wirelessly via the hospital network N (and an external network). In this embodiment, the data output unit 44 is configured by a network interface or the like, but a connector for connecting to an external device, a port for various media such as a USB memory, or the like can also be used.

[0042] The operation unit 45 is composed of a keyboard with various keys, a pointing device such as a mouse, or a touch panel attached to the display unit 46. The operation unit 45 allows a user to input data, and specifically outputs operation signals input by key operations on the keyboard, mouse operations, or touch operations on the touch panel to the control unit 41.

[0043] The display unit 46 is configured to include a monitor such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays various screens according to instructions of a display signal input from the control unit 41. The number of monitors is not limited to one, and multiple monitors may be provided.

[0044] For example, the control unit 41 of the image management device 4 acquires (receives) medical images transmitted from the console 2 using the data acquisition unit 43, and stores the acquired medical images in the image DB 422. The control unit 41 also stores patient information, examination information, and image identification information, which are incidental information of the acquired medical images, in the image management table of the image DB 422, and also stores primary interpretation status information (uninterpreted) and secondary interpretation status information (uninterpreted) in the image management table. The control unit 41 also refers to the image interpretation doctor table 425, determines the primary and secondary image interpretation doctors who will interpret the acquired medical images, and stores the primary and secondary image interpretation doctor information in the record related to the medical image in the image management table.

[0045] Furthermore, the control unit 41 of the image management device 4 acquires (receives) the automatically generated findings and image identification information transmitted from the analysis device 3 using the data acquisition unit 43, and stores the acquired automatically generated findings in the image DB 422. Furthermore, the control unit 41 searches the image management table for a record having the acquired image identification information, and stores the acquired identification information of the automatically generated findings in the searched record.

[0046] In addition, when the control unit 41 of the image management device 4 receives a request to obtain examination list information from the interpretation terminal 5 via the data acquisition unit 43, it extracts records from the image management table of the image DB 422 that meet specified conditions (for example, the examination date and time is within a specified period, the modality type is a specified type, the secondary interpretation status information is not indicating interpretation completed, etc.), generates examination list information, and sends it to the interpretation terminal 5 via the data output unit 44.

[0047] Furthermore, when the control unit 41 of the image management device 4 receives, via the data acquisition unit 43, a request to acquire medical images of an examination for which the primary image interpretation doctor's status information is "uninterpreted" from the image interpretation terminal 5, the control unit 41 reads the medical images and automatically generated findings of the requested examination from the image DB 422 and transmits them to the image interpretation terminal 5 via the data output unit 44. Then, the control unit 41 updates the primary image interpretation status information of the record for that examination (medical image) in the image management table to "interpretation in progress."

[0048] Furthermore, when the control unit 41 of the image management device 4 acquires (receives) the first interpretation result and image identification information from the interpretation terminal 5 via the data acquisition unit 43, it stores the received first interpretation result in the image DB 422, searches the image management table for a record having the acquired image identification information, and stores the identification information of the acquired first interpretation finding in the searched record. It also updates the primary interpretation status information of the record corresponding to the acquired image identification information to “interpretation completed” and the secondary interpretation status information to “waiting for interpretation.” The control unit 41 then executes the notification control process shown in FIG. 7 to acquire the received first interpretation findings and the corresponding automatically-generated findings from the image DB 422, determine whether the combination of the automatically-generated findings and the first interpretation findings is a combination that requires active notification, and actively notifies predetermined information if it determines that the combination requires active notification. That is, in this embodiment, the control unit 41 functions as a first acquisition unit, a second acquisition unit, a determination unit, and a notification unit.

[0049] Furthermore, when the control unit 41 of the image management device 4 receives a notification setting request from the image interpretation terminal 5 via the data acquisition unit 43, it executes the notification setting process shown in FIG. 5, outputs screen information of a notification setting screen 561 to the image interpretation terminal 5 via the data output unit 44, which allows the user to set the combinations of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings to be actively notified (and the combinations to be passively notified), and when it receives notification setting information input from the image interpretation terminal 5, it stores (sets) the received notification setting information in the notification setting memory area 423 in association with the user ID of the logged-in user. That is, in this embodiment, the control unit 41 functions as a setting unit that enables a user to set, by operation, which combination of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of image interpretation findings to be actively notified.

[0050] Furthermore, when the control unit 41 of the image management device 4 receives the second interpretation result and image identification information from the interpretation terminal 5 via the data acquisition unit 43, it stores the received second interpretation result in the image DB 422, searches the image management table for a record having the acquired image identification information, and stores the acquired identification information of the second interpretation finding in the searched record. It also updates the status information of the secondary interpretation of the medical image corresponding to the acquired image identification information to "interpreted (approved)".

[0051] (Configuration of image reading terminal) The image interpretation terminal 5 is, for example, a PACS client (PACS viewer), and is a display device that reads medical images and automatically generated findings from the image management device 4 and displays them for interpretation in response to operations by the user, i.e., the radiologist. The user interprets the medical images on the image interpretation terminal 5 and creates interpretation findings (image interpretation reports, etc.) related to the medical images.

[0052] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image interpretation terminal 5. As shown in FIG. As shown in Figure 4, the interpretation terminal 5 is configured with a control unit 51, a memory unit 52, a data acquisition unit 53, a data output unit 54, an operation unit 55, a display unit 56, etc., and each unit is connected by a bus 57.

[0053] The control unit 51 is configured with a CPU, RAM, etc., and comprehensively controls the operation of each unit of the interpretation terminal 5. Specifically, the CPU reads out various processing programs stored in the program storage unit 521 of the storage unit 52, expands them in the RAM, and executes various processes in accordance with the programs.

[0054] The storage unit 52 is configured with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a semiconductor memory, etc., and includes a program storage unit 521 that stores programs for the control unit 51 to execute various processes. The storage unit 52 also stores parameters, files, etc. that are necessary for executing the programs stored in the program storage unit 521.

[0055] The data acquisition unit 53 is configured, for example, by a network interface or the like, and is configured to receive data from an external device connected by wire or wirelessly via the hospital network N (and an external network). In this embodiment, the data acquisition unit 53 is configured by a network interface or the like, but it can also be configured by a port into which a USB memory, an SD card, or the like can be inserted.

[0056] The data output unit 54 is configured, for example, by a network interface or the like, and is configured to output data to an external device connected by wire or wirelessly via the hospital network N (and an external network). In this embodiment, the data output unit 54 is configured by a network interface or the like, but a connector for connecting to an external device, a port for various media such as a USB memory, or the like can also be used.

[0057] The operation unit 55 is composed of a keyboard with various keys, a pointing device such as a mouse, or a touch panel attached to the display unit 56. The operation unit 55 allows a user to input data, and specifically outputs operation signals input by key operations on the keyboard, mouse operations, or touch operations on the touch panel to the control unit 51.

[0058] The display unit 56 is configured to include a monitor such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays various screens according to instructions of a display signal input from the control unit 51. The number of monitors is not limited to one, and multiple monitors may be provided.

[0059] For example, when a user (in this embodiment, a secondary radiology doctor is assumed) operates the operation unit 55 to instruct display of a notification setting screen 561 (see FIG. 6 ), the control unit 51 of the interpretation terminal 5 transmits a notification setting request to the image management device 4 via the data output unit 54. Then, the control unit 51 acquires screen information of the notification setting screen 561 transmitted from the image management device 4 via the data acquisition unit 53, and displays the information on the display unit 56. When notification setting information is input from the notification setting screen 561 via the operation of the operation unit 55, the control unit 51 transmits the input notification setting information to the image management device 4 via the data output unit 54.

[0060] Furthermore, for example, when an instruction to display an examination list screen 562 (see FIG. 10 ) is given by operating the operation unit 55, the control unit 51 of the image interpretation terminal 5 transmits a request to acquire examination list information to the image management device 4 via the data output unit 54. Then, the control unit 53 acquires the examination list information transmitted from the image management device 4, and causes the display unit 56 to display the examination list screen 562 displaying the examination list information. At this time, the control unit 51 causes the display unit 56 to display, in different display modes, the information of examinations determined to be a combination for passive notification but not a combination for active notification, and the display mode of the information of examinations of medical images determined to be a combination for active notification. In addition, for information on examinations that are determined to be a combination that requires active notification, the control unit 51 of the interpretation terminal 5 displays, on the display unit 56 in different display modes, the display mode of information on examinations for which active notification display has been completed and the display mode of information on examinations for which active notification display has not been completed. That is, the control unit 51 of the interpretation terminal 5 functions as a display control unit of the second external terminal.

[0061] Furthermore, for example, when an active notification from the image management device 4 is acquired by the data acquisition unit 53, the control unit 51 of the interpretation terminal 5 displays the active notification as a pop-up on the display unit 56, and transmits information indicating that the active notification has been received to the image management device 4 by the data output unit 54. Furthermore, when the OK button displayed in the pop-up of the active notification is pressed, the control unit 51 displays all information in the active notification, and transmits information indicating that the display of the active notification has been completed to the image management device 4 by the data output unit 54.

[0062] (External terminal configuration) The external terminal 6 is a terminal device carried by a doctor. Examples of the external terminal 6 include, but are not limited to, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a mobile phone, and a notebook computer. When the external terminal 6 receives an active notification from the image management device 4, it pushes the active notification and sends information indicating that the active notification has been received to the image management device 4. Furthermore, when the display of the pushed active notification is pressed and opened, the external terminal 6 displays all the information in the active notification on the display unit and sends information indicating that the display of the active notification has been completed to the image management device 4.

[0063] [Operation of the image interpretation management system 100] Next, the operation of notification setting and notification control in the image interpretation management system 100 of this embodiment will be described.

[0064] (Notification setting process) First, the notification setting process executed by the image manager 4 will be described. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of a notification setting process executed by the control unit 41 of the image management device 4. The notification setting process is executed by the control unit 41 in cooperation with a program stored in the program storage unit 421, for example, when the data acquisition unit 43 receives a notification setting request from the image interpretation terminal 5.

[0065] First, the control unit 41 outputs the screen information of the notification setting screen 561 to the interpretation terminal 5 via the data output unit 44, causing the interpretation terminal 5 to display the notification setting screen 561 (step S1), and waits for the notification setting information to be received from the interpretation terminal 5 (step S2).

[0066] 6 is a diagram showing an example of a notification setting screen 561. The notification setting screen 561 is a screen for the user to set combinations to be actively notified among combinations of results of automatically generated findings and results of first image interpretation findings. As shown in FIG. 6, notification setting screen 561 is provided with active notification setting area 561a for setting a combination for active notification, and passive notification setting area 561d for setting a combination for passive notification.

[0067] The active notification setting area 561a is provided with a combination setting field 561b and an AI confidence setting field 561c. The combination setting field 561b is a field for selecting a combination to be actively notified from among the combinations of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of first image interpretation findings. In the combination setting field 561b, a combination selected (checked) from the following combinations (1) to (4) is set as a combination to be actively notified. (1) The combination of the doctor's findings (first reading findings) showing no abnormal findings and the AI's findings (automatically generated findings) showing abnormal findings (Doctor: No / AI: Yes) (2) The combination of the doctor's findings (first reading findings) showing abnormal findings and the AI's findings (automatically generated findings) showing no abnormal findings (Doctor: Yes / AI: No) (3) A combination of the doctor's findings (first reading findings) showing abnormal findings and the AI's findings (automatically generated findings) showing abnormal findings (Doctor: Yes / AI: Yes), (4) The combination of the doctor's findings (first reading findings) showing no abnormal findings and the AI's findings (automatically generated findings) showing no abnormal findings (Doctor: None / AI: None)

[0068] The AI ​​confidence setting field 561c is a field for setting whether or not to use the confidence of the results of automatically generated findings as a condition for determining whether or not the combination will cause active notification. When the "Use for notification determination" checkbox is checked and a confidence threshold is entered, the entered confidence threshold is set as the threshold used to determine whether or not the combination will cause active notification.

[0069] Passive notification setting area 561d is provided with combination setting field 561e and AI confidence setting field 561f. These setting fields are the same as those in combination setting field 561b and AI confidence setting field 561c, except that "active notification" is replaced with "passive notification," and detailed explanations of these fields will be omitted.

[0070] The notification setting screen 561 also has an emergency finding setting field 561g. The emergency finding setting field 561g is a selection field for selecting a target finding (highly urgent abnormal finding (lesion)) to be actively notified when the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding is a combination for active notification. When an abnormal finding is selected from the emergency finding setting field 561g, the selected abnormal finding is set as a finding to be actively notified.

[0071] For example, for highly urgent abnormal findings that require immediate treatment, such as pneumothorax or heart failure, by checking the urgent finding setting field 561g, it is possible to set up a proactive notification to the physician if the abnormal finding (included in the automatically generated finding) extracted from the automatically generated finding is a checked, highly urgent abnormal finding when the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding is a combination that requires active notification. Also, for less urgent abnormal findings, such as nodule shadows, by not checking the urgent finding setting field 561g, it is possible to set up a passive notification to the physician (such as a difference display on the examination list screen of the secondary image interpretation physician) when the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding is a combination that requires active notification when the abnormal finding extracted from the automatically generated finding is a checked, less urgent abnormal finding. If no setting is made in the urgent finding setting field 561g, all combinations of the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image findings are subject to active notification. Also, without providing the urgent finding setting field 561g, all combinations of the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image findings are subject to active notification.

[0072] When input from the notification setting screen 561 on the image reading terminal 5 is completed and the setting button 561h is pressed, the control unit 51 of the image reading terminal transmits the input information as notification setting information to the image management device 4 via the data output unit 54.

[0073] In this embodiment, it is explained that the combinations for active notification set in the active notification setting area 561a of the notification setting screen 561 are also automatically set as combinations for passive notification by the control unit 41 of the image management device 4, but it is also possible to set only the combinations set as combinations for passive notification as combinations for passive notification.

[0074] 6, the user can set both combinations for active notification and combinations for passive notification of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of first image interpretation findings, but the configuration may be such that the user can only input combinations for active notification, and the control unit 41 automatically sets passive notification for combinations for which active notification is not set. When the control unit 41 of the image management device 4 determines that the combination is not one for which active notification is set, the control unit 41 may set passive notification of predetermined information to the image interpretation terminal 5 without actively notifying it.

[0075] When the notification setting information from the interpretation terminal 5 is acquired by the data acquisition unit 43 (step S2; YES), the control unit 41 associates the received notification setting information with the user ID of the logged-in user and stores (sets) it in the notification setting memory area 423 (step S3), and terminates the notification setting process.

[0076] For example, by the above-mentioned notification setting process, the control unit 41 can set, in response to user operation, to actively notify about combinations of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of first image interpretation findings, in which the results of the automatically generated findings include abnormal findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings do not include abnormal findings. This setting allows for prompt notification in the event that a doctor may have overlooked something.

[0077] Furthermore, through the notification setting process, the control unit 41 can set, in response to user operation, not to actively notify for combinations of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of first image interpretation findings, in which the results of the automatically generated findings include abnormal findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings do not include abnormal findings. This setting can improve the efficiency of image interpretation by not performing active notification when there is a possibility of a false positive. In this case, it is preferable to set this combination to perform passive notification.

[0078] Furthermore, through the above notification setting process, the control unit 41 can set, in response to user operation, not to actively notify for combinations of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of first image interpretation findings where the results of the automatically generated findings do not contain abnormal findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings do not contain abnormal findings. This setting can improve the efficiency of image interpretation by not performing active notification when there is a high probability that an abnormality (lesion) does not exist. In this case, it is preferable to set this combination to perform passive notification.

[0079] Furthermore, through the above-mentioned notification setting process, the control unit 41 can set, in response to user operation, whether to actively or passively notify for combinations of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of image interpretation findings, in which the results of the automatically generated findings include abnormal findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings include abnormal findings. By setting up active notification for combinations where the automatically generated findings include abnormal findings and the first image interpretation findings include abnormal findings, active notification can be provided for findings with a high probability of abnormality (lesion), thereby shortening the time until a specialist makes a final diagnosis. Also, by setting up passive notification for combinations where the automatically generated findings include abnormal findings and the first image interpretation findings include abnormal findings, it is possible to notify that the primary image interpretation physician has already detected a lesion, thereby improving the efficiency of image interpretation (secondary image interpretation).

[0080] That is, the notification setting process allows the user, such as a secondary image interpretation doctor, to set combinations of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of first image interpretation findings to be actively notified, according to their needs.

[0081] (Notification control processing) Next, the notification control process executed by image manager 4 will be described. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of notification control processing executed by the control unit 41 of the image management device 4. The notification control processing is executed, for example, by the control unit 41 in cooperation with the program stored in the program storage unit 421 when the data acquisition unit 43 receives the first image finding from the image interpretation terminal 5.

[0082] First, the control unit 41 acquires the received first image findings (step S11).

[0083] Next, the control unit 41 acquires automatically generated findings of the medical image corresponding to the acquired first image interpretation findings (step S12). The control unit 41, for example, searches the image management table of the image DB 422 for a record having image identification information received together with the first image finding, identifies the identification information of the automatically generated finding corresponding to the first image finding based on the searched record, and obtains the automatically generated finding of the identified identification information from the image DB 422.

[0084] Next, the control unit 41 determines whether or not the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding is a combination for active notification (step S13). In step S13, the control unit 41 first refers to the record searched in step S12 and identifies a secondary radiologist who will interpret the medical image corresponding to the acquired first radiological finding. Next, the control unit 41 reads out notification setting information corresponding to the identified secondary radiological doctor from the notification setting storage area 423, and determines, based on the read out notification setting information, whether or not the combination of the acquired automatically generated finding result and the first radiological finding result is a combination for which active notification is set.

[0085] For example, the control unit 41 determines that the combination of the results of whether or not there is an abnormal finding in the automatically generated findings (whether or not there is a lesion detected) and the results of the results of whether or not there is an abnormal finding in the first interpretation findings (whether or not there is a lesion detected) is a combination that should be actively notified if it is a combination that has been set as a combination that should be actively notified, and determines that the combination is not a combination that should be actively notified if it is not a combination that should be actively notified. If the notification setting information includes the use of AI confidence level for notification determination and a confidence level threshold, the control unit 41 determines that the combination of the result of the presence or absence of abnormal findings in the automatically generated findings (presence or absence of lesion detection) and the result of the presence or absence of abnormal findings in the first image interpretation findings (presence or absence of lesion detection) is a combination set as a combination for which active notification is to be performed if the confidence level of the automatically generated findings is equal to or greater than the set threshold, and determines that the combination is a combination for which active notification is not to be performed if this is not the case. Note that the notification setting screen 561 may be configured to set a confidence level threshold for which active notification is not to be performed, and determine that the combination is a combination for which active notification is not to be performed if the confidence level of the automatically generated findings is equal to or less than the set threshold, and determine that the combination is a combination for which active notification is not to be performed if this is not the case.

[0086] Here, the automatically generated findings are structured data obtained by computer processing (AI analysis). In contrast, the image findings are not limited to structured data, such as image interpretation reports prepared by doctors. For example, the presence or absence of abnormal findings in image findings may be expressed using a "+" or a "-" sign, or using character strings indicating presence or absence, such as "abnormal" or "absent," or "detected" or "not detected." Therefore, the control unit 41 may have a function to structure the first image findings and generate structured data (structured data) consisting of character strings that can be compared with the automatically generated findings, as a prerequisite for matching the automatically generated findings with the first image findings. In this case, for example, the memory unit 42 may store dictionary data, etc., defining the correspondence between character strings, etc., used to generate structured data, and the control unit 41 may refer to this dictionary data to structure the first image findings.

[0087] Note that if the control unit 41 broadly defines various expressions and terms in the first image findings, for example, by associating expressions such as "+", "there is" an abnormality, and "there is found" an abnormality with the same meaning as "information indicating the presence of an abnormal finding (+)" extracted from the "automatically generated finding," and expressions such as "-", "there is no" an abnormality, and "there is no found" an abnormality with the same meaning as "information indicating the absence of an abnormal finding (-)" extracted from the "automatically generated finding," then even if there is some discrepancy in the expressions between the "automatically generated finding" and the "image findings," it is possible to determine whether they match or mismatch. In this case, the "automatically generated findings" and the "image findings" may be matched (compared) without structuring the "image findings."

[0088] If it is determined that the combination of the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings is a combination for active notification (step S13; YES), the control unit 41 determines whether or not a highly urgent abnormal finding is set in the notification setting information read out in step S13 (step S14). When it is determined that no abnormal findings with high urgency have been set (step S14; NO), the control unit 41 proceeds to step S16. If it is determined that an abnormal finding of high urgency is set (step S14; YES), The control unit 41 determines whether or not an abnormal finding has been extracted from the automatically generated finding, and if it determines that an abnormal finding has been extracted, determines whether or not the abnormal finding extracted from the automatically generated finding is an abnormal finding with a set high urgency (step S15). When it is determined that the abnormal finding extracted from the automatically generated findings is the set abnormal finding of high urgency (step S15; YES), the control unit 41 proceeds to step S16. When it is determined that the abnormal finding extracted from the automatically generated findings is not a finding of high urgency (step S15; NO), the control unit 41 proceeds to step S24.

[0089] In step S16, the control unit 41 sets the active notification flag and passive notification flag of the record in the image management table of the image DB 422 having the image identification information received from the interpretation terminal 5 together with the first interpretation finding to ON, sets the active notification status information to "not yet" (step S16), and actively notifies the specified information to the notification destination (first external terminal) (step S17).

[0090] In step S17, the control unit 41 actively notifies (transmits the predetermined information by the data output unit 44) the notification destination (first external terminal) corresponding to the secondary image-interpreting doctor identified in step S12, which is stored in the notification destination storage area 424. As the notification destination corresponding to the secondary image-interpreting doctor, for example, the image-interpreting terminal 5 or the external terminal 6 used by the secondary image-interpreting doctor is set. Examples of the specified information to be actively notified include messages such as "A case that may have been overlooked has been detected. Please check," "A case that is highly likely to be abnormal has been detected. Please check," and "There is a discrepancy between the automatically generated findings and the image findings," which correspond to a combination of the results of whether or not there are abnormal findings in the automatically generated findings and the results of whether or not there are abnormal findings in the first image findings (whether or not a lesion is detected), as well as information such as the test ID of the target test, patient ID, patient name, lesion name, whether or not there are abnormal findings in the automatically generated findings, and whether or not there are abnormal findings in the image findings. Furthermore, it is preferable that the active notification include information indicating that the notification is based on the results of the first image interpretation findings. This allows a secondary radiologist who confirms the active notification on the first external terminal to recognize that the notification is based on the results of the primary radiologist's review of the medical image. Alternatively, it is preferable that the active notification include information indicating that the notification is based on the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings. This allows a secondary radiologist who confirms the active notification on the first external terminal to recognize that the notification is based on the results of the primary radiologist's review of the medical image and the results of computer-processed analysis of the medical image.

[0091] When the first external terminal of the notification destination receives the predetermined information actively notified from the image management device 4, it notifies the received predetermined information. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the image interpretation terminal 5 of the notification destination displays at least a part of the received information as a pop-up on the display unit 56. Also, for example, the external terminal 6 of the notification destination (smartphone, tablet terminal, etc.) sends a push notification (displays on the display unit) of at least a part of the received information, as shown in FIG. 9. Then, the first external terminal transmits information indicating that the active notification has been received to the image management device 4.

[0092] Furthermore, when, for example, an OK button on a pop-up display is pressed on the interpretation terminal 5, the received predetermined information (all information) is displayed on the display unit, and information indicating that the display of the active notification has been completed is sent to the image management device 4. Furthermore, when, for example, the display of the push notification is tapped on the external terminal 6 (smartphone or tablet terminal), the received predetermined information (all information) is displayed on the display unit, and information indicating that the display of the active notification has been completed is sent to the image management device 4.

[0093] In the image management device 4, when the active notification to the notification destination is completed, the control unit 41 determines whether the data acquisition unit 43 has received information indicating that the active notification has been received from the notification destination (step S18). When it is determined that information indicating that an active notification has been received has not been received from the notification destination (step S18; NO), the control unit 41 proceeds to step S20. If it is determined that information indicating that the active notification has been received from the notification destination has been received (step S18; YES), the control unit 41 updates the active notification status information of the record in the image management table that has the image identification information received along with the first image finding to "notified" (step S19), and proceeds to step S20.

[0094] In step S20, the control unit 41 determines whether or not the data acquisition unit 43 has received information indicating that the display of the active notification has been completed from the notification destination (step S20). When it is determined that information indicating that the display of the active notification has been completed has not been received from the notification destination (step S20; NO), the control unit 41 proceeds to step S22. If it is determined that information indicating that the display of the active notification has been completed has been received from the notification destination (step S20; YES), the control unit 41 updates the active notification status information of the record in the image management table that has the image identification information received along with the first image finding to "read" (step S21), and proceeds to step S22.

[0095] In step S22, the control unit 41 determines whether or not the data acquisition unit 43 has received a request to acquire examination list information from the interpretation terminal 5 (step S22). When it is determined that the request to acquire examination list information has not been received (step S22; NO), the control unit 41 returns to step S18.

[0096] If it is determined that a request to obtain examination list information has been received from the interpretation terminal 5 (step S22; YES), the control unit 41 sends the examination list information to the interpretation terminal 5 via the data output unit 44 to perform passive notification (step S23), and terminates the notification control process.

[0097] In step S23, the control unit 41 extracts records that meet specified conditions (for example, the examination date and time is within a specified period, the modality type is a specified type, or the secondary interpretation status information is not set to interpretation complete) from the image management table of the image DB 422, generates examination list information consisting of specified items of the extracted records, and transmits it to the interpretation terminal 5 as a second external terminal via the data output unit 44. At this time, the control unit 41 includes information on predetermined items to be passively notified, such as the examination ID, patient ID, patient name, AI determination result, and user result, in the examination list information, and also transmits information on the items of active notification flag, passive notification flag, and active notification status information. As a result, predetermined information (examination ID, patient ID, patient name, AI determination result, user result, etc.) about the examination for which the combination of the automatically generated findings and the first image interpretation findings is a combination to be passively notified is passively notified.

[0098] In the image interpretation terminal 5, when the data acquisition unit 53 receives the passively notified predetermined information, the control unit 51 displays an examination list screen 562 on the display unit 56 based on the received examination list information. At this time, the control unit 51 displays the information of the examination for which the active notification flag is ON in a first color, and the information of the examination for which the active notification flag is OFF and the passive notification flag is ON in a second color different from the first color. As a result, the control unit 51 displays, on the display unit 56, in different display modes: the display mode of the predetermined information to be passively notified when it is determined that the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image finding is a combination for active notification, and the display mode of the predetermined information to be passively notified when it is determined that the combination is not a combination for active notification. Furthermore, for information on a test whose active notification flag is ON, the control unit 51 displays the content of the active notification status information ("Not yet", "Notified", or "Read"). As a result, the control unit 51 displays, on the display unit 56, in different display modes, a display mode for a combination of active notifications for which display of the active notification on the first external terminal of the notification destination has been completed, and a display mode for a combination for which display of the active notification on the terminal of the notification destination has not been completed.

[0099] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the examination list screen 562 displayed on the image interpretation terminal 5. Fig. 10 shows a display example of the examination list screen 562 in the case where the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding showing the presence of an abnormal finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding showing no abnormal finding is a combination for active notification, and the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding showing no abnormal finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding showing an abnormal finding is a combination for passive notification without active notification. 10, on the examination list screen 562, the information on examinations for which the combination of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of first image interpretation findings is an actively notified combination (shown by L1 and L3 in FIG. 10) is displayed in red (shown in dense gray), and the information on examinations for which the combination is a passively notified combination but not an actively notified combination (shown by L2 in FIG. 10) is displayed in yellow (shown in light gray). Furthermore, for the information on examinations for which the active notification is to be displayed, "read" is displayed if the active notification display has been completed, and "not yet" or "notified" is displayed for the information on examinations for which the active notification display has not been completed. In this way, the display mode of the predetermined information to be passively notified when it is determined that the combination is for active notification and the display mode of the predetermined information to be passively notified when it is determined that the combination is not for active notification are displayed in different display modes on the display unit 56, so the user can easily understand the medical image examinations for the combinations for active notification and the medical image examinations for the combinations for passive notification only. Also, among the combinations for active notification, it becomes possible to easily distinguish between information on combinations for which active notification display has been completed and information on combinations for which active notification display has not been completed.

[0100] On the other hand, in step S13 of Figure 7, if it is determined that the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding is not a combination for active notification (step S13; NO), the control unit 41 determines whether the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding is a combination for passive notification (step S24). In step S24, the control unit 41 determines whether the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first interpretation finding is a combination for passive notification, based on the notification setting information corresponding to the identified secondary radiology doctor. The explanation of a specific example of the determination method is omitted because it is the same as the explanation of the determination method for the combination of active notification in step S13, except that active notification is replaced with passive notification.

[0101] If it is determined that the combination of the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image findings is a combination that should be passively notified (step S24; YES), the control unit 41 sets the passive notification flag of the record in the image management table that has the image identification information received together with the first image findings to ON (step S25).

[0102] Next, the control unit 41 waits for the data acquisition unit 43 to receive an acquisition request for examination list information from the interpretation terminal 5 (step S26).

[0103] When a request to obtain examination list information is received from the interpretation terminal 5 (step S26; YES), the control unit 41 sends the examination list information to the interpretation terminal 5 via the data output unit 44 to perform passive notification (step S27), and terminates the notification control process. The process of step S27 is similar to the process of step S23, and therefore the same explanation will be used.

[0104] In the image interpretation terminal 5, when the data acquisition unit 53 receives the examination list information, the control unit 51 displays on the display unit 56 an examination list screen 562 (see FIG. 10) based on the received examination list information.

[0105] On the other hand, in step S24, when it is determined that the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding is not a combination for passive notification (step S24; NO), the control unit 41 ends the notification control process.

[0106] As described above, the control unit 41 of the image management device 4, in cooperation with the program stored in the program storage unit 421, acquires automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of a medical image, acquires first interpretation findings created by the user based on the medical image, determines whether the combination of the acquired automatically generated findings and the results of the first interpretation findings is a combination that should be actively notified, and if it determines that it is a combination that should be actively notified, actively notifies specified information. Therefore, when the results of automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing and the results of the doctor's image interpretation are a combination that should be actively notified, the doctor can be notified quickly and reliably without the doctor attempting to display them himself.

[0107] For example, the control unit 41 allows a user to set a combination of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of first image interpretation findings to be actively notified, and determines whether or not the combination of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of first image interpretation findings is a combination to be actively notified based on the set combination to be actively notified. Therefore, the combination of the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings to be actively notified can be set by user operation, so that active notification can be performed quickly and reliably in the case of a combination for which the user desires active notification.

[0108] Furthermore, for example, the control unit 41 allows a user to set, by operation of the user, the combination of the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings to be actively notified and a threshold value for the certainty of the automatically generated findings, and determines whether or not the combination of the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings is a combination to be actively notified based on the set combination of the results of the automatically generated findings to be actively notified and the threshold value for the certainty of the automatically generated findings. Therefore, the user can set the combinations of the results of automatically generated findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings to be actively notified and the threshold for the certainty of the automatically generated findings, so that active notification can be performed for combinations and certainty levels for which the user desires active notification.

[0109] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0110] For example, in the above embodiment, an example was given in which the image management device 4 has the functions of each part of the image interpretation management device of the present invention, but the functions may also be provided in other devices such as the analysis device 3 and the image interpretation terminal 5. That is, in the above embodiment, the control unit 41 of the image management device 4 executes the setting process and the notification control process in cooperation with the program stored in the program storage unit 421, thereby realizing the functions of the first acquisition unit, second acquisition unit, determination unit, notification unit, and setting unit of the present invention. However, the functions of each unit of the present invention may be realized in another device. For example, the functions of each unit of the present invention may be realized by cooperation between the control unit 31 of the analysis device 3 and the program stored in the program storage unit 321, or by cooperation between the control unit 51 of the interpretation terminal 5 and the program stored in the program storage unit 521. Furthermore, the functions may be realized by cooperation between the control unit of another terminal and the program stored in the storage unit.

[0111] For example, in a configuration in which the functions of each unit of the present invention are realized by the analysis device 3, a program for executing a notification setting process and a notification control process is stored in the program storage unit 321 of the storage unit 32 of the analysis device 3. The storage unit 32 also has areas similar to the notification setting storage area 423 and the notification destination storage area 424 described above, and stores a table similar to the radiologist table 425, user information, and the like. The storage unit 32 also stores automatically generated findings generated based on medical images in association with supplementary information of the medical images. When a notification setting request is input to the image interpretation terminal 5, the image interpretation terminal 5 accesses the analysis device 3 and transmits the notification setting request. When the data acquisition unit 33 of the analysis device 3 receives the notification setting request from the image interpretation terminal 5, the control unit 31 executes notification setting processing. The notification setting processing is the same processing as the processing described using FIG. 5. The notification setting information is stored in a notification setting storage area of ​​the storage unit 32. The control unit 31 also executes notification control processing at a predetermined timing. For example, the image management device 4 is configured to transmit the first image findings and image identification information to the analysis device 3 when the image management device 4 receives the first image findings and image identification information, and the control unit 31 executes notification control processing when the image management device 4 receives the first image findings and image identification information. The notification control processing is similar to the processing described using FIG. 7. However, if the analysis device 3 and the image management device 4 are separate entities, turning on the active notification flag, turning on the passive notification flag, and updating the active notification status information are performed by instructing the image management device 4 via the in-hospital network N. Passive notification is also performed by turning on the passive notification flag in the image management table of the image management device 4, and the image management device 4 transmits the examination list information reflecting the passive notification. Alternatively, a table similar to the image management table of the image DB 422 may be provided in the memory unit 32 so that the control unit 31 can display the examination list information on the display unit 36 ​​in response to a request from the operation unit 35, and passive notification may be provided by displaying the examination list information including specified information items on the display unit 36.

[0112] Furthermore, for example, in a configuration in which the functions of each unit of the present invention are realized in the image interpretation terminal 5, programs for executing notification setting processing and notification control processing are stored in the program storage unit 521 of the storage unit 52 of the image interpretation terminal 5. Furthermore, the storage unit 52 is provided with storage areas similar to the notification setting storage area 423 and the notification destination storage area 424 described above, and stores a table similar to the image interpretation doctor table 425, user information, etc. When a notification setting request is input via the operation unit 55 in the image interpretation terminal 5, the control unit 51 executes a notification setting process. The notification setting process is the same as the process described with reference to Fig. 5. The notification setting information is stored in a notification setting storage area of ​​the storage unit 52. Furthermore, when the first image findings are input, the control unit 31 executes a notification control process. The notification control process is the same as the process described with reference to FIG. 7. However, turning on the active notification flag, turning on the passive notification flag, and updating the active notification status information are performed by issuing an instruction to the image management device 4 via the in-hospital network N. Passive notification is performed by turning on the passive notification flag in the image management table of the image management device 4, receiving examination list information reflecting the passive notification in response to a request for examination list information from the operation unit 55, and displaying the received examination list information on the display unit 56.

[0113] In addition, in the above embodiment, in Figure 1, the analysis device 3, the image management device 4, and the interpretation terminal 5 are each illustrated as separate and independent devices, but the image management device 4 and the interpretation terminal 5, the analysis device 3 and the image management device 4, and the analysis device 3, the image management device 4, and the interpretation terminal 5 may also be configured as a single device. Furthermore, the functions of the first acquisition unit, second acquisition unit, determination unit, notification unit, and setting unit of the image interpretation management system of the present invention may be distributed among a plurality of devices.

[0114] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the result of the automatically generated finding is a result of whether or not a lesion has been detected in the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image finding is a result of whether or not a lesion has been detected in the first image finding has been described as an example, but this is not limited to this. For example, the result of the automatically generated finding may be a result of the detected position of the lesion in the automatically generated finding, and the result of the first image finding may be a result of the detected position of the lesion in the first image finding. In this case, for example, among combinations of the result of whether or not a lesion has been detected in the automatically generated finding and the result of the detected position of the lesion in the first image finding, combinations that have a difference or do not have a difference can be set as combinations for active notification or combinations for passive notification, and active notification or passive notification can be performed according to the setting.

[0115] In the above embodiment, notification settings are made for each secondary radiologist (each user), but notification settings may be made for each medical facility or each group within a medical facility. Notification destinations may also be set for each medical facility or each group within a medical facility.

[0116] In the above embodiment, the passive notification is displayed on the examination list screen, but the present invention is not limited to this and the passive notification may be displayed on another screen. In the above embodiment, the examination list screen (examination list information) is displayed on the image interpretation terminal 5, and the passive notification is sent on the examination list screen of the image interpretation terminal 5. However, the examination list screen may be configured to be displayable in other devices such as the analysis device 3, the image management device 4, and the external terminal 6, and the passive notification may be sent on the examination list screen of these devices. Furthermore, these devices may function as second external terminals and realize the function of the display control unit of the present invention.

[0117] 11, the notification setting screen may be provided with a target finding setting field 563h for the user to set a target finding (type of lesion) to be actively notified, and a target finding setting field 563i for the user to set a target finding (type of lesion) to be passively notified. Active notification may be performed when the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image finding are a combination that requires active notification (or when the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image finding are a combination that requires active notification and the certainty is equal to or exceeds a predetermined threshold), and the detected lesion is a lesion that has been set as the target finding. Passive notification may also be performed when the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image finding are a combination that requires passive notification (or when the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image finding are a combination that requires passive notification and the certainty is equal to or exceeds a predetermined threshold), and the detected lesion is a lesion that has been set as the target finding. This makes it possible to change whether to perform active notification or passive notification depending on the type of lesion, even if the combination of the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings is the same.

[0118] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the medical information of the present invention is explained as being medical images, but the medical information is not limited to medical images. Information obtained through various tests on patients may be broadly included in medical information, and for example, results obtained from various tests, such as electrocardiogram waveform data, heart sound data, and data related to blood flow, may also be included in medical information.

[0119] In the above description, examples have been disclosed in which a hard disk or a semiconductor nonvolatile memory is used as a computer-readable medium for the program according to the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. Portable recording media such as CD-ROMs can also be used as other computer-readable media. Furthermore, carrier waves can also be used as a medium for providing data for the program according to the present invention via a communication line.

[0120] In addition, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of each device that constitutes the image interpretation management system can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0121] 1. Modality 2 Console 3 Analysis device 31 Control Unit 32 Storage section 321 Program Memory Unit 33 Data Acquisition Section 34 Data output section 35 Control section 36 Display section 37 Bus 4. Image management device 41 Control Unit 42 Storage section 421 Program Memory Unit 422 Image DB 423 Notification settings storage area 424 Notification destination storage area 425 Radiologist Table 43 Data Acquisition Section 44 Data output section 45 Operation section 46 Display section 47 Bus 5. Image reading terminal 51 Control section 52 Storage section 521 Program Memory Unit 53 Data Acquisition Section 54 Data output section 55 Operation section 56 Display section 57 Bus 100 Image Reading Management System

Claims

1. a first acquisition unit that acquires automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of medical information; a second acquisition unit that acquires first image findings created by a first user based on the medical information; a determination unit that determines whether a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding corresponds to either a combination for active notification or a combination for passive notification; a storage unit that stores information regarding a notification destination corresponding to a second user different from the first user; an active notification unit that actively notifies predetermined information based on information about a notification destination corresponding to the second user when it is determined that the combination is one that requires active notification; a passive notification unit that passively notifies predetermined information when it is determined that the combination is suitable for passive notification; An image interpretation management device comprising: An image interpretation management device that, if it is determined that neither the combination of active notification nor the combination of passive notification applies, does not perform either active notification of the specified information or passive notification of the specified information.

2. a setting unit that enables a user to set a combination of the automatically generated findings and the first image interpretation findings to be actively notified, the determination unit determines whether or not a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image finding is a combination for active notification, based on the set combination for active notification.

2. The image interpretation management device according to claim 1.

3. a setting unit that enables a user to set, by a user operation, a combination of the automatically generated findings and the first image interpretation findings to be actively notified, and a threshold value of a certainty of the automatically generated findings; the determination unit determines whether or not a combination of a result of the automatically generated finding and a result of the first image interpretation finding is a combination for active notification, based on the set combination for active notification and a threshold value of a certainty of the automatically generated finding.

2. The image interpretation management device according to claim 1.

4. The image interpretation management device according to claim 1 , wherein the active notification unit actively notifies that the notification is based on the result of the first image interpretation finding.

5. The image interpretation management device according to claim 1 , wherein the active notification unit actively notifies that the notification is based on the result of the automatically generated findings and the result of the first image interpretation findings.

6. 4. The image interpretation management device according to claim 1, wherein the result of the automatically generated finding is a result of whether or not a lesion has been detected in the automatically generated finding, and the result of the first image interpretation finding is a result of whether or not a lesion has been detected in the first image interpretation finding.

7. 4. The image interpretation management device according to claim 1, wherein the result of the automatically generated finding is a result of the detected position of the lesion in the automatically generated finding, and the result of the first image interpretation finding is a result of the detected position of the lesion in the first image interpretation finding.

8. 4. The image interpretation management device according to claim 2, wherein the setting unit is configured to be set by a user operation to actively notify of combinations of the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings, in which the results of the automatically generated findings include abnormal findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings do not include abnormal findings.

9. 4. The image interpretation management device according to claim 2, wherein the setting unit is configured to allow a user to set not to actively notify a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding, in which the result of the automatically generated finding includes an abnormal finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding does not include an abnormal finding.

10. 4. The image interpretation management device according to claim 2, wherein the setting unit is configured to allow a user to set not to actively notify a combination of the results of the automatically generated findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings, in which the results of the automatically generated findings do not include abnormal findings and the results of the first image interpretation findings do not include abnormal findings.

11. 4. The image interpretation management device according to claim 2, wherein the setting unit is configured to be able to set, by a user operation, whether to actively or passively notify a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding, in which the result of the automatically generated finding includes an abnormal finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding includes an abnormal finding.

12. 4. The image interpretation management device according to claim 2, wherein the active notification unit actively notifies the second user when an abnormal finding extracted from the automatically generated findings is of high urgency.

13. 4. The image interpretation management device according to claim 3, wherein the determination unit determines that the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding is a combination for active notification when the combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding is a combination for active notification that has been set and the certainty of the automatically generated finding is equal to or greater than the threshold.

14. The image interpretation management device according to claim 3, characterized in that the determination unit determines that a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding is not a combination for which active notification is to be performed when the certainty of the automatically generated finding is equal to or less than the threshold value.

15. The active notification unit When it is determined that the combination is suitable for active notification, actively notify the first external terminal of predetermined information; The passive notification unit 2. The image interpretation management device according to claim 1, wherein, when the determination indicates that the combination is suitable for passive notification, predetermined information is passively notified to a second external terminal.

16. 16. A diagnostic reading management system including the diagnostic reading management device according to claim 15 and a second external terminal connected to the diagnostic reading management device via a network, the passive notification unit passively notifies a second external terminal of predetermined information when the determination unit determines that the combination is one that requires active notification; a display control unit of the second external terminal displays, on a display unit of the second external terminal, a display mode of predetermined information to be passively notified to the second external terminal when the determination unit determines that the combination is not one that allows active notification, and a display mode of predetermined information to be passively notified to the second external terminal when the determination unit determines that the combination is one that allows active notification, in different display modes. The image interpretation management system is characterized by the above.

17. 16. A diagnostic reading management system including the diagnostic reading management device according to claim 15 and a second external terminal connected to the diagnostic reading management device via a network, the passive notification unit passively notifies a second external terminal of predetermined information when the determination unit determines that the combination is one that requires active notification; a display control unit of the second external terminal displays, on a display unit of the second external terminal, a display mode of a combination for which display of an active notification on the first external terminal has been completed, among the combinations for which active notification is to be sent to the first external terminal, and a display mode of a combination for which display of an active notification on the first external terminal has not been completed, in different display modes. The image interpretation management system is characterized by the above.

18. a first acquisition unit that acquires automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of medical information; a second acquisition unit that acquires first image findings created by a first user based on the medical information; a determination unit that determines whether a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding corresponds to either a combination for active notification or a combination for passive notification; a storage unit that stores information regarding a notification destination corresponding to a second user different from the first user; an active notification unit that actively notifies predetermined information based on information about a notification destination corresponding to the second user when it is determined that the combination is one that requires active notification; a passive notification unit that passively notifies predetermined information when it is determined that the combination is suitable for passive notification; An image interpretation management system comprising: An image interpretation management system that, if it is determined that neither the combination of active notification nor the combination of passive notification applies, does not perform either active notification of the specified information or passive notification of the specified information.

19. a first acquisition unit that acquires automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of medical information; a second acquisition unit that acquires first image findings created by a first user based on the medical information; a determination unit that determines whether a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding corresponds to either a combination for active notification or a combination for passive notification; a storage unit that stores information regarding a notification destination corresponding to a second user different from the first user; an active notification unit that actively notifies predetermined information based on information about a notification destination corresponding to the second user when it is determined that the combination is one that requires active notification; a passive notification unit that passively notifies predetermined information when it is determined that the combination is suitable for passive notification; An image management device comprising: When it is determined that neither the combination of active notification nor the combination of passive notification applies, the image management device does not perform either active notification of the predetermined information or passive notification of the predetermined information.

20. a first acquisition unit that acquires automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of medical information; a second acquisition unit that acquires first image findings created by a first user based on the medical information; a determination unit that determines whether a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding corresponds to either a combination for active notification or a combination for passive notification; a storage unit that stores information regarding a notification destination corresponding to a second user different from the first user; an active notification unit that actively notifies predetermined information based on information about a notification destination corresponding to the second user when it is determined that the combination is one that requires active notification; a passive notification unit that passively notifies predetermined information when it is determined that the combination is suitable for passive notification; An image interpretation terminal comprising: When it is determined that neither the combination of active notification nor the combination of passive notification applies, the image interpretation terminal does not perform either active notification of the specified information or passive notification of the specified information.

21. a first acquisition unit that acquires automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of medical information; a second acquisition unit that acquires first image findings created by a first user based on the medical information; a determination unit that determines whether a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding corresponds to either a combination for active notification or a combination for passive notification; a storage unit that stores information regarding a notification destination corresponding to a second user different from the first user; an active notification unit that actively notifies predetermined information based on information about a notification destination corresponding to the second user when it is determined that the combination is one that requires active notification; a passive notification unit that passively notifies predetermined information when it is determined that the combination is suitable for passive notification; An analysis device comprising: When it is determined that neither the combination of active notification nor the combination of passive notification applies, the analysis device does not perform either active notification of the predetermined information or passive notification of the predetermined information.

22. The computer, a first acquisition step of acquiring automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of medical information; a second acquisition step of acquiring a first image finding created by a first user based on the medical information; a determining step of determining whether a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding corresponds to either a combination for active notification or a combination for passive notification; an active notification step of actively notifying predetermined information based on information about a notification destination corresponding to a second user different from the first user, the information being stored in a storage unit, when it is determined by the determination that the combination is one that requires active notification; a passive notification step of passively notifying predetermined information when it is determined that the combination is suitable for passive notification by the determination; An image interpretation management method comprising: An image interpretation management method in which, if it is determined that neither the combination of active notification nor the combination of passive notification applies, neither active notification of the specified information nor passive notification of the specified information is performed.

23. On the computer, a first acquisition function for acquiring automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of medical information; a second acquisition function for acquiring a first image finding created by a first user based on the medical information; a determination function for determining whether a combination of the result of the automatically generated findings and the result of the first image interpretation findings corresponds to either a combination for active notification or a combination for passive notification; an active notification function that, when it is determined by the determination that the combination is one that allows active notification, actively notifies predetermined information based on information about a notification destination corresponding to a second user different from the first user, which information is stored in a storage unit; a passive notification function for passively notifying predetermined information when it is determined that the combination is suitable for passive notification; A program for realizing the above, When it is determined that neither the combination of active notification nor the combination of passive notification applies, neither the active notification of the predetermined information nor the passive notification of the predetermined information is performed.

24. a first acquisition unit that acquires automatically generated findings obtained by computer processing of medical information; a second acquisition unit that acquires first image findings created by a first user based on the medical information; a determination unit that determines whether a combination of the result of the automatically generated finding and the result of the first image interpretation finding corresponds to either a combination for active notification or a combination for passive notification; a storage unit that stores information regarding a notification destination corresponding to a second user different from the first user; an active notification unit that actively notifies predetermined information based on information about a notification destination corresponding to the second user when it is determined that the combination is one that requires active notification; a passive notification unit that passively notifies predetermined information when it is determined that the combination is suitable for passive notification; An image interpretation management device comprising: The active notification unit When it is determined that the combination is suitable for active notification, actively notify the first external terminal of predetermined information; The passive notification unit When it is determined that the combination is suitable for the passive notification, the second external terminal is passively notified of predetermined information; An image reading management device that, if the judgment determines that the combination does not correspond to either the active notification combination or the passive notification combination, does not perform either active notification of the specified information or passive notification of the specified information.

Images