Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processor, a method for processing information, and a program that can determine data to store in a storage device while reducing a burden on a user.SOLUTION: An information processor of the present invention includes: a first image acquisition unit 102 for acquiring first medical image data on the basis of imaging data of an inspection target object; a second image acquisition unit 103 for acquiring second medical image data different from the first medical image data on the basis of the imaging data; an inference unit for inferring presence or absence of an abnormality on the basis of the second medical image data; a determination unit 106 for determining a manner of storage of the second medical image data stored in an external storage device on the basis of a result of inference by the inference unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The disclosure of this specification relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that determine data to be stored in a storage device based on an inference result. [Background technology]

[0002] Recently, with the improvement in the performance of medical imaging devices such as CT and MRI, it has become possible to generate high-resolution tomographic image data. However, there is a limit to the capacity of storage devices that store medical image data used for interpretation, and it is not possible to generate and store high-resolution tomographic image data for all cases.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a method for saving high-resolution medical image data in a region of interest designated by a user during scanning, and viewing the saved data together with an image with a lower resolution. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-84968 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In Patent Document 1, the user had to specify the region of interest to be saved in high resolution, which was time-consuming. Furthermore, if the person who specified the region of interest during scanning was different from the person who interpreted the image, high-resolution medical image data of the region intended by the interpreter was not created. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing device according to the present invention comprises: The medical imaging system includes a first image acquisition unit that acquires first medical image data based on imaging data obtained by imaging a subject, a second image acquisition unit that acquires second medical image data different from the first medical image data based on the imaging data, an inference unit that makes a first inference regarding the presence or absence of an abnormality in the subject for the second medical image data, and a determination unit that determines a storage format of the second medical image data to be stored in an external storage device based on an inference result by the inference unit, wherein when the inference unit infers that there is an abnormality in the subject, the inference unit further makes a second inference regarding the benign or malignant nature of the abnormality in the subject for the second medical image data, and the determination unit determines the storage format so that the second medical image data, which is determined to be an abnormality in the first inference and to be malignant in the second inference, and the first medical image data are determined to be data to be stored in the storage device. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the storage format of data to be stored in a storage device while reducing the user's effort. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of a medical image diagnostic system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing correspondence information that associates inference results with types of transmitted images according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a functional configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence information that associates a medical image with an inference result according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display of an image interpretation terminal according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] [First embodiment] In the first embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a medical image diagnostic system will be described.

[0011] In the medical field, "imaging diagnosis" is performed based on medical image data generated from imaging data obtained by imaging devices such as X-ray CT (Computer Tomography) and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). The process of observing medical image data and arriving at a diagnosis is called "image interpretation." In image diagnosis, an image interpretation physician, a physician specializing in image diagnosis, interprets images at the request of, for example, the attending physician. The image interpretation physician makes a comprehensive judgment based on the findings obtained from the medical image data (hereinafter referred to as "image findings") and various measurements to identify the lesions depicted in the medical image data and the symptoms of the patient. The image interpretation physician then uses the image findings and measurements to write an interpretation report explaining how the diagnosis was reached and returns it to the attending physician who made the request.

[0012] The medical image diagnostic system according to the first embodiment includes an information processing device 100, an imaging device 200, a storage device 300, and an interpretation terminal 400. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the medical image diagnostic system. Fig. 1 also shows an example of the functional configuration of the information processing device 100.

[0013] The imaging device 200 is a device that captures data (signals and images) used in medical examinations. It includes a plain X-ray imaging device (or X-ray device), a CT device, an MRI device, a PET device, a PET / CT device, a SPECT device, an ultrasound imaging device, a fundus camera (or a fundus photography device), an OCT device, etc., as well as a general camera. The data captured by the imaging device 200 (hereinafter referred to as imaging data) is transmitted to the information processing device 100.

[0014] The information processing device 100 is communicably connected to the imaging device 200 and the storage device 300, and generates medical image data to be used in image diagnosis based on the imaging data received from the imaging device 200. The generated medical image data is sent to the storage device 300.

[0015] The storage device 300 is a device for electronically storing, searching, and communicating medical image data, such as a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems), and stores the medical image data received from the information processing device 100.

[0016] The interpretation terminal 400 is a terminal used by the radiologist for interpretation. It is communicably connected to the storage device 300, receives medical image data to be interpreted from the storage device 300, and displays it on an output device such as a monitor. Furthermore, it performs various processes related to viewing and editing images and creating reports in response to operations by the radiologist.

[0017] The configuration of the medical image diagnostic system is not limited to the above. For example, a comprehensive system including a medical administrative accounting system, a medical appointment system, a medical information system, etc., such as an HIS (Hospital Information Systems), may be added to the configuration. Furthermore, a RIS (Radiology Information Systems) that handles radiography appointments, image interpretation management, and material inventory management in the radiology department, a system that manages image interpretation reports, etc. may also be added to the configuration.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the information processing device 100. As shown in FIG.

[0019] The CPU 11 mainly controls the operation of each component element.

[0020] The main memory 12 stores the control program executed by the CPU 11 and provides a work area when the CPU 11 executes the program.

[0021] The magnetic disk 13 stores programs for implementing various application software, including an operating system (OS), device drivers for peripheral devices, and programs for performing the processes described below. The CPU 11 executes the programs stored in the main memory 12 and the magnetic disk 13, thereby implementing the functions (software) of the information processing device 100 described below in FIG. 2.

[0022] Display memory 14 temporarily stores display data to be displayed on monitor 15, for example. Monitor 15 is, for example, a CRT monitor or LCD monitor, and displays images, text, etc. based on the data from display memory 14. Mouse 16 and keyboard 17 are used by the user to input pointing and characters, etc., respectively.

[0023] The above components are connected to each other via a common bus 18 so that they can communicate with each other.

[0024] The configuration of the information processing device 100 is not limited to the above. For example, the information processing device 100 may have multiple processors. It may also have a GPU or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) in which some of the processing is programmed.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 100 includes a photographic data storage unit 101, a first image acquisition unit 102, a second image acquisition unit 103, a transmission unit 104, an inference unit 105, and a determination unit 106.

[0026] The photographic data storage unit 101 stores photographic data photographed by the photographing device 200.

[0027] The first image acquisition unit 102 generates and acquires medical image data or a group of medical image data to be used in interpretation by reconstruction or the like, based on the imaging data. The images acquired by the first image acquisition unit 102 will be referred to as first medical image data hereinafter.

[0028] The second image acquisition unit 103 generates and acquires medical image data or a group of medical image data to be used in interpretation based on the imaging data. The medical image data acquired by the second image acquisition unit 103 is different from the first medical image data acquired by the first image acquisition unit 102. The medical image data acquired by the second image acquisition unit 103 will be referred to as second medical image data hereinafter.

[0029] The transmitting unit 104 transmits data (medical image data or a group of medical image data) that has been determined by the determining unit 106 (described later) to be stored in an external storage device to the storage device 300. For example, the transmitting unit 104 transmits first medical image data and second medical image data to the storage device 300.

[0030] The inference unit 105 executes an inference process for inferring the presence or absence of an abnormality for the second medical image data. The inference unit 105 may perform inference using a trained inference model based on machine learning or deep learning. The inference unit 105 performs inference regarding the diagnosis, findings, and benign / malignant discrimination for the abnormality. The inference unit 105 also performs a first inference for inferring the presence or absence of an abnormality and a second inference for discriminating benign / malignant for the inferred abnormality.

[0031] The determination unit 106 determines the storage format of the data to be stored in the external storage device 300 based on the inference result of the inference unit 105. Here, the determination unit 106 determines the storage format of whether or not to store the second medical image data in the storage device 300. The medical image data determined to be stored by the determination unit 106 is transmitted to the storage device 300 via the transmission unit 104.

[0032] That is, the information processing device 100 includes a first image acquisition unit 102 that acquires first medical image data based on imaging data of a subject, a second image acquisition unit 103 that acquires second medical image data different from the first based on the imaging data, an inference unit 105 that infers whether or not there is an abnormality in the second medical image data, and a determination unit 106 that determines the data to be stored in the external storage device 300 based on the inference result by the inference unit 105.

[0033] In the first embodiment, the imaging data is signal data captured by a CT device, and the first medical image data and the second medical image data are tomographic image data obtained by reconstructing the signal data. The first medical image data is thick slice data generated so that the slice thickness is 5 mm, and the second medical image data is thin slice data generated so that the slice thickness is 0.5 mm. The second medical image data is image data with higher resolution than the first medical image data. High-resolution image data refers to data with a larger data volume than the first medical image data due to slice thickness and resolution.

[0034] Furthermore, the inference unit 105 extracts abnormalities such as lesions from the thin slice data, which is the second medical image data, and further infers whether the inferred lesions are benign or malignant. Note that if multiple lesions are extracted, inference may be performed for each of the extracted lesions.

[0035] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the process flow in the information processing device 100, in which the inference unit 105 performs inference processing on acquired medical image data, the determination unit 106 determines the data to be stored in an external storage device, and the transmission unit 104 transmits it to the storage device 300.

[0036] In step S3001, the first image acquisition unit 102 generates and acquires first medical image data from the imaging data. Parameters for generating the medical image data may be set manually by a radiologist or the like.

[0037] In step S3002, the second image acquisition unit 103 generates and acquires second medical image data from the captured data. The processing in the second image acquisition unit 103 is automatically performed by the information processing device 100, and optimal parameters for generation are set in advance as input to the inference unit 105. The generated image is automatically transmitted to the inference unit 105.

[0038] In step S3003, the inference unit 105 applies a first inference process to the second medical image data to infer the presence or absence of an abnormality. It also executes a second inference process to infer the benign or malignant nature of the inferred abnormality. Here, the inference unit 105 does not apply the inference process to infer the presence or absence of an abnormality to the first medical image data. Because the second medical image data has higher resolution than the first medical image data, the inference unit 105 can perform inference based on more detailed features. Note that inference may be performed on medical image data that has been processed or modified from the second medical image data using a trained inference model used by the inference unit 105 or learning data for the inference model. The inference unit 105 transmits the results of the inference process to the determination unit 106, and proceeds to the next step.

[0039] In step S3004, the determination unit 106 determines the data to be stored in the external storage device 300 based on the inference result of the inference unit 105. The determination unit 106 determines, for example, whether or not to store the second medical image data in the external storage device.

[0040] In this embodiment, when a malignant abnormality is present among the abnormalities inferred by the inference unit 105, the determination unit 106 determines that the second medical image data is necessary for subsequent diagnosis and determines that the second medical image data is to be stored in the external storage device 300, transmits the determined information to the transmission unit 104, and proceeds to the next step. The determination unit 106 may determine that the medical image data (part of the second medical image data) corresponding to a region (region of interest) in the second medical image data where the malignant abnormality is present is to be stored in the external storage device 300. This configuration reduces the amount of data to be stored, thereby preventing pressure on the storage capacity of the storage device 300.

[0041] If the inference unit 105 infers that there is no abnormality in the second medical image data, the decision unit 106 decides not to store the second medical image data in the external storage device 300.

[0042] In step S3005, the transmitting unit 104 transmits the data that the determining unit 106 has determined to be stored in the external storage device 300 to the storage device 300, and the process ends.

[0043] By the processing described above, the information processing device 100 can store the second medical image data, which is thin slice data, in the external storage device 300 when the inference unit 105 infers that a malignant lesion is present in the second medical image data.

[0044] Here, the first medical image data, which is thick slice data, is image data that is generally used for interpretation and is transmitted to the external storage device 300. On the other hand, thin slice data is an image that is used auxiliary during interpretation and is referred to when a doctor wants to observe a lesion in more detail while observing the thick slice data. Thin slice data has a larger capacity than thick slice data, and it is difficult to store the data in the storage device 300 for all cases.

[0045] According to this embodiment, when it is inferred that a malignant lesion is present in the second medical image data, thin slice data can be transmitted to the storage device 300 prior to interpretation by the radiologist. Storing thin slice data in advance allows the radiologist to quickly refer to high-resolution medical image data when the radiologist wishes to refer to such data. Furthermore, since the determination unit 106 determines the data to be stored in the storage device 300 based on the inference result by the inference unit 105, it is possible to prevent the storage capacity of the storage device 300 from being overwhelmed by unnecessary image data being stored.

[0046] (Modification 1 of the first embodiment) The second image acquisition unit 103 described above generates and acquires, as the second medical image data, tomographic image data having a slice thickness thinner than that of the first medical image data, but may also generate and acquire other image data as the second medical image data.

[0047] The second image acquisition unit 103 may generate and acquire second medical image data by reconstructing imaging data such as signal data so that the slice thickness is the same but the resolution is higher than that of the first medical image data. Furthermore, the second image acquisition unit 103 does not need to generate one type of image data, and may generate multiple types of medical image data in accordance with the input of the inference unit 105. Note that the data from which the second medical image is generated is not limited to signal data, and the first medical image data may be used, or a combination of signal data and the first medical image data may be used.

[0048] This makes it possible to transmit the generated second medical image data that is more useful as an aid to image interpretation.

[0049] (Modification 2 of the first embodiment) The transmission unit 104 described above transmits the first medical image data and the second medical image data to the storage device 300, but may also transmit other medical image data together.

[0050] For example, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the information processing device 100 may further have a third image generation unit 107, and the transmission unit 104 may transmit the third medical image data generated by the third image acquisition unit 107 to the external storage device 300.

[0051] Here, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the functional configuration when a radiologist presumes that third medical image data is necessary for subsequent diagnosis and generates and acquires the third medical image data via the third image acquisition unit 107.

[0052] On the other hand, Figure 5 shows a case where the third image acquisition unit 107 automatically generates and acquires third medical image data based on the inference result of the inference unit 105. When the third image acquisition unit 107 automatically generates third medical image data, it uses correspondence information such as that shown in Figure 6(a). The third image acquisition unit 107 determines the medical image data to be generated by referring to the correspondence information based on the inference result of the inference unit 105 for the second medical image data. The third image acquisition unit 107 generates and acquires medical image data of a type that has not been acquired by the first image acquisition unit 102 and the second image acquisition unit 103 as the third medical image data.

[0053] This makes it possible to transmit the third medical image data to the storage device 300 in addition to the second medical image data prior to interpretation.

[0054] (Modification 3 of the first embodiment) The above describes an example in which the explanation determination unit 106 determines whether or not to store the second medical image data in the external storage device 300. However, the determination unit 106 may also determine whether or not to store the first medical image data and the third medical image data. For example, the determination unit 106 refers to the correspondence information as shown in FIG. 6(a) and determines the type of image to store in the external storage device 300 based on the inference result of the inference unit 105. This makes it possible to selectively transmit medical image data useful as an aid to interpretation in accordance with the configuration of the medical image diagnostic system.

[0055] (Modification 4 of the first embodiment) Although the inference unit 105 described above further infers whether an abnormality such as a lesion is benign or malignant, other inferences may be made. For example, further inferences may be made regarding imaging findings for abnormalities such as lesions. The determination unit 106 may have a table such as that shown in FIG. 6(b) and determine the medical image data to be stored in the external storage device 300 based on the inference results of the inference unit 105. The inference unit 105 may perform both inferences regarding benign or malignant status and inferences regarding imaging findings, and the determination unit 106 may determine the medical image data to be stored in the storage device 300 based on these results. For example, when a lesion in pulmonary CT image data is determined to be malignant and fine imaging findings such as spicules are obtained, the determination unit 106 may determine thin slice data as the medical image data to be stored in the storage device 300. The inference unit 105 may detect lesions, and the determination unit 106 may determine the medical image data to be stored in the external storage device 300 based on the number of lesions.

[0056] In addition, if there is imaging data older than the imaging data currently being processed, the inference unit 105 may determine changes in the size and shape of the lesion, and the determination unit 106 may determine the medical image data to be stored in an external storage device based on the results.

[0057] In addition, the inference unit 105 may also use medical information other than the lesion to predict the medical phase such as "pre-diagnosis," "under treatment," or "follow-up observation" and the prognosis, and the determination unit 106 may determine the data to be stored in the external storage device 300 based on the results.

[0058] This allows the decision unit 106 to more accurately decide whether or not to store the data in the external storage device 300 .

[0059] (Modification 5 of the first embodiment) The information processing device 100 may have multiple pieces of correspondence information between the inference results of the inference unit 105 and the types of data to be saved in the external storage device 300, as shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b). For example, correspondence information may be prepared for each radiologist, and the determination unit 106 may change the type of image to be saved depending on the radiologist who will interpret the images. This allows the determination unit 106 to transmit medical image data that matches the preferences of the radiologist to the storage device 300 prior to interpretation. Note that a similar effect can be achieved by adding the name or ID of the radiologist to the correspondence table shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b).

[0060] [Second embodiment] In the first embodiment, the first medical image data and the second medical image data stored in the storage device 300 are viewed by an image-interpreting doctor via an image-interpreting terminal 400 .

[0061] In this embodiment, the inference result of the inference unit 105 is further stored in the storage device 300, thereby enabling more efficient browsing of the first medical image data and the second medical image data. In the second embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, the first medical image data is thick slice data, and the second medical image data is thin slice data. The inference unit 105 performs inference processing on the thin slice data, making a first inference to infer an abnormality such as a lesion, and a second inference to infer whether the inferred abnormality is benign or malignant.

[0062] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information processing device 100 according to the second embodiment. In addition to the functions of the information processing device 100 according to the first embodiment, an image correspondence generation unit 108 is included. Based on the inference results of the inference unit 105, the image correspondence generation unit 108 creates a correspondence table that associates the slice positions of the first medical image and the second medical image, the position and size of the lesion in each slice image data, and the classification results of each lesion as benign or malignant. An example of the correspondence table created by the image correspondence generation unit 108 is shown in FIG. 8. As long as equivalent information is saved, any format is acceptable, and the information may be saved in XML or the like. The correspondence table created by the image correspondence generation unit 108 is associated with the first medical image data and the second medical image data and saved in the storage device 300.

[0063] Fig. 9 is an example of a screen display of the interpretation terminal 400. In the second embodiment, the interpretation terminal 400 acquires the first medical image data and the second medical image data to be interpreted from the storage device 300 and the correspondence information shown in Fig. 8, and performs the following processing by appropriately referring to the acquired data.

[0064] The image display unit 401 displays slice data of the first medical image data or the second medical image data. The slice data to be displayed can be changed by the slice position adjustment unit 402. If a lesion is present on the displayed slice data and the inference result of the lesion is malignant, a lesion display frame 403 is displayed based on the position and size of the lesion. Note that the lesion display frame 403 may also be displayed when the inference result of the lesion is benign, in which case the malignant and benign cases can be distinguished by changing the color or thickness of the frame, for example.

[0065] The image selection unit 404 displays selectable previews of the first medical image data and the second medical image data. When a preview is selected, the selected medical image data is displayed on the image display unit 401. At that time, slice data corresponding to the slice position of the medical image data that was originally displayed is displayed.

[0066] The screen display is not limited to the above. For example, a list of lesions may be displayed separately, and slice data including a selected lesion may be displayed on the image display unit 401.

[0067] The above-described processing makes it possible to utilize the inference results of the inference unit 105 to efficiently proceed with interpretation while switching between the display of the first medical image data and the second medical image data.

[0068] (Modification 1 of the second embodiment) The image correspondence generation unit 108 described above does not have to be included in the information processing device 100. For example, the image correspondence generation unit 108 may be configured to be included in the storage device 300 or the interpretation terminal 400. In this case, the inference result of the inference unit 105 is stored as is in the storage device 300, and information equivalent to the correspondence information shown in Fig. 8 is generated during interpretation, thereby achieving the same effect.

[0069] (Modification 2 of the second embodiment) The determining unit 106 may determine, based on the inference result by the inference unit 105, partial image data including slices or regions inferred to contain abnormalities as data to be stored in the external storage device 300.

[0070] This makes it possible to keep the amount of data stored in the storage device 300 to a minimum.

[0071] [Variations] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0072] The diagnostic support device in each of the above-described embodiments may be realized as a single device, or may be realized as a combination of multiple devices that can communicate with each other to execute the above-described processing, and both are included in the embodiments of the present invention. The above-described processing may also be executed by a common server device or server group. The multiple devices that make up the diagnostic support device and information processing system only need to be able to communicate at a predetermined communication rate, and do not need to be located in the same facility or the same country.

[0073] Embodiments of the present invention include a form in which a software program that realizes the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments is supplied to a system or device, and the computer of the system or device reads and executes the code of the supplied program.

[0074] Therefore, the program code itself installed on a computer to implement the processes according to the embodiments is also an embodiment of the present invention. Also, the OS running on the computer may perform some or all of the actual processing based on instructions contained in the program read by the computer, and the functions of the above-described embodiments may also be implemented by this processing.

[0075] Appropriate combinations of the above-described embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 102 First image acquisition unit 103 Second Image Acquisition Unit 105 Reasoning part 106 Decision Section

Claims

1. a first image acquisition unit that acquires first medical image data based on imaging data obtained by imaging the subject; a second image acquisition unit that acquires second medical image data different from the first medical image data based on the imaging data; an inference unit that performs a first inference regarding the presence or absence of an abnormality in a subject based on the second medical image data; a determination unit that determines a storage format of the second medical image data to be stored in an external storage device based on an inference result by the inference unit; and When the inference unit infers that there is an abnormality in the subject, the inference unit further performs a second inference regarding whether the abnormality in the subject is benign or malignant for the second medical image data; The information processing device is characterized in that the determination unit determines the storage format so that the second medical image data, which is determined to be abnormal by the first inference and malignant by the second inference, and the first medical image data are determined to be data to be stored in the storage device.

2. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second medical image data is image data with higher resolution than the first medical image data.

3. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second medical image data is tomographic image data, and the thickness of the tomographic layer is thinner than that of the first medical image data.

4. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first medical image data is thick slice data, and the second medical image data is thin slice data.

5. The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the inference unit performs the first inference using a trained inference model.

6. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the decision unit decides not to store the second medical image data in the external storage device when the inference unit infers that the second medical image data does not contain any abnormalities in the subject.

7. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit further determines the inference result by the inference unit as data to be stored in the external storage device.

8. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitting unit that transmits the data to be stored in the external storage device determined by the determining unit to the external storage device.

9. 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit further determines the captured data as data to be stored in an external storage device.

10. An information processing method implemented by a computer, comprising: a first image acquisition step of acquiring first medical image data based on imaging data obtained by imaging the subject; a second image acquisition step of acquiring second medical image data different from the first medical image data based on the imaging data; an inference step of performing a first inference regarding the presence or absence of an abnormality in the subject based on the second medical image data; a determination step of determining a storage format of the second medical image data to be stored in an external storage device based on an inference result in the inference step; and the inference step further performs a second inference regarding whether the abnormality in the subject is benign or malignant for the second medical image data when it is inferred that there is an abnormality in the subject; An information processing method characterized in that the determination step determines the storage format so that the second medical image data, which is determined to be abnormal by the first inference and malignant by the second inference, and the first medical image data are determined to be data to be stored in the storage device.

11. A program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 10.

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