A data processing system, a data processing method, and a computer program for executing a data processing method using an information processing device.
The data processing system simplifies data management by using accompanying information as labels to create virtual data trees, addressing the complexity and operator-dependence of hierarchical folder structures, facilitating flexible and error-free data organization.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-08-07
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-07
AI Technical Summary
Existing data management systems using hierarchical folder structures are operator-dependent, making it difficult for others to understand data organization, and operations can be complex and error-prone, especially when managing large volumes of data with varying accompanying information.
A data processing system that groups data using accompanying information as labels, creating a virtual data tree that mimics a hierarchical structure, allowing users to easily manage and display data without constructing actual folders, with adjustable grouping conditions and priorities.
Enables easy management and display of large volumes of data with different accompanying information, reducing operational complexity and errors by allowing flexible grouping and display of data trees based on user-defined criteria.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a data processing system, a data processing method, and a computer program for executing a data processing method using an information processing apparatus.
Background Art
[0002] In cell culture, in order to observe the state in each well of a culture plate, it is common to image each well using a microscope. The captured images in each well need to be managed in association with accompanying information such as the passage number of the cells, the number of culture days, the position of each well in the culture plate, and the type of microscope used for imaging. Therefore, when saving each image data in a PC (personal computer), the accompanying information of the data is included in the file name of each image data, and a hierarchical folder structure formed by a plurality of folder groups with the accompanying information of the image is created, and each image data is often distributed and stored in a folder that matches the accompanying information.
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0003] In the method of managing a large number of image data by a folder structure with a hierarchical structure as described above, the rules regarding folder division, file name naming, etc. can vary depending on the operator. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult for a person other than the operator who first organized the data to grasp which data is stored in which folder. ''
[0004] Also, when a folder structure with a hierarchical structure is used, the operation of simultaneously checking or comparing a plurality of data stored in different folders becomes complicated and can cause operation errors. In a folder structure with a hierarchical structure, a sub-folder or a data file is linked to the lower layer of the parent folder, so it is not easy to change the structure of the once-constructed folder structure and reconstruct another data structure.
[0005] This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to facilitate the management of a large amount of data with different accompanying information. [Means for solving the problem]
[0006] The data processing system according to the present invention is a data processing system having an information processing device and an information display device, wherein the information processing device includes a data registration unit configured to register a plurality of data acquired by a predetermined data acquisition device as data to be handled by the data processing system by associating the data with at least one type of associated information for each of the data; a registered data holding unit that holds the data registered by the data registration unit; a data tree creation unit that groups the plurality of data held in the registered data holding unit using an arbitrarily selected type of associated information such that the data with common associated information belong to the same group, and creates a virtual data tree showing the state in which the plurality of data are divided into groups; and an information display unit configured to display the data tree created by the data tree creation unit on the information display device.
[0007] The data processing method according to the present invention comprises: a registration step of registering a plurality of data acquired by a predetermined data acquisition device while associating the data with at least one type of accompanying information for each of the data; a tree creation step of grouping the plurality of data registered in the registration step using an arbitrarily selected type of accompanying information so that the data with common accompanying information belong to the same group, and creating a virtual data tree showing the state in which the plurality of data are divided into groups; and a display step of displaying the data tree created in the tree creation step on a predetermined information display device.
[0008] Here, "specified data acquisition device" includes a microscope for imaging the inside of a cell culture well, and an analysis device for analyzing the images acquired by such a microscope. If the data acquisition device is a microscope for imaging the inside of a cell culture well, the acquired data is image data. If the data acquisition device is an analysis device for analyzing such images, the acquired data is numerical data such as the number of cells in the image and the percentage of the area occupied by the cell region in the image. "Accompanying information" of this data may include information about the imaged well (such as the position of the well on the culture plate), the type of microscope used for imaging, the number of days the cells were cultured, and the number of cell passages.
[0009] In this invention, instead of distributing and managing multiple data acquired by a predetermined data acquisition device into multiple folders forming a specific hierarchical structure, the system manages each of the multiple data by associating it with accompanying information. The accompanying information associated with each data serves as a label indicating the attributes of each data. When the user selects the type of accompanying information they want to function effectively as a label, the system groups the data so that data with the same type of accompanying information (i.e., data with identical numerical or other information entered as that type of accompanying information) belongs to the same group, creating and displaying a virtual data tree as if a folder structure with a hierarchical structure were constructed. [Effects of the Invention]
[0010] In the data processing system and data processing method according to the present invention, when a user selects the type of accompanying information that they want to function effectively as a label, the data is grouped so that data with the selected type of accompanying information belong to the same group, and a virtual data tree is automatically created and displayed as if a hierarchical folder structure were constructed. Therefore, a large number of data with different accompanying information can be easily managed without the user actually constructing a hierarchical folder structure. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0011] [Figure 1] Block diagram showing one example of a data processing system. [Figure 2] This flowchart shows an example of a series of operations related to data registration in the same embodiment. [Figure 3] This is an example of a screen displayed during data registration. [Figure 4] This is a conceptual diagram of the data structure after multiple data entries have been registered. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing the operation for displaying a virtual data tree in the same embodiment. [Figure 6] This is an example of a virtual data tree. [Figure 7] This is an example of a data tree created when the priority of the accompanying information used for grouping is changed from the data tree in Figure 6. [Figure 8] This is an example of a data tree created when one of the supplementary pieces of information used for grouping is disabled. [Figure 9] This is an example of a data tree that serves as the basis for creating a graph. [Figure 10] This is an example of a graph created based on the data tree in Figure 9. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the data processing system, data processing method, and computer program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0013] Figure 1 shows a schematic configuration of the data processing system.
[0014] The data processing system 1 comprises an information processing device 2 and an information display device 4. The information processing device 2 has the function of taking in multiple data acquired by the data acquisition device 6 and performing predetermined processing. The information processing device 2 is a computer device (e.g., a personal computer) equipped with an information storage medium such as a hard disk drive and an electronic circuit equipped with a CPU (central processing unit), and has computer programs installed to realize each of the functions described later. The information display device 4 is a display (e.g., a liquid crystal display) that is communicatively connected to the information processing device 2. Examples of the data acquisition device 6 include a microscope for imaging each well of a cell culture plate, and an analysis device for analyzing images acquired by such a microscope. Although not shown in this embodiment, if the information processing device 2 has the function of analyzing image data acquired from a microscope, the information processing device 2 also functions as a data acquisition device 6 for acquiring analysis data.
[0015] The information processing device 2 includes a data registration unit 8, a registered data storage unit 10, a data tree creation unit 12, an information display unit 14, and a graph creation unit 16. The data registration unit 8, the data tree creation unit 12, the information display unit 14, and the graph creation unit 16 are functions realized by the execution of a predetermined computer program installed in the information processing device 2 by the CPU. The registered data storage unit 10 is a function realized by a storage area of a part of the information storage medium within the information processing device 2.
[0016] The data registration unit 8 is configured to register the data acquired by the data acquisition device 6 as data to be handled by the data processing system 1, in association with the associated information of that data. The registered data holding unit 10 is configured to hold the data registered by the data registration unit 8.
[0017] Figures 2 and 3 will be used to explain the series of operations related to data registration.
[0018] When the user inputs an instruction to register data into the information processing apparatus 2, the data registration unit 8 displays a data registration screen as shown in FIG. 3 on the information display apparatus 4. The user refers to the data that has been imported into the information processing apparatus 2 or can be imported, selects the data to be registered, and inputs the accompanying information of the data (step 101).
[0019] FIG. 3 is an example of a registration screen for image data of a cell culture well imaged by a microscope, and the passage number of cells and the number of days of culture are to be input as accompanying information of the data. When the user selects the data to be registered, inputs the accompanying information thereof, and determines the content (in FIG. 3, pressing the registration button), the data registration unit 8 associates the selected data with the input accompanying information (step 102), and registers it as data to be handled in this data processing system 1 (step 103). The data registered by the data registration unit 8 is stored in the registered data holding unit 10 in a state associated with the accompanying information (step 104).
[0020] The above series of operations is executed for all the data to be handled in the data processing system 1. As a result, in the registered data holding unit 10, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of data will exist in a state associated with common types of accompanying information.
[0021] Returning to FIG. 1 and continuing the explanation. The data tree creation unit 12 of the information processing apparatus 2 is configured to group the plurality of data held in the registered data holding unit 10 according to the accompanying information associated with each data, and create a virtual data tree having a hierarchical structure. A data tree is a format that lists a state in which each data is assigned to a plurality of folders with titles corresponding to the accompanying information of each data. The creation of the data tree by the data tree creation unit 12 is executed, for example, when presenting the plurality of data held in the registered data holding unit 10 to the user. The information display unit 14 is configured to display the virtual data tree created by the data tree creation unit 12 on the information display apparatus 4.
[0022] Figure 5 illustrates the series of steps involved in creating a data tree.
[0023] The data tree creation unit 12, for example, when a user attempts to access data registered in the data processing system 1, reads the target registered data from the registered data holding unit 10 (step 201), groups the read registered data using the associated information (step 202), and creates a hierarchical data tree based on that grouping (step 203). The information display unit 14 displays the virtual data tree created by the data tree creation unit 12 on the information display device 4 (step 204).
[0024] Here, the accompanying information associated with the registered data has pre-set settings for whether or not it should be used for grouping, and the priority order for which it should be used for grouping. These settings can be changed at the user's discretion. For example, in the default setting, all accompanying information is used for grouping, and a default priority order is set for each piece of accompanying information. When a user attempts to access data, the data tree creation unit 12 creates a data tree based on the default priority order, and the created data tree is displayed on the information display device 4 along with the accompanying information used for grouping and the grouping conditions that indicate the priority relationships of that accompanying information. The user can switch each piece of accompanying information between being used for grouping (enabled) or not used for grouping (disabled), and can change the priority relationships of each piece of accompanying information, thereby arbitrarily changing the grouping conditions. Such changes to the grouping conditions can be made by dragging with the mouse, typing, etc. When the grouping conditions are changed by the user, the data tree creation unit 12 immediately creates a data tree based on the changed grouping conditions and displays it on the information display device 4. This allows the data tree based on the user's desired grouping conditions to be displayed in real time.
[0025] Figure 6 shows an example of a virtual data tree created by the data tree creation unit 12. Each of the registered data A to H is associated with two types of supplementary information: "cultivation days" and "passage number." Both types of supplementary information are set to be used for grouping. At the top, the grouping conditions are displayed, showing the types of supplementary information used for grouping and their priority relationships. In this example, the priority of "cultivation days" is set higher than that of "passage number." With this setting, data with a common cultivation day are first divided into a "cultivation days: 1" group (data A to D) and a "cultivation days: 2" group (data E to F). Within each group, they are further divided into a "passage number: 1" group and a "passage number: 2" group. As a result, a hierarchical data tree as shown in the figure is created.
[0026] Figure 7 is an example of a data tree created when the priority relationship of associated information is changed from the data tree in Figure 6. When the user sets the priority of passage number higher than the priority of culture days, the data is initially divided into a "passage number: 1" group and a "passage number: 2" group so that data with the same passage number belong to the same group, and then within each group, it is divided into a "culture days: 1" group and a "culture days: 2" group. As a result, a hierarchical data tree as shown in the figure is created.
[0027] Figure 8 shows an example of a data tree created when the supplementary information "Culture days," which was used for grouping in the example in Figure 7, is disabled (not used for grouping). In this example, since the supplementary information "Culture days" is disabled, the data A to H are grouped using only the enabled supplementary information "Passage," and a data tree is created consisting of a group with "Passage: 1" and a group with "Passage: 2."
[0028] As described above, in this embodiment of data processing system 1, when a user attempts to refer to multiple registered data, arbitrary supplementary information can be grouped using arbitrary priority relationships and displayed as a data tree.
[0029] In this data processing system 1, the "data" handled is image data when the data acquisition device 6 is a microscope that captures images of cell culture wells. However, if the information processing device 2 has the function to analyze the images, the "data" may also include numerical data such as "number of cells" and "area percentage occupied by the cell region" obtained by the information processing device 2 itself analyzing the image data. In that case, the data registration unit 8 can be configured to register the numerical data obtained by analyzing the image data in association with supplementary information such as "culture days" and "passage number" that was associated with the original image data, and to store it in the registered data holding unit 10.
[0030] Returning to Figure 1, the graph creation unit 16 of the information processing device 2 is configured to create a graph based on the data tree created by the data tree creation unit 12, using the numerical value of each registered data and the associated information for each registered data, when the registered data is numerical data. An example of the relationship between the data tree created by the data tree creation unit 12 and the graph created by the graph creation unit 16 will be explained below using Figures 9 and 10.
[0031] Figure 9 is a data tree showing the registered numerical data A to L grouped by the accompanying information "Culture days" and "Passage number". When such a data tree is created, for example, if a user instructs data analysis, the graph creation unit 16 creates a graph as shown in Figure 10, with the lowest-level (lowest-priority) accompanying information, "Passage number," on the horizontal axis, the numerical value representing each data (in this case, the cell count) on the vertical axis, and the second-to-last accompanying information, "Culture days," as the legend. In this example, since there are two numerical data for each culture day (for example, data A and B for culture days: 1 and passage number: 1), their average value is displayed in the graph.
[0032] The graphs created by the graph creation unit 16 are not limited to bar graphs like those in Figure 10, but may be various types of graphs such as line graphs and pie charts.
[0033] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative examples of the embodiments of the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention are as follows.
[0034] An embodiment of the data processing system according to the present invention is a data processing system having an information processing device and an information display device, wherein the information processing device includes a data registration unit configured to register a plurality of data acquired by a predetermined data acquisition device as data to be handled by the data processing system by associating the data with at least one type of associated information for each of the data; a registered data holding unit that holds the data registered by the data registration unit; a data tree creation unit that groups the plurality of data held in the registered data holding unit using an arbitrarily selected type of associated information such that the data with common associated information belong to the same group, and creates a virtual data tree showing the state in which the plurality of data are divided into groups; and an information display unit configured to display the data tree created by the data tree creation unit on the information display device.
[0035] In the first embodiment of the data processing system, the data registration unit is configured to associate and register multiple types of associated information with each of the multiple data, and the data tree creation unit is configured to create a hierarchical data tree in which, when multiple types of associated information are used for grouping, the type of associated information with a higher priority, which is set in advance for each type of associated information, is positioned higher up the hierarchy.
[0036] In the first embodiment described above, the priority order may be configured to be arbitrarily changeable. This would allow users to arbitrarily change the hierarchical structure of the data tree, making data management easier.
[0037] In the second embodiment of the data processing system, the data is an image of a cell culture, or a numerical value obtained by analyzing the image. In this case, the accompanying information may include at least one of the passage number and the culture days. This second embodiment can be combined with the first embodiment.
[0038] In the third embodiment of the data processing system, the data is a numerical value obtained by analysis or interpretation. In this case, the information processing device may further include a graph creation unit that creates a graph having a first axis showing each numerical value of the plurality of data and a second axis showing at least one of the accompanying pieces of information used for grouping, based on the structure of the data tree created by the data tree creation unit. This third embodiment can be combined with the first and / or second embodiment.
[0039] An embodiment of the data processing method according to the present invention includes: a registration step of registering a plurality of data acquired by a predetermined data acquisition device by associating the data with at least one type of accompanying information for each of the data; a tree creation step of grouping the plurality of data registered in the registration step using an arbitrarily selected type of accompanying information so that the data with common accompanying information belong to the same group, and creating a virtual data tree showing the state in which the plurality of data are divided into groups; and a display step of displaying the data tree created in the tree creation step on a predetermined information display device.
[0040] In the first embodiment of the data processing method, in the registration step, multiple types of associated information are associated with each of the multiple data and registered, and in the tree creation step, a data tree is created with a hierarchical structure in which the types of associated information with higher priority, which are set in advance for each type of associated information, are located higher up the hierarchy.
[0041] In the first embodiment described above, a reordering step may be further provided to change the priority. This would allow the user to arbitrarily change the hierarchical structure of the data tree, making data management easier.
[0042] In a second embodiment of the data processing method, if the data is a numerical value obtained by analysis or interpretation, the method further includes a graph creation step that creates a graph having a first axis showing each of the multiple numerical values of the data and a second axis showing at least one of the accompanying pieces of information used for the grouping, based on the structure of the data tree created in the tree creation step.
[0043] An embodiment of the computer program according to the present invention is configured to be applied to an information processing device to execute the data processing method described above. [Explanation of Symbols]
[0044] 1. Data Processing System 2. Information Processing Device 4 Information display device 6. Data Acquisition Device 8. Data Registration Section 10. Registered Data Storage Unit 12. Data Tree Creation Section 14 Information display section 16. Graph Creation Section
Claims
1. A data processing system having an information processing device and an information display device, The aforementioned information processing device is A data registration unit is configured to register multiple data acquired by a predetermined data acquisition device as data to be handled by the data processing system by associating the data with at least one type of accompanying information for each of the data, A data registration unit that holds the data registered by the data registration unit, A data tree creation unit that uses arbitrarily selected types of associated information to group the multiple data held in the registered data holding unit so that the data with common associated information belong to the same group, and creates a virtual data tree showing the state in which the multiple data have been separated into groups, The system includes an information display unit configured to display the data tree created by the data tree creation unit on the information display device, The data registration unit is configured to register multiple types of associated information in association with each of the multiple data items. The data tree creation unit is configured to use multiple types of the aforementioned supplementary information for grouping, and to set a priority for each type of supplementary information, and to create a data tree based on that priority. The information display unit is configured to simultaneously display the priority order of multiple types of the associated information and the data tree created by the data tree creation unit on the information display device. The user can arbitrarily change the priority order displayed simultaneously with the data tree in the information display device while it is displayed simultaneously with the data tree. The data tree creation unit is configured to immediately create a data tree based on the changed priority when the priority displayed on the information display device is changed by the user. The data processing system is configured such that when the data tree creation unit creates a new data tree based on the changed priority order, the data tree displayed on the information display device is updated to reflect the changed priority order.
2. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein the data tree creation unit is configured to create a data tree with a hierarchical structure in which the type of accompanying information with a higher priority is located higher up the hierarchy.
3. A data processing system having an information processing device and an information display device, The aforementioned information processing device is A data registration unit is configured to register multiple data acquired by a predetermined data acquisition device as data to be handled by the data processing system by associating the data with at least one type of accompanying information for each of the data, A data registration unit that holds the data registered by the data registration unit, A data tree creation unit that uses arbitrarily selected types of associated information to group the multiple data held in the registered data holding unit so that the data with common associated information belong to the same group, and creates a virtual data tree showing the state in which the multiple data have been separated into groups, The system includes an information display unit configured to display the data tree created by the data tree creation unit on the information display device, The data registration unit is configured to register multiple types of associated information in association with each of the multiple data items. The data tree creation unit is configured to use multiple types of the aforementioned supplementary information for grouping, and to set a priority for each type of supplementary information, and to create a data tree based on that priority. The aforementioned data consists of images of cell cultures, or numerical values obtained by analyzing such images. The aforementioned supplementary information includes at least one of the passage number and the culture period, in a data processing system.
4. A data processing system having an information processing device and an information display device, The aforementioned information processing device is A data registration unit is configured to register multiple data acquired by a predetermined data acquisition device as data to be handled by the data processing system by associating the data with at least one type of accompanying information for each of the data, A data registration unit that holds the data registered by the data registration unit, A data tree creation unit that uses arbitrarily selected types of associated information to group the multiple data held in the registered data holding unit so that the data with common associated information belong to the same group, and creates a virtual data tree showing the state in which the multiple data have been separated into groups, The system includes an information display unit configured to display the data tree created by the data tree creation unit on the information display device, The data registration unit is configured to register multiple types of associated information in association with each of the multiple data items. The data tree creation unit is configured to use multiple types of the aforementioned supplementary information for grouping, and to set a priority for each type of supplementary information, and to create a data tree based on that priority. The aforementioned data are numerical values obtained through analysis or interpretation. The data processing system further comprises a graph creation unit that creates a graph having a first axis showing the numerical values of each of the plurality of data and a second axis showing at least one of the accompanying pieces of information used for grouping, based on the structure of the data tree created by the data tree creation unit.
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