JP4146671B2 - Medical diagnostic system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a medical diagnostic system configured to perform a medical diagnosis based on a medical image acquired using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and in particular, each function of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is external to a personal computer or the like. The present invention relates to a medical diagnostic system configured to be executed by an apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent medical practice, an in-vivo image of a subject is photographed using an X-ray CT apparatus, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an MRI apparatus, etc., and a diagnosis is routinely performed based on the obtained in-vivo image. ing. Among them, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is often used because it can easily observe the inside of a living body in real time. The ultrasound diagnostic device transmits ultrasound from the ultrasound probe to the subject, receives reflected echo from the subject with the ultrasound probe, and creates image data of the subject from the detected signals And displayed on the display device.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In recent years, an image filing function has been provided as a standard feature in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and image data can be easily stored in a storage medium such as an MO, or in accordance with the Medical Imaging Communication (DICOM). The image data can be converted and transferred to be used in common in medical systems. However, it has been difficult to construct a medical system that transfers image data in accordance with DICOM, because it takes too much capital investment, cost, and time. Therefore, the image data is not effectively used.
[0004]
In addition, when performing basic measurement of distance, circumference, area, and volume on an ultrasonic image using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, measurement is performed using a measurement tool related to obstetric measurement set in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus body in advance. In order to carry out the operation, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus must be operated while operating, and during that time, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus cannot be used for diagnosis of other patients. This problem is caused by the fact that image data acquired by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and other various data used in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus cannot be effectively used by other apparatuses.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and can be used effectively by an external device for various data used in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus without constructing a large-scale medical system. An object is to provide a diagnostic system.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A first feature of the medical diagnostic system according to the present invention is that a desired one of various functions of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that displays or stores an ultrasonic image acquired by an ultrasonic probe is obtained. by transplanting the personal computer, there the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus processing equivalent especially configured to run on the personal computer side. Conventionally, obstetrics measurement, etc. could only be done while operating the ultrasound diagnostic device, but by transferring the functions of the ultrasound diagnostic device to a personal computer, image data, measurement formulas, etc. are captured on the personal computer side. The acquired image can be measured on the personal computer side based on the measurement formula.
[0007]
A second feature of the medical diagnostic system according to the present invention is that, in the medical diagnostic system according to the first feature, as various functions of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an image viewer function, a filing function, a measurement function, an image search function, measurement reporting, and transplanted at least one character input and annotation function to the personal computer side, there especially to be able to run. This is a list of examples of functions of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. It should be noted that other functions can be ported to the personal computer and executed.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the medical diagnostic system of the present invention, in the medical diagnostic system according to the second aspect, a measurement formula included in the measurement function is edited on the personal computer side to create a new measurement formula, The created new measurement formula is verified on the personal computer side, the verified new measurement formula is returned to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side, and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can perform measurement processing based on the new measurement formula It is that it was configured as follows. This relates to the measurement function of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and in particular, the measurement formula can be exchanged between the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and the personal computer.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a medical diagnostic system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of the medical diagnostic system of the present invention. In this medical diagnostic system, a medical image taken by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is observed by a doctor using a personal computer connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, diagnosed, and measured. It is shown.
[0010]
Here, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 has the same configuration as a commercially available normal one. The US unit 11 includes an ultrasonic transmission circuit and a reception circuit provided in the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1. The DSC unit 12 scan-converts the ultrasonic reception signal and displays it on the monitor 13. The control unit 10 is a central processing arithmetic unit (CPU) that controls the entire ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1.
[0011]
The hard disk drive 14 stores this operation program, and stores image data, measurement formulas, measurement data, and the like. Although not shown, the hard disk drive 14 also includes image viewer software, measurement software, image filing, measurement / contrast agent guidelines, image viewer installer, installer selection writing control software, and the like. Storing. In addition, the hard disk drive 14 stores various types of software for functioning as a normal ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
[0012]
The ROM and RAM 15 are storage devices that store system programs and temporarily store operation programs and data. The external storage device 16 includes peripheral devices such as CD-R / RW, DVD-R / RW / RAM, MO, FDD, and ZIP used for various data input / output. Each of these components is connected via a data transfer bus 17. The probe 18 is a convex probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves. In addition to this, the probe 18 may be a sector type, a linear scanning type, or the like. The monitor 13 is a display device that displays characters and information related to control.
[0013]
The personal computer 2 incorporates dedicated software having the following functions that operate in the same manner as the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1. That is, the personal computer 2 also operates with other personal computers such as an image viewer function, an import / export function of measurement setting data, a filing function, and a measurement function, excluding the device-specific control software in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1. It has built-in software as a single application. These software are recorded on the CD 22 or the like as data in a compressed format so that they can be easily installed in other personal computers. In this medical diagnosis system, an image viewer function, a measurement setting data import / export function, a filing function, a measurement function, and the like are installed and used as a single application from the CD 22 or the like as needed.
[0014]
The image viewer function is a function for displaying images in 1, 4, 9, and 16 divisions equivalent to those of the main body of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1, and performs playback without dropping frames for moving images. The function of importing / exporting measurement setting data is a function for performing detailed settings such as measurement tools and copying the settings as they are to the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1, and the measurement data set on the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 Is copied to the personal computer 2 side. The filing function is a function of converting an image captured from the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 into a still image such as BMP, TIFF, or JPEG, or a moving image in AVI format, and recording / transferring the image. The measurement function is a function that enables not only basic measurement of distance, circumference, area, and volume, but also measurement such as obstetric measurement that can be set by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 with the personal computer 2. It can also be customized.
[0015]
For example, when the user wants to use the image viewer portion of the medical diagnostic system by incorporating it into his / her personal computer 2, the user inserts the CD 22 into the CD drive of the personal computer 2, activates the installer, and executes a desired function. Install. In this medical diagnostic system, software that can be installed in the hard disk drive 14 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 is stored in advance, and connected to another personal computer by using a USB cable, an RS232C cable, a LAN cable, or the like. It may be provided as software. Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 may be able to create a CD or DVD with an installer function similar to the CD 22 using CD_DVD-R / RW or the like.
[0016]
In the above-described embodiment, the image viewer function, filing function, and measurement function have been described in the personal computer. However, in addition to this, an image search function, a measurement report creation function, a character input function, an annotation function, and the like can be added. . The image search function is a function for performing easy-to-view thumbnail display like the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1, and is a function that can easily search for images from keywords such as patient name, patient ID, and other dates. The measurement report creation function is a function that collects image data, patient information, measurement results, growth graphs by obstetric measurement, and the like and outputs them to a printer (not shown) connected to the personal computer 2. The measurement report created by the personal computer 2 can be read out from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 as measurement data. Conversely, the measurement report created by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 is also read out from the personal computer 2 as measurement data. You can also The character input and annotation functions are functions for inputting comments, etc. on the playback image. There is an annotation function that allows selection of terms in the diagnostic area and alphabetical order, and a predetermined number of user-defined annotations can be registered for each diagnostic area. it can. The personal computer 2 can print out an ultrasonic image, a measurement result report, and the like to an external printer (not shown) connected to the personal computer 2 in the same manner as a normal computer. In addition, the reproduced and converted images can be ported to other application software by pasting them on the clipboard.
[0017]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the medical diagnostic system of the present invention. The operation of the medical diagnostic system of the present invention will be described below according to this flowchart. First, in step S <b> 21, as a usage request, a usage request is generated that the user wants to use the measurement type / image data of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus on a personal computer 2 other than the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1. In response to the use request, the user operates the keyboard or the like of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to execute an operation for requesting that.
[0018]
In step S22, in response to the use request input in step S21, preparation for output of measurement formulas and image data is performed. That is, in order to transfer these data from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 to the Pacoson 2, using a writing device such as FDD, MO, CD_DVD-R / RW, the data is written to these storage media. The data is transferred to the personal computer 2 side via. When the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 and the personal computer 2 are connected using a USB cable, an RS232C cable, a LAN cable, or the like, data transfer is performed via these cables. The calculation formula / image data transferred from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 to the personal computer 2 is stored in a storage device (HDD or the like) of the personal computer 2.
[0019]
In step S23, the user edits the calculation formula / image data transferred from the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 into a desired format.
[0020]
In step S24, the calculation formula / image data after editing is executed on the personal computer 2 and verified.
[0021]
In step S25, the quality of the verification in step S24 is determined. If it is determined to be good (yes), the new measurement formula / image data edited in step S23 is transferred to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 side. If it is determined as no (no), the process returns to step S23 and the editing / verification is repeated until it is determined as good. The new measurement formula / image data after editing is transferred to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 via the storage medium or cables in step S22.
[0022]
In step S26, the new calculation formula / image data transferred from the personal computer 2 is fetched and stored in a predetermined place. Thereafter, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 performs diagnostic processing based on the new calculation formula / image data edited by the personal computer 2.
[0023]
According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained by using the same function as that of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 on the external personal computer 2 to re-read or measure an image.
[0024]
First, the inspection time can be shortened. Time-consuming image diagnosis and measurement during clinical examination is postponed, and can be processed later on a personal computer or desk in a separate room. This eliminates the need to make the patient wait. Since the clinical examination time itself is shortened, the number of examination reservations can be increased. For this reason, even in the medical cost reduction policy, the income effect will increase and the examination efficiency will increase.
[0025]
Second, the search time can be shortened. When measuring and organizing after the fact, it is easy to search by patient ID, examination date, etc., the handling as diagnostic data is accurate, and the number of man-hours can be reduced. In addition, since examination can be made at any time, it is possible to perform processing such as measurement between other medical services, and it is possible to efficiently arrange the inspectors. It also has the advantage that no special training is required with the same operability as an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
[0026]
Third, a highly accurate diagnosis result can be obtained. Performing image diagnosis and measurement within the clinical examination time becomes complicated and easy to overlook due to time constraints. Since detailed image observation and measurement can be performed in the absence of the subject, a highly accurate diagnosis result can be obtained. Furthermore, since it can be measured many times, it can be used in a conference with a large number of people at a conference.
[0027]
Fourth, it is possible to provide software that the user wants to use. Software that the user wants to use, such as an image viewer in the medical diagnostic apparatus, can be easily used on a personal computer, and anyone can use it anywhere without a medical diagnostic apparatus. As a result, an effect equivalent to that of a large-scale system such as a medical image storage and retrieval system (Picture Archiving and Communication System: PACS) can be provided.
[0028]
In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which image data, a measurement formula, and the like are exchanged between one ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 and one personal computer 2, but one ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. Similarly, it is possible to exchange data between a plurality of personal computers, a plurality of ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses, and a plurality of personal computers.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
According to the medical diagnostic system of the present invention, there is an effect that various data used in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can be effectively used by an external apparatus without constructing a large-scale medical system.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of a medical diagnostic system of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the medical diagnostic system of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 ... Control part 11 ... US part 12 ... DSC part 13 ... Monitor 14 ... Hard disk drive 15 ... ROM, RAM
16 ... External storage device 17 ... Bus 18 ... Probe 2 ... Personal computer 22 ... CD

Claims (2)

  By transplanting a desired one of various functions of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that displays and stores an ultrasonic image acquired by an ultrasonic probe into a personal computer, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus A medical diagnostic system configured so that equivalent processing can be executed on the personal computer side, wherein a measurement formula included in a measurement function among various functions of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is edited on the personal computer side A new measurement formula is created, the created new measurement formula is verified on the personal computer side, the verified new measurement formula is returned to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side, and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is based on the new measurement formula A medical diagnosis system configured to perform measurement processing.   2. The personal computer according to claim 1, wherein at least one of an image viewer function, a filing function, a measurement function, an image search function, a measurement report creation function, and a character input and annotation function is provided as various functions of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. A medical diagnostic system characterized by being transplanted to the side and made executable.

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