JP7328501B2 - Information processing device, control method for information processing device, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method for an information processing device, and a program.

Conventionally, a radiologist images a patient using a modality such as a CT (Computed Tomography) device or an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) device, and then a radiologist interprets the resulting medical image.

However, radiologists are not present in all hospitals and clinics. Therefore, hospitals and clinics without radiologists may use remote radiology services. The remote image interpretation service is a service in which a hospital or clinic, which is a requesting facility, requests image interpretation to an external image interpretation center and has an image interpretation doctor at the image interpretation center interpret the images.

When the interpretation center receives an image interpretation request from the requesting facility, the person in charge of the operation of the image interpretation center determines the interpretation doctor who will take charge of the interpretation. When determining the interpreting doctor, the person in charge of the operation considers the field of responsibility of the interpreting doctor, the schedule, etc., and manually distributes the request for interpretation to the interpreting doctor. Therefore, the work of the person in charge took time. In addition, there is a problem that the load of each interpreting doctor cannot be well distributed if the person in charge of the operation lacks work experience.

Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200002 discloses a technique for automatically determining an interpreting doctor who interprets a medical image based on the schedules of a plurality of interpreting doctors.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-329190

The technique described in Patent Literature 1 is a technique in which one interpretation doctor is assigned to one interpretation request. However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-100002 does not consider the case where a plurality of interpreting doctors perform image interpretation for one image interpretation request. For example, there is a case where a medical image related to an interpretation request is interpreted by two radiologists. In this case, the two radiologists interpret the images without viewing each other's interpretation results, so this method of interpretation is used as a so-called second opinion.

However, if the interpretation results of two interpretation doctors are different from each other, the requesting facility may be confused as to which interpretation result should be trusted. Therefore, it is conceivable that the third interpretation doctor refers to each interpretation result and performs the final interpretation (tertiary interpretation). In this case, if the tertiary interpretation is performed for all interpretation requests, there is a problem that the burden on the interpretation doctor is great.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the burden on the interpreting doctor who performs the tertiary interpretation.

An information processing device according to the present invention includes:
a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the first interpretation result input by the first interpretation doctor in the primary interpretation of the interpretation request;
a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the second interpretation result input by the second interpreting doctor in the secondary interpretation relating to the interpretation request;
for determining a third interpreting doctor who performs tertiary interpretation of the interpretation request when a predetermined condition regarding the first number of findings and the second number of findings acquired by the acquisition means is satisfied; and a control means for controlling ,
The control means controls at least one of a determination result, a finding name, and a site included in at least one of the first interpretation result and the second interpretation result even when the predetermined condition is not satisfied. When the degree of importance of the first image satisfies a specific condition, control is performed to determine a third interpretation doctor who will perform the tertiary interpretation of the request for interpretation.

The present invention makes it possible to reduce the burden on radiologists who perform tertiary interpretation.

It is a figure which shows an example of the system configuration|structure which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware configuration which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of functional composition of a business server concerning a first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing an example of the flow of processing for allocating radiologists to allocation slots; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a request information table. It is a figure which shows an example of a request distribution screen. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an interpretation screen; FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing an example of the flow of processing for generating allocation frames for tertiary interpretation; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an image interpretation result table; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the request information table after the allocation frame for tertiary interpretation is generated; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a request allocation screen after the allocation frames for tertiary interpretation are generated. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing an example of the flow of processing for generating allocation frames for tertiary interpretation in the second embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a business server in the third embodiment; FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing for generating allocation frames for tertiary interpretation in the third embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of an importance table. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing for generating allocation frames for tertiary interpretation in the fourth embodiment; FIG.

Preferred embodiments of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

<First embodiment>
The information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment calculates the number of findings included in the first interpretation result obtained in the primary interpretation and the number of findings included in the second interpretation result obtained in the secondary interpretation. It is an apparatus that determines an interpreting doctor who performs the tertiary interpretation when the value calculated using the image satisfies a predetermined condition.

Specifically, when an image interpretation request is transmitted from the requesting facility to the image interpretation center, the information processing apparatus performs the primary interpretation of the image interpretation request and the secondary image interpretation of the image interpretation request. Decide on a second reading doctor. Then, primary interpretation and secondary interpretation are performed by a first interpretation doctor and a second interpretation doctor. At this time, in the primary interpretation and the secondary interpretation, the first interpretation doctor and the second interpretation doctor interpret without viewing each other's interpretation results. This is the so-called blind double interpretation. When each interpretation is completed, the information processing apparatus acquires a first interpretation result that is the interpretation result of the primary interpretation and a second interpretation result that is the interpretation result of the secondary interpretation. Then, the information processing apparatus acquires the number of findings included in each interpretation result. Multiple findings may be observed in a single reading. Therefore, the number of findings acquired by the information processing apparatus is not limited to two. The information processing device calculates the total value of the number of acquired findings, and determines whether or not this total value is greater than or equal to the threshold. When determined to be equal to or greater than the threshold, the information processing apparatus generates information (allocation frame for tertiary interpretation) for determining a third interpreting doctor who performs tertiary interpretation of the request for interpretation. Then, the information processing apparatus determines the third radiologist using at least the generated information.

If the number of findings is high, it is likely that the disease has progressed in multiple locations, such as metastases. In addition, even if there are multiple lesions but they are not related to each other, if there are many lesions, the interpreting doctor is likely to overlook them. Therefore, in such a case, it is better to confirm whether or not there is any difference between the result of the primary interpretation and the result of the secondary interpretation by the tertiary interpretation. In the first embodiment, the information processing apparatus performs the processing described above in order to solve such a problem. Further, the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment can determine the third interpretation doctor for an interpretation request that requires the third interpretation by the above-described processing. The burden on the third interpreting doctor can be reduced rather than determining the interpreting doctor. The configuration and processing of the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. FIG.

[System configuration]
FIG. 1 shows an example of the system configuration of a remote image interpretation system as an information processing system according to the first embodiment. In a first embodiment, the remote reading system includes a data center 100, a requesting facility 110, a reading center 120, and a reading doctor's home (not shown). Each facility is communicably connected to each other via a network 130 such as the Internet. In addition, each facility in the first embodiment is described as being different facilities located at different positions in the physical space, but the present invention is not limited to this. The data center 100 may exist within the interpretation center 120, or the request facility 110 and the interpretation center 120 may be the same facility.

The data center 100 includes a business server 101 , an image management server 102 and a database server 103 . The business server 101 corresponds to an example of an information processing device in the present invention. In the first embodiment, the data center 100 is described as a physical server device, but it may be in a form in which a required number of virtual servers are operated in one or a plurality of server devices by virtualization technology. . The request facility 110 includes a client terminal 111 operated by a person in charge of business. The interpretation center 120 includes client terminals 121 operated by business personnel and interpretation doctors. A plurality of (N) client terminals 121 are prepared in the image interpretation center 120 for operation by a person in charge of operations and an interpretation doctor. In the first embodiment, the client terminal operated by the person in charge of operations is the client terminal 121-1, and the client terminal operated by the radiologist is the client terminal 121-2. Since there are a plurality of persons in charge of operations and a plurality of interpreting doctors, a client terminal 121-1 and a client terminal 121-2 may be prepared for each user, or a predetermined number of client terminals 121 may be shared by a plurality of users. You may

At the request facility 110, a radiological technologist images a patient using a modality (imaging device) such as a CT device, an MRI device, or a CR (computed radiography) device. Medical image data generated by imaging is collected in the client terminal 111 via various recording media, communication means, and the like. Medical image data is, for example, DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine) standard image data. DICOM standard image data is composed of patient information such as a patient name, patient ID, and patient sex, incidental information including modality type, imaging conditions, etc., and image data.

A person in charge of requesting image interpretation at the requesting facility 110 uses the client terminal 111 to input information (request information) necessary for requesting image interpretation, and transmits the request information to the data center 100 together with medical image data. Request information is stored in the database server 103 of the data center 100 . Medical image data is transmitted to the image management server 102 of the data center 100 . The image management server 102 issues and stores a unique image ID (identification information) for each piece of medical image data.

The person in charge of the interpretation center 120, which accepts requests for interpretation from the requesting facility 110, uses the client terminal 121-1 to check whether the request information for interpretation has been sufficiently input, and to send each request to the interpretation doctor. Perform the sorting work to distribute to In the distribution work, the person in charge of the operation may manually distribute the request for interpretation taking into account the field of specialty of each interpreting doctor, or the field of specialty of each interpreting doctor, the schedule of interpretation, etc. may be set in the business server 101 in advance. Then, the business server 101 may be instructed to perform automatic allocation processing to distribute the interpretation requests. In the following description, allocating an interpretation request to an interpreting doctor is synonymous with assigning an interpreting doctor to one or a plurality of allocation frames corresponding to the interpretation request. Allocation frames will be described later.

The interpreting doctor who interprets the images uses the client terminal 121-2 (or the interpreting terminal at home), which is an interpreting terminal located in the interpreting center 120, to interpret the medical image data corresponding to the interpreting request assigned by the person in charge. is downloaded from the image management server 102 . After the download is completed, the client terminal 121-2 displays the medical image data on a display device such as a display, and the interpreting doctor interprets the image while referring to it. The interpretation doctor then transmits the interpretation result to the data center 100 . The interpretation result transmitted from the interpretation doctor's client terminal 121 - 2 is stored in the database server 103 of the data center 100 . The interpretation results stored here are stored in association with the request information. After that, the interpretation result is converted into a report or report form and sent back to the requesting facility 110 . In the first embodiment, the interpretation center 120 and the interpretation doctor's home were exemplified as facilities where the client terminal 121-2 is located, but the client terminal 121-2 may be located at other locations.

[Hardware configuration]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of each server device and terminal device included in the remote interpretation system.

The CPU 201 comprehensively controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 204 . The ROM 202 or external memory 211 stores a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), an operating system (OS), and various programs necessary for realizing the functions of each terminal.

A RAM 203 functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like for the CPU 201 . The CPU 201 loads necessary programs and the like from the ROM 202 or the external memory 211 to the RAM 203 and executes them to implement various operations. An input controller 205 controls input from an input device 209 such as a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown), or the like. The video controller 206 controls display on a display 210 (display unit).

A memory controller 207 controls access to an external memory 211 that stores various data and the like. Examples of the external memory 211 include an external storage device (HD), a flexible disk (FD), a compact flash (registered trademark) memory connected to a PCMCIA card slot via an adapter, and the like. The communication I/F controller 208 performs connection and communication control with external devices via a network (for example, the network 130 shown in FIG. 1). The communication I/F controller 208 is capable of communication using TCP/IP, for example.

Various programs for realizing various processes in this embodiment are recorded in the external memory 211 and are executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 203 as necessary. Further, definition files, various information tables, and the like used when executing the programs are also stored in the external memory 211, and detailed descriptions thereof will be given later.

[Function configuration]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the business server 101. As shown in FIG. The business server 101 has a first acquisition unit 301, a second acquisition unit 302, a generation unit 303, a screen generation unit 304, and a radiologist determination unit 305 as functional units.

The first acquisition unit 301 acquires from the database server 103 a first image interpretation result, which is the result of the image interpretation performed by the first image interpretation doctor in the primary image interpretation. The interpretation result includes findings (sites where findings are recognized, finding names, judgment results, finding texts, etc.). If there are multiple sites with findings, the interpreting doctor inputs findings for each of the multiple sites. Therefore, one interpretation result may include multiple findings. In this case, the interpretation result includes a plurality of combinations of parts, finding names, determination results, finding texts, and the like. Also, the first acquiring unit 301 acquires a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the acquired first interpretation result. The number of findings included in the first interpretation result indicates the number of combinations described above. It should be noted that it may simply be the number of finding names included in the first interpretation result. The first acquisition unit 301 then outputs the acquired first number of findings to the generation unit 303 . In this manner, the first acquisition unit 301 acquires the first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the first interpretation result input by the first interpretation doctor in the primary interpretation related to the interpretation request. It corresponds to an example of the first acquisition means.

The second acquisition unit 302 acquires from the database server 103 a second image interpretation result, which is the result of the image interpretation performed by the second image interpretation doctor in the secondary image interpretation. The second acquisition unit 302 also acquires a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the acquired second interpretation result. These processes are similar to those of the first acquisition unit 301 . Then, the second acquisition unit 302 outputs the acquired second number of findings to the generation unit 303 . In this way, the second obtaining unit 302 obtains the second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the second interpretation result input by the second interpretation doctor in the secondary interpretation related to the interpretation request. It corresponds to an example of a second acquiring means for acquiring.

The generation unit 303 calculates a value using the first number of findings acquired by the first acquisition unit 301 and the second number of findings acquired by the second acquisition unit 302 . Specifically, the total value of the number of first findings and the number of second findings is calculated. Note that the generating unit 303 may calculate an average value instead of the total value, or may calculate the difference between the first number of findings and the second number of findings. Alternatively, the value may be calculated by another functional unit (for example, a calculation unit) different from the generation unit 303 . Then, the generation unit 303 determines whether the calculated value satisfies a predetermined condition. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the calculated total value is greater than or equal to the threshold. If it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the generation unit 303 generates information for determining the third radiologist who performs the tertiary interpretation. The information for determining the third interpretation doctor is information indicating the allocation frame for the tertiary interpretation. An allocation frame is a virtual frame for allocating an interpreting doctor who is in charge of interpretation. The interpreting doctor determination unit 305 assigns the interpreting doctor to this allocation frame. For example, when the interpretation center 120 receives an interpretation request for blind double interpretation, the interpretation doctor determination unit 305 determines the allocation frame for primary interpretation and the allocation frame for secondary interpretation generated when the interpretation request is received at the interpretation center 120. to each radiologist. In this way, by generating information indicating allocation frames, a new interpreting doctor can be determined. The generating unit 303 then outputs the generated information to the screen generating unit 304 and the radiologist determining unit 305 . In this way, the generation unit 303 relates to the interpretation request when the value calculated using the acquired first number of findings and the acquired second number of findings satisfies a predetermined condition. This corresponds to an example of generating means for generating information for determining a third radiologist who performs tertiary interpretation.

A screen generation unit 304 generates a screen using the information generated by the generation unit 303 . Specifically, the screen generation unit 304 generates a request allocation screen for allocating an interpretation doctor to an allocation frame for tertiary interpretation. Information used when generating a screen is not limited to information generated by the generation unit 303 . The screen generator 304 may use information stored in advance in the external memory 211 of the business server 101 . On the request allocation screen, allocation frames for which an interpreting doctor has not yet been determined are displayed. This screen is a web page that can be displayed by the web browser of the client terminal 121, for example. Therefore, the screen generator 304 transmits the generated screen to the client terminal 121 . Then, the person in charge instructs manual or automatic allocation on this screen, so that the interpreting doctor determination unit 305 allocates the interpreting doctor to the allocation frame. Thus, the screen generation unit 304 corresponds to an example of a screen generation unit that generates a screen for determining the third interpreting doctor using at least the generated information.

The interpreting doctor determination unit 305 allocates an interpreting doctor to an allocation frame for which the interpreting doctor has not yet been determined. At that time, the interpreting doctor's schedule, field of responsibility, experience, etc. may be taken into consideration, and the interpreting doctor may be automatically assigned to the allocation frame, or the interpreting doctor specified by the person in charge may be allocated to the allocation frame. . As the technology for automatic assignment, for example, the technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-035739 or the technology described in Patent Document 1 may be used. Thus, the interpreting doctor determining unit 305 corresponds to an example of a third determining unit that determines the third interpreting doctor using at least the generated information.

[Processing flow]
Next, the flow of processing in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 11. FIG. First, a series of flow will be described in which the person in charge of the interpretation center who receives the interpretation request from the requesting facility allocates the interpretation doctor to the allocation frame (distributes the interpretation request to the interpretation doctor).

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow of processing for allocating an interpreting doctor to an allocation frame.

In step S401, the client terminal 121-1 displays on the display 210 the request allocation screen 600 transmitted from the business server 101. FIG. An example of the request allocation screen 600 is shown in FIG. On the left side of the request allocation screen 600, a list of allocation frames for which the interpretation request has been received by the interpretation center 120 and the allocation of interpretation doctors has not been completed is displayed. The information on the allocation frame is managed by the database server 103 in the form shown in the request information table 500 shown in FIG. Therefore, the business server 101 acquires the request information table 500 from the database server 103, and identifies the allocation frame information (record of the request information table) that has not been determined by the interpreting doctor. Then, using the specified allocation frame information, a request allocation screen 600 is generated and transmitted to the client terminal 121-1. The client terminal 121-1 causes the display 210 to display the received request allocation screen 600. FIG.

In step S402, the client terminal 121-1 accepts a selection of an allocation frame to which the interpretation doctor is to be allocated, from among the allocation frames displayed on the request allocation screen 600. FIG. Then, in step S403, the client terminal 121-1 determines whether or not the automatic distribution button displayed on the request distribution screen 600 has been pressed. If the automatic sorting button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S404. Otherwise, wait. FIG. 4 illustrates the process of automatically assigning interpreting doctors to allocation frames, but as described above, manual assignment may also be performed. In the case of manual allocation, the client terminal 121-1 accepts a selection of an interpreting doctor to be assigned to the accepted allocation frame, and creates a pair of the allocation frame and the interpreting doctor. Then, the pair information is transmitted to the business server 101 , and the business server 101 registers the pair in the request information table 500 .

In step S404, the client terminal 121-1 instructs the business server 101 to automatically allocate the selected allocation frame. Then, in step S405, the interpreting doctor determination unit 305 executes automatic allocation for automatically allocating the interpreting doctor to the allocation frame selected in step S402. For automatic sorting, as described above, for example, the technique described in JP-A-2016-035739 or the technique described in Patent Document 1 may be used. In step S406, the interpretation doctor determination unit 305 transmits the result of automatic allocation to the client terminal 121-1.

In step S407, the client terminal 121-1 displays the result of automatic allocation on the requested allocation screen 600. FIG. In other words, as shown on the right side of the request allocation screen 600 in FIG. 6, when and how many interpretations are to be performed by each interpreting doctor are displayed. The person in charge of operations at the interpretation center confirms this content, and presses the save button if there is no problem.

In step S408, the client terminal 121-1 determines whether or not the save button has been pressed. If it is determined that the save button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S410. Otherwise, that is, if there is a problem with the result of automatic allocation, the process proceeds to step S409.

In step S409, the client terminal 121-1 discards the result of the automatic allocation executed in step S405. At step S410, the client terminal 121-1 registers the result of the automatic allocation executed at step S405 in the request information table 500 of the database server 103. FIG. In this way, interpretation doctors are assigned to assigned frames.

After that, each interpreting doctor performs interpretation according to the allocation result. The interpreting doctor interprets the medical image downloaded to the client terminal 121-2 and determines the presence or absence of findings.

Here, an example of a screen displayed when the interpretation doctor uses the client terminal 121-2 to interpret an image will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an interpretation screen. As shown in FIG. 7( a ), a medical image 700 to be interpreted is displayed on the display 210 . In the displayed medical image 700, when the interpreting doctor clicks a position where a finding is recognized, a finding input screen 701 is displayed on the medical image. An enlarged view of the observation input screen 701 is shown in FIG. 7(b). As shown in FIG. 7B, a schema is provided on the left side of the screen, and a finding input field is provided on the right side of the screen. In the schema, the position 702 clicked by the radiologist is displayed. The findings input field includes a site selection field for selecting a site where a finding is recognized, a finding name selection field for selecting a finding name, a judgment result selection field for selecting a judgment result, a finding text input field for entering comments on the findings, An add finding button is provided for adding a new finding. When the add finding button is pressed, the entered findings are added to the finding column 703 . In this way, when there are multiple findings, the radiologist can input multiple findings. The input findings are registered in an interpretation result table 900 as shown in FIG. An interpretation result table 900 is a data table stored in the database server 103 . The interpretation result table 900 stores information of the interpreting doctor and findings (information on the site where the finding is recognized, information on the name of the finding, information on the judgment result, and finding text) for each allocation frame related to the interpretation request. be.

Then, the client terminal 121 - 2 receives the input of the interpretation result and registers it in the database server 103 .

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow of processing for generating allocation frames for tertiary interpretation. The processing from step S801 to step S807 is executed by the business server 101. FIG.

In step S801, the business server 101 determines whether or not all image interpretations related to the image interpretation request have been completed. Specifically, when a certain interpretation request is to be processed, the business server 101 identifies the interpretation corresponding to the interpretation request using the request information table 500 . Then, if there is a flag indicating that the identified image interpretation is complete, the business server 101 determines that the image interpretation is complete.

If it is determined in step S801 that interpretation has been completed, the process returns to step S802. If it is determined that the interpretation is not completed, it waits until the interpretation is completed.

In step S802, the business server 101 determines whether the interpretation request to be processed is for blind double interpretation and whether or not the allocation frame for tertiary interpretation has not yet been generated. Whether or not the interpretation is blind double interpretation can be determined by referring to the interpretation method item of the request information table 500 . Whether or not the allocation frame for the tertiary interpretation has not been generated can be determined by referring to the allocation frame ID. If it is determined to be blind double interpretation, the process proceeds to step S803. If it is determined that the interpretation is not blind double interpretation, this series of processing ends.

In step S803, the first acquisition unit 301 acquires the number of findings (first number of findings) included in the first interpretation result input by the first interpretation doctor in the primary interpretation. Specifically, the number of records with an allocation frame ID of “1” in the image interpretation result table 900 is acquired as the first number of findings. In the example of FIG. 9, the first number of findings is "1".

In step S804, the second acquisition unit 302 acquires the number of findings (second number of findings) included in the second interpretation result input by the second interpretation doctor in the secondary interpretation. The second number of findings is also obtained in the same manner as in step S803. In the example of FIG. 9, the second number of findings is "2".

In step S805, the generation unit 303 calculates the sum of the first number of findings acquired in step S803 and the second number of findings acquired in step S804. In the example of FIG. 9, the total value is "3". As described above, not only the total value but also the average value or the difference between the first number of findings and the second number of findings may be obtained.

In step S806, the generation unit 303 determines whether or not the total value obtained in step S805 is equal to or greater than the threshold. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not the total value is greater than a threshold. It is also assumed that the threshold is set in advance according to the operation of the interpretation center. If it is determined that the total value is equal to or greater than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S807. Otherwise, this series of processes is terminated.

In step S<b>807 , the generating unit 303 generates in the request information table 500 an allocation frame for tertiary interpretation related to the interpretation request to be processed. Request ID "7" in the request information table 500 is an interpretation request for blind double interpretation. FIG. 10 shows an example of a result of generating a tertiary interpretation allocation frame for this interpretation request. The record at the bottom of the request information table 500 shown in FIG. 10 is the allocation frame for the newly generated tertiary interpretation. When step S401 in FIG. 4 described above is executed after the allocation frames for the tertiary interpretation are generated in this way, the generated allocation frames for the tertiary interpretation are displayed on the request sorting screen 600. FIG. An example of this display result is shown in FIG. On the left side of the request allocation screen 600 shown in FIG. 11, information indicating the allocation frame for the tertiary interpretation related to the aforementioned request ID "7" is displayed. In this state, the interpretation doctor determination unit 305 determines the third interpretation doctor who performs the tertiary interpretation by automatically or manually assigning the interpretation doctor to the allocation frame.

As described above, the business server 101 determines the necessity of the tertiary interpretation according to the number of the first findings and the number of the second findings. information can be generated to determine the interpreting physician of the Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden on the third interpreting doctor as compared with determining the third interpreting doctor for all interpretation requests.

<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the total value of the number of first findings and the number of second findings is compared with the threshold. However, if the second interpretation result includes the same findings as those included in the first interpretation result, the total value becomes unnecessarily large. For example, assume that both the number of first findings and the number of second findings are two. In this case, the importance is different between the case where exactly the same findings are input in the primary and secondary interpretations and the case where completely different findings are input in the primary and secondary interpretations. That is, the former has two locations where findings are recognized, while the latter has four locations where findings are recognized, so there are more items to be confirmed in the latter than in the former. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, in the second embodiment, a technique for determining the necessity of tertiary interpretation more appropriately than in the first embodiment will be described.

The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except for the processing in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, so only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

[Processing flow]
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow of processing for generating allocation frames for tertiary interpretation according to the second embodiment. Steps S1201 to S1204 in FIG. 12 are the same as steps S801 to S804 in FIG. 8 described above, so description thereof will be omitted. Further, steps S1207 to S1208 in FIG. 12 are the same as steps S806 to S807 in FIG. 8 described above, so description thereof will be omitted.

In step S<b>1205 , the second acquisition unit 302 calculates the number of findings included in the acquired second interpretation result excluding findings that are the same as the findings included in the first interpretation result, and calculates the number of findings. Obtained as the number of secondary findings. Specifically, the second acquisition unit 302 compares each finding included in the first interpretation result with each finding included in the second interpretation result. Then, if the second interpretation result includes the same findings as the findings included in the first interpretation result, the second acquisition unit 302 acquires the number of the same findings in step S1204. Subtract from the number of secondary findings. In other words, findings that are the same as those included in the first interpretation result are excluded from the second number of findings to be counted. By doing so, duplication of findings counted as the number of findings is prevented. In the example of FIG. 9, the finding of the first record, which is the result of the first interpretation, and the finding of the third record, which is the result of the second interpretation, are the same. Therefore, the number of identical findings "1" is subtracted from the second number of findings "2" acquired in step S1204, and the second number of findings after calculation becomes "1".

It should be noted that whether or not the images are the same can be determined as being the same when each item indicating the finding, such as the site, the name of the finding, and the determination result, as shown in the image interpretation result table 900 shown in FIG. 9, all match each other. Alternatively, it may be determined that they are the same if they partially match. For example, even if the determination result of the findings included in the first interpretation result and the determination result of the findings included in the second interpretation result are different, if the respective finding names match, the two findings are the same. It may be determined that there is

In step S1206, the generation unit 303 calculates the sum of the first number of findings acquired in step S1203 and the second number of findings acquired in step S1205. As described above, not only the total value but also the average value or the difference between the first number of findings and the second number of findings may be obtained. The total value obtained in this way and the threshold are compared in step S1207.

As described above, only unique findings are counted as the number of findings, so it is possible to determine the necessity of tertiary interpretation more accurately than in the first embodiment.

<Modification 2-1>
In the second embodiment, the determination of whether or not the findings included in the first interpretation result and the findings included in the second interpretation result are identical is performed using each item of the findings shown in the interpretation result table 900. I explained that it is based on judgment. On the other hand, the finding text included in the interpretation result table 900 may be used for match determination. Finding text is a comment about the finding. Since this is free-form text entered by the radiologist, an exact match is rare. Therefore, the business server 101 semantically analyzes the finding text included in the first interpretation result and the finding text included in the second interpretation result by known natural language processing, and determines whether or not they have the same meaning. By doing so, it may be determined whether or not each finding is the same.

Further, as described above with reference to FIG. 7B, since the position 702 where the finding is recognized is specified on the schema, this is saved as the interpretation result in the interpretation result table 900, and the match determination in step S1205 is performed. may be used for Also in this case, it is rare that the position of the findings included in the first interpretation result and the position of the findings included in the second interpretation result completely match. Therefore, by determining whether or not the position of the finding included in the second interpretation result is included within a predetermined range centered on the position of the finding included in the first interpretation result, a match determination can be performed. good.

<Modification 2-2>
In the second embodiment, in step S1206, the total value of the number of first findings acquired in step S1203 and the number of second findings excluding the same findings acquired in step S1205 is calculated. Ta. However, the processes do not necessarily have to be executed in this order. Specifically, the total value of the first number of findings acquired in step S1203 and the second number of findings acquired in step S1204 is first calculated. Then, the number of findings determined to be identical is subtracted from this total value. Even with such a form, the same effects as those of the second embodiment can be obtained.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, if the total value of the number of first findings and the number of second findings is equal to or greater than the threshold, the quota frame for tertiary interpretation is generated. However, even if this condition is not satisfied, tertiary interpretation may be necessary depending on the determination result. For example, if the determination result is "requires detailed examination", the patient must undergo the examination, which imposes a burden on the patient. Therefore, by having the interpreting doctor confirm in the tertiary interpretation whether or not it is really "requires a detailed examination", it is possible to prevent imposing an unnecessary burden on the patient. In the third embodiment, a technique for enabling tertiary interpretation to be performed even in such cases will be described.

The third embodiment is the same as the first and second embodiments except for the functional configuration shown in FIG. 3 and the processing in the flowchart shown in FIG. Only parts different from the form will be explained.

[Function configuration]
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the business server 101. As shown in FIG. The business server 101 has a first determination unit 1301 and a second determination unit 1302 in addition to the functional units described in the first embodiment.

The first determination unit 1301 refers to an importance table (importance information) in which judgment results and importance are associated with each other, and determines the importance of the judgment result included in the first interpretation result input in the primary interpretation. Determine (first importance). FIG. 15 shows an example of the importance level table 1500. As shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 15, the importance is associated with each judgment result, and is set so that "no abnormality" has the lowest importance and "precision required" has the highest importance. In the third embodiment, the first determination unit 1301 uses such an importance table 1500 to determine the importance of each finding included in the first interpretation result. That is, if the first interpretation result includes multiple findings, multiple degrees of importance are determined. Among these, the first determining unit 1301 determines the highest importance as the importance of the first interpretation result. The degree of importance may be associated with information other than the determination result, such as the site, finding name, and finding text. For example, the finding name "nodular lesion" and the importance "4" may be associated, and the importance may be determined based on this. Alternatively, the importance may be determined for each item of findings included in the first interpretation result, and the total value or average value thereof may be determined as the importance of the first interpretation result. In this way, the first determining unit 1301 uses the importance level information in which the determination result and the importance level are associated with each other to obtain the first importance level indicating the importance level of the determination result included in the first interpretation result. It corresponds to an example of the first determining means for determining the power.

The second determining unit 1302 refers to an importance table in which judgment results and importance are associated with each other, and determines the importance of judgment results (second importance). The method of determining importance is the same as that of the first determination unit 1301 . In this way, the second determining unit 1302 uses the importance information to determine the second importance indicating the importance of the determination result included in the second interpretation result. It corresponds to an example.

[Processing flow]
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of processing for generating allocation frames for tertiary interpretation according to the third embodiment. Steps S1401 to S1406 in FIG. 14 are the same as steps S1201 to S1206 in FIG. 12 described above, so description thereof will be omitted. Further, since step S1408 in FIG. 14 is the same as step S1208 in FIG. 12 described above, description thereof will be omitted.

In step S1407, the generation unit 303 determines whether or not the total value obtained in step S1406 is equal to or greater than the threshold. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not the total value is greater than a threshold. If it is determined that the total value is equal to or greater than the threshold, the process advances to step S1408. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S1409.

In step S1409, the first determining unit 1301 refers to the importance table 1500 and determines the importance corresponding to the finding determination result included in the first interpretation result as the first importance. The method of determining the degree of importance is as described above.

In step S1410, the second determination unit 1302 refers to the importance table 1500 and determines the importance corresponding to the determination result of the finding included in the second interpretation result as the second importance. Also for this step, the method of determining the degree of importance is as described above.

In step S1411, the generating unit 303 determines whether or not the first degree of importance acquired in step S1409 or the second degree of importance acquired in step S1410 satisfies a predetermined condition. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the first importance or the second importance is equal to or greater than a threshold. Incidentally, it may be determined whether or not the first importance or the second importance is greater than a threshold. Also, it may be determined whether the first importance and the second importance are equal to or greater than a threshold (or whether they are greater than the threshold). Furthermore, it is assumed that the threshold is set in advance according to the operation of the interpretation center. If it is determined that the first importance or the second importance is greater than or equal to the threshold, the process advances to step S1408. Otherwise, this series of processes is terminated.

As described above, by considering not only the number of findings but also the importance of the judgment results, even if the number of findings is small, when important findings are input, the interpreting doctor can perform the tertiary interpretation. be able to.

<Modification 3-1>
In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, when the total value of the number of findings is not equal to or greater than the threshold, determination is made based on the degree of importance. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 16, it is also possible to adopt a mode in which only the determination is made based on the degree of importance. FIG. 16 is a modification of the flow chart of FIG. Steps S1601 to S1602 and steps S1608 to S1611 in FIG. 16 are the same as steps S1401 to S1402 and steps S1408 to S1411 in FIG. 14, respectively. When the target interpretation request is blind double interpretation, the business server 101 determines the first importance and the second importance, and determines whether any of them is equal to or greater than the threshold. . In this way, the information for determining the third interpreting doctor may be generated by determination based on the degree of importance without considering the total number of findings.

<Modification 3-2>
In the third embodiment, it is determined whether or not the first importance or the second importance is greater than or equal to the threshold. On the other hand, it may be determined whether or not the total value of the first importance and the second importance is equal to or greater than a threshold. Moreover, not only the total value but also the average value of the first importance and the second importance or the difference between the first importance and the second importance may be used.

<Other embodiments>
Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention can also be embodied as, for example, systems, devices, methods, programs, or storage media. Specifically, it may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of one device.

It should be noted that the present invention includes those that directly or remotely supply a software program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus. The present invention also includes a case where the computer of the system or apparatus reads and executes the supplied program code.

Therefore, the program code itself installed in the computer to implement the functional processing of the present invention also implements the present invention. That is, the present invention also includes the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, or the like.

Recording media for supplying programs include, for example, flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, MOs, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs. There are also magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, ROMs, and DVDs (DVD-ROM, DVD-R).

Another method of supplying the program is to connect to a home page on the Internet using a browser on the client computer. It can also be supplied by downloading the computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function from the home page to a recording medium such as a hard disk.

It is also possible to divide the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and download each file from a different home page. In other words, the present invention also includes a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download program files for implementing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer.

In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. Let Then, by using the downloaded key information, the encrypted program can be executed and installed in the computer.

Also, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. In addition, based on the instructions of the program, the OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can also be realized by the processing.

Further, the program read from the recording medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. After that, based on the instruction of the program, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing also realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

It should be noted that the above-described embodiments merely show specific examples for carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed to be limited by these. That is, the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from its technical concept or main features.

101 business server 301 first acquisition unit 302 second acquisition unit 303 generation unit

Claims (16)

a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the first interpretation result input by the first interpretation doctor in the primary interpretation of the interpretation request;
a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the second interpretation result input by the second interpreting doctor in the secondary interpretation relating to the interpretation request;
for determining a third interpreting doctor who performs tertiary interpretation of the interpretation request when a predetermined condition regarding the first number of findings and the second number of findings acquired by the acquisition means is satisfied; a control means for controlling;
has
The obtaining means obtains, as the second number of findings, the number of findings included in the second interpretation result excluding findings that are the same as the findings included in the first interpretation result. and information processing equipment. a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the first interpretation result input by the first interpretation doctor in the primary interpretation of the interpretation request;
a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the second interpretation result input by the second interpreting doctor in the secondary interpretation relating to the interpretation request;
for determining a third interpreting doctor who performs tertiary interpretation of the interpretation request when a predetermined condition regarding the first number of findings and the second number of findings acquired by the acquisition means is satisfied; a control means for controlling;
has
The obtaining means obtains, from among the findings included in the second interpretation result, the number obtained by excluding findings related to positions within a predetermined range from positions on the schema where the findings included in the first interpretation result are recognized, An information processing apparatus, characterized in that it is acquired as the second number of findings . a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the first interpretation result input by the first interpretation doctor in the primary interpretation of the interpretation request;
a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the second interpretation result input by the second interpreting doctor in the secondary interpretation relating to the interpretation request;
for determining a third interpreting doctor who performs tertiary interpretation of the interpretation request when a predetermined condition regarding the first number of findings and the second number of findings acquired by the acquisition means is satisfied; a control means for controlling;
has
The obtaining means sets the number of findings included in the second interpretation result excluding findings having comments similar to the comments of the findings included in the first interpretation result as the second number of findings. An information processing device characterized by acquiring . a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the first interpretation result input by the first interpretation doctor in the primary interpretation of the interpretation request;
a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the second interpretation result input by the second interpreting doctor in the secondary interpretation relating to the interpretation request;
for determining a third interpreting doctor who performs tertiary interpretation of the interpretation request when a predetermined condition regarding the first number of findings and the second number of findings acquired by the acquisition means is satisfied; a control means for controlling;
has
Even if the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the control means controls at least one of the first interpretation result and the second interpretation result to:
If a specific judgment result is included,
If a specific finding name was included,
If findings of a specific site were included,
In at least one of the above cases, an information processing apparatus characterized by performing control for determining a third interpretation doctor who performs tertiary interpretation related to the interpretation request. a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the first interpretation result input by the first interpretation doctor in the primary interpretation of the interpretation request;
a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the second interpretation result input by the second interpreting doctor in the secondary interpretation relating to the interpretation request;
for determining a third interpreting doctor who performs tertiary interpretation of the interpretation request when a predetermined condition regarding the first number of findings and the second number of findings acquired by the acquisition means is satisfied; a control means for controlling;
has
The control means controls at least one of a determination result, a finding name, and a site included in at least one of the first interpretation result and the second interpretation result even when the predetermined condition is not satisfied. and performing control for determining a third interpretation doctor who performs tertiary interpretation of the request for interpretation when a degree of importance related to one satisfies a specific condition. The predetermined condition includes that the sum of the first number of findings and the second number of findings is greater than or equal to a threshold value, or greater than a threshold value, according to any one of claims 1 to 5 The information processing device described. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said predetermined condition is a condition relating to a difference between said first number of findings and said second number of findings. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined condition is a condition regarding an average value of said first number of findings and said second number of findings. The specific condition is at least a first degree of importance based on the degree of importance included in the first interpretation result and a second degree of importance based on the degree of importance included in the second interpretation result. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5 , including that one of them is greater than or equal to a threshold value. 10. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein the control is control for generating allocation frames for radiologists. 11. The information processing according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , wherein said secondary image interpretation is image interpretation performed by said second image interpreting doctor without viewing said first image interpretation result. Device. 12. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , wherein said control means determines said third interpreting doctor based on said control. The control means controls to generate a screen for determining the third interpreting doctor, and determines the third interpreting doctor according to an instruction from the user on the screen. 13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12 . 14. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13 , wherein the image interpretation request is an image interpretation request transmitted from a requesting institution to an image interpretation center. a first number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the first interpretation result input by the first interpretation doctor in the primary interpretation of the interpretation request;
a second number of findings indicating the number of findings included in the second interpretation result input by the second interpretation doctor in the secondary interpretation related to the interpretation request;
for determining a third interpreting doctor who performs tertiary interpretation of the interpretation request when a predetermined condition regarding the first number of findings and the second number of findings acquired in the acquisition step is satisfied; a control step for controlling;
has
In the obtaining step, a number of findings included in the second interpretation result excluding findings that are the same as the findings included in the first interpretation result is obtained as the second number of findings. A control method for an information processing device. A program for causing at least one computer to function as each means of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14 .

Images