Database systems and interactive user interfaces for dynamic interaction with, and review of, digital medical image data
Database systems and techniques are disclosed for accessing data stores of digital medical images, processing the digital images, and displaying the digital images to efficiently provide information in an interactive user interface. The disclosure may advantageously provide efficient and rapid dynamic interaction with digital images accessed from one or more databases to enable user detection of differences between related digital images. Interactive user interfaces may be dynamically updated to provide rapid comparison of digital images. Further, digital images from multiple data sources may be automatically sorted by the system according to attributes associated with the images and rules and/or preferences of the user. In an embodiment the user may select a digital image from a first data source, and the system automatically determines and displays one or more comparison images from other image data sources. Images may additionally be automatically registered and/or matched to enable more efficient comparison and evaluation.
1. A database computing system for processing digital medical images, the computing system comprising:
an electronic display;
an input device;
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium configured to store software instructions; and
one or more computer processors in communication with the electronic display, the input device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the one or more computer processors configured to execute the software instructions in order to cause the computing system to:
generate user interface data usable for displaying a user interface on the electronic display, the user interface including at least a plurality of selectable image thumbnails, wherein each of the plurality of selectable image thumbnails represent a corresponding medical image of an image series of a medical exam, wherein the image series includes a plurality of medical images, and wherein the medical exam is associated with a patient; and
in response to a user input indicating selection of a first image thumbnail of the plurality of selectable image thumbnails:
determine a first medical image of a first image series of a first medical exam associated with the first image thumbnail, wherein the first image series includes a first plurality of medical images, and wherein the first medical exam is associated with a patient;
determine, based on one or more matching rules, a comparison series of a comparison exam for comparison with the first image series, wherein the comparison series includes a second plurality of medical images, and wherein the comparison medical exam is also associated with the patient and was acquired at a time different than the first medical exam;
identify, based on one or more attributes of the first medical image, a comparison medical image of the comparison image series for comparison with the first medical image;
update the user interface data such that the user interface includes at least:
the first medical image of the first image series displayed in a first image pane in a first location; and
the comparison medical image of the comparison image series displayed in a second image pane in a second location; and
in response to a second user input indicating a request to sort medical images:
automatically determine one or more sorting rules based on an exam attribute, the exam attribute including an attribute of at least one of the first medical exam and the comparison exam;
automatically select a first image attribute and a second image attribute based on the one or more sorting rules;
sort a set of images including the first and second plurality of medical images to determine a sorted set of images by at least:
sorting the set of images based on the first image attribute; and
further sorting the set of images based on the second image attribute such that the sorted set of images are sorted based on both the first image attribute and the second image attributes, wherein the sorted set of images is a changed order of the images in the set of images based on the first image attribute and the second image attributes; and
update the user interface data such that the user interface includes at least:
a third image pane overlaying the first and second image panes, wherein a first image of the sorted set of images is displayed in the third image pane.
2. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the user input indicating selection of the first image thumbnail of the plurality of selectable image thumbnails comprises a dragging of the first image thumbnail from a first portion of the user interface to a second portion of the user interface.
3. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computer processors are configured to execute the software instructions in order to further cause the computing system to:
in response to a third user input indicating a direction of movement within the sorted set of images, update the user interface data such that, in the user interface, the first image is replaced with a second image of the sorted set of images that is adjacent to the first image in the sorted set of images, wherein the second image is displayed in the third image pane.
4. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second locations are adjacent to one another.
5. A method comprising: by one or more computer processors configured to execute software instructions:
generating user interface data usable for displaying a user interface on an electronic display, the user interface including at least a plurality of selectable image thumbnails, wherein each of the plurality of selectable image thumbnails represent a corresponding medical image of an image series of a medical exam, wherein the image series includes a plurality of medical images, and wherein the medical exam is associated with a patient; and
in response to a user input indicating selection of a first image thumbnail of the plurality of selectable image thumbnails:
determining a first medical image of a first image series of a first medical exam associated with the first image thumbnail, wherein the first image series includes a first plurality of medical images, and wherein the first medical exam is associated with a patient;
determining, based on one or more matching rules, a comparison series of a comparison exam for comparison with the first image series, wherein the comparison series includes a second plurality of medical images, and wherein the comparison medical exam is also associated with the patient and was acquired at a time different than the first medical exam;
identifying, based on one or more attributes of the first medical image, a comparison medical image of the comparison image series for comparison with the first medical image;
updating the user interface data such that the user interface includes at least:
the first medical image of the first image series displayed in a first image pane in a first location; and
the comparison medical image of the comparison image series displayed in a second image pane in a second location; and
in response to a second user input indicating a request to sort medical images:
automatically determining one or more sorting rules based on an exam attribute, the exam attribute including an attribute of at least one of the first medical exam and the comparison exam;
automatically selecting a first image attribute and a second image attribute based on the one or more sorting rules;
sorting a set of images including the first and second plurality of medical images to determine a sorted set of images by at least:
sorting the set of images based on the first image attribute; and
further sorting the set of images based on the second image attribute such that the sorted set of images are sorted based on both the first image attribute and the second image attributes, wherein the sorted set of images is a changed order of the images in the set of images based on the first image attribute and the second image attributes; and
updating the user interface data such that the user interface includes at least:
a third image pane overlaying the first and second image panes, wherein a first image of the sorted set of images is displayed in the third image pane.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the user input indicating selection of the first image thumbnail of the plurality of selectable image thumbnails comprises a dragging of the first image thumbnail from a first portion of the user interface to a second portion of the user interface.
7. The method of claim 5 further comprising: by the one or more computer processors configured to execute software instructions:
in response to a third user input indicating a direction of movement within the sorted set of images,
updating the user interface data such that, in the user interface, the first image is replaced with a second image of the sorted set of images that is adjacent to the first image in the sorted set of images, wherein the second image is displayed in the third image pane.
8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first and second locations are adjacent to one another.
9. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computer processor to cause the computer processor to:
generate user interface data usable for displaying a user interface on an electronic display, the user interface including at least a plurality of selectable image thumbnails, wherein each of the plurality of selectable image thumbnails represent a corresponding medical image of an image series of a medical exam, wherein the image series includes a plurality of medical images, and wherein the medical exam is associated with a patient; and
in response to a user input indicating selection of a first image thumbnail of the plurality of selectable image thumbnails:
determine a first medical image of a first image series of a first medical exam associated with the first image thumbnail, wherein the first image series includes a first plurality of medical images, and wherein the first medical exam is associated with a patient;
determine, based on one or more matching rules, a comparison series of a comparison exam for comparison with the first image series, wherein the comparison series includes a second plurality of medical images, and wherein the comparison medical exam is also associated with the patient and was acquired at a time different than the first medical exam;
identify, based on one or more attributes of the first medical image, a comparison medical image of the comparison image series for comparison with the first medical image; and
update the user interface data such that the user interface includes at least:
the first medical image of the first image series displayed in a first image pane in a first location; and
the comparison medical image of the comparison image series displayed in a second image pane in a second location; and
in response to a second user input indicating a request to sort medical images:
automatically determine one or more sorting rules based on an exam attribute, the exam attribute including an attribute of at least one of the first medical exam and the comparison exam;
automatically select a first image attribute and a second image attribute based on the one or more sorting rules;
sort a set of images including the first and second plurality of medical images to determine a sorted set of images by at least:
sorting the set of images based on the first image attribute; and
further sorting the set of images based on the second image attribute such that the sorted set of images are sorted based on both the first image attribute and the second image attributes, wherein the sorted set of images is a changed order of the images in the set of images based on the first image attribute and the second image attributes; and
update the user interface data such that the user interface includes at least:
a third image pane overlaying the first and second image panes, wherein a first image of the sorted set of images is displayed in the third image pane.
10. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the user input indicating selection of the first image thumbnail of the plurality of selectable image thumbnails comprises a dragging of the first image thumbnail from a first portion of the user interface to a second portion of the user interface.
11. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the program instructions are executable by a computer processor to further cause the computer processor to:
in response to a third user input indicating a direction of movement within the sorted set of images, update the user interface data such that, in the user interface, the first image is replaced with a second image of the sorted set of images that is adjacent to the first image in the sorted set of images, wherein the second image is displayed in the third image pane.
12. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the first and second locations are adjacent to one another.