Systems and methods for viewing medical images
For certain medical images, it is important and/or required that a user view all of a medical image at full resolution so that minute, but important, indicia in the medical image are not missed. A computing systems monitor the portions of the medical image that are displayed on the display device, notates those portions that have been displayed at full resolution (or other user-defined display parameters), and provides the user with information indicating portions that have not been viewed at full resolution and/or provides information indicating for which images of a multiple image examination full pixel display has been accomplished. The process reduces the possibility of missing an abnormality in a medical image due to the viewer not viewing a portion of the image at full resolution or using other user defined display parameters.
1. A computer-implemented method for medical image display and analysis, the method comprising:
by one or more processors executing program instructions:
determining one or more irrelevant portions of a medical image;
selectively displaying, in response to input received from a user, one or more portions of the medical image on a display device at a first resolution;
storing tracking information indicating the one or more portions of the image displayed on the display device at the first resolution; and
in response to determining, based on at least the stored tracking information, a portion of the medical image not displayed at the first resolution and not included in the one or more irrelevant portions of the medical image, providing a notification to the user.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the notification includes providing at least one selected from a group consisting of a visible notification and an audible notification.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
adding a portion of the medical image to the one or more irrelevant portions of the medical image in response to user input.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
removing a portion of the medical image from the one or more irrelevant portions of the medical image in response to user input.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the one or more irrelevant portions of the medical image includes performing at least one selected from a group consisting of edge enhancement, automated image analysis, and computer-aided detection.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more irrelevant portions of the medical image include an area of the medical image representing air.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
identifying each portion of the medical image not included in the one or more irrelevant portions of the medical image as a relevant portion; and
in response to determining, based on the stored tracking information, that each relevant portion of the medical image has been displayed at the first resolution, providing a second notification.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining a parameter of the medical image, wherein the parameter indicates one or more of a user type, an exam type, and a modality and wherein determining the one or more irrelevant portions of the medical image includes determining the one or more irrelevant portions of the medical image based on the parameter of the medical image.
9. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by at least one electronic processor, perform a set of functions, the set of functions comprising:
determining one or more irrelevant portions of a medical image;
selectively displaying, in response to input received from a user, one or more portions of the medical image on a display device at a first resolution;
storing tracking information indicating the one or more portions of the image displayed on the display device at the first resolution; and
in response to determining, based on at least the stored tracking information, a portion of the medical image not displayed at the first resolution and not included in the one or more irrelevant portions of the medical image, providing a notification to the user.
10. A system configured for image display and analysis, the system comprising:
one or more processors; and
a non-transitory computer readable medium operatively coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions,
the one or more processors configured, via execution of the executable instructions, to:
determine a set of irrelevant portions of the image;
selectively display, in response to input received from a user, one or more portions of the image on a display device at a first resolution;
store tracking information indicating the one or more portions of the image displayed on the display device at the first resolution; and
in response to determining, based on at least the stored tracking information, a portion of the image not displayed at the first resolution and not included in the set of irrelevant portion of the image, provide a notification to a user.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the notification includes at least one selected from a group consisting of a visible notification and an audible notification.
12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to add a portion of the image to the set of irrelevant portions of the image in response to user input.
13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to remove a portion of the image from the set of irrelevant portions of the image in response to user input.
14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the set of irrelevant portions of the image by performing at least one selected from a group consisting of edge enhancement, automated image analysis, and computer-aided detection.
15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the set of irrelevant portions of the image includes an area of the image representing air.
16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the image includes one selected from a group consisting of a medical image, an image of a circuit board, an airplane wing image, and a satellite image.
17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the image is stored in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (“DICOM”) format.
18. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
identify each portion of the image not included in the set of irrelevant portions as a relevant a portion of the image; and
in response to determining, based on the stored tracking information, that each relevant portion of the image has been displayed at the first resolution, provide a second notification to the user.
19. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
determine a parameter of the image, wherein the parameter indicates one or more of a user type, an exam type, and a modality and wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the set of irrelevant portions based on the parameter of the image.
20. The system of claim 10 , wherein the set of irrelevant portions of the image is an empty set.