Systems and methods for dynamically applying separate image processing functions in a cloud environment
Systems for delivering one or more studies, where each of the one or more studies has a series of digital images associated with only one person and generated by an imaging modality, is disclosed. The systems include a syncing application that is configured to execute within a local area network and that is in data communication with imaging modalities and/or computing devices configured to display images generated by each of the imaging modalities. The systems also include a server adapted to be external to the local area network and in data communication with the syncing application and a client-side viewing application installed on one or more of the computing devices. The client-side viewing application is configured to acquire the studies, including unrendered data representative of the digital images of the series, locally render the unrendered data, and enable a user to manipulate the digital images.
1. A system for processing one or more medical imaging studies, the system comprising:
at least one client-side viewing application adapted to be executed on one or more of a plurality of computing devices, wherein the client-side viewing application is configured to:
receive at least one of the one or more medical imaging studies;
locally render the unrendered data in the one or more of the plurality of computing devices; and
enable a user to request a function to be applied to at least one of the digital images in the one or more medical imaging studies; and
a first group of servers adapted to store the one or more imaging studies, to transmit the at least one of the one or more medical imaging studies to the at least one client-side viewing application, and to receive the request to apply the function to the at least one of the digital images; and
a second group of servers, remote from the plurality of computing devices, adapted to apply the function to the at least one of the digital images based on a request from at least one of the first group of servers, wherein the function is at least one of an orientation detection function, a body part detection function, a segmentation function, a decimation function, a point-snap function, an edge-snap function, a contour-sculpting function, a blur detection function, or a propagation function, and wherein the second group of servers is configured to transmit the at least one of the digital images to which the function was applied to at least one of the first group servers or the at least one client-side viewing application for rendering in the one or more of the plurality of computing devices.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more medical imaging studies comprises a first series of digital images and wherein the first series of digital images are associated with only one person and generated by only one imaging modality of a plurality of imaging modalities.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the one or more medical studies comprises a second series of digital images, wherein the digital images of the second series is only associated with said one person and generated by a second imaging modality of the plurality of imaging modalities, and wherein the second imaging modality is different than the one imaging modality.
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the one imaging modality of the first series is one of an X-ray scanning system, an ultrasound imaging system, a fluorescence-based imaging system, a mammography system, a positron emission tomography system, a molecular imaging system, a MRI system, or a CT system and wherein the second imaging modality is a different one of the X-ray scanning system, the ultrasound imaging system, the fluorescence-based imaging system, the mammography system, the positron emission tomography system, the molecular imaging system, the MRI system, or the CT system.
5. The system of claim 3 , wherein each of the digital images in each of the first series and the second series is formatted in a DICOM format.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second group of servers is adapted to apply the orientation detection function by using one of a plurality of artificial neural networks to process the at least one of the digital images and generating information that determines how the at least one of the digital images should be displayed to the user.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second group of servers is adapted to apply the body part detection function by using one of a plurality of artificial neural networks to process the at least one of the digital images and generating information that determines the anatomy of at least one structure in the at least one of the digital images.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second group of servers is adapted to apply the segmentation function by enabling the user to draw a contour representing an outline of at least one anatomical object in the at least one of the digital images.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second group of servers is adapted to apply the decimation function by recursively subdividing a polygon into a plurality of segments and replacing each of the plurality of segments with a straight line if a distance between the line and the replaced segment is below a predefined threshold, wherein the polygon represents an outline of at least one anatomical object in the at least one of the digital images.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second group of servers is adapted to apply the point-snap function by enabling the user to move a point to a nearest edge of an anatomical object in order to delineate the anatomical object in the at least one of the digital images.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second group of servers is adapted to apply the edge-snap function by snapping a user-drawn contour around edges of an anatomical object in the at least one of the digital images.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second group of servers is adapted to apply the contour-sculpting function by enabling the user to move a variable-sized cursor to push, to another location, a portion of a contour of an anatomical object in the at least one of the digital images.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second group of servers is adapted to apply the blur detection function by using an artificial neural network to process the at least one of the digital images and generating an output indicative of whether the at least one of the digital images has a sufficient resolution.
14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second group of servers is adapted to apply the propagation function by propagating a volume of interest identified by the user, in the at least one of the digital images, to at least one other digital image in the one or more medical imaging studies.
15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first group of servers is configured to store the at least one of the digital images to which the function was applied separate from the at least one of the digital images before the function was applied.
16. A system for processing one or more medical imaging studies, wherein each of the one or more medical imaging studies comprises a first series of digital images and wherein the first series of digital images are associated with only one person and generated by only one imaging modality of a plurality of imaging modalities the system comprising:
at least one client-side viewing application adapted to be executed on one or more of a plurality of computing devices, wherein the client-side viewing application is configured to:
receive at least one of the one or more medical imaging studies;
locally render the unrendered data in the one or more of the plurality of computing devices;
generate a graphical interface comprising displayed list of the one or more medical imaging studies specific to the person; and
enable a user to request a function to be applied to at least one of the digital images in the one or more medical imaging studies; and
a first group of servers adapted to store the one or more imaging studies, to transmit the at least one of the one or more medical imaging studies to the at least one client-side viewing application, and to receive the request to apply the function to the at least one of the digital images; and
a second group of servers, remote from the plurality of computing devices, adapted to apply the function to the at least one of the digital images based on a request from at least one of the first group of servers, wherein the function is at least one of an orientation detection function, a body part detection function, a segmentation function, a decimation function, a point-snap function, an edge-snap function, a contour-sculpting function, a blur detection function, or a propagation function, wherein the second group of servers is configured to transmit the at least one of the digital images to which the function was applied to at least one of the first group servers or the at least one client-side viewing application for rendering in the one or more of the plurality of computing devices.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the one or more medical studies comprises a second series of digital images, wherein the digital images of the second series is only associated with said one person and generated by a second imaging modality of the plurality of imaging modalities, and wherein the second imaging modality is different than the one imaging modality.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the one imaging modality of the first series is one of an X-ray scanning system, an ultrasound imaging system, a fluorescence-based imaging system, a mammography system, a positron emission tomography system, a molecular imaging system, a MRI system, or a CT system and wherein the second imaging modality is a different one of the X-ray scanning system, the ultrasound imaging system, the fluorescence-based imaging system, the mammography system, the positron emission tomography system, the molecular imaging system, the MRI system, or the CT system.
19. The system of claim 17 , wherein each of the digital images in each of the first series and the second series is formatted in a DICOM format.
20. The system of claim 16 , wherein the first group of servers is configured to store the at least one of the digital images to which the function was applied separate from the at least one of the digital images before the function was applied.