Method and apparatus for anonymized medical data analysis
View Patent ↗A data processing system may include a local computing device to receive medical data including a patient's protected health information (PHI) and at least one medical image associated with the patient; an anonymizing device to separate the PHI with the medical image; an image processing unit to analyze the medical image; and a processed results managing (PRM) unit configured to recognize and link analyzed results of the medical image to the corresponding patient's PHI, and combine the analyzed results and the patient's PHI to generate an analysis report. The present invention is advantageous because it allows medical images to be analyzed off-site while minimizing the risk of compromising the patient's PHI. Furthermore, the anonymized medical analysis can be used to guide and improve medical treatment especially during a medical procedure.
1. A computer-implemented method for processing medical data comprising steps of:
receiving medical data from a local device, the medical data including a patient's protected health information (PHI) and at least one medical image associated with the patient;
separating the PHI and the medical image;
processing the medical image; and
combining the PHI with processed results of the medical image,
wherein the step of processing the medical image includes steps of transmitting the medical image to a remote computing device, assigning an identifier to the medical image, analyzing the medical image, and transmitting results of the analyzed medical image to the local device, and
wherein the step of combining the PHI with processed results of the medical image includes a step of recognizing and linking the identifier of the medical image with the patient's PHI.
2. The computer-implemented method for processing medical data of claim 1 , wherein the step of separating the PHI and the medical image is conducted on the local device.
3. The computer-implemented method for processing medical data of claim 1 , wherein the identifier is allowed to be generated on the local device.
4. The computer-implemented method for processing medical data of claim 1 , wherein the results of the analyzed medical image are transmitted electronically, such as through the Internet, a private network, or intranet.
5. A data processing system comprising:
a local computing device to receive medical data including a patient's protected health information (PHI) and at least one medical image associated with the patient;
an anonymizing device to separate the PHI with the medical image;
an image processing unit to analyze the medical image; and
a processed results managing (PRM) unit configured to recognize and link analyzed results of the medical image to the corresponding patient's PHI, and combine the analyzed results and the patient's PHI to generate an analysis report,
wherein the image processing unit is configured to assign an identifier to the analyzed results, so that the analyzed results are matched with corresponding patient's PHI at the local computing device, and
wherein the PRM unit is configured to recognize the identifier and link the analyzed results with the corresponding patient's PHI.
6. The data processing system of claim 5 , wherein the computing device, the anonymizing device and the PRM unit are located in a local site, while the image processing unit is located in a remote site.
7. The data processing system of claim 5 , wherein each of the local site and remote site further includes a data communicating unit to transmit the data from the local site to the remote site and vice versa.
8. The data processing system of claim 6 , wherein the patient's PHI is kept at the local site.