Integration of medical software and advanced image processing

Abstract

According to one embodiment, at least a portion of medical information of a patient is displayed within MRCS executed within a local device, the medical information including medical treatment history of the patient. At least a portion of the displayed medical information of the patient is transmitted to a medical imaging processing server over a network, where the transmitted medical information includes a patient identifier (ID) of the patient. Both the at least a portion of patient medical information and one or more medical images are displayed within the MRCS, where the medical images are associated with the patient and rendered by the medical image processing server. A set of icons representing a set of image processing tools is displayed within the MRCS, which when activated by a user, allow an image to be manipulated by the imaging processing server.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method performed by a medical record and/or clinical trial software (MRCS) client, the method comprising:
 in response to medical information of a patient received from a medical data server over a network, displaying, by the MRCS client executed by a processor within a data processing system, at least a portion of medical information of the patient within the MRCS client;   in response to a first input selecting the first portion of the displayed medical information, automatically identifying and extracting one or more keywords from the first portion of the medical information;   transmitting a first request to a medical imaging processing server over the network, wherein the first request includes a patient identifier (ID) of the patient and the one or more keywords associated with the first portion of the medical information;   receiving a first set of one or more medical images from the medical imaging processing server over the network, wherein the one or more medical images of the first set are associated with the first body part of the patient based on the patient ID and the one or more keywords;   displaying, within the MRCS client, both the first portion of patient medical information and the first set of one or more medical images;   displaying, within the MRCS client, a first set of icons representing a first set of image processing tools, which when activated, allow an image to be processed by the imaging processing server;   in response to a second input selecting a first image of the first set and a first image processing tool from the first set of icons, transmitting a second request to the image processing server to perform a measurement on the first image using the first image processing tool, wherein the second request includes a first image ID identifying the first image and a first tool ID identifying the first image processing tool; and   in response to a measurement result of the first image received from the image processing server, displaying the measurement result within the MRCS client while the first image is concurrently displayed.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a user preference of a user utilizing the MRCS client with respect to the first portion of the medical information of the patient; and   displaying the set of icons in a manner within the MRCS client based on the user preference of the user.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the user preference is determined based on previous user interactions with the first portion of the medical information from the user. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second request is to request the image processing server to measure a size of a tumor of the first image, and wherein the measurement result is transmitted to the medical data server as medical image metadata to be associated with the first portion of the medical information stored therein. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 receiving a body mass index (BMI) of the patient from the medical data server as a part of the medical information of the patient; and   transmitting the BMI of the patient to the image processing server to be stored therein and associated with the patient, wherein the measurement of the tumor is performed further based on the BMI of the patient.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 retrieving from the medical data server a list of measurements of the tumor of the first body part that were performed by the image processing server over a predetermined period of time; and   displaying the list of measurements of the tumor of the first body part as a part of the first portion of medical information.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of image processing tools comprises a computed tomography angiography (CTA) subtraction tool to remove a high density structure from an image. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the first set of image processing tools further comprises a vessel analysis tool to perform an auto-centerline extraction, a straighten view, a diameter and length measurement on a blood vessel. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first set of image processing tools further comprises a flythrough tool to provide a side-by-side review, painting of a previously-viewed area, percentage coverage tracking, and multiple screen layouts. 
     
     
         10 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processing device to perform operations of a medical record and/or clinical trial software (MRCS) client, the operations comprising:
 in response to medical information of a patient received from a medical data server over a network, displaying, by the MRCS client executed by a processor within a data processing system, at least a portion of medical information of the patient within the MRCS client;   in response to a first input selecting the first portion of the displayed medical information, automatically identifying and extracting one or more keywords from the first portion of the medical information;   transmitting a first request to a medical imaging processing server over the network, wherein the first request includes a patient identifier (ID) of the patient and the one or more keywords associated with the first portion of the medical information;   receiving a first set of one or more medical images from the medical imaging processing server over the network, wherein the one or more medical images of the first set are associated with the first body part of the patient based on the patient ID and the one or more keywords;   displaying, within the MRCS client, both the first portion of patient medical information and the first set of one or more medical images;   displaying, within the MRCS client, a first set of icons representing a first set of image processing tools, which when activated, allow an image to be processed by the imaging processing server;   in response to a second input selecting a first image of the first set and a first image processing tool from the first set of icons, transmitting a second request to the image processing server to perform a measurement on the first image using the first image processing tool, wherein the second request includes a first image ID identifying the first image and a first tool ID identifying the first image processing tool; and   in response to a measurement result of the first image received from the image processing server, displaying the measurement result within the MRCS client while the first image is concurrently displayed.   
     
     
         11 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 determining a user preference of a user utilizing the MRCS client with respect to the first portion of the medical information of the patient; and   displaying the set of icons in a manner within the MRCS client based on the user preference of the user.   
     
     
         12 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the user preference is determined based on previous user interactions with the first portion of the medical information from the user. 
     
     
         13 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the second request is to request the image processing server to measure a size of a tumor of the first image, and wherein the measurement result is transmitted to the medical data server as medical image metadata to be associated with the first portion of the medical information stored therein. 
     
     
         14 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving a body mass index (BMI) of the patient from the medical data server as a part of the medical information of the patient; and   transmitting the BMI of the patient to the image processing server to be stored therein and associated with the patient, wherein the measurement of the tumor is performed further based on the BMI of the patient.   
     
     
         15 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 retrieving from the medical data server a list of measurements of the tumor of the first body part that were performed by the image processing server over a predetermined period of time; and   displaying the list of measurements of the tumor of the first body part as a part of the first portion of medical information.   
     
     
         16 . A data processing system comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory storing instructions representing a medical record and/or clinical trial software (MRCS) client, which when executed from the memory, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations including
 in response to medical information of a patient received from a medical data server over a network, displaying, by the MRCS client executed by a processor within a data processing system, at least a portion of medical information of the patient within the MRCS client, 
 in response to a first input selecting the first portion of the displayed medical information, automatically identifying and extracting one or more keywords from the first portion of the medical information, 
 transmitting a first request to a medical imaging processing server over the network, wherein the first request includes a patient identifier (ID) of the patient and the one or more keywords associated with the first portion of the medical information, 
 receiving a first set of one or more medical images from the medical imaging processing server over the network, wherein the one or more medical images of the first set are associated with the first body part of the patient based on the patient ID and the one or more keywords, 
 displaying, within the MRCS client, both the first portion of patient medical information and the first set of one or more medical images, 
 displaying, within the MRCS client, a first set of icons representing a first set of image processing tools, which when activated, allow an image to be processed by the imaging processing server, 
 in response to a second input selecting a first image of the first set and a first image processing tool from the first set of icons, transmitting a second request to the image processing server to perform a measurement on the first image using the first image processing tool, wherein the second request includes a first image ID identifying the first image and a first tool ID identifying the first image processing tool, and 
 in response to a measurement result of the first image received from the image processing server, displaying the measurement result within the MRCS client while the first image is concurrently displayed. 
   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 determining a user preference of a user utilizing the MRCS client with respect to the first portion of the medical information of the patient; and   displaying the set of icons in a manner within the MRCS client based on the user preference of the user.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the user preference is determined based on previous user interactions with the first portion of the medical information from the user. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the second request is to request the image processing server to measure a size of a tumor of the first image, and wherein the measurement result is transmitted to the medical data server as medical image metadata to be associated with the first portion of the medical information stored therein. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving a body mass index (BMI) of the patient from the medical data server as a part of the medical information of the patient; and   transmitting the BMI of the patient to the image processing server to be stored therein and associated with the patient, wherein the measurement of the tumor is performed further based on the BMI of the patient.   
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 retrieving from the medical data server a list of measurements of the tumor of the first body part that were performed by the image processing server over a predetermined period of time; and   displaying the list of measurements of the tumor of the first body part as a part of the first portion of medical information.