Abstract:
A method is provided for simultaneously implementing an image preprocessing and storing of presentation states during a running image transfer by sending acquired image data, which may be in a low resolution format, to an image processing station where processing descriptions associated with the acquired image are assigned to the image data and stored along with the acquired image data in an image storage database for future access.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   In a medical image acquisition system such as a computer tomography (CT) system or nuclear magnetic resonance tomography (MR) system, the image quality of the generated image data must be examined immediately after its acquisition in order to repeat the acquisition if necessary. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , an image acquisition system  12  acquires an image from an acquisition device  13  and a first image pre-processing  14  (such as a change of the image brightness or of the image contrast) simultaneously occurs directly on the acquisition apparatus  12  (modality). The acquired and prepared images  24 ,  24 ′ are subsequently sent to a Picture Archival and Communications System (PACS)  20  and stored  22 . The processing of the image acquisition and image distribution can often take several minutes. 
   From this point in time, further processing and appraisal of the acquired images ensues in predefined work steps that are established and monitored by a machine (workflow engine). These work steps are implemented on specially-equipped finding/image processing workstations  30  by different persons (such as radiologists) specially trained for the appraisal of medical images. The finding and image processing workstation  30  is generally one and the same, although in rare situations these may be separate (e.g., expensive 3D preprocessing hardware is available for only a few systems). 
   Due to the spatial, personal and temporal separation of the image acquisition and first pre-processing  12 ,  14  on the modality, and the finding inspection at the finding/image processing workstation  30 , the pre-processing  14  on the modality requires particularly qualified personnel in order to ensure a qualified post-processing and finding description. A direct quality control and/or pre-processing of the image acquisition by the qualified radiologist on the finding workstation is not possible with present systems. 
   Due to the spatial separation of the image acquisition system  12  from the finding/image processing system  30  for the pre-processing of the images, the same image processing tools may not be available for the pre-processing  14  as are available on the finding workstations  30 , or, if the same tools of the finding system  30  are separately provided for on the image acquisition system  12 , there are additional costs. 
   This problem was previously solved by specially-trained personnel at the image acquisition apparatuses  12 . These personnel had to ensure that the acquired images  24 ,  24 ′ possessed a quality sufficient for the finding generation. In the event that this quality was not present, a complete repetition of the acquisition procedure would have to ensue again. 
   SUMMARY 
   The inventive embodiment enables a simultaneous, but spatially-separate, quality control of the data immediately present in the acquisition process with the image processing tools of the finding workstations by the same personnel (radiologists) that also implement the later finding generation, and it is ensured that the parameters of the pre-processing are already available in the form of processing descriptions (presentation states) at the point in time of the acquisition of the acquired medical data in the image information system (PACS). 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Various embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the following figures. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the known image acquisition and processing system; and 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the inventive image acquisition and processing system. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the inventive embodiment is comprised of an image acquisition apparatus  12 , an image processing workstation  30  and an image archive and information system (PACS)  20  that are respectively connected with one another via a data network. 
   The image processing workstation  30  provides the image processing capabilities and enables the generation of image processing descriptions (presentation states) for the medical images shown on the image processing workstation  30 . The presentation states describe manipulations of the medical images, e.g. adjustments of contrast/brightness, rotation as well as additional descriptive information as drawings and textual descriptions, highlighting of regions of interest etc. Presentation states do not modify the underlying image, but are rather applied to an image to perform its image processing steps resulting in the final image presentation. 
   The image acquisition apparatus  12  offers the possibilities to already generate preview images of lower resolution/quality  24  of the directly-implemented acquisition procedure during a running image acquisition by the image acquisition system  12 , and to send these preview images  24  to the PACS  20  over the network. A running image acquisition and transfer is defined as occurring during a single imaging session with a patient or subject. 
   The methods of the generation and transfer of the preview images  24  can preferably ensue with the aid of progressively-coded image compression and image transfer methods such as JPEG2000. Although it is known to store low-res data individually besides high-res data, the present invention includes using a storage format such as JPEG2000 which incorporates low-res data inside the high-res data (multiresolution encoding). 
   The PACS  20  offers the possibility to simultaneously forward, via a communications apparatus, the data of a running image transfer  40  from the image acquisition apparatus  12  to an image processing workstation  30  and to link image processing descriptions (presentation states)  42  generated by the image processing workstation  30  with the simultaneously-running image transfer  24 , and to store them together in an image storage  22  with the high-resolution image exposures  24 ′ that are available later. 
   The image processing workstation  30  offers the possibility to show preview images from the image data  40  of a simultaneously-occurring image transfer from the image acquisition apparatus (modality)  12 , to implement image processing operations with these preview images  40  and to resave the description of the implemented image processing operations as presentation states  42  for PACS even though the image acquisition and image transfer are simultaneously still occurring. 
   A faster pre-processing of the images by distributed finding workstations  30  is possible with the application of the method. The image processing tools and the capability of the generation of presentation states  42  must be provided at only a single point, the finding/image processing workstation  30 . Furthermore, it is no longer necessary to provide personnel on the image acquisition apparatuses  12  who are particularly qualified for image processing; rather, it is possible to simultaneously implement the image pre-processing of a plurality of image acquisition apparatuses  12  from each arbitrary finding workstation  30 . 
   For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference has been made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language has been used to describe these embodiments. However, no limitation of the scope of the invention is intended by this specific language, and the invention should be construed to encompass all embodiments that would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the art. 
   The present invention may be described in terms of functional block components and various processing steps. Such functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or software components configured to perform the specified functions. For example, the present invention may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, where the elements of the present invention are implemented using software programming or software elements the invention may be implemented with any programming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, assembler, or the like, with the various algorithms being implemented with any combination of data structures, objects, processes, routines or other programming elements. Furthermore, the present invention could employ any number of conventional techniques for electronics configuration, signal processing and/or control, data processing and the like. 
   The particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative examples of the invention and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the invention in any way. For the sake of brevity, conventional electronics, control systems, software development and other functional aspects of the systems (and components of the individual operating components of the systems) may not be described in detail. Furthermore, the connecting lines, or connectors shown in the various figures presented are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical or logical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships, physical connections or logical connections may be present in a practical device. Moreover, no item or component is essential to the practice of the invention unless the element is specifically described as “essential” or “critical”. Numerous modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
   List of Reference Characters 
   
       
         12  image acquisition system 
         13  acquisition device 
         14  image pre-processing 
         20  Picture Archival and Communications System (PACS) 
         22  image store 
         24 ,  26  low-resolution image data, preview images 
         24 ′,  26 ′ high-resolution image data 
         30  finding/image processing workstation 
         40  image data from running image transfer 
         42  presentation states for image data