Patent ID: 7155457

Claim:
A method for managing a memory in a workstation when a size of user selected medical image files exceeds the memory capacity in the workstation, the method comprising the steps of: opening a plurality of medical image files to display a plurality of medical images; prioritizing the plurality of medical image files using a prioritization scheme having at least three levels including a first level comprising a currently viewed medical image; a second level comprising medical images in a viewing stack; and a third level comprising medical images related to medical images with a higher priority, wherein the medical images in the viewing stack and the medical images related to medical images with a higher priority are not currently viewed medical images; and further wherein the medical images from the first level are designated with a higher priority than the medical images of the second level and the medical images of the second level are designated with a higher priority than the medical images of the third level; and unloading from the memory of the workstation a medical image file having a lower priority than at least one of the open medical image files stored in memory, wherein the unloaded medical image file includes at least a portion of at least one of the open medical images.