FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to devices and methods for obtaining the radiation dose received by a patient.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Radiation overexposure is one of the main risks with diagnostic imaging using radiographic equipment like DXR, CT equipment. Patients require this information, so that they are aware of the risks they are being exposed to and they can discuss alternative options with their physicians who order a certain type of procedures in accordance with the radiation-dose record.

Regulatory bodies and governments across the world are increasingly concerned about this problem and make regulations and laws to address this issue.

There are initiatives being undertaken by the industry as well as by the standardization and regulatory bodies, which will more or less address the hospital side of the problem. National Dose Registries are being established in Europe and North America, which are trying to standardize the amount of radiation dose for a given diagnostic procedure. On the Standards front, DICOM Dose SR (Structured Report) is already supported by many scanners, which is used to report the radiation dose.

But the problem on the Patient side still remains.

Patient-specific dose information is not available to the patients directly. In many cases, even worse situations exist where there is not a single place in the hospital where one can get the comprehensive dose information/record of a patient in question.

The FDA recommends patients to keep a paper-based record of the diagnostic procedures that he/she has gone through over the period of time in question, but often a paper-based record is not maintainable and frequently misses most of the vital information. In US 201 10147470A1, there is disclosed a radiation dose exposure card used in patients' radiation exposure tracking system, which has removable placards to provide a visual listing of currently administered radiation dose and date of dosage. Although it has advantages over the paper-based record of the radiation dose of patients, it is in essence still only a storage device that 1 cannot automatically obtain the patient radiation dose from the scanner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, even if the hospital can show the patient his/her dose record, provided that the hospital has in place the solution as explained in the previous section, the dose record may still be incomplete, as the patient may have gone through diagnostic radiographic procedures in more than one facility. And when some of the hospitals do not have the above-mentioned solution in place, the patient may never be able to record that part of the dose record in his/her personal dose record.

Furthermore, some of the scanners also may not support the advanced form of Dose reporting (i.e, Dicom Dose SR), in which case again that part of the Dose record may never be recorded in the patient dose record.

Therefore, there is a need for a device which is capable of automatically collecting patient radiation dose or related raw data from a radiographic scanner and a device carried by the patient himself/herself which is capable of recording the radiation dose and reporting the same to the patient directly, so that the patient may be aware of the risk he/she is being exposed to when the radiation dose exceeds a preset value.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to automatically obtain the radiation dose of a specific patient from the patient-related examination records stored in the scanner, so that the patient can store the patient dose record and thus the patient/physician can review the dose record, compare it with a preset value (for example, National standards or regional standards) instantaneously and be aware of any risks that he/she is exposed to.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is proposed an acquisition device for obtaining the radiation dose received by a patient from a radiographic scanner, comprising: a searching unit for searching for examination records related to the patient from data stored in the radiographic scanner, when the acquisition device is connected to the radiographic scanner; a collecting unit for collecting the examination records, if any; a processing unit for determining whether the radiation dose is already available from the collected examination records, and, if the result of the determining is positive, retrieving the radiation dose from the collected examination records, or, if the result of the determining is negative, generating the radiation dose based on the collected examination records; and an output unit for outputting the obtained radiation dose to a dose record device.

Accordingly, in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, there is proposed a dose record device comprising: a receiving unit for receiving the radiation dose from a radiation dose acquisition device; a storage unit for storing the radiation dose; and an interface for reporting the radiation dose to the patient.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is proposed an acquisition device for obtaining the radiation dose received by a patient, comprising: a searching unit for searching for examination records related to the patient from data stored in a radiographic scanner, when the acquisition device is connected to the radiographic scanner; a collecting unit for collecting the examination records, if any; and an output unit for outputting the collected examination records to a dose record device.

Accordingly, in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, there is proposed a dose record device comprising: a receiving unit for receiving the examination records from an acquisition device; a storage unit for storing the examination records; a processing unit for determining whether the radiation dose is already available from the examination records, and, if the result of the determining is positive, retrieving the radiation dose from the examination records, or , if the result of the determining is negative, generating the radiation dose, based on the examination records; and an interface for reporting the radiation dose to the patient. In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is proposed a system for obtaining the radiation dose received by a patient and reporting the obtained radiation dose to the patient, comprising: a searching unit for searching for examination records related to the patient from data stored in a radiographic scanner, when the device is connected to the radiographic scanner; a collecting unit for collecting the examination records, if any; a processing unit for determining whether the radiation dose is already available from the collected examination records, and, if the result of the determining is positive, retrieving the radiation dose from the collected examination records, or, if the result of the determining is negative, generating the radiation dose, based on the collected examination records; and an interface for reporting the radiation dose to the patient.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is proposed a method of obtaining the radiation dose received by a patient, comprising the steps of: searching for examination records related to the patient from data stored in a radiographic scanner; collecting the examination records, if any; determining whether the radiation dose is already available from the collected examination records; if the result of the determining is positive, retrieving the radiation dose from the collected examination records, or, if the result of the determining is negative, generating the radiation dose, based on the collected examination records; and outputting the obtained radiation dose to a dose record device.

Accordingly, in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, there is proposed a method of reporting the radiation dose, comprising: receiving the radiation dose from a radiation dose acquisition device; storing the radiation dose; and reporting the radiation dose to the patient, wherein the method further comprises a step of: calculating the total amount of the radiation dose of the patient within a predetermined time period, and a step of reporting the total amount of the radiation dose to the patient.

In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, there is proposed a method of obtaining the radiation dose received by a patient, comprising the steps of: searching for examination records related to the patient from data stored in a radiographic scanner; collecting the examination records, if any ; determining whether the radiation dose is already available from the collected examination records; if the result of the determining is positive, retrieving the radiation dose from the collected examination records, or, if the result of the determining is negative, generating the radiation dose, based on the collected examination records; and reporting the obtained radiation dose to the patient.

By means of the devices and the system disclosed in the present invention, all types of scanners can be supported, since not only the easily obtainable DICOM Dose SR of the first type of scanner can be collected, but also other types of Dose report for other types of scanners may be obtained either by converting the type of Dose report from other types to the DICOM type, or by generating the Dose report from the raw data in the old-fashioned scanner, so that the radiation dose in the examination records can be obtained, regardless of the type of scanner.

Further, by means of the devices and the system disclosed in the present invention, the patient may fully understand how much dose he/she has undergone during the past predetermined time period and accordingly he/she may be aware of the risks that he/she is exposed to. Furthermore, the patient can discuss alternative options with the physicians who order a certain type of procedures in accordance with the radiation dose record of the patient.

Various aspects and features of the disclosure are described in further detail hereinbelow. And other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and will be easily understood with reference to the description made in combination with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described and explained in more detail hereinafter in combination with embodiments and with reference to the drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the acquisition device in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of the method of obtaining the radiation dose received by a patient by the acquisition device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the method shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of the dose record device in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of the method of reporting radiation dose performed by the dose record device;

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of the acquisition device in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of the dose record device in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a block diagram of a system in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of the method of obtaining, by the system shown in Fig. 8, the radiation dose received by a patient.

The same reference signs in the figures indicate similar or corresponding features and/or functionalities.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings, but the invention is not limited thereto. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes.

First Embodiment

In accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, the gist of the present invention is implemented by two separate devices, i.e., an acquisition device 10 for obtaining the radiation dose received by a patient and a dose record device 40.

The acquisition device 10 is connectable to a radiographic scanner through a USB or Ethernet connection, or in a wireless way. Similarly, the acquisition device 10 is connectable to the dose record device 40 in a wired or wireless way using any available mechanisms, including but not limited to USB, wireless USB, Ethernet, WiFi, nearfield wireless, etc.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the acquisition device 10 in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the acquisition device 10 comprises a searching unit 11, a collecting unit 12, a processing unit 13 and an output unit 14.

The operation principle of the acquisition device 10 can be easily understood when elucidated in conjunction with Fig. 2, which is a flowchart of the method 20 performed by the acquisition device 10.

As shown in Fig. 2, at the beginning, when the acquisition device 10 is connected to the radiographic scanner, the searching unit 11 searches for examination records related to the patient from data stored in the radiographic scanner (step 21). It is to be understood that the radiographic scanner can be any apparatus that can emit radiation that passes through an object, for example CT, X-ray, etc. The data stored in the radiographic scanner is to be understood to mean that the data is stored in the memory of the scanner or in the data center of the scanner connected via a wire or wirelessly with the scanner. The data center could be for example a computer connected with the scanner.

As can be easily understood by the person skilled in the art, the examination records are the studies or reports generated or created for the patient after the patient has undergone a radiation examination. Once the patient has undergone one examination, one examination record containing all the information (such as the information on the radiation dose administered to the patient) regarding the radiation examination should be generated for the patient. The examination records may take on a variety of different forms in accordance with the type of the radiation scanners. In an example, the acquisition device 10 may further comprise a receiving unit for receiving the patient identifier from the dose record device 40, and the searching unit 11 may search for examination records according to the patient identifier. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the acquisition device 10 may search for examination records related to the patient from data stored in the radiographic scanner under the manual control of the user, such as the clinicians or the patient himself/herself.

As to the examination records related to the patient, the searching unit 11 may search for all the examination records related to the patient every time the patient wants to update his/her dose record. However, as will be easily understood, the already searched and recorded examination records related to the patient may not need to be searched again in order to save time. Therefore, in an example, the searching unit 11 may only search data stored in the radiographic scanner generated after a preset time point, which may correspond to the last time that the acquisition device 10 was connected to the dose record device 40.

Next, the collecting unit 12 will collect the patient-related examination records (step 22), if any.

Similarly, in an example, if the searching unit 11 only searches data generated after a preset time point and there are new examination records, the collecting unit 12 may only collect the new examination records.

Afterwards, the processing unit 13 will process the collected examination records. Specifically, as mentioned above, in the Standards front, DICOM Dose SR, which is used to report the radiation dose, is already supported by many scanners.. In other words, some scanners may generate the DICOM Dose SR, while others may not support the advanced form of Dose reporting (i.e, Dicom Dose SR). That is, some scanners cannot support DICOM Dose SR, but can only generate other types of Dose report (for example, a lower level, or less advanced form of Dose report). Furthermore, in addition to the above two types, there may be some old-fashioned scanners which cannot support (generate) DICOM Dose SR, and cannot generate other types of Dose report either. In other words, from the examination records generated by the old-fashioned scanners, the radiation dose of the patient may not be directly retrievable.

Therefore, the processing unit 13 of the present invention determines whether the radiation dose is already available from the collected examination records (step 23). If the result of the determining is positive, the processing unit 13 retrieves the radiation dose from the collected examination records directly (step 24).

However, if the examination records do not contain any radiation dose of the patient, the processing unit 13 generates the radiation dose, based on the raw data of the collected examination records (step 25).

In an example, the step of generating the radiation dose, based on the raw data of the collected examination records, comprises creating new Dose SR objects by performing further analysis of the attributes data in the examination records. This procedure may be different for different modalities such as CT, DXR, Mammography, etc.

Due to the processing unit 13, the acquisition device 10 of the present invention can support all types of scanners and therefore the acquisition device 10 cannot only collect the easily obtainable DICOM Dose SR of the first type of scanner, but can also generate DICOM Dose SR or other types of Dose report for other types of scanners either by converting the type of Dose report to the DICOM type, or by calculating the Dose report from the raw data in the old-fashioned scanner, so that the radiation dose in the examination records can be obtained, regardless of the type of scanner.

Finally, the output unit 14 outputs the obtained (including retrieved and generated) radiation dose to the dose record device 40 (step 26).

In practice, for legal reasons, the protection of personal privacy information should also be considered. Therefore, in a preferred example, the acquisition device 10 may further comprise an authentication unit for authenticating whether the dose record device 40 is entitled to receive the obtained radiation dose, and the output unit 14 is further adapted for outputting the obtained radiation dose to the dose record device 40 when the result of authentication is positive.

As to the authentication procedure, it involves a unique procedure in which only the patient's dose record device is allowed to communicate and collect radiation dose data on his/her behalf.

In an example, the patient will first get his/her patient identifier, i.e. identification number, from the facility (for example, hospital or other medical institution(s)). Then the patient may input this identifier into the dose record device 40 carried by himself/herself. The dose record device 40 then communicates this identifier to a central database, which in turn generates a key with this identifier, using a key encryption algorithm. The patient/device information is already registered with the Central database. The dose record device 40 then provides the encrypted key to the acquisition device 10, and the authentication unit of the acquisition device 10 in turn decrypts the same and authenticates whether the dose record device 40 is entitled to receive the obtained radiation dose.

Please note that the authentication procedure or scheme may not be limited to the example exemplified above, but can be implemented in other authentication methods known in the art.

Fig. 3 is a detailed flowchart showing one specific embodiment of the method shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in step 31 once establishing a connection with the dose record device 40 in the vicinity, the acquisition device 10 actively polls (searches) the scanner to which it is attached for any new examination records created for the patient associated with the connected dose record device. The polling process is a simple DICOM C-FIND query with the patient identifier and examination record date and time filtered according to the associated patient identifier and the last connected time stamp. The polling will continue as long as the dose record device 40 is in the vicinity and actively maintains the connection with the acquisition device 10.

During the polling process, if the searching unit 11 of the acquisition device 10 finds (step 32) new examination records created for the associated patient, then the collecting unit 12 performs a C-GET operation (step 33) to get or collect a temporary copy of all the new examination records made for the associated patient on the attached scanner.

In step 34, the processing unit 13 may determine whether DICOM Dose SR exist(s) in the examination records. If the examination records contain DICOM Dose SR objects already created and stored as part of the examination records, then the processing unit 13 retrieves (step 35) the dose information and the output unit 14 outputs (step 38) them to the dose record device 40.

If the examination records, which are temporarily copied to the acquisition device 10, do not have any DICOM Dose SR objects, then the processing unit 13 of the acquisition device

10 proceeds to create (36) new Dose SR objects by performing further analysis of the attributes data in the examination records and generate (step 37) the radiation dose related to the patient. After that, the output unit 14 outputs (38) them to the dose record device 40.

The DICOM Dose SR (separate for projection x-ray and CT) specifies some attributes as mandatory and others as User defined (Refer to DICOM Standard Part 16). The acquisition device 10 attempts to derive/copy all the mandatory attributes from the attributes data in the examination records. The acquisition device 10 also attempts to generate as many user-defined attributes from the attributes data in the examination records as possible. The derivation can be a simple accumulation of dose values, mapping the anatomy etc.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of the dose record device 40 in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 4, the dose record device 40 comprises a receiving unit 41, a storage unit 42, and an interface 43. Fig. 5 is a flowchart of the method 50 of reporting the radiation dose, performed by the dose record device 40.

The receiving unit 41 is provided for receiving (step 51 in Fig. 5) the radiation dose from the acquisition device 10 and the storage unit 42 is provided for storing (step 52 in Fig. 5) the radiation dose. The interface 43 is used for reporting (step 53 in Fig. 5) the radiation dose to the patient. In an example, the dose record device 40 may further comprise a processing unit for generating (step 54 in Fig. 5) the total amount of the radiation dose of the patient within a predetermined time period, and accordingly the interface 43 may further report (step 55 in Fig. 5) the total amount of the radiation dose to the patient in an audible way or in a visible way, so that the patient may fully understand how much dose he/she has undergone during the past predetermined time period and accordingly be aware of the risks that he/she is exposed to. Furthermore, the patient can discuss alternative options with the physicians who order a certain type of procedures in accordance with the radiation dose record of the patient.

In a further example, the interface 43 is further adapted for alarming the patient when the total amount of the radiation dose exceeds a preset value, so that the patient is informed instantaneously. The preset value may be a value preset in accordance with the national standards or regional standards, or an average value of the standards.

In another example, if the above-mentioned acquisition device 10 further comprises a receiving unit for receiving the patient identifier, and the searching unit 11 searches for examination records according to the patient identifier, the dose record device 40 may accordingly further comprise an output unit for outputting the patient identifier to the acquisition device 10.

Second Embodiment

In accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, the gist of the present invention is also implemented by two separate devices, i.e., an acquisition device 60 for obtaining the radiation dose received by a patient from a radiographic scanner and a dose record device 70.

The only difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is that the acquisition device 60 in the second embodiment does not comprise the processing unit 13 in the acquisition device 10 and the acquisition device 60 only outputs the collected examination records to the dose record device 70. However, the dose record device 70 in the second embodiment comprises a processing unit 73, which has substantially the same function as that of the processing unit 13 in the first embodiment.

Specifically, as shown in Fig. 6, the acquisition device 60 only comprises a searching unit 61 for searching for examination records related to the patient from data stored in the radiographic scanner, when the acquisition device is connected to the radiographic scanner; a collecting unit 62 for collecting the examination records, if any; and an output unit 63 for outputting the collected examination records to a dose record device 70.

Accordingly, as shown in Fig. 7, the dose record device 70 comprises a receiving unit 71 for receiving the examination records from the acquisition device 60; a storage unit 72 for storing the examination records; a processing unit 73 for determining whether the radiation dose is already available from the examination records, and, if the result of the determining is positive, retrieving the radiation dose from the examination records, or, if the result of the determining is negative, generating the radiation dose by analyzing the raw data from the examination records; and an interface 74 for reporting the radiation dose to the patient.

The method step or function performed by the various units in the second embodiment is almost the same as that of the corresponding units in the first embodiment, and therefore a detailed description thereof is omitted.

Third Embodiment

In accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention, the gist of the present invention is implemented by one device/system, i.e., a system 80 for obtaining the radiation dose received by a patient from a radiographic scanner and reporting the obtained radiation dose to the patient.

The difference between the third embodiment and the previous two embodiments lies in that the system 80, as a single system or device, can implement all the functions of the two separate devices in the previous two embodiments.

Specifically, as shown in Fig. 8, the system 80 comprises a searching unit 81 for searching for examination records related to the patient from data stored in the radiographic scanner, when the system is connected to the radiographic scanner; a collecting unit 82 for collecting the examination records, if any; a processing unit 83 for determining whether the radiation dose is already available from the collected examination records, and, if the result of the determining is positive, retrieving the radiation dose from the collected examination records, or, if the result of the determining is negative, generating the radiation dose by analyzing the raw data of the collected examination records; and an interface 84 for reporting the radiation dose to the patient.

As can be seen from Fig. 9, the method steps 91 -92-93-94-95 or functions performed by the various units in the third embodiment are almost the same as those of the corresponding units in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 2 and Fig.3, except that unlike the output unit 14 in the first embodiment, which outputs the obtained radiation dose to the dose record device

40, the interface 84 will directly report the radiation dose to the patient. Therefore, a detailed description of the method 90 performed by the system 80 is omitted herein.

The structure of the acquisition devices, dose record devices and the system is not limited to the structures mentioned above. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the various aspects of the invention claimed may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details.

For example, although the acquisition devices in the first and the second embodiments are stand-alone devices, it will be easily understood by the person skilled in the art that the acquisition device may also be integrated into the radiographic scanner. In other words, the future scanner may have a built-in device to export the radiation dose of the patient directly to the patient in accordance with the gist of the present invention.

In one example, the acquisition devices in the first and the second embodiment may be a single-board computer with Ethernet connectivity to the Scanner and may be battery-powered or powered through a DC adapter. Nevertheless, other configurations of the acquisition device could also be possible.

Similarly, in one example, the dose record devices in the first and the second embodiment may be any smart phone with Bluetooth / WiFi. In this way, the patient can utilize the personal electronic device to monitor his/her own radiation dose and hence there is no need for an extra device, which may not be cost-effective.

Furthermore, as can be easily understood by the person skilled in the art, the invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitable computer program as well. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means can be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

For example, the processing unit can be implemented by a CPU or a micro -controller or other modules which are capable of analyzing the data. Alternatively, the processing unit may be implemented by (a) certain program instruction(s) when run on a computer system. Similarly, the searching unit may be implemented by one and the same hardware entity of the CPU or micro-controller, or may be implemented by other modules different from the processing unit. Further, the searching unit may also be implemented by (a) certain program instruction(s) when run on the computer system.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention and that those skilled in the art will be able to design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in a claim or in the description. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. In the system claims enumerating several units, several of these units can be embodied by one and the same item of software and/or hardware. The usage of the words first, second and third, et cetera, does not indicate any ordering. These words are to be interpreted as names.