Method and apparatus for integrating clinical data with the review of medical images

Abstract

A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided in order to integrate clinical data with the medical images reviewed by radiologists or other healthcare providers. In the context of a method, one or more findings related to a respective risk profile of a patient are identified. The method also includes concurrently presenting both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body with respect to visual indications of the one or more findings. The method also includes providing information regarding a respective finding upon selection of the visual indication associated with the respective finding. A corresponding apparatus and computer program product are also provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 identifying, with processing circuitry, one or more findings related to a respective risk profile of a patient based upon a review of clinical data associated with the patient;   concurrently presenting both one or more medical images of a respective type of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body, distinct from the one or more medical images, with respective visual indications of the one or more findings being associated with the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body, wherein the one or more findings that are identified are related to one or more risk profiles that are relevant to the respective type of medical images that are presented; and   providing information regarding a respective finding in response to user input during or following concurrent presentation of both one or more medical images of the patient and the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body.   
     
     
         2 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein identifying one or more findings related to a respective risk profile comprises semantically analyzing data from an electronic medical record of the patient to identify the one or more findings. 
     
     
         3 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein concurrently presenting both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body comprises concurrently presenting both one or more medical images of the patient and the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body on the same display screen. 
     
     
         4 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein concurrently presenting both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body comprises highlighting the representation of at least a portion of the patient's body to indicate that the patient satisfies a respective risk profile. 
     
     
         5 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein concurrently presenting both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body comprises causing an indication of the relevance or severity of the one or more findings to be provided. 
     
     
         6 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein concurrently presenting both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body comprises concurrently presenting one or more prior images of the patient and an original order script. 
     
     
         7 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body is associated with a point in time, wherein concurrently presenting both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body comprises presenting the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body as of a respective point in time such that visual indications of only the one or more findings that existed as of the respective point in time are associated with the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body. 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to:
 identify one or more findings related to a respective risk profile of a patient based upon a review of clinical data associated with the patient;   concurrently present both one or more medical images of a respective type of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body, distinct from the one or more medical images, with respective visual indications of the one or more findings being associated with the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body, wherein the one or more findings that are identified are related to one or more risk profiles that are relevant to the respective type of medical images that are presented; and   provide information regarding a respective finding in response to user input during or following concurrent presentation of both one or more medical images of the patient and the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body.   
     
     
         9 . An apparatus according to  claim 8  wherein the processing circuitry is configured to identify one or more findings related to a respective risk profile by semantically analyzing data from an electronic medical record of the patient to identify the one or more findings. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus according to  claim 8  wherein the processing circuitry is configured to concurrently present both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body by concurrently presenting both one or more medical images of the patient and the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body on the same display screen. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus according to  claim 8  wherein the processing circuitry is configured to concurrently present both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body by highlighting the representation of at least a portion of the patient's body to indicate that the patient satisfies a respective risk profile. 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus according to  claim 8  wherein the processing circuitry is configured to concurrently present both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body by causing an indication of the relevance or severity of the one or more findings to be provided. 
     
     
         13 . An apparatus according to  claim 8  wherein the processing circuitry is configured to concurrently present both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body by concurrently presenting one or more prior images of the patient and an original order script. 
     
     
         14 . An apparatus according to  claim 8  wherein the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body is associated with a point in time, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to concurrently present both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body by presenting the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body as of a respective point in time such that visual indications of only the one or more findings that existed as of the respective point in time are associated with the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body. 
     
     
         15 . A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein, the computer-executable program code instructions comprising program code instructions configured to:
 identify one or more findings related to a respective risk profile of a patient based upon a review of clinical data associated with the patient;   concurrently present both one or more medical images of a respective type of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body, distinct from the one or more medical images, with respective visual indications of the one or more findings being associated with the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body, wherein the one or more findings that are identified are related to one or more risk profiles that are relevant to the respective type of medical images that are presented; and   provide information regarding a respective finding in response to user input during or following concurrent presentation of both one or more medical images of the patient and the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body.   
     
     
         16 . A computer program product according to  claim 15  wherein the program code instructions configured identify one or more findings related to a respective risk profile comprise program code instructions configured to semantically analyze data from an electronic medical record of the patient to identify the one or more findings. 
     
     
         17 . A computer program product according to  claim 15  wherein the program code instructions configured to concurrently present both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body program code instructions configured to highlight the representation of at least a portion of the patient's body to indicate that the patient satisfies a respective risk profile. 
     
     
         18 . A computer program product according to  claim 15  wherein the program code instructions configured to concurrently present both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body comprise program code instructions configured to cause an indication of the relevance or severity of the one or more findings to be provided. 
     
     
         19 . A computer program product according to  claim 15  wherein the program code instructions configured to concurrently present both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body comprise program code instructions configured to concurrently present one or more prior images of the patient and an original order script. 
     
     
         20 . A computer program product according to  claim 15  wherein the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body is associated with a point in time, wherein the program code instructions configured to present both one or more medical images of the patient and a visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body comprise program code instructions configured to present the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body as of a respective point in time such that visual indications of only the one or more findings that existed as of the respective point in time are associated with the visual representation of at least a portion of the patient's body.