Systems and methods for converting and delivering medical images to mobile devices and remote communications systems

Abstract

A system for delivery of medical images, comprising an operator device to send a request to a delivery service coupled with a data storage system, where the request comprises an identifier. A medical image file in the data storage system comprises meta data associated with the identifier. The medical image file is converted into a format compatible with a determined output modality based on the meta data for a recipient device. The system can include a mobile viewer device to receive a converted medical image file, where the meta data associated with the determined output modality includes device-dependent data in header fields pertaining to the recipient device which is to receive the converted medical image file.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 at least one hardware processor; and   one or more software modules that are configured to, when executed by the at least one hardware processor, for each of a plurality of medical data files,
 receive the medical data file from one of a plurality of operator devices, wherein the medical data file comprises medical image data and a header, and wherein the header comprises a plurality of fields, including one or more device-dependent fields, 
 identify the one operator device that sent the medical data file by searching for the one or more device-dependent fields, in the header of the medical data file, in previously recorded device-dependent fields for the plurality of operator devices, 
 identify at least one recipient from the plurality of fields in the header of the medical data file, 
 convert the medical image data in the medical data file into a separate and independent media file, and 
 send the media file to the at least one recipient over at least one network. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more software modules are further configured to, for each of the plurality of medical data files:
 identify an output modality from the plurality of fields in the header of the medical data file; and   convert the medical image data in the medical data file into a separate and independent media file based on the output modality.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the output modality indicates one or more capabilities of a device of the at least one recipient. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the output modality indicates image dimensions to which the medical image data is to be scaled during conversion. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the output modality indicates an optimal resolution to which the medical image data is to be converted during conversion. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the output modality indicates a data rate or data amount. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one recipient comprises an application programming interface of a web application. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the web application is a social networking site. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising software installed on one or more of the plurality of operator devices that are configured to capture the medical image data, and wherein the software on each respective one of the one or more operator devices is configured to, when executed by that respective operator device:
 receive information that identifies the at least one recipient via a user interface of the respective operator device;   generate the medical data file comprising the medical image data captured by the respective operator device;   add the information that identifies the at least one recipient to the plurality of fields in the header of the medical data file; and   send the medical data file to a server that comprises the at least one hardware processor and the one or more software modules.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein each of the one or more operator devices comprises an ultrasound machine, such that the medical image data in the medical data files sent by the one or more operator devices comprises ultrasound images. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more software modules are further configured to remove patient-identifying information from the medical data file prior to conversion. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the at least one recipient comprises extracting an email address from the plurality of fields in the header of the medical data file. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the at least one recipient comprises extracting a network address from the plurality of fields in the header of the medical data file. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the at least one recipient comprises extracting a cellular phone number from the plurality of fields in the header of the medical data file. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more software modules are further configured to:
 extract a message from the plurality of fields in the header of the medical data file; and   send the message to the at least one recipient, along with the media file.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more software modules are further configured to format the message according to a message template, prior to sending the message to the at least one recipient. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein sending the media file to the at least one recipient comprises selecting one of a plurality of output gateways through which to send the media file. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of output gateways comprises a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server and a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) gateway. 
     
     
         19 . A method comprising using at least one hardware processor to, for each of a plurality of medical data files:
 receive the medical data file from one of a plurality of operator devices, wherein the medical data file comprises medical image data and a header, and wherein the header comprises a plurality of fields, including one or more device-dependent fields;   identify the one operator device that sent the medical data file by searching for the one or more device-dependent fields, in the header of the medical data file, in previously recorded device-dependent fields for the plurality of operator devices;   identify at least one recipient from the plurality of fields in the header of the medical data file;   convert the medical image data in the medical data file into a separate and independent media file; and   send the media file to the at least one recipient over at least one network.   
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
 receive the medical data file from one of a plurality of operator devices, wherein the medical data file comprises medical image data and a header, and wherein the header comprises a plurality of fields, including one or more device-dependent fields;   identify the one operator device that sent the medical data file by searching for the one or more device-dependent fields, in the header of the medical data file, in previously recorded device-dependent fields for the plurality of operator devices;   identify at least one recipient from the plurality of fields in the header of the medical data file;   convert the medical image data in the medical data file into a separate and independent media file; and   send the media file to the at least one recipient over at least one network.