Abstract: A method for removing shutter areas in an image, in particular an x-ray image is provided. Edges are examined in a multi-resolution image pyramid and evaluated to determine potential shutter blade candidates defining the shutter areas. Heuristic rules and/or an automatic classifier such as a Neuronal Network, are applied to distinguish true shutter blades from false positives. The rule set and the classifier are based on a set of features extracted from the potential shutter blade candidates as well as predetermined knowledge of the expected placement of the shutter, human anatomy. Up to four shutter blades are expected to be detected and based on these blades, the bright areas in the image that occur due to the shutters are removed.

Abstract: The invention facilitates the efficient administration of medical offices and patient records including visual coordination of room, patient, and task status indicators. The invention also enables improved document review and transcription management.

Abstract: A digital camera containing patient images is connected to an uploader computer and the patient's name or history is entered into the uploader computer. The uploader computer then connects to the Internet, connects to the secure host server, uploads the images to the host server and shuts down the Internet connection. After the physician selects a medical facility and the system verifies the physician's user I.D. and password, the host server constructs an HTML web page which includes a list of patients whose images were previously uploaded by the medical facility and are available for viewing The physician simply selects the name of a patient and the host server displays the patient information and images on the physician's computer. The system is password-protected at all levels and the operator for each medical facility determines who may have access to the medical facility images.

Abstract: A system and methods for organizing, manipulating, and displaying worklists of patient studies for access by medical personnel is provided. The patient studies may include medical images and data relating to medical images. In some embodiments, the worklists are easily customizable, to permit a wide range of tasks to be handled in the worklist system. Updated worklist information may be pushed to the appropriate workstations or users in nearly real-time, as updates become available, reducing errors that may be caused by outdated information in worklists. In some embodiments, worklists contain overlapping information, which permits numerous users to see the information, even if it is not immediately relevant to their tasks. This increased scrutiny may help to reduce errors.