Method of storing medical image information recorded in sheet shaped recording medium

An apparatus for reading a medical image on an approximately rectangular X-ray film sheet, comprising the steps of:

• a printer to write an identification code of an object with light in the shape of a non-square approximate rectangle and centered at a predetermined position near a comer on the film sheet other than on a line connecting the centers of two opposite sides of the film sheet;
• a radiographing device to radiograph the object on the film sheet;
• a developing device to develop the film sheet so as to visualize a medical image of the object and the identification code;
• a reader to read the visualized medical image and the visualized identification code on the film sheet mounted on a reading device and converting them into digital data;
• recognizing means for recognizing the position of the digital data of the identification code on an arrangement of digital data corresponding to the film sheet;
• and
• discriminating means for discriminating the orientation of the film sheet mounted on the reading device and further discriminating whether the film sheet is read by the reading device from its obverse side or from its reverse side on the basis of the recognized position of the digital data of the identification code on the arrangement of digital data.

A method of storing a patient identification code and medical image recorded on a X-ray film sheet in a correlated form, comprising the steps of:

• inputting and storing the patient identification code of a patient in a data base;
• writing the patient identification code of the patient with light on the film sheet;
• radiographing an object of the patient on the film sheet;
• developing the film sheet so as to visualize a medical image of the object and the identification code;
• reading the visualized medical image and the visualized identification code on the film sheet and converting them into digital data;
• recognizing the patient identification code from the digital data by an optical character reader;
• comparing the recognized patient identification code by the optical character reader with the stored patient identification code in the data base;
• and
• storing the digital data of both of the patient identification code and the medical image in a correlated form in a memory when, as a result of the comparing step, the same patient identification code of the recognized patient identification code resides in the stored patient identification code in the data base.

A system for storing a patient identification code and a medical image recorded on a X-ray film sheet in a correlated form, comprising;

• a printer to write the patient identification code of a patient with light on the film sheet;
• a radiographing device to radiograph an object of the patient on the film sheet;
• a device to input and to store the patient identification code of the patient in a data base;
• a developing device to develop the film sheet so as to visualize a medical image of the object and the identification code;
• a reading device to read the medical image and the identification code on the film sheet and converting them into digital data;
• recognizing means for recognizing the patient identification code from the digital data by an optical character reader;
• comparing means for comparing the recognized patient identification code by the optical character reader with the stored patient identification code in the data base;
• and
• storing means for storing the digital data of both of the patient identification code and the medical image in a correlated form in a memory when, as a result of the comparing step, the same patient identification code of the recognized patient identification code resides in the stored patient identification code in the data base.