• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.65-74
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• 2021

Background: The purpose of this study was investigated of effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation combined with mirror therapy on static balance, weight support and ankle movement incline with chronic stroke patients. Design: Two-group pretest-posttest design. Methods: Thirty chronic stroke patients participated in this study. The study design is a two-group pretest-posttest design. A total of 30 people participated in the study, and 15 people were each assigned to the experimental group and control group. Experimental group received neuromuscular electrical stimulation combined with mirror therapy 30 minutes, and conventional physical therapy 30 minutes. Control group received conventional physical therapy 30 minutes. Both groups were conducted 5 times a week for 4 weeks. static balance and weight support was measured by force plate and ankle movement incline was measured by goniometer. Results: As a result of comparing the static balance, weight support and ankle movement incline change between experimental group and control group, statistically significant differences were found in all variables (p<.05). In the evaluation before and after the intervention, there was a statistically significant difference in all variables in the experimental group (p<.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in the control group (p>.05). Conclusion: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation combined with mirror therapy intervention improves static balance, increase paretic side weight support and ankle movement incline in chronic stroke patients. It could be an effective intervention for improve static balance, weight support and ankle movement for chronic stroke patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.81-89
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• 2019

PURPOSE: To solve the problems of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients complaining of muscle fatigue and having limited motor abilities, this study provided the clinical basic data for pulmonary rehabilitation by examining the effects of High Low-Frequency Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) on the respiratory muscle strength, quadriceps muscle activity, and life quality. METHODS: Samples were collected from 20 COPD patients and placed randomly in a low-frequency group (n=10) and high-frequency group (n=10). For a pretest, the respiratory muscle strength (MIP, MEP), quadriceps muscle activity (LF, VM, VL), and life quality (SGRQ) were measured. After applying NMES to each group for 30 minutes at a time, five times a week, for four weeks, a posttest was conducted in the same way as the pretest. RESULTS: Both groups showed significant differences in the respiratory muscle strength, quadriceps muscle activity, and quality of life within the groups and there were significant differences in the quadriceps muscle activity between the groups. CONCLUSION: The four-weeks NMES positively influenced the respiratory muscle strength and life quality by enhancing the function of the quadriceps and exercise tolerance. In particular, high-frequency(75 Hz) NMES was more effective than low-frequency (15 Hz) NMES. This result can be an alternative means to improve the physical functions of COPD patients clinically in the future.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.162-170
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• 2019

Objectives : Increasing evidence suggests that parasympathetic vagus nerve activity plays a role in modulating acupuncture-induced anti-inflammatory reaction, but the function of sympathetic nerve is not known. Here, we investigated whether splanchnic sympathetic nerve activity was involved in the regulation of splenic expression of $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA by electroacupuncture (EA) in LPS-injected animals. Methods : DiI was injected into the stomach or celiac ganglion (CG) for retrograde labeling of the target tissues. EA was given at ST36 and the electrical stimulation on the sciatic nerve in LPS-injected mice. c-Fos signals in the tissues were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining, and $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA was analyzed by real-time PCR. Results : Application of EA at ST36 or electrical stimulation on the sciatic nerve induced c-Fos expression in neurons of the spinal cord and celiac ganglion (CG). Then, the vagotomy reduced c-Fos levels in CG neurons but not in the spinal cord in animals given EA. Expression of $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA which was induced in the spleen after LPS was significantly inhibited by EA, then the vagotomy elevated $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA level similar to that in LPS-injected animals. Splanchnectomy in animals given LPS and EA also increased $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA though it was less effective than vagotomy. Conclusions : Our data suggest that EA delivered to the spleen via the splanchnic sympathetic nerve may be involved in attenuating splenic inflammatory responses in LPS-injected animals.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.169-175
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• 2021

Recently, an ultrasound hologram and its applications have gained attention in the ultrasound research field. However, the determination technique of transmit signal phases, which generate a hologram, has not been significantly advanced from the previous algorithms which are time-consuming iterative methods. Thus, we applied the deep learning technique, which has been previously adopted to generate an optical hologram, to generate an ultrasound hologram. We further examined the Deep learning-based Holographic Ultrasound Generation algorithm (Deep-HUG). We implement the U-Net-based algorithm and examine its generalizability by training on a dataset, which consists of randomly distributed disks, and testing on the alphabets (A-Z). Furthermore, we compare the Deep-HUG with the previous algorithm in terms of computation time, accuracy, and uniformity. It was found that the accuracy and uniformity of the Deep-HUG are somewhat lower than those of the previous algorithm whereas the computation time is 190 times faster than that of the previous algorithm, demonstrating that Deep-HUG has potential as a useful technique to rapidly generate an ultrasound hologram for various applications.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.61-66
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• 2021

This study aimed to investigate the effect of changes in pain on the autonomic nervous system and brain waves after inducing delayed-onset muscle soreness(DOMS). Based on voluntary participation, 28 participants with induced-DOMS were randomly divided into control(non-treatment, n=14) and experiment groups(transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and kinesio taping, n=14). Intervention was performed from first day to fifth days after the onset of DOMS. Measurements were performed using the Visual Analogue Scale(VAS), Heart Rate Variability(HRV), and brain wave before DOMS induction, 24 hours after, fifth day after, and eighth day after. According to the study results, when DOMS occurred, the activity of the sympathetic nervous system was increased or the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system was suppressed, and reduction of pain due to interventions showed the opposite activity. A decreased in alpha was seen during pain, but was not significant. These results will help develop and study pain management and treatment strategies.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.107-115
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• 2021

Purpose: The aim of this study is to find the location of acupoints that are effective for increasing parasympathetic nervous system(PNS) activity among acupoints used to relieve symptoms such as dizziness and nausea. Materials and Methods: Twenty healthy adult men participated in this experiment. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation(TENS) was applied to P6(Neiguan), ST36(Zusanli) and BL20(Pishu) for 30 minutes. For 5 minutes before and after stimulation, Electrocardiogram(ECG), Electrodermal activity(EDA), Respiration, and Skin temperature(SKT) were measured using biosignalsplux Professional(biosignalsplux; Portugal). Paired t-test was performed for the results before and after stimulation, and a one-way ANOVA test between stimulations was performed for the rate of change before and after stimulation. Results: When each acupoint was stimulated with TENS, it was found that the PNS was generally activated. In addition, when considering the change in biosignals after stimulation, the participants stimulated with P6 showed the most consistent results. Conclusion: As a result of stimulating each acupoint, it was found that stimulating P6 can effectively increase PNS activity. These results indicate that methods of stimulating P6 may be most effective in alleviating symptoms of motion sickness.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.75-83
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• 2022

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the resistance respiratory muscle exercise with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on the respiratory muscle tone and pulmonary function of stroke patients. METHODS: Twenty stroke patients were divided into the TENS group (n = 7), placebo TENS group (n = 7), and control group (n = 6), and each intervention was performed on the three groups 5 times a week for 4 weeks. The assessment was carried out by measuring changes in the muscle tone of the latissimus dorsi and abdominal external obliques, and pulmonary function. RESULTS: In this study, the TENS group and the placebo TENS group had significant increases in the paretic side latissimus dorsi muscle tone, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and peak expiratory flow (PEF). There was no significant difference in changes in respiratory muscle tone between the three groups. The pulmonary function was significantly different between the three groups, and it was observed from the results of the post-hoc test that FVC showed a significant increase in the TENS group and the placebo TENS group compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Through this study, it was found that the respiratory muscle resistance exercise was more effective as a method to increase respiratory muscle tone and pulmonary function in stroke patients than combined transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.375-386
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to summarize current clinical study trends and results regarding transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) treatment for xerostomia. Methods: Studies published from 2017 to 2022 were searched on domestic databases and PubMed. The included studies were analyzed according to the year, language, study design, diagnosis xerostomia method, and TENS treatment method. Results: Nine studies were included. There were three randomized controlled trials (RCTs), three case series, one case report, one case-control study, and one cross-sectional study. Conventional TENS was used in seven studies, and acupuncture-like TENS (ALTENS) was used in one study. The most common TENS attachment site was externally on the skin overlying the parotid gland region, and the setting of TENS was 50 Hz-250 μs the most. In all nine studies, TENS was effective for xerostomia as assessed by salivary flow rate or quality of life questionnaire. Additionally, no persistent adverse events were reported after TENS treatment. Conclusions: TENS treatment for xerostomia can be considered effective and safe, so it can be used in clinical practice.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2023

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is known to be effective in improving symptoms of numerous diseases such as depression and epilepsy by increasing vagus nerve activity through electrical stimulation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of vagus nerve stimulation on the activity of autonomic nervous system and the changes in postprandial blood glucose levels. Seven healthy adults participated in a non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation experiment. taVNS (25 Hz, 200 ㎲, biphasic pulse) was applied to the cymba concha (taVNS group) or the earlobe (Sham-taVNS group) of the left ear. As autonomic nervous system signals, skin conductance level, skin temperature, and heart rate were recorded during the application of taVNS. Postprandial blood glucose changes due to food intake were recorded at 5 min intervals for 25 minutes after taVNS or sham-taVNS. The taVNS showed a significantly lower skin conductance level than the shamtaVNS (p < 0.05). The increase rate of postprandial blood glucose was significantly lower in the taVNS than in the sham-taVNS (p < 0.05). These results showed that taVNS reduced the activity of the sympathetic nerve system and alleviated early rise in postprandial blood glucose. Although further studies in diabetic patients are needed, this study suggest that taVNS has a potential for clinical use to improve postprandial blood glucose.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.129-136
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• 2022

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of applying intensity on the muscle activity and muscle hardness of the upper trapezius muscle in adult males when TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) was applied. In addition, this study intends to prepare the scientific basic data of TENS for the purpose of relaxation based on the experimental results. Methods : Eighty-seven healthy adult males participated in the experiment, and they were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. All subjects in this study were healthy subjects without musculoskeletal or nervous system damage. All subjects were subjects who voluntarily consented to the purpose and method of the experiment. All subjects were provided with a load by typing for 20 minutes, and muscle activity and muscle hardness of the upper trapezius muscle were measured immediately. Afterwards, TENS was given to each groups for 15 minutes, and the experimental group received stimulation at the motor threshold level, and the control group received a placebo stimulation. After stimulation, muscle activity and muscle hardness of the upper trapezius muscle were measured in the same method. The measured data were compared between groups through an independent t-test and dependent t-test. The statistical significance level was set at .05. Results : The application of TENS statistically significantly decreased the muscle activity and muscle hardness of the trapezius muscle in the experimental group, and the results showed a significant difference from the control group. Conclusion : Application of TENS significantly decreased the muscle activity and muscle stiffness of the upper trapezius muscle. The application of TENS of applying intensity that induces muscle contraction may induce relaxation by reducing the muscle activity and muscle hardness of the trapezius muscle.