• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.94-99
• /
• 2004

Purpose : To investigate the signal enhancement ratio by NOE effect on in vivo $^{31}P$ MRS in human heart muscle and liver. we also evaluated the enhancement ratios of different phosphorus metabolites, which are important in 31P MRS for each organ. Materials and Methods : Ten normal subjects (M:F = 8:2, age range = 24-32 yrs) were included for in vivo $^{31}P$ MRS measurements on a 1.5 T whole-body MRI/MRS system using $^1H-^{31}P$ dual tuned surface coil. Two-dimensional Chemical Shift Imaging (2D CSI) pulse sequence for $^{31}P$ MRS was employed in all $^{31}P$ MRS measurements. First, $^{31}P$ MRS performed without NOE effect and then the same 2D CSI data acquisitions were repeated with NOE effect. After postprocessing the MRS raw data in the time domain, the signal enhancements in percent were estimated from the major metabolites. Results : The calculated NOE enhancement for liver $^{31}P$ MRS were $\alpha-ATP\;(7\%),\;\beta-ATP\;(9\%),\;\gamma-ATP\;(17\%),\;Pi\;(1\%),\;PDE\;(19\%)$ and $PME\;(31\%)$. Because there is no creatine kinase activity in liver, PCr signal is absent. For cardiac $^{31}P$ MRS, whole body coil gave better scout images and thus better localization than surface coil. In $^{31}P$cardiac multi-voxel spectra, DPG signal increased from left to right according to the amount of blood included. The calculated enhancement for cardiac $^{31}P$ MRS were : $\alpha-ATP\;(12\%),\;\beta-ATP\;(19\%),\;\gamma-ATP\;(30\%),\;PCr\;(34\%),\;Pi\;(20\%),\;(PDE)\;(51\%),\;and\;DPG\;(72\%)$. Conclusion : Our results revealed that the NOE effect was more pronounced in heart muscle than in liver with different coupling to 1H spin system and thus different heteronuclear cross-relaxation.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.329-352
• /
• 2005

Long term observations of full-disk Lyman-o irradiance have been made by the instruments on various satellites. In addition, several sounding rockets dating back to the 1950s and up through the present have measured the $Lyman-{\alpha}$ irradiance. Previous full disk $Lyman-{\alpha}$ images of the sun have been very interesting and useful scientifically, but have been only five-minute 'snapshots' obtained on sounding rocket flights. All of these observations to date have been snapshots, with no time resolution to observe changes in the chromospheric structure as a result of the evolving magnetic field, and its effect on the Lyman-o intensity. The $Lyman-{\alpha}$ Imaging Solar Telescope(LIST) can provide a unique opportunity for the study of the sun in the $Lyman-{\alpha}$ region with the high time and spatial resolution for the first time. Up to the 2nd year development, the preliminary design of the optics, mechanical structure and electronics system has been completed. Also the mechanical structure analysis, thermal analysis were performed and the material for the structure was chosen as a result of these analyses. And the test plan and the verification matrix were decided. The operation systems, technical and scientific operation, were studied and finally decided. Those are the technical operation, mechanical working modes for the observation and safety, the scientific operation and the process of the acquired data. The basic techniques acquired through the development of satellite based solar telescope are essential for the construction of space environment forecast system in the future. The techniques which we developed through this study, like mechanical, optical and data processing techniques, could be applied extensively not only to the process of the future production of flight models of this kind, but also to the related industries. Also, we can utilize the scientific achievements which are obtained throughout the project And these can be utilized to build a high resolution photometric detectors for military and commercial purposes. It is also believed that we will be able to apply several acquired techniques for the development of the Korean satellite projects in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.107-112
• /
• 2007

Purpose: The pelvic phantom was fabricated in the following purposes: (1) Dose verification of IMRT plan using Eclipse planning computer, (2) to study the interface effect at the interface between rectal wall and air. The TLD can be inserted in the pelvic phantom to confirm the dose distribution as well as uncertainty at the interface. Materials and Methods: A pelvic phantom with the dimension of 30 cm diameter, 20 cm height and 20 cm thickness was fabricated to investigate the dose at the rectal wall. The phantom was filled with water and has many features like bladder, rectum, and prostate and seminal vesicle (SV). The rectum is made of 3 cm-dimater plastic pipe, and it cab be blocked by using a plug, and film can be inserted around the rectal wall. The phantom was scanned with Philips Brillance scanner and various organs such as prostate, SV, and rectal wall, and bladder wall were delineated. The treatment parameters used in this study are the same as those used in the protocols in the SNUH. TLD chips are inserted to the phantom to evaluate the dose distribution to the rectal wall (to simulate high dose gradient region), bladder wall and SV (to simulate the high dose region) and 2 spots in anterior surface (to simulate the low dose region). The TLD readings are compared with those of the planning computer (ECLIPSE, Varian, USA). Results: The target TLD doses represented as the prostate and SV show excellent agreements with the doses from the RTP within +/-3%. The rectal wall doses measured at the rectal wall are different from the those of the RTP by -11%. This is in literatures called as an interface effect. The underdosages at the rectal wall is independent of 3 heterogeneity correction algorithm in the Eclipse RTP. Also the low dose regions s represented as surface in this study were within +/-1%. Conclusion: The RTP estimate the dosage very accurately withihn +/-3% in the high dose (SV, or prostate) and low dose region (surface). However, the dosage at the rectal wall differed by as much as 11% (In literatures, the underdosage of 9$\sim$15% were reported). This range of errors occurs at the interface, for example, at the interface between lung and chest wall, or vocal cord. This interface effect is very important in clinical situations, for example, to estimate the NTCP (normal tissue complication probability) and to estimate the limitations of the current RTP system. Monte-carlo-based RTP will handle this issue correctly.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.113-117
• /
• 2006

Purpose: Post-mastectomy radiotherapy (PMR) is known to decrease loco-regional recurrence. Adequate skin and dermal dose are achieved by adding bolus. The more difficult clinical issue is determining the necessary number of bolus treatment, given the limits of normal skin tolerance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the necessary number of bolus treatment after PMR in patients with breast cancer. Materials and Methods: Four female breast cancer patients were included in the study. The median age was 53 years(range, $38{\sim}74$), tumor were left sided in 2 patients and right sided in 2patients. All patients were treated with postoperative radiotherapy after MRM. Radiotherapy was delivered to the chest wall (C.W) and supraclavicular lymph nodes (SCL) using 4 MV X-ray. The total dose was 50 Gy, in 2 Gy fractions (with 5 times a week). CT was peformed for treatment planning, treatment planning was peformed using $ADAC-Pinnacles^3$ (Phillips, USA) for all patients without and with bolus. Bolus treatment plans were generated using image tool (0.5 cm of thickness and 6 cm of width). Dose distribution was analyzed and the increased skin dose rate in the build-up region was computed and the skin dose using TLD-100 chips (Harshaw, USA) was measured. Results: No significant difference was found in dose distribution without and with bolus; C.W coverage was $95{\sim}100%$ of the prescribed dose in both. But, there was remarkable difference in the skin dose to the scar. The skin dose to the scar without and with bolus were $100{\sim}105%\;and\;50{\sim}75%$. The increased skin dose rates in the build-up region for Pt. 1, Pt. 2. Pt. 3 and Pt. 4 were 23.3%, 35.6%, 34.9%, and 41.7%. The results of measured skin dose using TLD-100 chips in the cases without and with bolus were 209.3 cGy and 161.1 cGy, 200 cGy and 150.2 cGy, 211.4 cGy and 160.5 cGy, 198.6 cGy and 155.5 cGy for Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, and Pt. 4. Conclusion: It was concludes through this analysis that the adequate number of bolus treatments is 50-60% of the treatment program. Further, clinical trial is needed to evaluate the benefit and toxicity associated with the use of bolus in PMR.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.21 no.6
• /
• pp.663-674
• /
• 2000

A total of 165 independently oriented core samples were collected from 19 Cretaceous Yuchon Group sites in Kosong area, the southernmost part of the Miryang subbasin of the Kyongsang Basin in southern Korea. Stepwise AF and thermal cleaning revealed antipodal ChRM from 95 samples from 14 sites. Mean ChRM direction is d=26.0$^{\circ}$, i=49.4$^{\circ}$ (${\alpha}_{95}$=8.2$^{\circ}$, k=24.5, n= 14) before bedding correction and d=28.1$^{\circ}$, i=54.2$^{\circ}$ (${\alpha}_{95}$=4.8$^{\circ}$, k=70.6, n= 14) after bedding correction. A 2.88-fold increase of the precession parameter k by bedding correction indicates pre-folding age of the ChRM with 99% confidence level. Palaeomagnetic pole position calculated from the mean ChRM is 67.0$^{\circ}$N, 210.6$^{\circ}$E (dp=4.7$^{\circ}$, dm=6.7$^{\circ}$), which is significantly different neither from the poles of other part of the Kyongsang Basin nor those of Eurasia including SCB and NCB. This suggests stable relative position of the study area with regard to other parts of the Kyongsang Basin as well as to Eurasia continent since Cretaceous. Three ploarity reversals in the Kosong Formation in addition to the coexistence of normal and reversed polarities in the overlying Andesites and Welded Tuff suggest, in reference to the worldwide geomagnetic polarity time scale, an Albian to Maastrichtian (polarity chron 32r-31r) age of the Yuchon Group of the study area. An alleged hypothesis of stratigraphical correspondence between the Kosong Formation in the study area and the Tadaepo Formation in Pusan area is, however, not tenable: Not only because the latter shows a short reverse polarity only in its lowest part of the sequence but also because the Andesites overlying it is wholly normally magnetized, in contrast to the frequent reverals in the case of both the Kosong Formation and Andesites above it.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.286-293
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the set up accuracy using stereotactic body frame and frameless immobilizer for lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). For total 40 lung cancer patients treated by SBRT, 20 patients using stereotactic body frame and other 20 patients using frameless immobilizer were separately enrolled in each group. The setup errors of each group depending on the immobilization methods were compared and analyzed. All patients received the dose of 48~60 Gy for 4 or 5 fractions. Before each treatment, a patient was first localized to the treatment isocenter using room lasers, and further aligned with a series of image guidance procedures; orthogonal kV radiographs, cone-beam CT, orthogonal fluoroscopy. The couch shifts during these procedures were recorded and analyzed for systematic and random errors of each group. Student t-test was performed to evaluate significant difference depending on the immobilization methods. The setup reproducibility was further analyzed using F-test with the random errors excluding the systematic setup errors. In addition, the ITV-PTV margin for each group was calculated. The setup errors for SBF were $0.05{\pm}0.25cm$ in vertical direction, $0.20{\pm}0.38cm$ in longitudinal direction, and $0.02{\pm}0.30cm$ in lateral direction, respectively. However the setup errors for frameless immobilizer showed a significant increase of $-0.24{\pm}0.25cm$ in vertical direction while similar results of $0.06{\pm}0.34cm$, $-0.02{\pm}0.25cm$ in longitudinal and lateral directions. ITV-PTV margins for SBF were 0.67 cm (vertical), 0.99 cm (longitudinal), and 0.83 cm (lateral), respectively. On the other hand, ITV-PTV margins for Frameless immobilizer were 0.75 cm (vertical), 0.96 cm (longitudinal), and 0.72 cm (lateral), indicating less than 1 mm difference for all directions. In conclusion, stereotactic body frame improves reproducibility of patient setup, resulted in 0.1~0.2 cm in both vertical and longitudinal directions. However the improvements are not substantial in clinic considering the effort and time consumption required for SBF setup.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.132-138
• /
• 2009

Studies on target motion in 4-dimensional radiotherapy are being world-widely conducted to enhance treatment record and protection of normal organs. Prediction of tumor motion might be very useful and/or essential for especially free-breathing system during radiation delivery such as respiratory gating system and tumor tracking system. Neural network is powerful to express a time series with nonlinearity because its prediction algorithm is not governed by statistic formula but finds a rule of data expression. This study intended to assess applicability of neural network method to predict tumor motion in 4-dimensional radiotherapy. Scaled Conjugate Gradient algorithm was employed as a learning algorithm. Considering reparation data for 10 patients, prediction by the neural network algorithms was compared with the measurement by the real-time position management (RPM) system. The results showed that the neural network algorithm has the excellent accuracy of maximum absolute error smaller than 3 mm, except for the cases in which the maximum amplitude of respiration is over the range of respiration used in the learning process of neural network. It indicates the insufficient learning of the neural network for extrapolation. The problem could be solved by acquiring a full range of respiration before learning procedure. Further works are programmed to verify a feasibility of practical application for 4-dimensional treatment system, including prediction performance according to various system latency and irregular patterns of respiration.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.20-24
• /
• 2009

Objective: In this study, the differences between two reconstruction methods were analyzed by comparing image uniformity and contrast according to Iteration and Subset, which were altered through the Iterative method and True X method, used in Siemens' PET/CT studies. Methods: The Phantom images were obtained by exposure for two minutes per one bed. To determine the image uniformity, the Coefficient of variance was used. Also, in order to compare the contrast value, we measured and analyzed the ratio of the SUV mean of Phantom image's hot spheres and the background. Results: Under the same reconstruction conditions (Iteration and Subset) of CV, the Iterative method was higher than the True X method. In the comparison of the SUV mean ratio of the background and hot sphere, the True X method had a closer rate than the Iterative method. Conclusion: The newly developed True X reconstruction method is better than the previously used Iterative method in terms of uniformity and contrast. However, the date for this study was only obtained using the Phantom device. In order to obtain more accurate and useful information from the experiment, further research should be conducted. Also, it is necessary to find the appropriate standards for Iteration and Subset for further experimentation.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.176-184
• /
• 2011

Cold air on sloping surfaces flows down to the valley bottom in mountainous terrain at calm and clear nights. Based on the assumption that the cold air flow may be the same as the water flow, current models estimate temperature drop by regarding the cold air accumulation at a given location as the water-like free drainage. At a closed catchment whose outlet is blocked by man-made obstacles such as banks and roads, however, the water-like free drainage assumption is no longer valid because the cold air accumulates from the bottom first. We developed an empirical model to estimate quantitatively the effect of cold pool on nocturnal temperature in a closed catchment. In our model, a closed catchment is treated like a "vessel", and a digital elevation model (DEM) was used to calculate the maximum capacity of the cold pool formed in a closed catchment. We introduce a topographical variable named "shape factor", which is the ratio of the cold air accumulation potential across the whole catchment area to the maximum capacity of the cold pool to describe the relative size of temperature drop at a wider range of catchment shapes. The shape factor is then used to simulate the density profile of cold pool formed in a given catchment based on a hypsometric equation. The cold lake module was incorporated with the existing model (i.e., Chung et al., 2006), generating a new model and predicting distribution of minimum temperature over closed catchments. We applied this model to Akyang valley (i.e., a typical closed catchment of 53 $km^2$ area) in the southern skirt of Mt. Jiri National Park where 12 automated weather stations (AWS) are operational. The performance of the model was evaluated based on the feasibility of delineating the temperature pattern accurately at cold pool forming at night. Overall, the model's ability of simulating the spatial pattern of lower temperature were improved especially at the valley bottom, showing a similar pattern of the estimated temperature with that of thermal images obtained across the valley at dawn (0520 to 0600 local standard time) of 17 May 2011. Error in temperature estimation, calculated with the root mean square error using the 10 low-lying AWSs, was substantially decreased from $1.30^{\circ}C$ with the existing model to $0.71^{\circ}C$ with the new model. These results suggest the feasibility of the new method in predicting the site-specific freeze and frost warning at a closed catchment.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.279-284
• /
• 2012

The X ray has been widely used in both diagnosis and treatment. Recently, a miniature X ray tube has been developed for radiotherapy. The miniature X ray tube is directly inserted into the body irradiated, so that X rays can be guided to a target at various incident angles according to collimator geometry and, thus, minimize patient dose. If such features of the miniature X ray tube can be applied to development of X ray imaging as well as radiation treatment, it is expected to open a new chapter in the field of diagnostic X ray. However, the miniature X ray tube requires an added filter and a collimator for diagnostic purpose because it was designed for radiotherapy. Therefore, a collimator and an added filter were manufactured for the miniature X ray tube, and mounted on. In this study, we evaluated beam characteristics of the miniature X ray tube for diagnostic X ray system and accuracy of measuring the HVL. We used the Si PIN Photodiode type Piranha detector (Piranha, RTI, Sweden) and estimated the HVL of the miniature X ray tube with added filter and without added filter. Through an another measurement using Al filter, we evaluated the accuracy of the HVL obtained from a direct measurement using the automatic HVL calculation function provided by the Piranha detector. As a result, the HVL of the miniature X ray tube was increased around 1.9 times with the added filter mounted on. So we demonstrated that the HVL was suitable for diagnostic X ray system. In the case that the added filter was not mounted on, the HVL obtained from use of the automatic HVL calculation function provided by Piranha detector was 50% higher than the HVL estimated using Al filter. Therefore, the HVL automatic measurement from the Piranha detector cannot be used for the HVL calculation. However, when the added filter was mounted on, the HVL automatic measurement value using the Piranha detector was approximately 15% lower than the estimated value using Al filter. It implies that the HVL automatic measurement can be used to estimate the HVL of the miniature X ray tube with the added filter mounted on without a more complicated measurement method using Al filter. It is expected that the automatic HVL measurement provided by the Piranha detector enables to make kV-X ray characterization easier.