• Ultrasonography
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to establish the methodology regarding synthesis of ultrasound contrast agent imaging, and to evaluate the characteristics of the synthesized ultrasound contrast agents, including size or degradation interval and image quality. Materials and Methods: The ultrasound contrast agent, composed of liposome and SF6, was synthesized from the mixture solution of $21{\mu}mol$ DPPC (1, 2-Dihexadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, $C_{40}H_{80}NO_8P$), $9{\mu}mol$ cholesterol, $1.9{\mu}mol$ of DCP (Dihexadecylphosphate, $[CH_3(CH_2)_{15}O]_2P(O)OH$), and chloroform. After evaporation in a warm water bath and drying during a period of 12-24 hours, the contrast agent was synthesized by the sonication process by addition of buffer and SF6 gas. The size of the contrast agent was controlled by use of either extruder or sonication methods. After synthesis of contrast agents, analysis of the size distribution of the bubbles was performed using dynamic light scattering measurement methods. The degradation curve was also evaluated by changes in the number of contrast agents via light microscopy immediate, 12 hours, 24 hours, 36 hours, 48 hours, 60 hours, 72 hours, and 84 hours after synthesis. For evaluation of the role as an US contrast agent, the echogenicity of the synthesized microbubble was compared with commercially available microbubbles (SonoVue, Bracco, Milan, Italy) using a clinical ultrasound machine and phantom. Results: The contrast agents were synthesized successfully using an evaporation-drying-sonication method. The majority of bubbles showed a mean size of 154.2 nanometers, and they showed marked degradation 24 hours after synthesis. ANOVA test revealed a significant difference among SonoVue, synthesized contrast agent, and saline (p < 0.001). Although no significant difference was observed between SonoVue and the synthesized contrast agent, difference in echogenicity was observed between synthesized contrast agent and saline (p < 0.01). Conclusion: We could synthesize ultrasound contrast agents using an evaporation-drying-sonication method. On the basis of these results, many prospective types of research, such as anticancer drug delivery, gene delivery, including siRNA or microRNA, targeted molecular imaging, and targeted therapy can be performed.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.121-129
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• 2004

Anaerobic digestion is the most common process for sewage sludge stabilization and has benefits of VS reduction and biogas production. Many pretreatment methods have been studied to improve hydrolysis rate because the rate of sewage sludge degradation is slow in anaerobic digestion. This study mainly focused upon the effects on disintegration of sewage sludge by ultrasonic pretreatment according to the variation of acoustic density and duration of sonication time. In this study, acoustic density has been changed as follows : 33W/L, 70W/L, 88W/L, 139W/L in case of 40 kHz with the test time changes of 10min, 20min, 25min, 30min and 40min. In the comparison of $SCOD_{Cr}/TCOD_{Cr}$ variation for excess sludge and mixed sludge disintegration, the rates of $SCOD_{Cr}/TCOD_{Cr}$ have been increased in the condition of denser acoustic density and longer sonication time with acoustic frequency of 40kHz. The pH of the excess sewage sludge and mixed sewage sludge has been decreased in the condition of denser acoustic density and longer sonication time with acoustic frequency of 40kHz.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.218-226
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• 2002

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the ability of power Doppler sonography in the detection of acute pyelonephritis. Materials and Methods: We performed gray scale sonography, power Doppler sonography, and $^{Tc-99m}DMSA$ scintigraphy of the kidney in 80 patients with symptoms suggesting upper urinary tract infection. All imaging studies were obtained within 4 days. On $^{Tc-99m}DMSA$ scintigraphy, decreased radioactivity or photopenic lesions were considered indicative of acute pyelonephritis. Triangular areas of decreased perfusion identified on power Doppler sonography were considered as parenchymal lesions of acute pyelonephritis. The results of gray scale sonography and power Doppler sonography were retrospectively analysed and compared with those of $^{Tc-99m}DMSA$ scintigraphy which was given as the standards of reference. Results: For 40(85%) of the 47 patients with scintigraphy-proven acute pyelonephritis, power Doppler sonography diagnosed this condition on the correct side. The acute pyelonephritis which was not revealed by power Doppler sonography was observed in seven patients. Also, in three patients, false-positive indication of pyelonephritis was given by power Doppler sonography. Gray scale sonography showed positive findings in 23(49%) of 47 patients with positive findings on scintigraphy. Conclusion: Power Doppler sonography seems to be less sensitive than $^{Tc-99m}DMSA$ DMSA scintigraphy but significantly more sensitive than gray scale sonography for the detection of acute pyelonephritis in children. Power Doppler sonography shows promise as a noninvasive means of assessing renal cortical perfusion in children with clinically suspected acute pyelonephritis.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.507-512
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• 2017

The physicochemical properties of maize starch sonicated at various amplitudes (100, 200, and 300 W) and times (10, 30, and 50 min) were examined. The amount of enzyme-susceptible starch increased marginally after sonication. Sonication increased the amount of oil absorbed in the starch although the degree of oil absorption decreased with an extension of the sonication time, implied that different types and extent of damages occurred. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that ultrasound sonication did not form pores on the surfaces, but caused damages such as depression and erosion. Pasting viscosity of starch decreased with an increase in the severity of sonication conditions because of the weakened polymer network. X-ray diffraction suggested that the crystalline domains in starch were not susceptible to sonication and were more resistance to degradation. Sonicated starch formed more pin-holes on the surfaces in the initial glucoamylase reaction; subsequently, as the reaction proceeded, porous starch with enlarged pores was formed and finally, disrupted granular fragments were observed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.873-882
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• 2009

Sonolysis of TCE (Trichloroethylene) was performed in 584 kHz rectangular reactor. At first, the effect of acoustic power and aqueous temperature which are both important factors to operate ultrasound system on sonolysis of TCE were examined under one side irradiation condition. First degradation rate constants of TCE and chloride yields were increased with increasing acoustic power from 100 to 300 W. And increasing the aqeuous temperature resulted in the increase of first degradation rate constants of TCE and the decrease of chloride yield. Sonolysis of TCE was performed under multi ultrasound irradiation conditions that total acoustic power of 300 W was distributed according to the number of irradiation sides. First degradation rate constants of TCE followed the order 4 sides > 3 sides > 1 side > 2 sides (parallel) > 2 sides (orthogonal). When comparing the experimental results under parallel and orthogonal irradiation conditions of 2 sides with 300 and 450 W, first degradation rate constants of TCE were similar, while production rate constants of hydrogen peroxide were more higher at parallel conditions compared to orthogonal conditions.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 2011

This paper presents the systematic optimal design of an overlapped ultrasonic sensor ring for high performance obstacle detection using effective beam overlap. Basically, a set of low directivity ultrasonic sensors of the same type are arranged in a circle at regular intervals with their beams overlapped. First, both real and simplified beam patterns of an ultrasonic sensor and several sensor models for obstacle position estimation within its beam pattern are introduced. Second, the obstacle detection range of an overlapped ultrasonic sensor ring and its simple sensor model for obstacle position estimation are described. Third, for both conic and non-conic shaped beam pattern, the design indices of an overlapped ultrasonic sensor ring for minimal positional uncertainty in obstacle detection are defined. Fourth, the constraints imposed on the structural parameters of an overlapped ultrasonic sensor ring to guarantee non empty beam overlap and to avoid excessive beam overlap are derived. Fifth, the optimal number of ultrasonic sensors for a given radius of an overlapped ultrasonic sensor ring and the optimal radius of an overlapped ultrasonic sensor ring are determined. Throughout this paper, the MA40B8 from Murata Inc. is taken as a representative commercial low directivity ultrasonic sensor.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.429-440
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• 2023

This study explores recent research trends and potential applications of ultrasound optical imaging-based multimodal technology. Ultrasound imaging has been widely utilized in medical diagnostics due to its real-time capability and relative safety. However, the drawback of low resolution in ultrasound imaging has prompted active research on multimodal imaging techniques that combine ultrasound with other imaging modalities to enhance diagnostic accuracy. In particular, ultrasound optical imaging-based multimodal technology enables the utilization of each modality's advantages while compensating for their limitations, offering a means to improve the accuracy of the diagnosis. Various forms of multimodal imaging techniques have been proposed, including the fusion of optical coherence tomography, photoacoustic, fluorescence, fluorescence lifetime, and spectral technology with ultrasound. This study investigates recent research trends in ultrasound optical imaging-based multimodal technology, and its potential applications are demonstrated in the biomedical field. The ultrasound optical imaging-based multimodal technology provides insights into the progress of integrating ultrasound and optical technologies, laying the foundation for novel approaches to enhance diagnostic accuracy in the biomedical domain.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Computer Information Conference
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• 2013.01a
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• pp.301-302
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• 2013

본 논문에서는 초음파 영상에서 퍼지 C-Means 클러스터링을 이용한 양자화 기법을 제안한다. 제안된 방법은 초음파 영상에서 나타난 명암도를 이용하여 n개의 그룹으로 클러스터링한다. 그리고 각 클러스터의 중심 값을 기준으로 정렬한 뒤, 각 그룹에 지정된 색상을 요부 초음파 영상에서 나타낸다. 본 논문에서 제안하는 기법을 적용한 요부 초음파 영상과 일반적으로 자주 이용되는 히스토그램 기반 양자화 기법을 적용한 요부 초음파 영상을 비교하였을 때, 본 논문에서 제안하는 퍼지 C-Means 클러스터링을 이용한 양자화를 적용한 영상이 근육 내의 지방을 분석하는데 효과적인 것을 확인할 수 있었다.

• Proceedings of the Acoustical Society of Korea Conference
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• autumn
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• pp.245-250
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• 1999

일반적으로 초음파현미경에서 획득한 초음파 영상은 단일 동작주파수를 사용하여 획득하였으며, 분해능은 동작주파수와 초음파변환기에 의해 결정되는 공간주파수 대역에 의하여 제한되어 졌다. 본 연구에서는 초음파현미경에서 동작주파수를 변화시키면서 획득한 영상들을 합성하여 공간주파수의 축 방향 대역을 확장시킨 개선된 고체 내부의 진폭영상을 얻는 방법에 대하여 연구하였다. 실험에서는 동작주파수가 5MHz이고 비대역폭이 $35\%$인 초음파변환기를 사용하여 초음파현미경 시스템을 구성하였고, 이러한 처리를 위해서는 진폭과 위상영상 데이터가 필요하기 때문에 진폭과 위상을 동시에 획득할 수 있도록 검출기로서 쿼드러춰 검출기를 사용하였다. 시편으로는 알루미늄을 선택하였고, 시료의 표면으로부터 깊이를 다르게 하여 내부에 4개의 원형결함을 제작하였다. 실험결과 단일 주파수를 사용한 경우에는 결함의 형태는 나타났으나, 고체 내부 결함의 깊이와 영상 강도의 변화가 비례하여 나타나지 않는 반면에, 개선된 영상에서는 깊이 변화에 대해서 영상 강도의 변화가 비례하여 출력되었다.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2016.07a
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• pp.445-446
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• 2016

초음파 트랜스듀서는 다양한 산업 분야에 응용되고 있다. 초음파 트랜스듀서는 압전 소자에서 발생하는 초음파를 이용하는데, 본 논문은 알루미늄 용탕 처리에 적용하였다. 알루미늄 용탕 처리용 초음파 트랜스듀서는 고주파인 공진주파수를 이용하여 동작하게 된다. 초음파 트랜스듀서는 압전 소자의 온도 및 부하에 따라 공진 주파수가 이동하게 되는 문제점을 가지고 있다. 본 논문은 알루미늄 용탕을 처리할 때 발생하는 문제점을 해결하기 위하여 LLCC 공진형 컨버터를 이용하여 공진주파수를 추적 및 일정한 전력을 공급하는 제어 방식을 제안한다.