• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.463-472
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• 2021

Demand for examinations using transvaginal transducer with high frequencies is increasing to observe pelvic organs in gynecological ultrasound tests. However, the quality control of the replacement probe in clinical trials is not properly implemented and the evaluation criteria have not been established. Therefore, 58 transvaginal transducers and 20 convex transducers were applied to the ATS-539 ultrasound phantom for 20 ultrasound devices currently in clinical use to obtain their respective images and measure them quantitatively and qualitatively. For quantitative measurements, vertical measurement, horizontal measurement, and focal zone and qualitative measurements, dead zone, axial·lateral resolution, sensitivity, functional resolution, gray scale·dynamic range were performed. Quantitative statistical analysis showed significant differences between the two transducers in the lateral measurement and local area (p<0.05). qualitative comparative analysis showed differences in sensitivity and functional resolution. This occurs due to the difference in frequency between transducers and the transducer's injection geometry. Based on the above experiments, the tolerance for horizontal measurement is raised to 10% (±8 mm), the tolerance for sensitivity is observed up to 6 cm deep, which is 12 cm deep,which is the level of the third quartile (75%). The permissible range of functional resolution is up to 6 (12 cm), 6 (12 cm), 11 (11 cm), 9 (9 cm), 6 (6 cm) target, which is the level of the third quartile (75%). It is considered reasonable to adjust the depth of targets in gray scale·dynamic range to measure at a depth of 2 cm, which is 50% of the depth of 4 cm. As above, the criteria for evaluating the quality of transvaginal transducer for use in the past have been proposed and it is expected that this study will be used as a basic data for the production of phantom exclusively for transvaginal transducer in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.67-75
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• 2022

The aim of this study is to establish a new QC method that can simultaneously evaluate the resolution of the x/y plane and the z-axis by producing a phantom that can reflect exposure and reconstruction parameter of MDCT system. It was used with Aquilion ONE(Cannon Medical System, Otawara, Japan), and the examination was scanned using of 120 kV, 260 mA, and the D-FOV of 300 mm². It produced new SSP phantom modules in which two aluminum plates inclined at 45° to a vertical axis and a transverse axis to evaluate high contrast resolution of x/y plane and z axis. And it changed factors such as the algorithm, distance from gantry iso-center. All images were reconstructed in five steps from 0.6 mm to 10.0 mm slice thickness to measure resolution of x/y plane and z-axis. The image data measured FWHM and FWTM using Profile tool of Aquarius iNtusion Edition ver. 4.4.13 P6 software(Terarecon, California, USA), and analysed SPQI and signal intensity by ImageJ program(v1.53n, National Institutes of Health, USA). It decreased by 4.09~11.99%, 4.12~35.52%, and 4.70~37.64% in slice thickness of 2.5 mm, 5.0 mm, and 10.0 mm for evaluating the high contrast resolution of x/y plane according to distance from gantry iso-center. Therefore, the high contrast resolution of the x/y plane decreased when the distance from the iso-center increased or the slice thickness increased. Additionally, the slice thicknesses of 2.5 mm, 5.0 mm, and 10.0 mm with a high algorithm increased 74.83, 15.18 and 81.25%. The FWHM was almost constant on the measured SSP graph for evaluating the accuracy of slice thickness which represents the resolution of x/y plane and z-axis, but it was measured to be higher than the nominal slice thickness set by user. The FWHM and FWTM of z-axis with axial scan mode tended to increase significantly as the distance increased from gantry iso-center than the helical mode. Particularly, the thinner slice thickness that increased error range compare with the nominal slice thickness. The SPQI increased with thick slice thickness, and that was closer to 90% in the helical scan than the axial scan. In conclusion, by producing a phantom suitable for MDCT detectors and capable of quantitative resolution evaluation, it can be used as a specific method in the management of research quality and management of outdated equipment. Thus, it is expected to contribute greatly to the discrimination of lesions in the field of CT imaging.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.276-285
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• 2023

This work investigated the viral infection in jujube plants in Korea. A total of 61 samples with the symptoms of putative viral infection were collected from experimental fields and orchards. Thereafter, the samples were subjected to metatranscriptome analysis, Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis, and nucleotide sequence analysis. These analyses identified the presence of two DNA viruses, jujube-associated badnavirus (JuBV), jujube mosaic-associated virus (JuMaV), and one RNA virus, jujube yellow mottle-associated virus (JYMaV). All samples collected were confirmed to be infected by at least one of the three viruses, with most showed multiple infections. The detection rates of JuBV, JYMaV, and JuMaV were 100%, 90.2%, and 8.2%, respectively. Only three combinations of viral infections were found: 9.8% of samples showed single infection of JuBV, 82.0% showed double infection of JuBV+JYMaV, and 8.2% showed triple infection of JuBV+JYMaV+JuMaV. Sequence analysis of the three viruses showed very high homology with respective virus isolates reported in China. This study is predicted to provide fundamental data to produce virus-free jujube seedlings and represents the first report of JuBV and JuMaV infection in Korea.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.73-82
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• 2009

Due to the many advantages including low price, low power consumption, and miniaturization, the CMOS camera has been utilized in many applications, including mobile phones, the automotive industry, medical sciences and sensoring, robotic controls, and research in the security field. In particular, the 360 degree omni-directional camera when utilized in multi-camera applications has displayed issues of software nature, interface communication management, delays, and a complicated image display control. Other issues include energy management problems, and miniaturization of a multi-camera in the hardware field. Traditional CMOS camera systems are comprised of an embedded system that consists of a high-performance MCU enabling a camera to send and receive images and a multi-layer system similar to an individual control system that consists of the camera's high performance Micro Controller Unit. We proposed the SL-AVS (Small Size/Low power Around-View System) to be able to control a camera while collecting image data using a high speed synchronization technique on the foundation of a single layer low performance MCU. It is an initial model of the omni-directional camera that takes images from a 360 view drawing from several CMOS camera utilizing a 110 degree view. We then connected a single MCU with four low-power CMOS cameras and implemented controls that include synchronization, controlling, and transmit/receive functions of individual camera compared with the traditional system. The synchronization of the respective cameras were controlled and then memorized by handling each interrupt through the MCU. We were able to improve the efficiency of data transmission that minimizes re-synchronization amongst a target, the CMOS camera, and the MCU. Further, depending on the choice of users, respective or groups of images divided into 4 domains were then provided with a target. We finally analyzed and compared the performance of the developed camera system including the synchronization and time of data transfer and image data loss, etc.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.541-549
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• 2023

The aim of this study wasto conduct a quantitative analysis of CT image quality according to an algorithm designed to reduce metal artifacts induced by metal components. Ten baseline images were obtained with the standard filtered back-projection algorithm using spectral detector-based CT and CT ACR 464 phantom, and ten images were also obtained on the identical phantom with the standard filtered back-projection algorithm after inducing metal artifacts. After applying the to raw data from images with metal artifacts, ten additional images for each were obtained by applying the virtual monoenergetic algorithm. Regions of interest were set for polyethylene, bone, acrylic, air, and water located in the CT ACR 464 phantom module 1 to conduct compare the Hounsfield units for each algorithm. The algorithms were individually analyzed using root mean square error, mean absolute error, signal-to-noise ratio, peak signal-to-noise ratio, and structural similarity index to assess the overall image quality. When the Hounsfield units of each algorithm were compared, a significant difference was found between the images with different algorithms (p < .05), and large changes were observed in images using the virtual monoenergetic algorithm in all regions of interest except acrylic. Image quality analysis indices revealed that images with the metal artifact reduction algorithm had the highest resolution, but the structural similarity index was highest for images with the metal artifact reduction algorithm followed by an additional virtual monoenergetic algorithm. In terms of CT images, the metal artifact reduction algorithm was shown to be more effective than the monoenergetic algorithm at reducing metal artifacts, but to obtain quality CT images, it will be important to ascertain the advantages and differences in image qualities of the algorithms, and to apply them effectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.305-314
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• 2023

With the development of medical technology and radiation treatment equipment, the frequency of high-precision radiation therapy such as intensity modulation radiation therapy has increased. Image-guided radiation therapy has become essential for radiation therapy in precise and complex treatment plans. In particular, with the introduction of imaging equipment for diagnosis in a linear accelerator, CBCT scanning became possible, which made it possible to calibrate and correct the patient's posture through 3D images. Although more precise reproduction of the patient's posture has become possible, the exposure dose delivered to the patient during the image acquisition process cannot be ignored. Radiation optimization is necessary in the field of radiation therapy, and efforts to reduce exposure are necessary. However, when acquiring 3D CBCT images by changing the imaging conditions to reduce exposure, there should be no image quality or artefacts that would make it impossible to align the patient's position. In this study, Rando phantom was used to scan and evaluate images for each shooting condition. The highest SNR was obtained at 100 kV 80 mA 25 ms F1 filter 180°. As the tube voltage and tube current increased, the noise decreased, and the bowtie filter showed the optimal effect at high tube current. Based on the actual scanned images, it was confirmed that patient alignment was possible under all imaging conditions, and that image-guided radiation therapy for patient alignment was possible under the condition of 70 kV 10 mA 20 ms F0 filter 180°, which showed the lowest SNR. In this study, image evaluation was conducted according to the imaging conditions, and low tube voltage, tube current, and small rotation angle scan are expected to be effective in reducing radiation exposure. Based on this, the patient's exposure dose should be kept as low as possible during CBCT imaging.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• 제17권6호
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• pp.851-857
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of changes in collimation size and sub ROI on exposure index(EI) in hand radiography, present collimation size and EI suitable for average hand size of Koreans, and present the effect of changes in sub ROI on EI. The subjects of this study were hand-wrist phantom, and the exposure conditions were set to 55 kVp, 125, mA, and 6.25 mAs, and source to image receptor distance was applied to 110 cm. Based on the vendor recommended sub-ROI (18.7" × 18.7", 8" × 10", 8" × 7.4", 6" × 7.4")and the textbook's recommended sub-ROI 8" × 10", each obtaining 30 images, and comparing the EI shown in the equipment. The EI according to the change in the size of the collimation were 1663.7±4.52, 8"×10" is 1489.1±4.49, 8"×7.4" is 1716.9±3.00, 6"×7.4" is 168.7±3.66 for each EI, and the average value of each value was statistically significant. The average EI according to the sub ROI change was 1489.1±4.49 for SS, LS was 1694.8±5.19 for AEC, 2052.9±5.96, VR was 1548.3±3.20, and HR was 1663.2±4.33. The appropriate field size considering the hand size of Koreans was found to be 8"×7.4". In addition, when the field size increases based on the generally known field size (8"×10") during hand radiography, the EI value changes from a maximum of 15% to a minimum of 11%, and the sub ROI shape based on sub ROI 'SS' Depending on the change, the EI value increased from a maximum of 37% to a minimum of 3%.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• 제17권6호
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• pp.903-909
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the effect of changes in the patient's central position on the exposure dose and image quality of surrounding organs during a chest lateral examination using an Auto Exposure Control(AEC). The experiment was conducted on a human body phantom. A needle was attached to the lower part of the center of the coronal plane of the phantom, and a lead ruler was attached to the lower part of the detector so that the 50 cm point was located at the lower center of the AEC ion chamber. The exposure conditions were 125 kVp, 320 mA, the distance between the source and the image receptor was 180 cm, and the exposure field size was 14 × 17 inches. Only one AEC ion chamber was used at the bottom center, and the density was set to '0' and sensitivity to 'Middle', and the central X-ray was incident vertically toward the 6th thoracic vertebra. With AEC mode applied, the 50 cm point of the needle and lead ruler were aligned and the phantom was moved 5 cm toward the stomach (F5) and 5 cm toward the back (B5), and the dose factor was analyzed by measuring ESD. The ESD of the thyroid gland according to the change in patient center position was 232.60±2.20 μGy for Center, 231.22±1.53 μGy for F5, and 184.37±1.19 μGy for B5, and the ESD of the breast was 288.54±3.03 μGy for Center, F5 was 260.97±1.93 μGy, B5 was 229.80±1.62 μGy, and the ESD of the center of the lung was 337.02±3.25 μGy for Center, F5 was 336.09±2.29 μGy, and B5 was 261.76±1.68 μGy. As a result of comparing the average values of dose factors between each group, the difference in average values was statistically significant (p<0.01), and each group appeared to be independent. As a result of the study, there was no significant difference in the dose to the thyroid, breast, and center of the lung according to the change in the patient's central position, except for the breast (10%) when the patient moved forward about 5 cm. However, movement of about 5 cm posteriorly resulted in an average dose reduction of 23.7%. Additionally, when the patient's central position was moved to the rear, image quality deteriorated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• 제17권7호
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• pp.1149-1155
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• 2023

This study aims to investigate the effect of changes in the Sub ROI on exposure index(EI) and to present indicators of changes in EI values that may occur when changing Sub ROI in clinical practice. This study was conducted on a subject of 20 cm of acrylic for a setting similar to abdominal radiography, and the specifications of one acrylic sheet is 20 × 20 × 5 cm. The survey conditions were the same as 80 kVp , 320 mA, 25 ms, SID 110 cm and the Sub ROI obtained 30 images for each type using five types provided by the equipment company. The EI value provided by the equipment and entrance skin exposure(ESE) were compared and analyzed. The mean value of EI according to the change in Sub ROI was 101.18±0.27 for LS, 106.57±0.31 for AEC, 107.74±0.39 for VR, 107.90±0.38 for HR, and 109.72±0.32 for SS (p<0.01). The average value of ESE by sub ROI type (LS, AEC, VR, HR, SS) was measured to be 476.45±1.71 μGy, 476.92±1.48 μGy, 476.14±2.30 μGy, 475.61±1.96 μGy, and 477.14±1.46 μGy, with statistically significant differences (p<0.01). As a result of this study, the EI according to the sub ROI type is based on LS(109.72), which represents the minimum value. AEC increased 5.3%, VR increased 6.4%, HR increased 6.6%, SS increased 8.4%, and overall, increased by about 5.3%. As for the average value of ESE, HR(475.61 μGy)type showed the minimum value, and based on this, AEC increased 0.27%, VR increased 0.11%, LS increased 0.17%, SS increased 0.32%, and overall, increased by about 0.17%.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• 제17권5호
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• pp.767-773
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• 2023

To In this study, we sought to evaluate related factors affecting lung volume and their significance in pulmonary function and ventilation disorders. As experimental subjects, 206 normal adult men and women who underwent a low-dose chest CT scan and a spirometry test were selected at the same time. The experimental method was to measure lung volume using lung CT images obtained through a low-dose chest CT scan using deep learning-based AVIEW. Measurements were made using the LCS automatic diagnosis program. In addition, the results of measuring lung function were obtained using a spirometer, and gender and BMI were selected as related factors that affect lung volume, and significance was evaluated through an independent sample T-test with lung volume. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that in evaluating lung volume according to gender, all lung volumes of men were larger than all lung volumes of women. he result of an independent samples T-test using the respective average values for gender and lung volume showed that all lung volumes were larger in men than in women, which was significant (p<0.001). And in the evaluation of lung volume according to BMI index, it was confirmed that all lung volumes of adults with a BMI index of 24 or higher were larger than all lung volumes of adults with a BMI index of less than 24. However, the independent samples T-test using the respective average values for BMI index and lung volume did not show a significant result that all lung volumes were larger in BMI index 24 or higher than in BMI index less than 24 (p<0.055). In the evaluation of lung volume according to the presence or absence of pulmonary ventilation impairment, it was confirmed that all lung volumes of adults with normal pulmonary function ventilation were larger than all lung volumes of adults with pulmonary ventilation impairment. And as a result of the independent sample T-test using the respective average values for the presence or absence of pulmonary ventilation disorder and lung volume, the result was significant that all lung volumes were larger in adults with normal pulmonary function ventilation than in adults with pulmonary function ventilation disorder (p <0.001). Lung volume and spirometry test results are the most important indicators in evaluating lung health, and using these two indicators together to evaluate lung function is the most accurate evaluation method. Therefore, it is expected that this study will be used as basic data by presenting the average lung volume for adults with normal ventilation and adults with impaired lung function and ventilation in similar future studies on lung volume and vital capacity testing.