• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.341-346
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• 2012

In rehabilitation where ultrasonographic diagnosis is not popular, it could be subjective by medical expert's experience. Thus, it is necessary to develop an objective automative procedure in ultrasonic image analysis. A disadvantage of existing automative analytic procedure in musculoskeletal system is to designate an incorrect muscle area when the figure of fascia is vague. In this study, we propose a new procedure to extract more accurate muscle area in abdomen ultrasonic image for that purpose. After removing unnecessary noise from input image, we apply End-in Search algorithm to enhance the contrast between fascia and muscle area. Then after extracting initial muscle area by Up-Down search, we trace the fascia area with a mask based on morphological and directional information. By this tracing of mask movements, we can emphasize the fascia area to extract more accurate muscle area in result. This new procedure is proven to be more effective than existing methods in experiment using convex ultrasound images that are used in real world rehabilitation diagnosis.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2024

A 3-year-old, 20.6 kg, neutered male German Shepherd dog was referred to Kyungpook National University Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital. Clinical examination revealed chronic diarrhea for 6 weeks and a non-tender, distended abdomen without lethargy, anorexia, and vomiting. Diarrhea was watery and had a waxing and waning course despite symptomatic treatment. A complete blood count identified mild leukocytosis and mild anemia. Serum biochemistry analysis showed elevated alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels, and mild hypoalbuminemia. Abdominal ultrasound examination revealed mixed echogenicity with absent blood flow at the caudate process of the caudate liver lobe and a small amount of ascites. Computed tomography revealed torsion of the caudate process of the caudate liver lobe and spleen and gas dilatation of the intestine. After establishing a diagnosis of organ torsion on imaging, we deemed the condition an emergency and immediately performed surgery. Given that laparotomy confirmed organ torsion, liver lobectomy, total splenectomy, and prophylactic gastropexy were conducted. The patient was discharged 11 days after surgery without complications. In general, liver lobe torsion and splenic torsion are uncommon in dogs and present with nonspecific clinical signs, such as abdominal pain, lethargy, anorexia, and vomiting. In the current case, torsion of the caudate liver lobe and spleen occurred without other clinical signs except for a distended abdomen. Moreover, no reports in dogs have demonstrated the simultaneous occurrence of both diseases.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.29-37
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to classify patients with chronic back pain according to the degree of their back pain, and to compare the pain dysfunction index with the qualitative changes in abdominal muscles. Therefore, we aimed to provide a basis for the treatment intervention method for patients with back pain. Methods: Twenty patients with chronic back pain were purposive sample to a group of 10 patients with a back pain index of 60 % or more and a group with less than 60 % of back pain, and the subjects who voluntarily participated in the study After receiving the letter, I conducted the research the dysfunction of back pain was measured by the Korean version of the Oswestry Disability Index (KODI), and the ultrasonic wave (Ultrasound MyLabOne, ESAOTE, Italy) And the white area index, and the abdominal muscle movement was used as the exercise instrument POWER breathe K5 (Hab direct, UK), which strengthens the respiratory muscles through threshold-muscle traction. Result: In this study, patients with chronic back pain were subjected to breathing exercises, which led to the decrease in back pain dysfunction. The ultrasonographic analysis of abdominal muscles revealed that both the white area index and muscle image density in the skeletal muscle and in the outer muscle of the abdomen gradually decreased over time. Conclusion: It is thought that introducing back pain patients to abdominal muscle reinforcement training is effective in improving the functions of the patients' muscles, thus increasing their quality of life.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.208-212
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• 2020

A 6-year-old castrated male Russian Blue cat was presented for evaluation of dyschezia. Abdominal ultrasound revealed hyperechoic nodules in both kidneys, heterogeneous mass in abdomen, and extensive mesenteric thickening with multiple hypoechoic nodules. Computed tomography showed multiple hypodense lesions in both kidneys and diffuse nodular infiltration around the mesentery. Fine needle aspirates (FNA) acquired under ultrasound guidance from the mesentery consisted of large lymphocytes which have round to irregular nuclei with granular chromatin, prominent nucleoli and a small amount of basophilic cytoplasm. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for antigen receptor gene rearrangement result of FNA sample revealed a T-cell malignancy. The cat died from acute renal failure after 1 cycle of modified Madison-Wisconsin L-CHOP protocol. Postmortem examination revealed bilaterally enlarged lumpy-bumpy shaped kidneys. Histopathologic examination showed an infiltration of malignant lymphocytes into the renal parenchyma and mesentery. Immunohistochemical staining of the renal sample displayed a negative expression of CD3, PAX5, MUM-1, and CD79. The clinical features and prognosis of the cat with renal lymphoma with mesenteric lymphomatosis have been described in this report.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.125-135
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• 2019

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of low frequency neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) training on abdominal obesity in middle-aged women through electromyography and ultrasound. METHODS: Twenty-two middle aged women with abdominal obesity participated in the study. A low-frequency NMES device was used on the abdomen and waist of each subject for 20 minutes each (a total of 40 minutes) three times a week for eight weeks. The waist-hip ratio (WHR), weight and BMI (Body Mass Index) were measured. Electromyography (EMG) and ultrasound measurements were performed three times in total (pre-intervention, four weeks into the intervention, and eight weeks post-intervention) to examine the effects of low-frequency NMES on the abdominal muscle activity, muscle thickness, and subcutaneous fat. RESULTS: The results indicated a difference in the WHR and waist circumference before and after intervention (p<.05). The external oblique muscle (EO) showed a significant increase in muscle activity during all measurements taken post-intervention (p<.05). The abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness also showed a significant decrease between each measurement (p<.05). The test results showed that the abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness values taken eight weeks post-intervention were significantly lower than those taken pre-intervention and four weeks into the intervention (p<.05). CONCLUSION: These findings show that low-frequency NMES device training can be applied to middle-aged women with abdominal obesity to improve their body shape and exercise performance.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.229-238
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• 2023

Background/Aims: Shear wave elastography (SWE) is used for liver fibrosis staging based on stiffness measurements. It can be performed using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) or a transabdominal approach. Transabdominal accuracy can be limited in patients with obesity because of the thick abdomen. Theoretically, EUS-SWE overcomes this limitation by internally assessing the liver. We aimed to define the optimal technique for EUS-SWE for future research and clinical use and compare its accuracy with that of transabdominal SWE. Methods: Benchtop study: A standardized phantom model was used. The compared variables included the region of interest (ROI) size, depth, and orientation and transducer pressure. Porcine study: Phantom models with varying stiffness values were surgically implanted between the hepatic lobes. Results: For EUS-SWE, a larger ROI size of 1.5 cm and a smaller ROI depth of 1 cm demonstrated a significantly higher accuracy. For transabdominal SWE, the ROI size was nonadjustable, and the optimal ROI depth ranged from 2 to 4 cm. The transducer pressure and ROI orientation did not significantly affect the accuracy. There were no significant differences in the accuracy between transabdominal SWE and EUS-SWE in the animal model. The variability among the operators was more pronounced for the higher stiffness values. Small lesion measurements were accurate only when the ROI was entirely situated within the lesion. Conclusions: We defined the optimal viewing windows for EUS-SWE and transabdominal SWE. The accuracy was comparable in the non-obese porcine model. EUS-SWE may have a higher utility for evaluating small lesions than transabdominal SWE.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.744-756
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• 2002

The transient acoustic fields formed by a 3.5 ㎒ curved linear array transducer which is commonly used in ultrasonic medical imaging system for diagnosis of abdomen are systematically analyzed to obtain new design parameters for the better acoustic image. In the analysis with an assumption of radiating waveform, element size, radius of curvature, amplitude apodization are considered as parameters giving constitutive relations with the fields. As simulation results, appropriate new parameters with the reduced curvature and elevation aperture and the apodization of Hamming window, which make an improved acoustic beam with lower side lobe levels than a conventional typical transducer, are obtained.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.95-99
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• 1995

Neuroblastoma is the most common solid malignancy in childhood. However, a neuroblastoma presenting as bilateral and multifocal is very rare. A male newborn weighing 2.7 kg was born by normal vaginal delivery at 39 weeks' gestation to a 27-year-old mother who had a normal pregnancy. He was in good condition at birth but presented palpable masses in the both upper abdomen and both side of the neck. Ultrasound examination showed the lesions to be $3{\times}3cm$ sized calcified mass in right suprarenal area and $5{\times}3cm$ sized homogenous mass in left suprarenal area. The abdominal mass was also examined by computed tomography with similar findings. With the impression of bilateral neuroblastoma or metastatic spread, the laparotomy was performed on the 13th day of life. Frozen section of biopsy of the left neck mass was obtained, which showed neuroblastoma. Intraoperative findings revealed bilateral adrenal masses which were distinct and anatomically separate. Bilateral adrenalectomy was accomplished and the initial postoperative course was uneventful. The patient was discharged for hopeless and expired at age 45 days. We present bilateral adrenal neuroblastoma considered to be simultaneous occurrence rather than metastases from one site to another.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.246-249
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• 2020

Synchronous gastric cancer and adenomatous colorectal polyp in patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae-induced pyogenic liver abscess (KP-PLA) and bacteremia is a rare presentation. A 58-year-old man with a 6-month history of diabetes mellitus (DM) presented with febrile sensation and dull abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. Subsequent to laboratory test results and abdominal computed tomography findings, KP-PLA with bacteremia was diagnosed. After intravenous antibiotic administration, his symptoms improved, and upper endoscopy and colonoscopy were performed to evaluate the cause of KP-PLA. Biopsy specimens of the prepyloric anterior wall revealed a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. Endoscopic mucosal resection of the colon revealed high-grade dysplasia. Early gastric cancer (EGC) and adenomatous colorectal polyps with high-grade dysplasia concomitant with KP-PLA and bacteremia were diagnosed in our patient who had DM. Intravenous antibiotic treatment for KP-PLA, subtotal gastrectomy for EGC, and colonoscopic mucosal resection for the colon polyp were performed. After 25 days of hospitalization, subtotal gastrectomy with adjacent lymph node dissection was performed. Follow-up ultrasound imaging showed resolution of the abscess 5 weeks post-antibiotic treatment, as well as no tumor metastasis. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and colonoscopy should be performed to evaluate gastric cancer in patients with PLA or bacteremia, accompanied with DM or an immunocompromised condition.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.331-336
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• 2017

A 2-year-old female Maltese dog was presented with a history of anemia and vaginal hemorrhagic discharge. Physical examination revealed severe vaginal hemorrhagic discharge, abdominal pain, pale mucous membranes, low blood pressure and dehydration. Results of serum biochemistry, hematology, venous blood gas, and electrolyte canine C-reactive protein (CRP) test revealed severe normocytic normochromic anemia, severe neutropenia, a high level of CRP, hypoglycemia, and imbalanced electrolytes. Abdominal ultrasound examination showed focal hypoechoic defect with loss of layering in uterine horn wall. A laparotomy revealed a clear reddish fluid in the abdomen, the fistula of left and right uterine horn, the purulent discharge from fistula, and symptoms of septic peritonitis near by the fistula site. The bitch underwent ovariohysterectomy and recovered without complication. Histopathological diagnosis of the uterine fistula site was adenocarcinoma.