• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.455-462
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• 2022

This study was conducted to find ways to utilize human-centered IT in caring for elderly people who live alone. Through focus group interviews with experts, this study investigated the problems with delivery system, and ethical issues. Problems such as lack of trust, supplier-centered care, and uniform service provision were derived as major problems in the delivery system. These findings indicate that IT should be used as an auxiliary means of face-to-face services and to be controllable and convenient. Issues such as "guaranteeing the right to self-determination," "protecting privacy," "sufficiently guaranteeing the right to know," and "encompassing blind spots" were raised as important ethical issues related to human-centered IT utilization. Based on the research results, this study presented the necessity of designing user-centered information technology and the necessity of developing ethical indicators for the use of human-centered technology.

• Journal of Computing Science and Engineering
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.40-50
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• 2012

Increase in the number of older people due to demographic changes poses great challenges to the social healthcare systems both in the Western and as well as in the Eastern countries. Support for older people by formal care givers leads to enormous temporal and personal efforts. Therefore, one of the most important goals is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of today's care. This can be achieved by the use of assistive technologies. These technologies are able to increase the safety of patients or to reduce the time needed for tasks that do not relate to direct interaction between the care giver and the patient. Motivated by this goal, this contribution focuses on applications of acoustic technologies to support users and care givers in ambient assisted living (AAL) scenarios. Acoustic sensors are small, unobtrusive and can be added to already existing care or living environments easily. The information gathered by the acoustic sensors can be analyzed to calculate the position of the user by localization and the context by detection and classification of acoustic events in the captured acoustic signal. By doing this, possibly dangerous situations like falls, screams or an increased amount of coughs can be detected and appropriate actions can be initialized by an intelligent autonomous system for the acoustic monitoring of older persons. The proposed system is able to reduce the false alarm rate compared to other existing and commercially available approaches that basically rely only on the acoustic level. This is due to the fact that it explicitly distinguishes between the various acoustic events and provides information on the type of emergency that has taken place. Furthermore, the position of the acoustic event can be determined as contextual information by the system that uses only the acoustic signal. By this, the position of the user is known even if she or he does not wear a localization device such as a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2006.10c
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• pp.232-234
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• 2006

Diabetic neuropathy is one of the most common diabetic complications. In clinical practices, nerve conduction velocity (NCV) has been used as a standard method for diagnosing diabetic neuropathy. However, it applies maximum of 100mA electric stimulus to nerves causing stress and pain to patients. In this study. as a non-invasive method, $TcpO_2$ was utilized to investigate the difference and relationship between $TcpO_2$ and $SpO_2$ of normal and diabetic neuropathy subjects. In addition, a new method of diagnosing diabetic neuropathy using $TcpO_2$ is suggested. 50 normal subjects and 50 diabetic patients with neuropathy diagnosed by NCV participated in this study. Parameters used in this study were $TcpO_2,\;TcpCo_2$, and $SpO_2$. As a result of the $TcpO_2$ measurements, statistical significances were found from $TcpO_2$ of hands and feet from normal and patients group (p<0.01). $SpO_2$ measured from index finger of normal and patient groups showed no statistical significance (p>0.05). On the other hand, $SpO_2$ measured from great toes of normal and patient group showed statistical significance (p<0.01). Correlation coefficient between $SpO_2$ of finger and $TcpO_2$ of hand was 0.400 (p<0.01) and $SpO_2$ of toe and $TcpO_2$ of foot was 0.471 (p<0.01). Both correlation values were statistically significant. Sensitivities and specificities of the $TcpO_2$ method were found to be 66 % and 92 %, respectively. If suggested $TcpO_2$ method is used periodically. prevention and early diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy is possible.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2015

Objective: Sperm must be properly prepared in in vitro fertilization (IVF)-embryo transfer (ET) programs in order to control the fertilization rate and ensure that embryos are of high quality and have appropriate developmental abilities. The objective of this study was to determine the most optimal sperm preparation method for IVF. Methods: Patients less than 40 years of age who participated in a fresh IVF-ET cycle from November 2012 to March 2013 were included in this study. Poor responders with less than three mature oocytes were excluded. Ham's F-10 medium or sperm-washing medium (SWM) was used in combination with the density-gradient centrifugation/swim-up (DGC-SUP) or SUP methods for sperm preparation. A total of 429 fresh IVF-ET cycles were grouped according to the media and methods used for sperm preparation and retrospectively analyzed (DGC-SUP/Ham's F-10, n=82; DGC-SUP/SWM, n=43; SUP/Ham's F-10, n=181; SUP/SWM, n=123). Results: There were no significant differences among these four groups with respect to the mean age of the female partners, duration of infertility, number of previous IVF cycles, and retrieved oocytes. We determined that both the DGC-SUP and SUP methods for sperm preparation from whole semen, using either Ham's F-10 or SWM media, result in comparable clinical outcomes, including fertilization and pregnancy rates. Conclusion: We suggest that both media and both methods for sperm preparation can be used for selecting high-quality sperm for assistive reproductive technology programs.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.1281-1287
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• 2018

In this study, specific elements and functions in modules of the AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) application for children with severe and multiple disabilities were elicited, and screen interface was designed accordingly. As results, screen configuration, communication display edition, audiovisual output, and switch and scanning modules were defined. Screen configuration module consists of communication category, spelling board, favorites, screen lock, and setting function. The Communication display edition module includes communication categories, symbols, and favorites edition. The audiovisual output module provides the ability to adjust the pitch, intensity, speed, and tone of the voice individually in the form of auditory output. In the form of visual output, the background color and size of the frame, border color and thickness are adjusted. The switch and scanning module provides a function to select by pressing the switch when the symbol cell is highlighted audibly and visually. The development of the AAC application designed in this study is needed.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.421-428
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to verify the effects of developed assisting wear which maximize trunk(back) muscle's stretch-shortening effect during backswing and downswing for increasing golf ball carrying distance. Design and fabrication of assistive wear were performed based on the results of analyzed data of trunk EMG activity from the golf drive swings of elite professional male golfers during back swing and downswing phases. After the prototype of wear was produced, surface EMG and Flight scope tests were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the wear for increasing distance to the professional golfers. Results indicated that wearing trial showed significant longer carry distance than the non-wearing trial(p<.001). The carry distance of wearing trial showed an average 229 m compared to the non-wearing trial, the average 225 m. The swing with wearing also produced significantly faster ball speed than the trial without wearing(p<.05). Average 245 Km/h and 244 Km/h were produced for the swing with and without wearing trails, respectively. EMG results also indicated that the muscle activity of left psoas was significantly increased for wearing trial during downswing and near the impact. Thus, this may affect positively to increase club head speed. The activity of the left latissimus dorsi was dramatically increased during the final stage of swing. This generates elongation effect for longer follow-through and increased impulse between club and ball so eventually valid assistance to increase carry distance. Therefore, the developed assisting wear was proved to be effective tool for increasing golf ball carry distance with maximizing trunk(back) muscle's stretch-shortening effect during backswing and downswing.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 2024

Crosswalks play an important role for the safe movement of pedestrians in a complex urban environment. However, for the visually impaired, crosswalks can be a big risk factor. Although assistive tools such as braille blocks and acoustic traffic lights exist for safe walking, poor management can sometimes act as a hindrance to safety. This paper proposes a method to improve accuracy in a deep learning-based real-time crosswalk detection model that can be used in applications for pedestrian assistance for the disabled at the beginning. The image was binarized by utilizing the characteristic that the white line of the crosswalk image contrasts with the road surface, and through this, the crosswalk could be better recognized and the location of the crosswalk could be more accurately identified by using two models that learned the whole and the middle part of the crosswalk, respectively. In addition, it was intended to increase accuracy by creating a boundary box that recognizes crosswalks in two stages: whole and part. Through this method, additional frames that the detection model did not detect in RGB image learning from the crosswalk image could be detected.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.459-464
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to design a toilet lifting seat to prevent falls accidents in the elderly while using the toilet. Prior to design, laws and national standards related to restroom use were investigated and the available space for the assistive devices to be installed was determined. In additions, considering the body size and operating range of the elderly, the optimal final position of the toilet seat is set so that users can use it more safely and conveniently without external help. Moreover, in order to provide an effective standing assistance function, a complex 4-bar link structure was applied to enable simultaneous seat elevation and angle adjustment when operating the device, and the appropriate link shape and dimensions were determined using a linkage program and UG NX. FEA analysis using ANSYS Workbench is performed to ensure the robustness of the stretched linkage and the feasibility of the lifting seat is verified through fabrication.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2011

Questionnaires were distributed to Radiology departments at hospitals with 300 sickbeds throughout the Pohang region of North Gyeongsang Province concerning awareness and performance levels of infection control. The investigation included measurements of the pollution levels of imaging equipment and assistive apparatuses in order to prepare a plan for the activation of prevention and management of hospital infections. The survey was designed to question respondents in regards to personal data, infection management prevention education, and infection management guidelines. The ATP Public Heath Monitering System was used to measure seven items for pollution levels of imaging equipment and assistive apparatuses in the Radiology Department. Data was analysed using SPSS version 12.0 for paired t-test and Pearson coefficient with a statistically significant level of 0.05. The results of the survey showed a total awareness level of infection management prevention education averaged at $3.73{\pm}0.64$ and performance levels resulted at $3.39{\pm}0.83$ which were statistically significant (p = 0.01). Also the measurements of pollution levels for equipment with high patient contact showed a Pearson Coefficient of over 0.5 implying a focus on pathogenic bacterium. There was no statistical significance with the frequency of imaging (p < 0.05). Therefore for general hospitals with high patient contact, there is a need to supply analyzing equipment for real time monitoring and the implementation of disinfection management that uses a Ministry of Health and Welfare approved antiseptic solution twice every minute.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2013

In the modern society, instructional methods using diverse media have appeared thanks to the development of Information & Communication Technology, and applicability of such instructional methods has been fully corroborated. However, customized contents allowing for disabled children's environment are still insufficient. Hence, this study produced educational contents of play activities for children with developmental disability, through applying N-screen technology, IT technology that can provide the same contents via a variety of digital media. The produced contents allow programs to be set up according to a child's individual characteristics and be carried out anywhere and anytime via an Internet-enabled digital device. Further, the developed contents were produced so that they could be accessed from a child's various environment (home, school, etc.) via a PC, a smart phone, a portable from a child's various environment (home, school, etc.) via a PC, a smart phone, a portable device, etc. and that the same educational program could be conducted in linkage at home, school, etc. Three children with Intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder were applied to the manufactured content. As a result, Content interaction between interaction between teachers and students in play training could use as a medium.In addition, the children's ability to select the appropriate components and reinforcements, special education professionals have used the content of the interviews are helpful in mediation than the existing content.