• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1714-1720
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• 2012

The purpose of the study was to evaluation of the radiation dose reduction and the possibility of the maintainability of the adequate image quality using various automatic exposure control (AEC) systems in multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT). We used three AEC systems for the study: General Electric Healthcare (Auto-mA 3D), Philips Medical systems (DoseRight) and Siemens Medical Solutions (Care Dose 4D). The general scanning protocol was created for the each examination with the same scanning parameters as many as possible. In the various AEC systems, the evaluation of reduced-dose was evaluated by comparing to fixed mAs with using human phantom. The image quality of the phantom was evaluated with measuring the image noise (standard deviation) by insert regions of interests. Finally, when we applied to AEC for three manufacturers, the radiation dose reduction decreased each 35.3% in the Auto-mA 3D, 58.2% in the DoseRight, and 48.6% in the Care Dose 4D. And, there was not statistical significant difference among the image quality in the Strong/Weak of the Care Dose 4D(P=.269). This applies to variety of the AEC systems which will be very useful to reduce the dose and to maintain the high quality.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.33-38
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• 2014

Purpose Auto exposure control (AEC) in SPECT/CT automatically controls the exposure dose (mA) according to patient's shape and size. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of AEC in SPECT/CT on exposure dose reduction and image quality. Materials and Methods The model of SPECT/CT used in this study was Discovery 670 (GE, USA), Smart mA for AEC; and $^{99m}Tc$ as a radioisotope. To compare SPECT and CT images by CT exposure dose variation, we used a standard technique set at 80, 100, 120, 140 kVp, 10, 30, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 mA, and AEC at 80, 100, 120, 140 kVp, 10-250 mA. To evaluate resolution and contrast of SPECT images, triple line phantom and flangeless Esser PET phantom were used. For CT images, noise and uniformity were checked by anthropomrphic chest phantom. For dose evaluation to find DLP value, anthropomorphic chest phantom was used and the CT protocol of torso was applied by standard technique (120 kVp, 100 mA) and AEC (120 kVp, 10-250 mA). Results When standard and AEC were applied, the resolutions at SPECT images with attenuation correction (AC) were the same as FWHM by center 3.65 mm, left 3.48 mm, right 3.61 mm. Contrasts of standard and AEC showed no significant difference: standard 53.5, 29.8, 22.5, 15.8, 6.0, AEC 53.5, 29.6, 22.4, 15.7, 6.1 In CT images, noise values at standard and AEC were 15.4 and 18.5 respectively. The application of AEC increases noise but the value of coefficient variation were 33.8, 24.9 respectively, obtaining uniform noise image. The values of DLP at standard and AEC were 426.78 and 352.09 each, which shows that the application of AEC decreases exposure dose more than standard by approximately 18%. Conclusion The results of our study show that there was no difference of AC in SPECT images based on the CT exposure dose variation at SPECT/CT images. It was found that the increased CT exposure dose leads to the improvement of CT image quality but also increases the exposure dose. Thus, the use of AEC in SPECT/CT contributes to obtaining equal AC SPECT images, and uniform noise in CT images while reducing exposure dose.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1025-1031
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• 2023

We aimed to evaluate the radiation dose and image quality by changing the Scout view voltage in low-dose chest CT (LDCT) and applying scan parameters such as AEC (auto exposure control) and ASIR (adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction) to find the optimal protocol. Scout view voltage was varied at 80, 100, 120, 140 kV and after measuring the dose 5 times using the existing low-dose chest CT protocol, the appropriate kV was selected for the study using the Dose report provided by the equipment. After taking a basic LDCT shot at 120 kV, 30 mAs, ASIR 50% was applied to this condition. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were assessed by measuring Background noise (B/N). For dose comparison, CTDI_vol and DLP provided by the equipment were compared and analyzed using the formulas. The results indicated that the protocol of scout 140 + LDCT + ASIR 50 + AEC reduced radiation exposure and improved image quality compared to traditional LDCT, providing an optimal protocol. As demonstrated in the experiment, LDCT screenings for asymptomatic normal individuals are crucial, as they involve concerns over excessive radiation exposure per examination. Therefore, applying appropriate parameters is important, and it is expected to contribute positively to the public health in future LDCT based health screenings.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.86-89
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• 2015

Quantitative Evaluation of Image Quality using Automatic Exposure Control This it leads, the relationship of control and image between of photographing condition, DR proper use method proposing. Chest phantom acquires Chest PA images which it follows in conditional change, Image evaluation factor (SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio), CNR (Contrast to Noise Ratio), PSNR (Peak Signal to Ratio), RMS (Root Mean Square)). It excepted RMS price, SNR, CNR, PSNR the case which uses AEC it came out being high The fact that the quality of image is better there was a case which does not use AEC. but Price it was slight. Image qualitative it was deficient in AEC use presence. Through this, the overall situation and most efficient use of radiation workers is better suited. But Passive AEC use would be appropriate for use rather than proactive AEC.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.177-185
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• 2014

This study focused on effects of patient exposure dose reduction with AEC (Auto Exposure Control) marker that is designed for showing location of AEC in X-ray Chest radiography. It included 880 adults who have to use Chest X-ray Digital Radiography system (DRS, LISTEM, Korea). AEC (Ion chambers are posited in top of both sides) are used to every adult and set X-ray system as Field size $17{\times}17inch$, 120kVp, FFD 180cm. 440 people of control group are posited on detector to include both sides of lung field and the other 440 people of experimental group are set to contact their lung directly to Ion chamber (making marker to shows location). Then, measured every DAP and, estimated patient effective dose by using PCXMC 2.0. The average age of control group (M:F=245:195) is 53.9 and the average BMI is 23.4. BMI ranges from under weight: 35, normal range: 279, over weight: 106 to obese: 20 and average DAP is 223.56mGycm2, Mean effective dose is 0.045mSv. The average age of experimental group (M:F=197:243) is 53.7 and the average BMI is 22.7. BMI ranges from under weight: 34, normal range: 315, over weight: 85 to obese: 6 and average DAP is 207.36mGycm2, Mean effective dose is 0.041mSv. Experimental group shows less Mean effective dose as 0.004mSv (9.7%) than control group. Also, patient numbers who got over exposure more than 0.056mSv (limit point to know efficiency of AEC marker) is 65 in control group (14.7%), 19 in experimental group (4.3%) and take statistics with t-Test. The statistical difference between two groups is 0.006. In order to use proper amount of X-ray in auto exposure controlled chest X-ray system, matching location between ion chamber and body part is needed, and using AEC marker (designed for showing location of ion chamber) is a way to reduce unnecessary patient exposure dose.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.6
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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.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.232-240
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• 2018

This study is to suggest a method to evaluate the detector performance using change of absorbed dose and histogram according to sensitivity change of Auto Exposure Control(AEC). The experiment site is skull, abdomen pelvis and the accuracy of the detector was evaluated by measuring the absorbed dose of the detector sensitivity S200, S400, S800, S1000. Also the dynamic range of the detector was evaluated through the histogram analysis. As a result, the absorbed dose decreased gradually as the sensitivity was set higher from S200 to S1000. And through the sensitivity histogram analysis, as the sensitivity of the skull is set higher, the amount of information at both ends of the histogram is lost. Abdomen and pelvis areas showed underflow phenomena in which the amount of information in the first part of the histogram was lost as the sensitivity was set higher. In conclusion, the detector accurately implemented the sensitivity change, but the dynamic range of the image due to the sensitivity change of the AEC due to the deterioration of the detector performance can not be realized properly and it was found that the evaluation through the absorbed dose and the histogram is useful when evaluating the performance of the detector.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.257-265
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• 2024

In this study, we applied AEC(Auto Exposure Control), which is used in many chest examinations, to evaluate whether medical devices inserted into the body affect the dose and image quality of chest images. After attaching three HIMD(Human implantable medical devices) to the ion chamber, the Monte Carlo methodology-based program PCXMC(PC Program for X-ray Monte Carlo) 2.0 was applied to measure the effective dose by inputting the DAP(Dose Ares Product) value derived from the Pacemaker and CRT and Chemoport Additionally, to evaluate image quality, we set three regions of interest and one noise region on the chest and measured SNR and CNR. The final study results showed significant differences in DAP and Effective dose. There was a significant difference between Pacemaker and CRT when AEC was applied and not applied. (p<0.05) When applied, the dose increased by 37% for Pacemaekr and 52% for CRT. Chemoport showed a 10% increase in effective dose depending on whether AEC was applied, but there was no significant difference. (p>0.05) In the image quality evaluation, there was no significant difference in image quality between all HIMD insertions and AEC applied or not. (p>0.05) Therefore, when the HIMD was inserted into the chest during a chest x ray and overlapped with the ion chamber sensor, the effective dose increased, and there was no difference in image quality even at a low dose without AEC. Therefore, when performing a chest X-ray examination of a patient with a HIMD inserted, it is considered that performing the examination without applying AEC is a method that can be considered to reduce the patient's radiation exposure.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.205-211
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• 2015

We evaluated the effectiveness of TL (Time Limit) method by comparing with NTL (Non-time limit) method when it is used for examinations for abdomen Anterior Posterior (AP) in this paper. The evaluation was conducted based on the comparison of dose, and of signal to noise ratio (SNR) and contrast to ratio (CNR) on both methods. The experiments were conducted with XGEO GC 80 (Samsung, Korea), Unfors ThinX RAD (Unfors, Sweden) and Rando Phantom (Alderson research laboratories, USA) and shielding material with the size of $5.5{\times}9{\times}0.1cm^3$. It was set to activate only two upper ionization chambers in automatic exposure control(AEC) mode and the tube-voltage was set to 80kVp. When the exposure time was limited, it is limited to 51 msec. The images both by NTL AEC method and TL AEC method were acquired when with and without attachment of shielding material on the upper ionization chambers. The images were evaluated by SNR and CNR which are the image evaluation methods using 'Image J'. The NTL AEC method showed increases in dose as much as 130.7% at maximum and 80% at minimum than other methods. The TL AEC method showed decreases in mAs and exposure dose than the NTL AEC method as much as 43.8% and 44.4% respectively. There were no significant differences in SNR or CNR for the experiments (($p{\geq}0.05$). Therefore, it is suggested that the TLAEC mode is more effective when examining patients who have high BMI index or a patient with a metallic substance in the body after surgery.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.67-72
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• 2015

In diagnostic radiology, the use of automatic exposure control device is internationally recommended for diagnosis and optimization. However, if exposed to prolonged radiation is a complicated manufacturing process, there is a problem that occurs decrease of various performance overall brightness sensor, which is commercially available conventional. Therefore, in this study, absorption of X-ray is high, and I want to evaluate the AEC applicability of the sensor of the photoconductor-based production has an easy advantage. Experimental results confirms the possibility of fabrication of the sensor through an increase in the SNR, with the detection efficiency superior, accurate turn-off. In addition, it is confirmed that the experimental results of the transmittance and the latent image, Ghost effect by the light conductor does not appear, in the case of a photoconductor with the exception of the PbO, 80% - and it was confirmed good transmittance of 90%. Therefore, excellent mechanical stability and poor performance due to a change of the doping concentration than the existing products that have been put to practical use, the sensor easy photoconductor based, fabrication and can be applied as AEC sensor is expected.