• 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.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.225-231
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• 2009

The purpose of the current study was to compare radiation dose of 64MDCT performed with automatic exposure control (AEC) with manual selection fixed tube current. We evaluated the CT scans of phantom of the chest and abdomen using the fixed tube current and AEC technique. Objective image noise shown as the standard deviation of CT value in Hounsfield units was measured on the obtained images. Compared with fixed tube current, AEC resulted in reduction of the chest and abdomen in the CTDIvol (35.2%, 5.9%) and DLP (49.3%, 3.2%). Compared with manually selected fixed tube current, AEC resulted in reduced radiation dose at MDCT study of chest and abdomen.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.321-325
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• 2016

Dose creep is one of clinical errors that arises from the tester's inexperience or carelessness, and according to Task Group #116 of American Association of Physicists in Medicine, its continued occurrence is being reported in the digital method. At this point, the demand for an automatic exposure control device that minimizes the dose creep phenomenon and can improve reproducibility is increasing. In this study is to consider the automatic exposure control device sensor that can is not only easy to produce, but also reduce the dose creep phenomenon by conducting a research on high-efficient semiconductor sensor. As a result, the Intrinsic-type and PIN-type sensors have excellent optical property compared to Ref sensor, would have less shading effect, and have relatively low sensitivity, but would provide accurate feedback signals to automatic exposure control device with its consistent tendency according to exposure condition changes.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.69-76
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• 2022

This study, the method of reducing the exposure dose by changing the geometrical requirements among the preceding studies and the method of directly wearing a protector on the patient were used to expose the patient. A comparative experiment was conducted on the method of reducing the dose and the most effective method for reducing the exposure dose was investigated. Using the phantom, the dose of the lens, thyroid gland, and gonad gland in the 5 views most used in coronary angiography and intervention accumulated 5 times for 10 seconds at 60~70 kV, 200~250 mA as an automatic controller of the angiography system, and measured by Optically Stimulated Luminescent Dosimeter(OSLD). SID 100 cm and Cine 15 f/s as a control group the experiment was conducted by dividing the experimental group into 3 groups: a group lowered to Cine 7.5 f/s, a phantom protector, and a group lowered to 95 cm SID. As a result of the experiment, showing decrease in exposure dose compared to the control group. Lowering the cine frame may be the simplest and most effective method to reduce the exposure dose, but there is a limit that it cannot be applied if the operator judges that the diagnostic value is small or feels uncomfortable with the procedure. Conclusion as fallow reducing the exposure dose by directly wearing protector is the next best solution, and it is hoped that the conclusions obtained through this study will help reduce the exposure dose to unnecessary organ.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.360-366
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• 2018

In shipyards hull forming is performed by the line heating method using a gas torch and by cold treatment using a roll-press. However, this forming process has some issues, such as difficulties in controlling and accurately estimating the amount of the heat input, as well as a harsh working environment due to exposure to loud noises and air pollution. The induction heating method, which is introduced in this paper, exhibits good control and allows for the estimation of precise heat input. Also, workers can carry out the induction heating in a comfortable working environment. In this research, the induction heating simulation, which consists of electro-magnetic, heat transfer and thermal elasto-plastic analysis, was developed and modified through induction heating experiments. Finally, the effective heating coil was designed for the automatic hull forming system based on the results of induction heating simulation. For the purposes of a future study, if an algorithm to obtain optimal working conditions is developed, automatic systems for hull forming can then be constructed.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.267-274
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• 2017

Recently, several researches have been studied on agricultural automation system according to convergence of IT technology with agriculture. An automatic control system of the growth environment in crops is one of the these researches. The controls of damages caused by diseases and insects pest in crops are mainly carried out by manual mode or semi-automatic mode because of farmer's concerns for poor efficiency. But, this situation needs to be improved because it occurs various problems, such as human exposure to toxic pesticides, environmental pollution and waste due to drug overuse. In order to solve these problems, we developed an automatic quantity control system which based on the amount of pesticides for area under cultivation. The amount of pesticides is calculated according to the manufacturer's instruction for pesticides. To verify the effectiveness of our developed automatic system, we also compared with the systems of manual mode and the semi-automatic mode. The experimental results of a pest control performance of an automatic quantity control system showed that automatic system can reduce overuse of drugs. These results suggested that it can be expected to replace the existing system, with equivalent effectiveness to the manual mode.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.375-383
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• 2020

This study aimed to propose a methodology for quantitatively analyzing problems resulting from the performance and combination of the ionization chamber when using an automatic exposure control (AEC) and to optimize the performance of the digital radiography (DR). In the experimental method, the X-ray quality of the parameters used for the examination of the abdomen and pelvis was evaluated by percentage average error (PAE) and half value layer (HVL). Then, the stability of the radiation output and the image quality were analyzed by calculating the entrance surface dose (ESD) and entropy when the three ionization chambers were combined. As a result, all of the X-ray quality of the digital radiography used in the experiment showed a percentage average error and a half value layer in the normal range. The entrance surface dose increased in proportion to the combination of chambers, and entropy increased in proportion to the combination of ionization chambers except when three chambers were combined. In conclusion, analysis using entrance surface dose and entropy was found to be a useful method for evaluating the performance and combination problems of the ionization chamber, and the optimal performance of the digital radiography can be maintained when two or less ionization chambers are combined.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.323-329
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of radiation shielding on the thyroid organ dose and image quality during Chest PA examination using automatic exposure control system. This study was conducted in the patient posture and examination conditions such as Chest PA using human model phantom. An experiment without shielding was set as a control group (non) and the cases of using paper coated with a contrast agent (contrast) and bismuth (bismuth) were used as experimental groups. Compared to non-shielded(non), the dose at bismuth increased about 7% in C(cervical vertebrae)5 and C6 and 14% in C7 and contrast showed dose increases of about 17 to 19% in C5 and C6 and about 21% in C7. As a result of the image quality comparison, when measured in the center of the cervical vertebrae, both SNR and CNR in bismuth increased about 40% higher than non, and contrast showed about 8 to 9% improvement. Compared with soft tissues of the cervix, bismuth reduced SNR by about 15% and CNR by about 13%, in contrast, SNR decreased by 11%, and CNR decreased by about 10%. In the Chest PA using AEC, the method of using the shield in front of the collimator has the advantage to observe the anatomical structure of the neck area well compared to the method using the lead. However, the dose at the neck can be increased by 7-21% depending on shielding materials.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.68-75
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• 1999

Objectives: We intended to observe changes in sleep patterns and mood states of night-shift workers following light exposure. We also estimated the degree of tolerance of light exposure. By studying these, we investigated the possibility of applying light therapy to night-shift workers for improving their adaptation. Methods: Twelve night-shift nurses working at Yong-In Mental Hospital volunteered to participate in this study. The study consisted of 3 parts: 1) night-shift control study; 2) light exposure study; 3) day-shift control study. All the nurses accomplished 3 parts of the study, each of which continued for 3 days, except one nurse who did not participate in day-shift control study. During light exposure study, nurses were exposed to bright light for 4 hours from 1AM to 5AM. Sleep patterns were evaluated with wrist actigraphy and automatic sleep analysis program. Mood states and side effects of light exposure were assessed with self-report scales. Results: Sleep period time, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency were increased following light exposure compared with night-shift control study. Light exposure study showed no difference from day-shift control study in above-mentioned sleep parameters. Daily fluctuation of sleep efficiency was less prominent during light exposure study than during night-shift control study. During light exposure study, the subjects felt more elated and energetic in the evening after daytime sleep than during night-shift control study. None of the subjects complained of severe side effects related to light exposure on the third day of light exposure. Tolerance of side effects was noted to develop with the repetition of light exposure. Conclusion: Light exposure improved the daytime sleep of night-shift workers to the level of normal nighttime sleep, making the subjects more elated and energetic. Side effects of light exposure were found to be tolerable. Light exposure seems to be safely applicable to night-shift workers for their adaptation.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.1497-1502
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• 2009

AE(Auto exposure) is a function to maintain the exposure value of a captured image constant, and is one of the crucial functionalities of a CIS-based mobile camera. Generally AE is implemented in software, requiring a CPU and a ROM to store the corresponding software. This approach increases the hardware size at the cost of increased flexibility. In this paper, we propose an AE algorithm featuring variable frame-rate and adaptive analog gain control, as well as a FSM-based hardware architecture for a CIS-based mobile camera.