• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.175-182
• /
• 1995

Despite the simplicity of processing, a conventional autocorrelation function (ACF) method for the precise determination of fetal heart rate (FHR) has many problems. In case of weak or noise corrupted Doppler ultrasound signal, the ACF method is very sensitive to the threshold level and data window length. It is very troublesome to extract FHR when there is a data loss. To overcome these problems, the high resolution pitch detection algorithm was adopted to estimate the FHR. This method is more accurate, robust and reliable than the ACF method. With a lot of calculation, however, it is impossible to process real time FHR estimation. This paper is presented a new FHR estimation algorithm for real time processing and studied the real time FHR monitoring system by high resolution pitch detection algorithm.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.331-335
• /
• 2005

The fusion technology of small sensor and wireless communication was followed by various application examples of the embedded system, where the social infrastructural facilities and ecological environment were wirelessly monitored. In addition, this technology represents the primary application area being extended into the healthcare field. In this study, a body area network for ubiquitous healthcare is presented. More specifically this represents a wireless biomedical signal acquisition device characterized by small size, low power consumption, pre-processing and archiving capability. Using this device, a new method for monitoring vital signs and activity is created. A PDA-based wireless sensor network enables patients to be monitored during their daily living, without any constraints. Therefore, the proposed method can be used to develop Activities of Daily Living (ADL) monitoring devices for the elderly or movement impaired people. A medical center would be able to remotely monitor the current state of elderly people and support first-aid in emergency cases. In addition, this method will reduce medical costs in society, where the average life expectancy is increasing.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.251-260
• /
• 1998

The Holter monitoring system is a widely used noninvasive diagnostic tool for ambulatory patient who may be at risk from latent life-threatening cardiac abnormalities. In this paper, we design a high performance intelligent holter monitoring system which is characterized by the small-sized and the low-power consumption. The system hardware consists of one-chip microcontroller(68HC11E9), ECG preprocessing circuit, and flash memory card. ECG preprocessing circuit is made of ECG preamplifier with gain of 250, 500 and 1000, the bandpass filter with bandwidth of 0.05-100Hz, the auto-balancing circuit and the saturation-calibrating circuit to eliminate baseline wandering, ECG signal sampled at 240 samples/sec is converted to the digital signal. We use a linear recursive filter and preprocessing algorithm to detect the ECG parameters which are QRS complex, and Q-R-T points, ST-level, HR, QT interval. The long-term acquired ECG signals and diagnostic parameters are compressed by the MFan(Modified Fan) and the delta modulation method. To easily interface with the PC based analyzer program which is operated in DOS and Windows, the compressed data, that are compatible to FFS(flash file system) format, are stored at the flash memory card with SBF(symmetric block format).

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.143-149
• /
• 2015

In this paper, we proposed a novel method for automatic detection for snoring and heart beat using a single piezoelectric sensor. For this study multi-rate signal processing technique was applied to detect snoring and heart beat from the single source signal. The sound event duration and intensity features were used to snore detection and heart beat was found by autocorrelation. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated on clinical database, which is the nocturnal piezoelectric snoring data of 30 patients that suffered obstructive sleep apnea. The method achieved sensitivity of 88.6%, specificity of 96.1% with accuracy of 95.6% for snoring and sensitivity of 94.1% and positive predictive value of 87.6% for heart beat, respectively. These results suggest that the proposed method can be a useful tool in sleep monitoring and sleep disordered breathing diagnosis.

• Biomedical Engineering Letters
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.345-353
• /
• 2018

This study suggested a new EMG-signal-based evaluation method for knee rehabilitation that provides not only fragmentary information like muscle power but also in-depth information like muscle fatigue in the field of rehabilitation which it has not been applied to. In our experiment, nine healthy subjects performed straight leg raise exercises which are widely performed for knee rehabilitation. During the exercises, we recorded the joint angle of the leg and EMG signals from four prime movers of the leg: rectus femoris (RFM), vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and biceps femoris (BFLH). We extracted two parameters to estimate muscle fatigue from the EMG signals, the zero-crossing rate (ZCR) and amplitude of muscle tension (AMT) that can quantitatively assess muscle fatigue from EMG signals. We found a decrease in the ZCR for the RFM and the BFLH in the muscle fatigue condition for most of the subjects. Also, we found increases in the AMT for the RFM and the BFLH. Based on the results, we quantitatively confirmed that in the state of muscle fatigue, the ZCR shows a decreasing trend whereas the AMT shows an increasing trend. Our results show that both the ZCR and AMT are useful parameters for characterizing the EMG signals in the muscle fatigue condition. In addition, our proposed methods are expected to be useful for developing a navigation system for knee rehabilitation exercises by evaluating the two parameters in two-dimensional parameter space.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.34 no.10
• /
• pp.2937-2941
• /
• 2013

Fluorescence imaging is considered as one of the most powerful techniques for monitoring biomolecule activities in living systems. Near-infrared (NIR) light is advantageous for minimum photodamage, deep tissue penetration, and minimum background autofluorescence interference. Herein, we have developed a new NIR fluorescent dye, namely, RB-1, based on the Rhodamine B scaffold. RB-1 exhibits excellent photophysical properties including large absorption extinction coefficients, high fluorescence quantum yields, and high photostability. In particular, RB-1 displays both absorption and emission in the NIR region of the "biological window" (650-900 nm) for imaging in biological samples. RB-1 shows absorption maximum at 614 nm (500-725 nm) and emission maximum at 712 nm (650-825 nm) in ethanol, which is superior to those of traditional rhodamine B in the selected spectral region. Furthermore, applications of RB-1 for fluorescence imaging in living cells and small animals were investigated using confocal fluorescence microscopy and in vivo imaging system with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR = 10.1).

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.96-103
• /
• 2022

Purpose: The survival of organisms critically depends on avoidance responses to life-threatening stimuli. Information about dangerous situations needs to be remembered to produce defensive behavior. To investigate underlying brain regions to process information of danger, manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) was used in olfactory fear-conditioned rats. Materials and Methods: Fear conditioning was conducted in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals received nasal injections of manganese chloride solution to monitor brain activation for olfactory information processing. Twenty-four hours after manganese injection, rats were exposed to electric foot shocks with odor cue for one hour. Control rats were exposed to the same odor cue without foot shocks. Forty-eight hours after the conditioning, rats were anesthetized and their brains were scanned with 9.4T MRI. Acquired images were processed and statistical analyses were performed using AFNI. Results: Manganese injection enhanced brain areas involved in olfactory information pathways in T1 weighted images. Rats that received foot shocks showed higher brain activation in the central nucleus of the amygdala, septum, primary motor cortex, and preoptic area. In contrast, control rats displayed greater signals in the orbital cortex and nucleus accumbens. Conclusion: Nasal delivery of manganese solution enhanced olfactory signal pathways in rats. Odor cue paired with foot shocks activated amygdala, the central brain region in fear, and related brain circuits. Use of MEMRI in fear conditioning provides a reliable monitoring technique of brain activation for fear learning.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.17 no.11
• /
• pp.183-188
• /
• 2019

As social perceptions of pets change, cultural attitudes toward pets are becoming more friendly. In particular, dogs have been living familiarly and closely with humans for a long time. In the changing times, various services are being used to improve the understanding of dogs and to prevent companion dogs and increase awareness of respect for life. Therefore, in this paper, we implemented a smart lead line in which IoT service and application technology are linked to the walking dog's automatic lead line. To do this, we developed a smart dog lead line by designing and implementing an integrated module in connection with heterogeneous sensors and linking it with a dog lead line. Finally, a smart dog lead line was used to collect the dog's biological signals in real time, identify the location of the dog, and provide a notification system. Through this, we believe that the culture of dog culture can be further grown.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.12 no.8
• /
• pp.59-68
• /
• 2012

The existing ship monitoring system currently in use has a limitation, which is that it can only identify a boat's location for finding a safe harbor or give an answer to a rescue signal. In addition to this, it is very difficult to add an expensive, more effective monitoring system to small boats because of their small infrastructure in comparison with large boats. Therefore, this study suggests that a new model could be required to better cater to the needs of small boats. The 'Smart Care System', based on location, is better able to monitor the boat and the crew of small boats in comparison with the existing ship monitoring system. Using biomedical data transmission equipment, it is able to survey and send biomedical data so that it can continuously monitor the crew's health. The boat has an intelligent interface device, which has the functions of GPS and attitude sensors, and a web based management system. We have conducted three experiments for the assessment of this system. The experiment of biological data transmission had a success rate of 98 percent, and the tests conducted for recognizing emergency situations also had a 98 percent success rate. In conclusion we confirmed the efficiency of this system.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.392-396
• /
• 2007

In this paper, we develop a new system to visualize the blood flow map in skin tissue, using the technique of Laser Speckle Flowgraphy (LSFG). The measuring unit consists of the laser diode, imaging system, line sensor, scanning mirror, and one-board microcomputer. The speckle signal is analyzed and sent to a PC, where the blood flow in a tissue area of $14mm{\times}26 mm$ is evaluated and displayed in a 2-D color map. It is demonstrated that the new LSFG instrument is useful to evaluate the degree of allergic reaction in patch test.