• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.65 no.11
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• pp.1887-1893
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• 2016

The VSA(Video Signal Analysis) method is the time-domain approach for estimating ultrasonic attenuation which utilizes the envelop signals from backscattered rf signals. The echogenicity of backscattered ultrasonic signals, however, from deeper depths are distorted when the broadband transmit pulse is used and it degrades the estimation accuracy of attenuation coefficients. We propose the modified VSA method using adaptive bandpass filters according to the centroid shift of echo signals as a pulse propagates. The technique of dual-reference diffraction compensation is also proposed to minimize the estimation errors because the difference of attenuation properties between the reference and sample aggravates the estimation accuracy when the differences are accumulated in deeper depth. The proposed techniques minimize the distortion of relative echogenicity and maximize the signal-to-noise ratio at the given depth. Simulation results for numerical tissue-mimicking phantoms show that the Rectangular-shaped filter with the appropriate center frequency exhibits the best estimation performance and the technique of the dual-reference diffraction compensation dramatically improves accuracy for the region after the beam focus.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.20-27
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• 2005

Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mass and the microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. It has been suggested that speed of sound (SOS) and broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) of quantitative ultrasound sonography (QUS) may provide information about not only bone density but also the microarchitecture and elastic properties of bone. Physical inactivity reduced mechanical usage and it made process to the bone changes. This study aimed to association between the physical activity and the QUS parameters in 1305 (593 men, 712 women) aged 20 years over in a rural population. Two QUS parameters, BUA (p=.23) and SOS(p=.73) were measured at the right calcaneus of postmenopausal women, no significant associations were observed between sports index and SOS and BUA. These results suggest that work, non-sports leisure physical activity (p<.01) have a significant influence on QUS parameters in a rural population. Physical activity are meaningful predictor of QUS parameters of the calcaneus in a rural population.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.240-249
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• 2007

The objective of this study was to investigate the relation of serum calcium level, body mass index(BMI) with bone status expressed as broadband ultrasound attenuation(BUA) measured by quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and the occurrence of osteopenia among adult men and women. Two hundred eleven(63 male and 148 female) workers who worked in 4 different battery factories were recruited from March 2005 to October 2005. BUA was used as a surrogate of bone mineral density and measured at left calcaneous bone area. The BUA value transformed into T-score by WHO standard conversion criteria to determine osteopenia (-2.5

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.10 s.241
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• pp.1430-1437
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• 2005

It is very important to achieve a high reproducibility in the ultrasonic measurement of bone mineral density. In this study, we examined number of sampling waveform, control of temperature, diameter of region of interest as factors to improve reproducibility. We decided the optimal number of waveforms to be converted to frequency domain as period of 1. We have minimized the effects of variable temperature and constrained generation of micro bubble by keeping temperature within a range of $32\pm0.5^{\circ}C$ with a precise temperature controlling algorithm. We also found the optimal diameter of region of interest to be 13mm. In this paper, we demonstrated the improved reproducibility by controlling various factors affecting the ultrasonic measurement of bone mineral density.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.590-599
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship of nutritional status measured by the body composition and dietary nutrients intakes with calcaneal broadband ultrasound attenuation in college students. Total of 886 (462 male and 424 female) students who received health examination in May 2007 participated in this research. Participants bone status was measured by a quantitative ultrasound method and t-score was calculated via WHO guideline. For body composition measurements, body fat, height and weight were measured and BMI was calculated. Dietary data were collected by a 24-hour recall method. Based on Asia-Pacific standard of WHO, BMI was divided into 3 groups; UW (BMI < 18.5), NW + OW (18.5 $\leqq$ BMI < 25) and Obese group (25 $\leqq$ BMI). Among male students, 2.4% belong to the UW group, 45.0% to the NW+OW group and 52.6% belong to the obese group, bwhile 10.4% of female students belong to the UW group, 71.9% to the NW + OW group and 17.7% of female students belong to the Obese group. Differences among male and female students were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Students with higher BMI showed significantly higher bone health status. Male students did not show any significant differences in nutrients intakes by BMI groups while female students showed the higher intakes of energy, protein, pyridoxin, phosphorus, iron and zinc among NW + OW group than other groups (p < 0.05). The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of diet by BMI groups did not show any significant differences in both male and female students. The result of the multiple regression analyses showed that the body fat and bone status was negatively related while energy intake was positively related with the bone status. These results revealed that bone health status was positively affected by BMI but not by body fat. In conclusion, among those who are at their twenties, the period when the bone density becomes maximized, body fat may negatively affect bone health unlike during other life cycle stages.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.181-189
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• 2013

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of cortical bone on acoustic properties of trabecular bone, such as speed of sound (SOS) and normalized broadband ultrasound attenuation (nBUA), in bovine femur in vitro. Twelve trabecular bone samples and three cortical bone plates with thicknesses of 1.00, 1.47, and 2.00 mm were extracted from the proximal end of two bovine femurs. The correlations between acoustic properties and trabecular apparent bone density were also examined before and after attaching a cortical bone plate to the trabecular bone samples. SOS increased linearly with increasing thickness of the cortical plate attached to one side of ultrasonic incidence of the trabecular bone samples, whereas nBUA showed a nonlinear dependence on the thickness of the cortical plate. All the SOS (r = 0.95-0.97) and nBUA (r = 0.53-0.73) measurements with and without the cortical bone plate with various thicknesses were found to exhibit high correlations with the trabecular apparent bone density. These results imply that the acoustic properties measured in the femur with lateral cortical layers in vitro can be useful indices for the prediction of trabecular bone mineral density.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.388-394
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• 2010

In the present study, polyacetal bone mimics with circular cylindrical pores were used to investigate variations of speed of sound and attenuation coefficient with porosity and microarchitecture in bone. The speed of sound and attenuation coefficient of the 6 bone mimics with porosities from 0 % to 65.9 % were measured by a through-transmission method in water, using a pair of broadband, unfocused transducers with a diameter of 12.7 mm and a center frequency of 1.0 MHz. Independently of the structural properties of the bone mimics, the speed of sound decreased almost linearly with the increasing porosity. The attenuation coefficient measured at 1.0 MHz exhibited linear or nonlinear correlations with the porosity, depending on the structural properties of the bone mimics. These results are consistent with those previously published by other researchers using bone samples and mimics, and advances our understanding of the relationships of the ultrasonic parameters for the diagnosis of osteoporosis with the bone density and microarchitecture in human bones.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.2E
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• pp.45-50
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• 2008

In recent years, quantitative ultrasound (QUS) technologies have played a growing role in the diagnosis of osteoporosis. Most of the commercial bone somometers measure speed of sound (SOS) and/or broadband ultrasonic attenuation (EUA) at peripheral skeletal sites. However, the QUS parameters are purely empirical measures that have not yet been firmly linked to physical parameters such as bone strength or porosity. In the present study, the theoretical models for wave propagation in cancellous bone, such as the Biot model, the stratified model, and the modified Biot-Attenborough (MBA) model, were applied to predict the dependence of phase velocity on porosity in cancellous bone. The optimum values for the input parameters of the three models in cancellous bone were determined by comparing the predictions with the previously published measurements in human cancellous bone in vitro. This modeling effort is relevant to the use of QUS in the diagnosis of osteoporosis because SOS is negatively correlated to the fracture risk of bone, and also advances our understanding of the relationship between phase velocity and porosity in cancellous bone.

• Proceedings of the Acoustical Society of Korea Conference
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• spring
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• pp.373-376
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• 2002

Most previous studies using ultrasound for osteoporosis diagnosis have employed ultrasound in a frequency range of 0.2-1 MHz. In this study, acoustic properties of the 12 defatted bovine cancellous bone specimens were investigated in vitro. Speed of sound (SOS) and broadband ultrasonic attenuation (BUA) were measured using three matched pairs of transducers with the center frequencies of 1, 2.25, and 3.5 MHz, respectively, in order to cover a broad frequency range of 0.5-2 MHz. The relative orientation between ultrasonic beam and bone specimens was the mediolateral (ML) direction of the bovine tibia. SOS showed significant linear positive correlations with apparent density for all three pairs of transducers of 1 MHz, 2.25 MHz, and 3.5 MHz, respectively. BUA showed relatively weak correlations with apparent density for the pairs of transducers of 1 MHz and 2.25 MHz. Furthermore, in the measurement with the pair of 3.5 MHz transducers, BUA was independent of apparent density. SOS and BUA were only weakly correlated with each other. The linear combination of SOS and BUA showed significant correlations with apparent density. These results suggest that the frequency range up to 1.5 MHz may be also useful in the osteoporosis diagnosis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2010

This study was designed to investigate the effect of increased blood and tibia lead on the change of bone mineral density in retired male lead workers. One hundred nine retired male lead workers who worked in 4 different lead industries and 51 nonoccupationally lead exposed male subjects were recruited from March 2004 to October 2004. Bone mineral density(BMD) was measured by broadband ultrasound attenuation(BUA) at left calcaneous bone area with broadband ultrasound attenuation method of QUS-2(Metra Biosystems Inc, USA). Tibia bone lead was measured for skeletal bone lead with K-xray fluorescence(K-XRF) and blood lead was analyzed with flameless atomic spectrophotometer. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum calcium and iron were also analyzed. In addition, information for smoking and drinking status and basic personal data such as age and lead exposure were also collected using questionnaire inquiry. Blood lead was correlated with tibia lead (r=0.711) and these two variables were negatively correlated with BUA in bivariate analysis. BUA and tibia lead showed significant main effects on the change of blood lead after adjusting covariates. The effect modification by the level of BMD (low: lower than the median of BUA and high: higher than the median of BUA) was observed between the association of tibia lead and blood lead after adjustment of covariates. The subjects who had higher BMD seemed to have lower blood lead by the increase of tibia lead than those of lower BMD. In the multiple regression analysis of blood lead and tibia lead on BUA after adjustment of covariates, only blood lead showed statistically significant effect on BUA. This study confirmed that BMD and blood lead were significantly associated. To verify the causal association of BMD on blood lead and vice versa, further longitudinal studies are needed.