• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.385-390
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• 2014

This research is conducted to identify whether an m-DIXON technique which is useful for an abdomen MRI examination compared with an existing e-THRIVE technique is a clinically useful or not. There was evaluated quantitative and qualitative to 84 subjects who had abdomen MRI exam due to their liver disease were conducted during a period from September in 2013 to February in 2014. First of all the quantitative evaluation, the m-DIXON technique's SNR was $90.42{\pm}16.90$ and the e-THRIVE technique was $60.42{\pm}11.54$ and the m-DIXON technique's CNR was $52.38{\pm}22.58$ and the e-THRIVE technique was $46.31{\pm}20.25$. Secondly in the qualitative evaluation, the m-DIXON technique's image quality was $4.06{\pm}0.34$, a artifact was $3.64{\pm}0.22$, and fat suppression was $4.16{\pm}0.15$, the e-THRIVE technique's image quality was $3.14{\pm}0.35$, a artifact was $3.06{\pm}0.38$, fat suppression was $3.14{\pm}0.30$. In conclusion, m-DIXON technique for abdomen MRI examination showed superiority over both SNR as a quantitative anaylsis, CNR and a qualitative analysis.

• The Journal of the Society of Korean Medicine Diagnostics
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.121-131
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• 2006

Background : As each human has a look in the face of oneself, he or she has a look of him or herself in the shape of the body also. And for the shape of the body which gives a big clue in diagnosis in musculoskeletal disorders. Therefor many means are used and developed for diagnosis through body shape or posture analysis for musculoskeletal disorders. X-ray, CT, MRI has been used for diagnosis through image in this way to tell about the inside of the human body. On the other side, moire topography was used for information about the exterior of the human body, but yet only minimal information such as the number of contour lines in each side was available. Therefor there were a few studies to use moire topography or other methods to get information about the surface of the human body in numeric values. The instrument used in this study which is a laser projection moire, is another trial to get numeric data about the surface of the human body. The instrument is composed of laser projector and a computer software to recompose and analyse the image data into depth, height, angle and length. Objectives : The study was focused on whether the instrument is reliable for clinic use, and to seek the proper environment and posture for the examination, and among the data the software provides, which items are more reliable and useful. Methods : For reproductivity and repeatability, 4 testers tested 2 persons. And to how if the body shape changes according to the posture and which posture gives the most reliable data, the test was performed in 6 different positions. Results : Result, the instrument showed sufficient repeatability and reproductivity for clinical use. And among the items the software provides, the length of the back, the angle of the back in the sagittal and coronal plane showed reliable results. And there was difference in the results according to the posture, and Therefor, in following studies using this instrument or similar type of posture analysing instruments, the length of the back, the angle of the back in the sagittal and coronal plane could be reliable item to use.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.98-107
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• 2011

Caries remains prevalent throughout modern society and is the main disease in the field of dentistry. Although studies of this disease have used diverse methodology, recently, X-ray microtomography has gained popularity as a non-destructive, 3-dimensional (3D) analytical technique, and has several advantages over the conventional methods. According to X-ray source, it is classified as monochromatic or polychromatic with the latter being more widely used due to the high cost of the monochromatic source despite some advantages. The determination of mineral density profiles based on changes in X-ray attenuation is the principle of this method and calibration and image processing procedures are needed for the better image and reproducible measurements. Using this tool, 3D reconstruction is also possible and it enables to visualize the internal structures of dental caries. With the advances in the computer technology, more diverse applications are being studied, such automated caries assessment algorithms.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.109-114
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• 2012

Honeycombs are dense structures that small cysts, which generally have about 2~10 mm in diameter, are surrounded by the wall of fibrosis. When honeycomb is found in the patients, the incidence of acute exacerbation is generally very high. Thus, the observation and quantitative measurement of honeycomb are considered as a significant marker for clinical diagnosis. In this point of view, we propose an automatic segmentation method using morphological image processing and assessment of the degree of clustering techniques. Firstly, image noises were removed by the Gaussian filtering and then a morphological dilation method was applied to segment lung regions. Secondly, honeycomb cyst candidates were detected through the 8-neighborhood pixel exploration, and then non-cyst regions were removed using the region growing method and wall pattern testing. Lastly, final honeycomb regions were segmented through the extraction of dense regions which are consisted of two or more cysts using cluster analysis. The proposed method applied to 80 High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images and achieved a sensitivity of 89.4% and PPV (Positive Predictive Value) of 72.2%.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.350-359
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• 2005

Sagittal split ramus osteotomy(SSRO) has been commonly performed in the mandibular prognathism. The previous studies of the mandibular anatomy for SSRO have mostly been used in dry skull without consideration of age, sex or jaw relationship of patients. This study was performed to evaluate the location of mandibular canal and the anatomy of ramus, such as the location of mandibular lingula and the ramal bone marrow, which were associated with SSRO procedures, in the patients with mandibular prognathism and normal young adults by using computerized tomographs(CT) and 3D images. The young adults at their twenties, who were considered to complete their skeletal growth, and seen in the Department of Orthodontics and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Chonnam National University Hospital between March 2000 and May 2003, were selected. This study was performed in 30 patients (15men, 15women) who were diagnosed as skeletal class I normal relationship, and another 30 patients (15men, 15women) who were diagnosed as skeletal class III relationship upon clinical examination and lateral cephalometric radiographs. The patients were divided into 2 groups : Class I group, the patients who had skeletal class Ⅰ normal relationship(n=30, 15men, 15women), and Class III group, the patients who had skeletal class III relationship(n=30, 15men, 15women). Facial CT was taken in all patients, and pure 3D mandibular model was constructed by V-works version 4.0. The occlusal plane was designed by three points, such as the mesiobuccal cusp of both mandibular 1st molar and the incisal edge of the right mandibular central incisor, and used as a reference plane. Distances between the tip of mandibular lingula and the occlusal plane, the sigmoid notch, the anterior and the posterior borders of ramus were measured. The height of ramal bone marrow from the occlusal plane and the distance between mid-point of mandibular canal and the buccal or lingual cortex of the mandible in the 1st and 2nd molars were measured by V-works version 4.0. Distance(Li-OP) between the occlusal plane and the tip of mandibular lingula of Class III Group was longer than that of Class I Group in men(p<0.01), but there was no significant difference in women between both groups. Distance(Li-SN) between the sigmoid notch and the tip of mandibular ligula of Class III group was longer than that of Class I Group in men(p<0.05), but there was no significant difference in women between both groups. Distance(Li-RA) between the anterior border of ramus and the tip of mandibular lingula of Class III Group was shorter than that of Class I Group in men and women(p<0.01). Distance(Li-RP) between the posterior border of ramus and the tip of mandibular lingula of Class III Group was slightly shorter than that of Class I Group in men(p<0.05), but there was no significant difference in women between both groups. Distance(RA-RP) between the anterior and the posterior borders of ramus of Class III Group was shorter than that of Class I Group in men and women(p<0.01). Longer the distance(SN-AN) between the sigmoid notch and the antegonial notch was, longer the vertical ramal length above occlusal plane, higher the location of mandibular lingula, and shorter the antero-posterior ramal length were observed(p<0.01). Height of ramal bone marrow of Class III Group was higher than that of Class I Group in men and women(p<0.01). Distance between mandibular canal and buccal cortex of Class III Group in 1st and 2nd lower molars was shorter than that of Class I Group in men and women (p<0.05 in 1st lower molar in men, p<0.01 in others). These results indicate that there are some anatomical differences between the normal occlusal patients and the mandibular prognathic patients, such as the anterior-posterior length of ramus, the height of ramal bone marrow, and the location of mandibular canal.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.213-230
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• 2008

The aim of this study was to analyze the initial movement and the stress distribution of each tooth and periodontal ligament during the lingual lever-arm retraction of 6 maxillary incisors using FEA. Two kinds of finite element models were produced: 2-properties model (simple model) and 24-properties model (multi model) according to the material property assignment. The subject was an adult male of 23 years old. The DICOM images through the CT of the patient were converted into the 3D image model of a skull using the Mimics (version 10.11, Materialise's interactive Medical Image Control System, Materialise, Belgium). After series of calculating, remeshing, exporting, importing process and volume mesh process was performed, FEA models were produced. FEA models are consisted of maxilla, maxillary central incisor, lateral incisor, canine, periodontal ligaments and lingual traction arm. The boundary conditions fixed the movements of posterior, sagittal and upper part of the model to the directions of X, Y, Z axis respectively. The model was set to be symmetrical to X axis. Through the center of resistance of maxilla complex, a retraction force of 200g was applied horizontally to the occlusal plane. Under this conditions, the initial movements and stress distributions were evaluated by 3D FEA. In the result, the amount of posterior movement was larger in the multi model than in the simple model as well as the amount of vertically rotation. The pattern of the posterior movement in the central incisors and lateral incisors was controlled tipping movement, and the amount was larger than in the canine. But the amount of root movement of the canine was larger than others. The incisor rotated downwardly and the canines upwardly around contact points of lateral incisor and canine in the both models. The values of stress are similar in the both simple and multi model.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2017

Purpose During Brain SPECT study, critical factor for proper study with $^{99m}Tc-ECD$ or $^{99m}Tc-HMPAO$ is one of the important causes to patent's movement. It causes both improper diagnosis and examination failure. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Dynamic Continuous Mode Acquisition compared to Step and Shoot Mode to raise efficacy and reject the data set with movement, as well as, be reconstructed in certain criteria. Materials and Methods Deluxe Jaszczak phantom and Hoffman 3D Brain phantom were used to find proper standard data set and exact time. Step and Shoot Mode and Dynamic Continuous Mode Acquisition were performed with SymbiaT16. Firstly, Deluxe Jaszczak phantom was filled with $Na^{99m}TcO_4$ 370 MBq and obtained in 60 minutes to check spatial resolution compared with Step and Shoot Mode and Dynamic Continuous Mode. The second, the Hoffman 3D Phantom filled with $Na^{99m}TcO_4$ 74 MBq was acquired for 15 Frame/minutes to evaluate visual assessment and quantification. Finally, in the Deluxe Jaszczak phantom, Spheres and Rods were measured by MI Apps program as well as, checking counts with the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, cerebellum and hypothalamus parts was performed in the Hoffman 3D Brain Phantom. Results In Brain SPECT Study, using Dynamic Continuous Mode rather than current Step and Shoot Mode, we can do the reading using the 20 to 50 % of the acquired image, and during the test if the patient moves, we can remove unneeded image to reduce the rate of restudy and reinjection. Conclusion Dynamic Continuous Mode in Brain study condition enhances effects compared to Step and Shoot Mode. And also is powerful method to reduce reacquisition rate caused by patient movement. The findings further indicate that it suggest rejection limit to maintain clinical value with certain reconstruction factors compared with Tomo data set. Further examination to improve spatial resolution, SPECT/CT should be the answer for that.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.881-887
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• 2023

This study aims to analyze the development and current trends of AI-based medical imaging devices commercialized in South Korea. As of September 30, 2023, there were a total of 186 AI-based medical devices licensed, certified, and reported to the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, of which 138 were related to imaging. The study comprehensively examined the yearly approval trends, equipment types, application areas, and key functions from 2018 to 2023. The study found that the number of AI medical devices started from four products in 2018 and grew steadily until 2023, with a sharp increase after 2020. This can be attributed to the interaction between the advancement of AI technology and the increasing demand in the medical field. By equipment, AI medical devices were developed in the order of CT, X-ray, and MR, which reflects the characteristics and clinical importance of the images of each equipment. This study found that the development of AI medical devices for specific areas such as the thorax, cranial nerves, and musculoskeletal system is active, and the main functions are medical image analysis, detection and diagnosis assistance, and image transmission. These results suggest that AI's pattern recognition and data analysis capabilities are playing an important role in the medical imaging field. In addition, this study examined the number of Korean products that have received international certifications, particularly the US FDA and European CE. The results show that many products have been certified by both organizations, indicating that Korean AI medical devices are in line with international standards and are competitive in the global market. By analyzing the impact of AI technology on medical imaging and its potential for development, this study provides important implications for future research and development directions. However, challenges such as regulatory aspects, data quality and accessibility, and clinical validity are also pointed out, requiring continued research and improvement on these issues.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2005

Purpose : An effect of a packing to uterine treatment of a cervical cancer using a dose-volume histogram for a point dose and a volume dose of the bladder and the rectum was analyzed by establishing a three-dimensional treatment plan using a CT image. Materials and methods : Reference points of the bladder and the rectum were marked, respectively at a treatment plan device (plato brachytherapy V14.2.4) by photographing CT(marconi, USA) when the packing was used and removed under the same condition and a treatment plan was performed to Apoint depending on ICRU38. However, in case of the rectum, a maximum point was looked up and compared with the above point because the point presented from the ICRU is not proper as a representative value of a rectum point dose. Further, the volume dose depending on volume of $50\%,\;80\%,\;and\;100\%$ point doses of the rectum and the bladder was measured. The measured values were used to analyze the effect of the packing through a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test (a SAS statistical analysis process program). Result : The reference points at the bladder and rectum doses when the packing was removed were $116.94\;35.42\%$ and $117.59\;21.08\%$, respectively. The points when the packing was used were $107.08\;38.12\%$ and $95.19\;21.32\%$, respectively. After the packing was used, the reference points at the bladder and the rectum were decreased by $9.86\%$ and $22.4\%$, respectively. When the packing was removed, the maximum points at the bladder and the rectum were $164.51\;50.89\%,\;128.81\;33.05\%$, respectively. When the packing was used, the maximum points at the bladder and the rectum were $142.31\;44.79,\;110.08\;37.03\%$, respectively. After the packing was used, the maximum points at the bladder and the rectum were decreased by $22.2\%$ and $18.73\%$, respectively. When the packing was removed, the bladder volume at $50\%,\;80\%,\;and\;100\%$ point doses of the rectum and the bladder were $48.62{\pm}18.09\%,\;16.12{\pm}11.15\%,\;and\;7.51{\pm}6.63\%$, respectively and its rectum volume were $23.41{\pm}14.44\%,\;6.27{\pm}4.28\%,\;2.79{\pm}2.27\%$, respectively. When the packing was used, the bladder volume at $50\%,\;80\%,\;and\;100\%$ point doses of the rectum and the bladder were $40.33{\pm}16.72,\;11.63{\pm}8.72,\;and\;4.87{\pm}4.75\%$, respectively and its rectum volume were $18.96{\pm}8.37\%,\;4.75{\pm}2.58\%,\;and\;1.58{\pm}1.06\%$, respectively. After the packing was used, the bladder volume at $50\%,\;80\%,\;and\;100\%$ point doses of the rectum and the bladder were decreased by $8.29\%,\;4.49\%,\;and\;2.64\%$, respectively and its bladder volume were decreased by $4.45\%,\;1.52\%,\;and\;1.21\%$, respectively. Conclusion : Values at Reference point doses of the bladder and the rectum recommended from the ICRU 38 were 0.0781 and 0.0781, respectively and values of their maximum point doses were 0.0156 and 0.0156, respectively, as a result of which an effect of the packing using at the uterine intracavitary treatment of an uterine cervical cancer through the three-dimensional treatment plan used CT were measured. That is, the values at reference point doses and the values at maximum point doses show similar difference. However, P value was 0.15 at over $50\%,\;80\%,\;and\;100\%$ volume doses and the value shows no similar difference. In other words, the effect of the packing looks like having a difference at the point dose, but actually shows no difference at the volume dose. The reason is that the volume of the bladder and the rectum are wide but the volume of the packing is only a portion. Therefore, the effect of decreasing the point dose was not great. Further, the farer the distance is, the more weak the intensity of radiation is because the intensity of radiation is proportional to inverse square of a distance. Therefore, the effort to minimize an obstacle of the bladder and the rectum by using the packing should be made.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2014

Purpose: In the PET/CT images, The SUV (standardized uptake value) enables the quantitative assessment according to the biological changes of organs as the index of distinction whether lesion is malignant or not. Therefore, It is too important to enter parameters correctly that affect to the SUV. The purpose of this study is to evaluate an allowable error range of SUV as measuring the difference of results according to input errors of Activity, Weight, uptake Time among the parameters. Materials and Methods: Three inserts, Hot, Teflon and Air, were situated in the 1994 NEMA Phantom. Phantom was filled with 27.3 MBq/mL of 18F-FDG. The ratio of hotspot area activity to background area activity was regulated as 4:1. After scanning, Image was re-reconstructed after incurring input errors in Activity, Weight, uptake Time parameters as ${\pm}5%$, 10%, 15%, 30%, 50% from original data. ROIs (region of interests) were set one in the each insert areas and four in the background areas. $SUV_{mean}$ and percentage differences were calculated and compared in each areas. Results: $SUV_{mean}$ of Hot. Teflon, Air and BKG (Background) areas of original images were 4.5, 0.02. 0.1 and 1.0. The min and max value of $SUV_{mean}$ according to change of Activity error were 3.0 and 9.0 in Hot, 0.01 and 0.04 in Teflon, 0.1 and 0.3 in Air, 0.6 and 2.0 in BKG areas. And percentage differences were equally from -33% to 100%. In case of Weight error showed $SUV_{mean}$ as 2.2 and 6.7 in Hot, 0.01 and 0.03 in Tefron, 0.09 and 0.28 in Air, 0.5 and 1.5 in BKG areas. And percentage differences were equally from -50% to 50% except Teflon area's percentage deference that was from -50% to 52%. In case of uptake Time error showed $SUV_{mean}$ as 3.8 and 5.3 in Hot, 0.01 and 0.02 in Teflon, 0.1 and 0.2 in Air, 0.8 and 1.2 in BKG areas. And percentage differences were equally from 17% to -14% in Hot and BKG areas. Teflon area's percentage difference was from -50% to 52% and Air area's one was from -12% to 20%. Conclusion: As shown in the results, It was applied within ${\pm}5%$ of Activity and Weight errors if the allowable error range was configured within 5%. So, The calibration of dose calibrator and weighing machine has to conduct within ${\pm}5%$ error range because they can affect to Activity and Weight rates. In case of Time error, it showed separate error ranges according to the type of inserts. It showed within 5% error when Hot and BKG areas error were within ${\pm}15%$. So we have to consider each time errors if we use more than two clocks included scanner's one during the examinations.