• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.110-117
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• 2016

Applying the contrast enhancement algorithms to luminance values of color images is a widely used approach to enhance the contrast of color images. The results obtained by this approach have reduced saturation compared with that of the original images in spite of contrast enhancement without color degradation. Applying the contrast enhancement algorithm to each channel of color images is another approach for the contrast enhancement of color images. This method produces improved images in terms of contrast and saturation while the hue of original images is changed. In this paper, main cause of color degradation is analyzed and then solving the problem based on the analysis. The channel adaptive contrast enhancement method considering characteristics of each channel is also proposed to deal with color degradation. As a result, the proposed method enhances the contrast and saturation simultaneously without color degradation. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the conventional methods not only on subjective evaluation but on objective criteria.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.417-422
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• 2023

In this study, normal saline was diluted with the contrast medium at a certain ratio for the purpose of reducing the image quality poor and side effects caused by the contrast medium during CT examination. At this time, by finding the energy level of DECT that can compensate for the decrease in contrast of the image according to the degree of dilution, the usefulness of applying DECT for compensating the difference in image contrast was investigated through comparative analysis by applying SNR, CNR, and SSIM. As a result, when a dilution ratio of 4 (contrast medium): 6 (normal saline) and the energy level of DECT of 65 keV were applied, the contrast difference was the most similar to that when using the undiluted contrast medium. At this time, SNR was 813.71 ± 37.6, CNR was the highest at 921.87 ± 17.1, and SSIM index was measured at 0.851, which is the most similar to 1. The results of this study are meaningful in providing basic information for finding the appropriate dilution rate and energy level for each examination site through future clinical studies. It is believed that it can be reduced.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.69-76
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• 2020

In this paper, we introduce a method to visualize the contrast diffusion patterns and the dynamic vascular patterns in a contrast-enhanced ultrasound image sequence. We present an imaging technique to visualize parameters such as contrast arrival time, peak intensity time, and contrast decay time in contrast-enhanced ultrasound data. The contrast flow pattern and its velocity are important for characterizing focal liver lesions. We propose a method for representing the contrast diffusion patterns as an image. In the methods, respiratory motion may degrade the accuracy of the parametric images. Therefore, we present a respiratory motion tracking technique that uses dynamic weights and a momentum factor with respect to the respiration cycle. Through the experiment using 72 CEUS data sets, we show that the proposed method makes it possible to overcome the limitation of analysis by the naked eye and improves the reliability of the parametric images by compensating for respiratory motion in contrast-enhanced ultrasonography.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.32-42
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• 2022

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical benefit of 2D contrast-enhanced T2 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (CE-T2 FLAIR) image for detecting leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) in the brain metastasis work-up for lung cancer. Materials and Methods: From June 2017 to July 2019, we collected all consecutive patients with lung cancer who underwent brain magnetic resonance image (MRI), including contrast-enhanced 3D fast spin echo T1 black-blood image (CE-T1WI) and CE-T2 FLAIR; we recruited clinico-radiologically suspected LM cases. Two independent readers analyzed the images for LM in three sessions: CE-T1WI, CE-T2 FLAIR, and their combination. Results: We recruited 526 patients with suspected lung cancer who underwent brain MRI; of these, we excluded 77 (insufficient image protocol, unclear pathology, different contrast media, poor image quality). Of the 449 patients, 34 were clinico-radiologically suspected to have LM; among them, 23 were diagnosed with true LM. The calculated detection performance of CE-T1WI, CE-T2 FLAIR, and combined analysis obtained from the 34 suspected LM were highest in the combined analysis (AUC: 0.80, 0.82, and 0.89, respectively). The inter-observer agreement was also the highest in the combined analysis (0.68, 0.72, and 0.86, respectively). In quantitative analyses, CNR of CE-T2 FLAIR was significantly higher than that of CE-T1WI (Wilcoxon signed rank test, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Adding CE-T2 FLAIR might provide better detection for LM in the brain-metastasis screening for lung cancer.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.321-327
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• 2015

Objective : To determine whether the use of contrast enhancement (especially its extent) predicts malignant brain edema after intra-arterial thrombectomy (IAT) in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods : We reviewed the records of patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent IAT for occlusion of the internal carotid artery or the middle cerebral artery between January 2012 and March 2015. To estimate the extent of contrast enhancement (CE), we used the contrast enhancement area ratio (CEAR)-i.e., the ratio of the CE to the area of the hemisphere, as noted on immediate non-enhanced brain computed tomography (NECT) post-IAT. Patients were categorized into two groups based on the CEAR values being either greater than or less than 0.2. Results : A total of 39 patients were included. Contrast enhancement was found in 26 patients (66.7%). In this subgroup, the CEAR was greater than 0.2 in 7 patients (18%) and less than 0.2 in the other 19 patients (48.7%). On univariate analysis, both CEAR ${\geq}0.2$ and the presence of subarachnoid hemorrhage were significantly associated with progression to malignant brain edema (p<0.001 and p=0.004), but on multivariate analysis, only CEAR ${\geq}0.2$ showed a statistically significant association (p=0.019). In the group with CEAR ${\geq}0.2$, the time to malignant brain edema was shorter (p=0.039) than in the group with CEAR <0.2. Clinical functional outcomes, based on the modified Rankin scale, were also significantly worse in patients with CEAR ${\geq}0.2$ (p=0.003) Conclusion : The extent of contrast enhancement as noted on NECT scans obtained immediately after IAT could be predictive of malignant brain edema and a poor clinical outcome.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.179-185
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• 2024

By applying the various energy spectrum imaging functions of DECT, To quantitatively distinguish between contrast agent and calcification, changes in image quality are analyzed by comparing CNR and SNR. We investigated the level of dose reduction during two scans and one VNC scan. As a result, contrast agent and calcification were best distinguished in the 70 keV area, CNR and SNR were excellent, and scan dose was reduced by about 26.5%. Therefore, by applying DECT, meaningful results were obtained that could visually and quantitatively distinguish between the intravascular contrast agent and the shade of calcification. If clinical research is conducted in the future considering the patient's age, gender, and body type, quantitative analysis of calcification will be possible even with intravascular contrast agent flowing in, which will have a significant effect in reducing the patient's scan dose and the burden of multiple scans.

• Applied Science and Convergence Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.250-253
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• 2015

High contrast grating (HCG) is the structure made up of the sub-wavelength grating of high-index and the surrounding layer of low-index, which reveals high contrast between two materials. Its advantages include high reflectivity over a broad bandwidth, polarization and wavelength selectivity, optical high-Q resonator, and phase modulation. In this work, the HCG structure comprising of indium tin oxide (ITO) and Silicon (Si), for the surrounding layer and the grating layer respectively, was studied. Its theoretical model was established, and transmittance, phase and optical behavior were calculated by rigorous coupled-wave analysis and finite element method. Furthermore, the established structure was fabricated to validate its feasibility. The fabricated structure shows the focusing capability whose length is about $10{\mu}m$, and the feasibility of the structure was demonstrated. It is also meaningful that ITO layer can contribute to the fabrication of the HCG structure, leading to enable the structure to be electrical-driven.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.122-128
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• 2010

Focused Ion Beam (FIB) has been used for site-specific TEM sample preparation and small scale fabrication. Moreover, analysis on the surface microstructure and phase distribution is possible by ion channeling contrast of FIB with high resolution. This paper describes FIB applications and deformed surface structure induced by sliding. The effect of FIB process on the surface damage was explored as well. The sliding experiments were conducted using high purity aluminum and OFHC(Oxygen-Free High Conductivity) copper. The counterpart material was steel. Pin-on-disk, Rotational Barrel Gas Gun and Explosively Driven Friction Tester were used for the sliding experiments in order to investigate the velocity effect on the microstructural change. From the FIB analysis, it is revealed that ion channeling contrast of FIB has better resolution than SEM and the tribolayer is composed of nanocrystalline structures. And the thickness of tribolayer was constant regardless of sliding velocities.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.438-443
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• 2008

In this paper, segmenting and classifying low contrast defects on flat panel display is one of the key problems for automatic inspection system in practice. Problems become more complicated when the quality of acquired image is degraded by the illumination irregularity. Many algorithms are developed and implemented successfully for the defects segmentation. However, vision algorithms are inherently prone to be dependent on parameters to be set manually. In this paper, one morphological segmentation algorithm is chosen and a technique using frequency domain analysis of input images is developed for automatically selection the morphological parameter. An extensive statistical performance analysis is performed to compare the developed algorithms.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.18 no.36
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• pp.71-82
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• 1995

The readability and the visuability are very significant when the letters or figures are displayed as static visual information. Not only is the beauty of the body type character(small letters) important but the display type character(large letters) should also be read easily, quickly and precisely. The issue regarding the readability in terms of perception of information has been raised continuously for all kinds of small signage and billboard, etc., which are written in display type within our everyday life. Among the various kinds of small signage and billboards the car licence plate is well known. Among all the possible factors that would have made an impact on the readability of licence plate, this paper focused on the effects of arrangement of character(letters and figures) and contrast of colors for the readability of licence plate using the within-subject analysis. The statistical analysis results in error reading rate, the character arrangement were significant but the color contrast(green/white, white/green, blue/white, white/blue, black/yellow) was not, No interaction was found.