• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2000

The error diffusion technique is frequently utilized for the digital Imaging output devices to convert continuous level Image into bi-level Image It Yields the binary image with the high frequency emphasis that gives a pleasing perception to human eyes But, due to the non-homogeneous distribution of dots, It exhibits undesirable patterns that degenerate the perceived quality Various techniques have been proposed to Improve the Image quality by the error diffusion techniques In this paper, the cause of non-homogeneity of dot distribution is analyzed first. A threshold modulation technique that employs a simple sinusoidal function is proposed in this paper The proposed method achieves the homogeneous dot distribution by forcing the minor pixels on the binary Image to maintain the principal distance defined according to their gray levels. It also minimizes the void and clusters of minor pixels.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.102-106
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• 2016

An experimental study on the flow characteristics under various laminar coflow diffusion flames was conducted with a particular focus on the buoyancy force exerted from gaseous hydrocarbon fuels. Methane ($CH_4$), ethylene ($C_2H_4$), and n-butane ($C_4H_{10}$) were used as the fuels. A coflow burner and the Schlieren imaging technique were used to observe the flow field of each fuel near the nozzle exit as well as the flow characteristics in the flames. The results show that a vortex with a density heavier than air appeared in n-butane near the nozzle exit with a strong negative buoyancy on the fuel steam. As the Reynolds number increased through the control of the fuel velocity of the n-butane flame, the vortices were greater and the vortex tips were moved up from the nozzle exit. In addition, the heated nozzle affected the flow fields of the fuel steam near the nozzle exit.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.132-135
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• 2013

We presented with a patient who showed injury of the cingulum and fornix by penetration of a foreign body into the brain on diffusion tensor tractography (DTT). A 63-year-old man suffered a brain injury by a part of a power saw blade that was suddenly detached from a power saw during work. A part of the power saw blade penetrated his right frontal skull and advanced to the right posterior horn of the lateral ventricle. This penetration caused traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage in the right frontal lobe and intraventricular hemorrhage in the lateral ventricle. He underwent craniotomy and removal of intracranial foreign bodies (bony pieces and saw blade). The patient's Memory Assessment Scale scores were 74 (4%ile) for global memory, 78 (7%ile) for verbal memory, and 80 (9%ile) for visual memory. DTTs showed disruptions in the anterior portion of the fornical body, right fornical crus, the anterior portion of the right cingulum, and the middle portion of the left cingulum, compared to the control. It seems that the sustained memory impairment of this patient might be related to injury of the cingulum and fornix.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.42-47
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• 2013

Background: Diffusion-weighted image (DWI) might be useful to predict the prognosis of acute hypoxic encephalopathy. The aim of our study was to test whether the early change and extent of DWI abnormalities can be an indicator of the clinical outcome of hypoxic encephalopathy. Methods: Forty-four patients who were diagnosed as hypoxic encephalopathy due to the cardiorespiratory arrest were retrospectively identified. Clinical variables were determined, and the DWI abnormalities were counted by four areas: cortex, subcortical white matter, cerebellum and deep grey matter, and were divided into three groups by the extent of lesions. Prognosis was classified as 'poor' (Glasgow coma scale (GSC) at 30 days after arrest <9 or death) and 'good' (GSC at 30 days after arrest ${\geq}9$). Results: GCS at day 3 (p<0.001), presence of seizure (p=0.01), and presence of lesion (p<0.001) were significantly different in prognosis, but statistically there is no association with the extent of lesions and prognosis (p=0.26). Conclusions: Presence of early DWI changes could predict the clinical outcome of hypoxic encephalopathy after cardiorespiratory arrest.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.759-769
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• 2021

Objective: To evaluate the application of laplacian-regularized mean apparent propagator (MAPL)-MRI to brain glioma-induced corticospinal tract (CST) injury. Materials and Methods: This study included 20 patients with glioma adjacent to the CST pathway who had undergone structural and diffusion MRI. The entire CSTs of the affected and healthy sides were reconstructed, and the peritumoral CSTs were manually segmented. The morphological characteristics of the CST (track number, average length, volume, displacement of the affected CST) were examined and the diffusion parameter values, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD), mean squared displacement (MSD), q-space inverse variance (QIV), return-to-origin probability (RTOP), return-to-axis probabilities (RTAP), and return-to-plane probabilities (RTPP) along the entire and peritumoral CSTs, were calculated. The entire and peritumoral CST characteristics of the affected and healthy sides as well as those relative CST characteristics of the patients with motor weakness and normal motor function were compared. Results: The track number, volume, MD, RD, MSD, QIV, RTAP, RTOP, and RTPP of the entire and peritumoral CSTs changed significantly for the affected side, whereas the AD and FA changed significantly only in the peritumoral CST (p < 0.05). In patients with motor weakness, the relative MSD of the entire CST, QIV of the entire and peritumoral CSTs, and the AD, MD, RD of the peritumoral CST were significantly higher, whereas the RTPP of the entire and peritumoral CSTs and the RTOP of the peritumoral CST were significantly lower than those in patients with normal motor function (p < 0.05 for all). In contrast, no significant changes were found in the CST morphological characteristics, FA, or RTAP (p > 0.05 for all). Conclusion: MAPL-MRI is an effective approach for evaluating microstructural changes after CST injury. Its sensitivity may improve when using the peritumoral CST features.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.555-564
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• 2021

Thalamus is known to play an important role in the regulation of nerve function. Thalamus, located in the center of the brain, is involved in sleep, arousal, and emotional regulation, and has been reported to be associated with multiple sclerosis, essential tremors, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease. In addition, it has been reported that iron deposits in the thalamus can cause depressive symptoms with age. Although there are discrepancies between studies, it can be deduced that the thalamus region has a clear effect on neurological disorders due to a strong relationship between the thalamus and neurological functions such as emotional control and processing. Through tractography analysis, the connectivity between the detailed areas of each subcortical region was investigated in the form of a matrix, showing strong connectivity and weak interhemispheric connectivity. In the 59> group, the WM connectivity of thalamus was found to be weaker than those of the two groups. Comparisons between the two groups showed that the young groups (10-39 and 40-59) had higher connection intensity than the 59> group and that statistically significant differences in 3 connection pathways were found in each hemisphere. A decrease in thalamus-related connection strength in aging has shown that it can affect emotional and neurological disorders such as anxiety and depression, and network measurements can help assess cognitive impairment across clinical conditions.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.133-144
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• 2023

Objective: Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKN)2A/B homozygous deletion is a key molecular marker of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-mutant astrocytomas in the 2021 World Health Organization. We aimed to investigate whether qualitative and quantitative MRI parameters can predict CDKN2A/B homozygous deletion status in IDH-mutant astrocytomas. Materials and Methods: Preoperative MRI data of 88 patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 42.0 ± 11.9 years; 40 females and 48 males) with IDH-mutant astrocytomas (76 without and 12 with CDKN2A/B homozygous deletion) from two institutions were included. A qualitative imaging assessment was performed. Mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), 5th percentile of ADC, mean normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV), and 95th percentile of nCBV were assessed via automatic tumor segmentation. Logistic regression was performed to determine the factors associated with CDKN2A/B homozygous deletion in all 88 patients and a subgroup of 47 patients with histological grades 3 and 4. The discrimination performance of the logistic regression models was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: In multivariable analysis of all patients, infiltrative pattern (odds ratio [OR] = 4.25, p = 0.034), maximal diameter (OR = 1.07, p = 0.013), and 95th percentile of nCBV (OR = 1.34, p = 0.049) were independent predictors of CDKN2A/B homozygous deletion. The AUC, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the corresponding model were 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72-0.91), 90.4%, 83.3%, and 75.0%, respectively. On multivariable analysis of the subgroup with histological grades 3 and 4, infiltrative pattern (OR = 10.39, p = 0.012) and 95th percentile of nCBV (OR = 1.24, p = 0.047) were independent predictors of CDKN2A/B homozygous deletion, with an AUC accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the corresponding model of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.60-0.88), 87.8%, 80.0%, and 58.1%, respectively. Conclusion: The presence of an infiltrative pattern, larger maximal diameter, and higher 95th percentile of the nCBV may be useful MRI biomarkers for CDKN2A/B homozygous deletion in IDH-mutant astrocytomas.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.559-567
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• 2021

Objective: To evaluate the impact of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) before confirmatory prostate biopsy in patients under active surveillance (AS). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 170 patients with Gleason grade 6 prostate cancer initially enrolled in an AS program between 2011 and 2019. Prostate mpMRI was performed using a 1.5 tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging system with a 16-channel phased-array body coil. The protocol included T1-weighted, T2-weighted, diffusion-weighted, and dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging sequences. Uroradiology reports generated by a specialist were based on prostate imaging-reporting and data system (PI-RADS) version 2. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed based on regression models. Results: The reclassification rate at confirmatory biopsy was higher in patients with suspicious lesions on mpMRI (PI-RADS score ≥ 3) (n = 47) than in patients with non-suspicious mpMRIs (n = 61) and who did not undergo mpMRIs (n = 62) (66%, 26.2%, and 24.2%, respectively; p < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, presence of a suspicious mpMRI finding (PI-RADS score ≥ 3) was associated (adjusted odds ratio: 4.72) with the risk of reclassification at confirmatory biopsy after adjusting for the main variables (age, prostate-specific antigen density, number of positive cores, number of previous biopsies, and clinical stage). Presence of a suspicious mpMRI finding (adjusted hazard ratio: 2.62) was also associated with the risk of progression to active treatment during the follow-up. Conclusion: Inclusion of mpMRI before the confirmatory biopsy is useful to stratify the risk of reclassification during the biopsy as well as to evaluate the risk of progression to active treatment during follow-up.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.755-762
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to compare the FA(faractional anisotropy) and ADC(apparent diffusion coefficient) values, which were derived from diffusion tensor imaging in breast cancer patients. The diffusion gradient used in this study was derived from quantitative diffusion indices using 20 directions(b-value, 0 and $1,000s/mm^2$). Quantitative analysis was analyzed using Pearson's correction and qualitative analysis using for correction coefficients. As a result, $FA_{min}$, $FA_{mean}$ and $FA_{max}$ were $0.098{\pm}0.065$, $0.302{\pm}0.142$ and $0.634{\pm}0.236$, respectively(p > 0.05). The $ADC_{min}$, $ADC_{mean}$ and $ADC_{max}$ were $0.741{\pm}0.403$, $1.095{\pm}0.394$ and $1.530{\pm}0.447$, respectively(p > 0.05). The $FA_{min}$, $FA_{mean}$, and $FA_{max}$ mean values were $0.132{\pm}0.050$, $0.418{\pm}0.094$, and $0.770{\pm}0.164$ for Category 6 and Kinetic Curve Pattern III, respectively. $ADC_{min}$, $ADC_{mean}$, and $ADC_{max}$ were $0.753{\pm}0.189$, $1.120{\pm}0.236$, and $1.615{\pm}0.372$, respectively. Quantitative analysis showed negative correlation between $ADC_{mean}-FA_{mean}$ and $ADC_{max}-FA_{max}$(p = 0.001, 0.003). The qalitative analysis showed ADC 0.628(p = 0.001), FA 0.620(p = 0.001) in the internal evaluations, ADC 0.677(p = 0.001), FA 0.695(p = 0.001) in external evaluations. In conclusion, based on the morphological examination, time to signal intensity graph is the form of wash-out(pattern III) in the dynamic contrast enhance examination, As a result, the $ADC_{mean}$ $1.120{\pm}0.236$ and $FA_{mean}$ values were $0.032{\pm}0.142$ with a negative correlation (Y=1.44-1.12X). Therefore, If we understand the shape of time to signal intensity graph and the relationship between ADC and FA, It will be a criterion for distinguishing malignant diseases in breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7291-7294
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• 2015

Purpsoe: To investigate the diagnostic value of quantitative analysis of a tissue diffusion and virtual touch tissue imaging quantification (VTIQ) technique with acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography for assessing enlarged cervical lymph nodes. Materials and Methods: Fifty-six enlarged cervical lymph nodes confirmed by pathologic diagnoses were covered in the study. According to the results of pathologic diagnosis, patients were classified into benign and malignant groups. All the patients were examined by both conventional ultrasonography and elastography. AREA% and shear wave velocity (SWV) in ROI of different groups were calculated and compared using ROC curves. Cut-off points of AREA% and SWV were determined with receiver operating characteristic curves. Results: Final histopathological results revealed 21 cases of benign and 35 cases of malignant lymph nodes. The mean values of AREA% and SWV in benign and malignant groups were $45.0{\pm}17.9%$ and $2.32{\pm}0.57m/s$, and $61.3{\pm}21.29%$ and $4.36{\pm}1.25$)m/s, respectively. For the parameters of elastography, "AREA%" and SWV demonstrated significant differences between groups (p=0.002). AREA% was positively correlated with SWV with a correlation coefficient of 0.809 (P<0.001). Conclusions: Stiffness of different lymph node diseases in patients may differ. Elastography can evaluate changes sensitively and provide valuable information to doctors. The study proved that the VTIQ elastography technique can play an important role in differential diagnosis of lymph nodes.