• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.84-89
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• 2016

In this study, we proposed ameliorated method for region of interest (ROI) study to improve its accuracy using partial volume effect (PVE). PVE which arose in volumetric images when more than one tissue type occur in a voxel, could be used to reduce an amount of gray matter and cerebrospinal fluid within ROI of diffusion tensor image (DTI). In order to define ROIs, individual b0 image was spatially aligned to the JHU DTI-based atlas using linear and non-linear registration (http://cmrm.med.jhmi.edu/). Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) maps were estimated by fitting diffusion tensor model to each image voxel, and their mean values were computed within each ROI with PVE threshold. Participants of this study consisted of 20 healthy controls, 27 Alzheimer's disease and 27 normal-pressure hydrocephalus patients. The result showed that the mean FA and MD of each ROI were increased and decreased respectively, but standard deviation was significantly decreased when PVE was applied. In conclusion, the proposed method suggested that PVE was indispensable to improve an accuracy of DTI ROI study.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.155-161
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• 2001

Anisotropic DWI - Mapping of the Proton Diffusion "tensor". In neural ordered tissue, it is thought that water diffusion is mainly influenced by the presence of myelin sheaths and intracellular structures. Perpendicular to the fiber tracts, the cholesterol-laden myelin lipid bilayers might restrict or hinder the spins from diffusing through the normally highly permeable cytomembrane. Diffusion along the fiber is more or less determined by subcellular structures, such as the endoplasmatic reticulum, mitochondria, neuro-filaments and macromolecules. In addition to that, the entire complex of axons and stabilizing tissue (i.e., glia cells, astrocytes) is also assumed to influence diffusion due to the tortuosity of proton translation, but the uniform distribution of such cells throughout the brain might render this notion less important as initially anticipated.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2004.09a
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• pp.40-40
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• 2004

• Proceedings of the KAIS Fall Conference
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• 2010.05b
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• pp.1227-1229
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• 2010

This paper explains what DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging) is and what it does. We will talk about the DTI functions and what type of image it can show, and what areas are using DTI. The tractography and other applications that DTI is being used. In this paper, we explain that DTI is not only useful in medicine but also in botany. We propose to use DTI to study structure and functions of plants.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2013.05a
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• pp.747-750
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• 2013

알츠하이머병은 치매의 주요 원인 중 하나로 기억, 판단, 언어 등의 지적 기능의 감퇴뿐만 아니라 인격, 행동양상 장애 등을 동반하며 결국은 환자를 죽음에 이르게 하는 위험한 병이다. 본 연구는 뇌 백질의 비등방성을 잘 보여줄 수 있는 확산 텐서 영상 (diffusion tensor imaging; DTI) 데이터로 부터 신경섬유 경로를 생성하고, 알츠하이머병 환자와 정상인의 신경섬유 경로의 특징을 비교 분석 하였다. FSL 프로그램을 사용하여 생성한 신경섬유 경로에서 알츠하이머 환자와 정상인 집단간의 신경섬유 경로는 부피와 밝기에 커다란 차이를 보인다. 특히, 신경섬유 경로의 부피에서 현저한 차이가 있다는 점은 알츠하이머의 조기 진단에 유용하게 사용될 수 있다.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2007.10a
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• pp.68-68
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• 2007

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.70-80
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• 2015

The spinal cord is highly complex, consisting of a specialized neural network that comprised both neuronal and non-neuronal cells. Any kind of injury and/or insult to the spinal cord leads to a series of damaging events resulting in motor and/or sensory deficits below the level of injury. As a result, muscle paralysis (or paresis) leading to muscle atrophy or shrinking of the muscle along with changes in muscle fiber type, and contractile properties have been observed. Traditionally, histology had been used as a gold standard to characterize spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced adaptation in spinal cord and skeletal muscle. However, histology measurements is invasive and cannot be used for longitudinal analysis. Therefore, the use of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is promoted to be used as an alternative non-invasive method, which allows the repeated measurements over time and secures the safety against radiation by using radiofrequency pulse. Currently, many of pathological changes and adaptations occurring after SCI can be measured by MRI methods, specifically 3-dimensional MRI with the advanced diffusion tensor imaging technique. Both techniques have shown to be sensitive in measuring morphological and structural changes in skeletal muscle and the spinal cord.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.208-211
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• 2014

Recently, the increasing rates of facial nerve preservation after vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery have been achieved. However, the management of a partially or completely damaged facial nerve remains an important issue. The authors report a patient who was had a good recovery after a facial nerve reconstruction using fibrin glue-coated collagen fleece for a totally transected facial nerve during VS surgery. And, we verifed the anatomical preservation and functional outcome of the facial nerve with postoperative diffusion tensor (DT) imaging facial nerve tractography, electroneurography (ENoG) and House-Brackmann (HB) grade. DT imaging tractography at the 3rd postoperative day revealed preservation of facial nerve. And facial nerve degeneration ratio was 94.1% at 7th postoperative day ENoG. At postoperative 3 months and 1 year follow-up examination with DT imaging facial nerve tractography and ENoG, good results for facial nerve function were observed.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.203-209
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• 2006

The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of ex vivo MR diffusion tensor imaging technique in order to observe the diffusion-contrast characteristics of human gastric tissues. On normal and pathologic gastric tissues, which have been fixed in a polycarbonate plastic tube filled with 10% formalin solution, laboratory made 3D diffusion tensor Turbo FLASH pulse sequence was used to obtain high resolution MR images with voxel size of $0.5{\times}0.5{\times}0.5mm^3\;using\;64{\times}32{\times}32mm^3$ field of view in conjunction with an acquisition matrix of $128{\times}64{\times}64$. Diffusion weighted- gradient pulses were employed with b values of 0 and $600s/mm^2$ in 6 orientations. The sequence was implemented on a clinical 3.0-T MRI scanner(Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) with a home-made quadrature-typed birdcage Tx/Rx rf coil for small specimen. Diffusion tensor values in each pixel were calculated using linear algebra and singular value decomposition(SVD) algorithm. Apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC) and fractional anisotropy(FA) map were also obtained from diffusion tensor data to compare pixel intensities between normal and abnormal gastric tissues. The processing software was developed by authors using Visual C++(Microsoft, WA, U.S.A.) and mathematical/statistical library of GNUwin32(Free Software Foundation). This study shows that 3D diffusion tensor Turbo FLASH sequence is useful to resolve fine micro-structures of gastric tissue and both ADC and FA values in normal gastric tissue are higher than those in abnormal tissue. Authors expect that this study also represents another possibility of gastric carcinoma detection by visualizing diffusion characteristics of proton spins in the gastric tissues.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.331-337
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• 2005

Objective : The purpose of this study is to identify correlations between diffusion tensor imaging[DTI] and motor improvement by quantifying and visualizing the corticospinal tract on DTI to predict motor impairment in patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage[ICH]. Methods : Fifteen normal subjects and 7 patients with hypertensive ICH were examined and the latter were treated surgically. DTI was performed with a 3.0 T MRI. The region of interest[ROI] from the posterior limbs of both internal capsules was measured on a fractional anisotropy[FA] map, and the ratios of ROIs were calculated. Tractography, 3-dimensional DTI was then constructed. Motor impairment was assessed on admission and 2weeks after stroke by the Motricity Index[MI]. The FA ratio, tractography and score on MI were analyzed for correlations. Results : The FA ratio from the initial DTI did not show a linear correlation with motor impairment. However, after 2weeks, patients with high FA ratios showed high degrees of motor recovery, regardless of the initial severity, and patients with low FA ratios showed low recovery rates. Otherwise, a relationship between the amount of hematoma and the degree of motor recovery could not be determined. On tractography, injury of the corticospinal tract could be visualized and estimated 3-dimensionally. Conclusion : FA ratio analysis and tractography constructed from DTI may be useful in understanding corticospinal tract injury and in predicting the recovery from motor impairment in patients.