• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.11-19
• /
• 2023

To remove unnecessary background from tooth X-ray images and enhance the sharpness of tooth and gum images, image processing techniques including contrast adjustment and histogram equalization are used. The introduction of two methods for detecting the boundary of the tooth and gum region and separating the tooth and gum from the background. In both cases, the background of the tooth X-ray images could be removed as a result, improving the quality of the images. The proposed method improves MTF (Modulation Transfer Function), an image performance indicator, as a result of measuring MTF. The original image's spatial frequency ranged from 4.73 to 11.40 lp/mm at the 10% response, whereas the proposed image's spatial frequency ranged from 10.90 to 11.85 lp/mm, giving uniformly enhanced results. In contrast, tooth and gums could not be completely separated from the background using Apple's Lift subject from background function.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.427-433
• /
• 2010

Although tracking methods are efficient and popular for vessel segmentation, they require a seed to initiate an instance of tracking. In this paper, a new method to detect new seeds for tracking of arterial segments from CT angiography (CTA) and to construct a vascular structure is proposed. The proposed algorithm is based on shape analysis of connected components in a volume of interest around a vessel segment which was already extracted by tracking. The eigenvalues of the covariance matrix are used as the shape features for detection. The experimental results on actual clinical data showed that the results totally revealed the arterial tree not hindered by bone or veins. In visual comparison to a method which combines registration and subtraction of both pre-contrast and post-contrast CT volumes, the proposed method produced comparable results to the reference method and were confirmed of its feasibility for clinical use of reducing the cost and burden of patients.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.71-78
• /
• 2017

Scattered radiation is inherent phenomenon of x-ray, which occurs to the subject (or patient). Therefore it cannot be avoidable but also interacts as serious noise factor because the only meaningful information on x-ray radiography is primary x-ray photons. The purpose of this study was to quantify scattered radiation for various shooting parameters and to verify the effect of anti-scatter grid. We employed beam stopper method to characterize scatter to primary ratio. To evaluate effect on the projection images calculated contrast to noise ratio of given shooting parameters. From the experiments, we identified the scattered radiation increases in thicker patient and smaller air gap. Moreover, scattered radiation degraded contrast to noise ratio of the projection images. We find out that the anti-scatter grid rejected scattered radiation effectively, however there were not fewer than 100% of scatter to primary ratio in some shooting parameters. The results demonstrate that the scattered radiation was serious problem of medical x-ray system, we confirmed that the scattered radiation was not considerable factor of dig ital radiog raphy.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.542-558
• /
• 2023

A digital focus index (DFI) is a value used to determine image focus in scientific apparatus and smart devices. Automatic focus (AF) is an iterative and time-consuming procedure; however, its processing time can be reduced using a general processing unit (GPU) and a multi-core processor (MCP). In this study, parallel architectures of a minimax search algorithm (MSA) are applied to two DFIs: range algorithm (RA) and image contrast (CT). The DFIs are based on a histogram; however, the parallel computation of the histogram is conventionally inefficient because of the bank conflict in shared memory. The parallel architectures of RA and CT are constructed using parallel reduction for MSA, which is performed through parallel relative rating of the image pixel pairs and halved the rating in every step. The array size is then decreased to one, and the minimax is determined at the final reduction. Kernels for the architectures are constructed using open source software to make it relatively platform independent. The kernels are tested in a hexa-core PC and an embedded device using Lenna images of various sizes based on the resolutions of industrial cameras. The performance of the kernels for the DFIs was investigated in terms of processing speed and computational acceleration; the maximum acceleration was 32.6× in the best case and the MCP exhibited a higher performance.

• ETRI Journal
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.275-278
• /
• 2011

This letter presents a polymer $1{\times}2$ thermo-optic totalinternal-reflection digital optical switch (TIR-DOS) with an index contrast of 1.5%-${\delta}$ operating at low power consumption. The structure of our $1{\times}2$ TIR-DOS was created by adding a reflection port to that of a conventional multimode filtering variable optical attenuator. To improve the total-internalr-eflection efficiency, a heater offset was applied to the crossing region of multimode waveguides of the TIR-DOS. The fabricated $1{\times}2$ TIR-DOS shows a low electrical power consumption of 18 mW for an on-off ratio of 35 dB.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.333-339
• /
• 2023

In three-dimensional(3D) modeling, texturing plays a crucial role as a visual element, imparting detail and realism to models. In contrast to traditional texturing methods, the current trend involves utilizing AI tools such as Leonardo.Ai and Meshy to create textures for 3D models in a more efficient and precise manner. This paper focuses on 3D texturing, conducting a comprehensive comparative study of AI tools, specifically Leonardo.Ai and Meshy. By delving into the performance, functional differences, and respective application scopes of these two tools in the generation of 3D textures, we highlight potential applications and development trends within the realm of 3D texturing. The efficient use of AI tools in texture creation also has the potential to drive innovation and enhancement in the field of 3D modeling. In conclusion, this research aims to provide a comprehensive perspective for researchers, practitioners, and enthusiasts in related fields, fostering further innovation and development in this domain.

• Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.89-95
• /
• 2010

High contrast and high resolution are the most important factors for examining mammography images. Despite of the inconveniences of screen-film, most clinics still prefer them to computed radiography(CR) and direct radiography(DR). The reading of screen-film mammography images is influenced by the brightness from the X-ray illuminator, the exam room and incoming light from outside sources. Therefore, a comparative analysis on the results of mammo phantom images would be variated by the changes in the reading environment. There was no influence on reading results from the examiners close distance eyesight(p > 0.05); however, reading of micro lesions improved with greater darkness in the X-ray film reading room and the brightness of the X-ray illuminator(p < 0.05). Also, observation of fiber and mass images were maximized at a distance of 50 cm from the reader. Now, it is possible to observe these small classification groups using a magnifying glass without being physically close to the image. For the image of mammography, obtaining high quality images is important but in order to get an accurate clinical lesions of the reading also needs to be considered the optimal environmental factors.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.93-100
• /
• 2014

Recently the development of portable digital wireless imaging system, which acquires digital radiation images by using wireless LAN telecommunications function in an easy and fast way, provides lots of convenience for people. Considering the characteristics of portable imaging tests on emergency and critical patients, this study aims to suggest guidelines for Digital wireless detector by evaluating the effect of de-centering of focus-grid and displacement of subject in detector on the quality of image. The equipments used for this study were Elmo-T6 Digital Mobile X-ray system (SIMAZU Corp.), el' Tor ($14{\times}17$ "Wireless detector), Grid (10:1) and Chest & head phantom. After acquiring post-processing image according to dose increase and de-centering image of grid-focus and head phantom displacement image, this study compared, analyzed and evaluated these images by using a digital image analysis program by Image J. In the change of images based on dose increase, images were rough in the dose of 0.5 mAs, while there was no difference among images in the proper dose of 1~2 mAs and, especially from 2.5 mAs, average value of pixels radically decreased, affecting contrast. Over 3 mAs, contrast dropped due to saturation phenomenon of lungs. As the result of analysis using Image J program, with the increase of displacement between focus-grid and head phantom, the frequency of low pixel value also increase, causing the outline of surface image to disappear, which in turn affects contrast. For better quality imaging, a radiographer must be aware before the time of test that the image quality can be changed based on the critical patient's posture, movement, respiration, displacement of X-ray tube and distance of imaging.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.468-475
• /
• 2018

In medical ultrasound imaging, frequency-dependent attenuation downshifts and reduces a center frequency and a frequency bandwidth of received echo signals, respectively. This causes considerable errors in quadrature demodulation (QDM), result in lowering signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast resolution (CR). To address this problem, adaptive dynamic QDM (ADQDM) that estimates center frequencies along depth was introduced. However, the ADQDM often fails when imaging regions contain hypoechoic regions. In this paper, we introduce a valid region-based ADQDM (VR-ADQDM) method to reject the misestimated center frequencies to further improve SNR and CR. The valid regions are regions where the center frequency decreases monotonically along depth. In addition, as a low-pass filter of QDM, Gaussian wavelet based dynamic filtering was adopted. From the phantom experiments, average SNR improvements of the ADQDM and the VR-ADQDM over the traditional QDM were 1.22 and 5.27 dB, respectively, and the corresponding maximum SNR improvements were 2.56 and 10.58 dB. The contrast resolution of the VR-ADQDM was also improved by 0.68 compared to that of the ADQDM. Similar results were obtained from in vivo experiments. These results indicate that the proposed method would offer promises for imaging technically-difficult patients due to its capability in improving SNR and CR.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.273-280
• /
• 2013

This study was proven for the T-spine breathing technique in lateral projection, using computer radiography (CR), charge coupled device (CCD), indirect digital radiography (IDR) and direct digital radiography (DDR). All images were evaluated and compared with CNR and SNR measured with the mean pixels and the standard deviation as setting ROI of spinous process, pedicle, vertebral body, intervertebral foramen and intervertebral disk using Image J. In experiment results of 4 type detectors, T-spine breathing technique was indicated as excellent in ROI of spinous process, pedicle, vertebral body, intervertebral foramen and intervertebral disk. As T-spine breathing technique indicated excellent images compared to the existing T-spine lateral radiography, this method would be useful for elderly patients who have difficulty in deep exhalation. This study was indicated the application possibility of T-spine breathing technique by presenting contrast to noise ratio (CNR) and signal to noise ratio (SNR) with quantitative value in 4 type detectors.