• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.62-67
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• 2012

Purpose : At this time, the sentinel lymph node mapping using radioisotope and blue dye is preceded for breast cancer patient's sentinel lymph node biopsy. But all patients were applied the same protocol without consideration of physical specific character like the breast sizes and body mass indexes. The purpose of this study is search the optimized scan time in breast sentinel lymphangiography by observing how much the body mass index and breast size influence speed of lymphatic flow. Materials and Methods : The Object of this study was 100 breast cancer patients(Female, 100 persons, average age $50.34{\pm}10.26$ years old)at Severance hospital from October 2011 to December 2011. They were scanned breast sentinel lymphangiography before operation. This study was performed on Forte dual heads gamma camera (Philips Medical Systems, Nederland B.V.). All patients were intra-dermal injected $^{99m}Tc$-Phytate 18.5 MBq, 0.5 ml. For 80 patients, we have scanned without limitation of scan time until the lymphatic flow from the lymph node since injection. We measured how long the lymphatic flow time between departures from injects site and arrival to lymph node using stopwatch. After we calculated patient's Body mass Index and classified as 4 groups. And we measured patient's breast size and classified 3 groups. The modified breast lymphangiography that changing scan time according to comparison study's result was performed on 20 patients and was estimated. Results : The mean scan time as breast size was A group 2.48 minutes, B group 7.69 minutes, C group 10.43 minutes. The mean scan time as body mass index was under weight 1.35 minutes, normal weight 2.56 minutes, slightly over 5.62 minutes, over weighted 5.62 minutes. The success rate of modified breast lymphangiography was 85%. Conclusion : As the Body mass index became higher and breast size became bigger, the total scan time is increased. Based on the obtained information, we designed modified breast lymphangiography protocol. At the cases applying that protocol, most of sentinel lymph nodes were visualized as lymphatic pool. In conclusion, we found that the more success rate in modified protocol considering physical individuality than study carrying out in the same protocol.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.354-361
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• 2008

Purpose: N-13 ammonia uptake and retention in the myocardium is related to perfusion and metabolism. There are several potential advantages of N-13 ammonia positron emission tomography (PET) to detect myocardial ischemia, such as higher spatial resolution, greater counting efficiencies, and robust attenuation correction. But there are few reports comparing Tc-99m myocardial perfusion single photon emission tomography (MPS) and N-13 ammonia PET. We thus compared adenosine stress N-13 ammonia PET/CT and Tc-99m sestamibi MPS in patients with suspected coronary artery stenosis. Materials and Methods: Seventeen patients (male 13 : $63{\pm}11$ years old) underwent adenosine stress N-13 ammonia PET/CT (Discovery ST, GE), Tc-99m sestamibi MPS (dual head gamma camera, Hawkeye, GE) and coronary angiography within 1 week. N-13 ammonia PET/CT and Tc-99m sestamibi MPS images were assessed with a 20-segment model by visual interpretation and quantitative analysis using automatic quantitative software (Myovation, GE). Results: Both sensitivities and specificities of detecting an individual coronary artery stenosis were higher for N-13 ammonia PET/CT than Tc-99m sestamibi MPS (PET/CT: 91%/89% vs MPS: 65%/82%). N-13 ammonia PET/CT showed reversibility in 52% of segments that were considered non-reversibile by Tc-99m sestamibi MPS. In the 110 myocardial segments supplied by the stenotic coronary artery, N-13 ammonia PET/CT showed higher count densities than Tc-99m MPS on rest study (p < 0.01), and the difference of count density between the stress and the rest studies was also larger on N-13 ammonia PET/CT. Conclusion: Adenosine stress N-13 ammonia PET/CT had higher diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, more reversibility of perfusion defects and greater stress/rest uptake differences than Tc-99m sestamibi MPS. Accordingly, N-13 ammonia PET/CT might offer better assessment of myocardial ischemia and viability.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2011

Purpose: Presently in the nuclear medicine field, the high-speed image reconstruction algorithm like the OSEM algorithm is widely used as the alternative of the filtered back projection method due to the rapid development and application of the digital computer. There is no to relate and if it applies the optimal parameter be clearly determined. In this research, the quality change of the Jaszczak phantom experiment and brain SPECT patient data according to the iteration times and subset number change try to be been put through and analyzed in 3D OSEM reconstruction method of applying 3D beam modeling. Materials and Methods: Patient data from August, 2010 studied and analyzed against 5 patients implementing the brain SPECT until september, 2010 in the nuclear medicine department of ASAN medical center. The phantom image used the mixed Jaszczak phantom equally and obtained the water and 99mTc (500 MBq) in the dual head gamma camera Symbia T2 of Siemens. When reconstructing each image altogether with patient data and phantom data, we changed iteration number as 1, 4, 8, 12, 24 and 30 times and subset number as 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 times. We reconstructed in reconstructed each image, the variation coefficient for guessing about noise of images and image contrast, FWHM were produced and compared. Results: In patients and phantom experiment data, a contrast and spatial resolution of an image showed the tendency to increase linearly altogether according to the increment of the iteration times and subset number but the variation coefficient did not show the tendency to be improved according to the increase of two parameters. In the comparison according to the scan time, the image contrast and FWHM showed altogether the result of being linearly improved according to the iteration times and subset number increase in projection per 10, 20 and 30 second image but the variation coefficient did not show the tendency to be improved. Conclusion: The linear relationship of the image contrast improved in 3D OSEM reconstruction method image of applying 3D beam modeling through this experiment like the existing 1D and 2D OSEM reconfiguration method according to the iteration times and subset number increase could be confirmed. However, this is simple phantom experiment and the result of obtaining by the some patients limited range and the various variables can be existed. So for generalizing this based on this results of this experiment, there is the excessiveness and the evaluation about 3D OSEM reconfiguration method should be additionally made through experiments after this.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.16 no.4 s.50
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• pp.411-427
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• 2006

This study aimed to recognize characteristics of groundwater flow in fractured bedrocks based on zonal pump-ing tests, slug tests, water quality logs and borehole TV camera logs conducted on two boreholes (NJ-11 and SJ-8) in the city of Naju. Especially, the zonal pumping tests using sin91e Packer were executed to reveal groundwater flow characteristics in the fractured bedrocks with depth. On borehole NJ-11, the zonal pumping tests resulted in a flow dimension of 1.6 with a packer depth of 56.9 meters. It also resulted in lower flow dimensions as moving to shallower packer depths, reaching a flow dimension of 1 at a 24 meter packer depth. This fact indicates that uniform permissive fractures take place in deeper zones at the borehole. On borehole SJ-8, a flow dimension of 1.7 was determined at the deepest packer level (50 m). Next, a dimension of 1.8 was obtained at 32 meters of packer depth, and lastly a dimension of 1.4 at 19 meters of packer depth. The variation of flow dimension with different packer depths is interpreted by the variability of permissive fractures with depth. Zonal pumping tests led to the utilization of the Moench (1984) dual-porosity model because hydraulic characteristics in the test holes were most suitable to the fractured bedrocks. Water quality logs displayed a tendency to increase geothermal temperature, to increase pH and to decrease dissolved oxygen. In addition, there was an increasing tendency towards electrical conductance and a decreasing tendency towards dissolved oxygen at most fracture zones.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.191-199
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• 2005

Purpose: In order to obtain better quantitation of kidney uptake, this study is to evaluate a conjugate view method (CVM) using a geometric mean attenuation correction for kidney uptake and to compare it to Gate's method. Materials & Methods: We used a Monte Carlo code, SIMIND and a Zubal phantom, to simulate kidney uptake. SIMIND was both simulated with or without scatter for the Zubal phantom. Also, a real phantom test was carried out using a dual-head gamma camera. The activity of 0.5 mCi was infused into two small cylinder phantoms of 5 cm diameter, and then, they were inserted into a cylinder phantom of 20 cm diameter. The results by the CVM method were compared with ideal data without both of attenuation and scatter and with Gate's method. The CVM was performed with or without scatter correction. The Gate's method was performed without scatter correction and it was evaluated with regards to $0.12cm^{-1}\;and\;0.15cm^{-1}$ attenuation coefficients. Data were analyzed with comparisons of mean counts in the legions of interest (ROI), profiles drawn over kidney images and linear regression. Correlation coefficients were calculated with ideal data, as well. Results: In the case of the computer simulation, mean counts measured from ideal data, the CVM and the Gate's method were (right $998{\pm}209$, left: $896{\pm}249$), (right: $911{\pm}207$, left: $815{\pm}265$), and (right: $1065{\pm}267$, left: $1546{\pm}267$), respectively. The ideal data showed good correlation with the CVM and the correlation coefficients of the CVM, Gate's method were (right: 0.91, left: 0.93) and (right: 0.85, left: 0.90), respectively. Conclusion: The conjugate view method using geometric mean attenuation correction resulted in better accuracy than the Gate's method. In conclusion, the conjugate view method independent of renal depths may provide more accurate kidney uptake.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.344-356
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• 2002

Purpose: RBC blood pool SPECT has been used to diagnose focal liver lesion such as hemangioma owing to its high specificity. However, low spatial resolution is a major limitation of this modality. Recently, ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) has been introduced to obtain tomographic images for clinical application. We compared this new modified iterative reconstruction method, OSEM with conventional filtered back projection (FBP) in imaging of liver hemangioma. Materials and Methods: Sixty four projection data were acquired using dual head gamma camera in 28 lesions of 24 patients with cavernous hemangioma of liver and these raw data were transferred to LINUX based personal computer. After the replacement of header file as interfile, OSEM was performed under various conditions of subsets (1,2,4,8,16, and 32) and iteration numbers (1,2,4,8, and 16) to obtain the best setting for liver imaging. The best condition for imaging in our investigation was considered to be 4 iterations and 16 subsets. After then, all the images were processed by both FBP and OSEM. Three experts reviewed these images without any information. Results: According to blind review of 28 lesions, OSEM images revealed at least same or better image quality than those of FBP in nearly all cases. Although there showed no significant difference in detection of large lesions more than 3 cm, 5 lesions with 1.5 to 3 cm in diameter were detected by OSEM only. However, both techniques failed to depict 4 cases of small lesions less than 1.5 cm. Conclusion: OSEM revealed better contrast and define in depiction of liver hemangioma as well as higher sensitivity in detection of small lesions. Furthermore this reconstruction method dose not require high performance computer system or long reconstruction time, therefore OSEM is supposed to be good method that can be applied to RBC blood pool SPECT for the diagnosis of liver hemangioma.