• 제어로봇시스템학회논문지
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• 제22권8호
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• pp.590-596
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• 2016

Biopsy is a typical needle type intervention procedure performed under radiographic image equipment such as computed tomography (CT) and cone-beam CT. This minimal invasive procedure is a simple and effective way for identifying cancerous condition of a suspicious tissue but radiation exposure for the patients and interventional radiologists is a critical problem. In order to overcome such trouble and improve accuracy in targeting of the needle, there have been various attempts using robot technology. Those devices and systems, however, are not for full procedure automation in biopsy without consideration for tissue sampling task. A robotic end-effector of a master-slave tele-operated needle type intervention robot system has been proposed to perform entire biopsy procedure by the authors. However, motorized sampling adopted in the device has different cutting speed from that of biopsy guns used in the conventional way. This paper presents the design of a novel robotic mechanism and protocol for the automation of biopsy procedure using spring-triggered biopsy gun mechanism. An experimental prototype has been successfully fabricated and shown its feasibility of the automated biopsy sequence.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.268-277
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• 2012

Objectives: 1) To determine mercury levels in urine samples from garbage workers in Southern Thailand, and 2) to describe the association between work characteristics, work positions, behavioral factors, and acute symptoms; and levels of mercury in urine samples. Methods: A case-control study was conducted by interviewing 60 workers in 5 hazardous-waste-management factories, and 60 matched non-exposed persons living in the same area of Southern Thailand. Urine samples were collected to determine mercury levels by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometer mercury analyzer. Results: The hazardous-waste workers' urinary mercury levels (10.07 ${\mu}g/g$ creatinine) were significantly higher than the control group (1.33 ${\mu}g/g$ creatinine) (p < 0.001). Work position, duration of work, personal protective equipment (PPE), and personal hygiene, were significantly associated with urinary mercury level (p < 0.001). The workers developed acute symptoms - of head-aches, nausea, chest tightness, fatigue, and loss of consciousness at least once a week - and those who developed symptoms had significantly higher urinary mercury levels than those who did not, at p < 0.05. A multiple regression model was constructed. Significant predictors of urinary mercury levels included hours worked per day, days worked per week, duration of work (years), work position, use of PPE (mask, trousers, and gloves), and personal hygiene behavior (ate snacks or drank water at work, washed hands before lunch, and washed hands after work). Conclusion: Changing garbage workers' hygiene habits can reduce urinary mercury levels. Personal hygiene is important, and should be stressed in education programs. Employers should institute engineering controls to reduce urinary mercury levels among garbage workers.

• 한국화재소방학회논문지
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.1-8
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• 2014

보호복 섬유 및 재료의 개발을 통해 나아진 단열 성능을 제공함에도 불구하고 보호복의 화상 방지는 아직도 중요한 사항이다. 화염으로부터의 보호성능을 보장받기 위해서 보호복의 정확한 성능검증이 필요하며, 열보호 특성을 정확히 파악하기 위해 ISO 등은 시험방법을 표준화하여 제시하고 있다. 하지만 대부분의 경우, 높은 열유속 조건에 대해 보호복의 열보호 성능을 시험하는 것으로 되어 있어, 고열유속에 의한 시편의 파괴가 일어나기 쉽다. 그러므로 낮은 열유속 조건에서 보호복의 열보호 성능을 측정하는 방법이 필요하며, 본 연구에서는 낮은 열유속에 대한 열보호 성능을 측정할 수 있는 화상 및 통증유발시간에 기초한 개선된 RPP(복사열 보호 성능) 지수와 그의 측정방법을 제안하였다. 또한 제안된 열보호성능 측정 방법을 실험을 통해 확인하고, 보호복의 비정상열전달특성을 파악하였다. 또한 기존의 여러 가지 열보호성능지표들과 제안지표와의 관계를 제시하였다.

• 한국실내디자인학회논문집
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.89-96
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• 2006

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner is the device to draw an image of conditions and the spread of various tissue in the body. It is used by making the patient into rounded superconductor and using high frequency which cause resonances. It uses superconduction magnet and high frequency that is non-ionizing radiation so can acquire biochemical, physical, and functional information of tissue. It is also very useful because it can scan tomography from many different angles to diagnose disease of a nervous system, the heart, and a skeletal structure. It also has advantages of that there is no risk of radiation exposure and the ability of observation on organizations such as brains, livers and the spinal cord of people. Since these features, the rate of use has been increased accordingly more considerations of the security are required when it plans. The weight of devices and the cover problem of the strong magnetic field which is occurred by magnetic resonance at the time of diagnosis can cause very important structure problems and architectural condition. That also the recent tendency which needs stronger equipment means that planning of the MRI unit should generally aim at purposing of the proximity for the device maintenance and up-grade and of further expansion. However there are not enough studies and data on the magnet resonance imaging in domestic hospitals. According to these reasons, this study has an object of indicating basic data on MRI unit plan standard and alternative proposals.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• 제48권2호
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• pp.103-109
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• 2018

Purpose: To analyze cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) use, indications, and exposure parameters in San $Jos{\acute{e}}$, Costa Rica. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed. All CBCT examinations over a period of 6 months at 2 radiological centers in San $Jos{\acute{e}}$, Costa Rica were evaluated. The examinations were performed with Veraview EPOC X550 and Veraviewepocs 3D R100 equipment. The patients' age and sex, clinical indication for CBCT, region of interest (ROI), repeat examinations, specialty of the referring dentist, field-of-view (FOV), tube voltage (kV), tube current (mA), and radiation dose (${\mu}Gy$) were evaluated. Patients were classified by age as children (${\leq}12years$), adolescents(13-18 years), and adults(${\geq}19years$). Results: The mean age of the 526 patients was 49.4 years. The main indications were implant dentistry and dental trauma. The most frequent ROIs were posterior, while anterior ROIs were much less common. The highest percentage of repeat examinations was in children. Fifty-six percent of the referring dentists were specialists. The most commonly used FOV was small. The mean tube voltage and current were 79.8 kV and 7.4 mA for Veraview EPOC X550 and 89.9 kV and 6 mA for Veraviewepocs 3D R100, respectively. The mean doses for children, adolescents, and adults were $6.9{\mu}Gy$, $8.4{\mu}Gy$, and $7.8{\mu}Gy$, respectively. Conclusion: Although CBCT was most commonly used in adults for implant dentistry, most repeat examinations were in children, and the highest mean dose was in adolescents. Additional dose optimization efforts should be made by introducing low-dose protocols for children and adolescents.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제41권3호
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• pp.229-236
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• 2016

Background: In order to manage the patient exposure dose in X-ray diagnosis, it is preferred to evaluate the entrance skin dose; although there are some evaluations about entrance skin dose, a small number of report has been published for direct measurement of patient. We think that a small-type optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimeter, named nanoDot, can achieve a direct measurement. For evaluations, the corrections of angular and energy dependences play an important role. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the angular and the energy dependences of nanoDot. Materials and Methods: We used commercially available X-ray diagnostic equipment. For angular dependence measurement, a relative response of every 15 degrees of nanoDot was measured in 40-140 kV X-ray. And for energy dependence measurement, mono-energetic characteristic X-rays were generated using several materials by irradiating the diagnostic X-rays, and the nanoDot was irradiated by the characteristic X-rays. We evaluated the measured response in an energy range of 8.1-75.5 keV. In addition, we performed Monte-Carlo simulation to compare experimental results. Results and Discussion: The experimental results were in good agreement with those of Monte-Carlo simulation. The angular dependence of nanoDot was almost steady with the response of 0 degrees except for 90 and 270 degrees. Furthermore, we found that difference of the response of nanoDot, where the nanoDot was irradiated from the randomly set directions, was estimated to be at most 5%. On the other hand, the response of nanoDot varies with the energy of incident X-rays; slightly increased to 20 keV and gradually decreased to 80 keV. These results are valuable to perform the precise evaluation of entrance skin dose with nanoDot in X-ray diagnosis. Conclusion: The influence of angular dependence and energy dependence in X-ray diagnosis is not so large, and the nanoDot OSL dosimeter is considered to be suitable dosimeter for direct measurement of entrance surface dose of patient.

• 대한전기학회논문지:전기물성ㆍ응용부문C
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• 제54권3호
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• pp.127-131
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• 2005

Big fire such as mountain fire may cause the prevention of the functions of the overhead cables and insulators, which may affect the operation of the transmission lines. In the worst case, this kind of disaster may have a huge effect on the whole industry of a country. However, the study on the effect of the mountain fire on the transmission line is very rare. Therefore, in order to understand the effect of the mountain fire on the polymeric insulator for transmission lines, the author observed the deformation of the sheds of the polymeric insulators and the change of the discs of the porcelain insulators under fire, varying the ignition time using the artificial ignition testing equipment which simulates the mountain fire, and investigated the electrical and mechanical characteristics of the insulators after the ignition test. For the test, the miniature insulators made of polymeric material and porcelain have been utilized. As the result, the following conclusions were obtained. First, the porcelain insulator was degraded in electrical characteristics when the insulator was subjected to the fire for approximately 5 minutes; whereas, the polymeric insulator was not degraded though there were some damage on its sheds. Second, after 20 minute exposure to the fire, the polymeric insulator lost a lot of parts of sheds, but the electrical characteristics was lowered by around $20\%$, but the porcelain insulators were electrically degraded by more than $80\%$.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
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• 제43권2호
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• pp.71-77
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• 2020

This study aims to explain the process of providing important medical images for the diagnosis of pneumonia caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through the only mobile hospital computed tomography (CT) in Korea. Since January 28, 2020, medical imaging examinations have been provided to confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients, and the quality of images was evaluated based on the objective and subjective indicators. In order to prevent the transmission in the hospital that may occur due to exposure to medical staff and general patients, personal protective equipment was worn and the separate route was used blocking human infection factors. For 11 weeks, a total of 185 tests were performed for 98 confirmed patients and 72 suspected patients. The average time to complete the test was 33 minutes. In the course of the test, no cross-infection cases were examined. During the outbreak of the COVID-19, the only mobile hospital CT room of Korea provided medical imaging examinations without infection among medical staff and patients and also provided adequate medical images without significant difference (p >0.05) in determining the degree of pneumonia progression compared to a stationary in-hospital CT.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.32-37
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• 2016

Background: Previous research has shown that paramedics are exposed to risks in the form of injuries to the musculoskeletal system. In addition, there are studies showing that they are also at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and psychiatric diseases, which can partly be explained by their constant exposure to stress. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the use of shoulder straps decreases physical effort in the form of decreased heart rate and cortisol concentration. Methods: A stretcher with a dummy was carried by 20 participants for 400 m on two occasions, one with and one without the shoulder straps. Heart rate was monitored continuously and cortisol samples were taken at intervals of 0 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 60 minutes. Each participant was her or his own control. Results: A significant decrease in heart rate and cortisol concentration was seen when shoulder straps were used. The median values for men (with shoulder straps) at 0 minutes was 78 bpm/21.1 nmol/L (heart rate/cortisol concentration), at 15 minutes was 85 bpm/16.9 nmol/L, and at 60 minutes was 76 bpm/15.7 nmol/L; for men without shoulder straps, these values were 78 bpm/21.9 nmol/L, 93 bpm/21.9 nmol/L, and 73 bpm/20.5 nmol/L. For women, the values were 85 bpm/23.3 nmol/L, 92 bpm/20.8 nmol/L, and 70 bpm/18.4 nmol/L and 84 bpm/32.4 nmol/L, 100 bpm/32.5 nmol/L, and 75 bpm/25.2 nmol/L, respectively. Conclusion: The use of shoulder straps decreases measurable physical stress and should therefore be implemented when heavy equipment or a stretcher needs to be carried. An easy way to ensure that staff use these or similar lifting aids is to provide them with personalized, well-adapted shoulder straps. Another better option would be to routinely sewn these straps into the staff's personal alarm jackets so they are always in place and ready to be used.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.95-100
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• 2018

Background: Respiratory protection equipment (RPE) is the last resort to control exposure to workplace air pollutants. A comprehensive respiratory protection program (RPP) ensures that RPE is selected, used, and cared properly. Therefore, RPP must be well integrated into the occupational health and safety requirements. In this study, we evaluated the implementation of RPP in Iranian petrochemical industries to identify the required solutions to improve the current status of respiratory protection. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 24 petrochemical industries in Iran. The survey instrument was a checklist extracted from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration respiratory protection standard. An index, Respiratory Protection Program Index (RPPI), was developed and weighted by analytic hierarchy process to determine the compliance rate (CR) of provided respiratory protection measures with the RPP standard. Data analysis was performed using Excel 2010. Results: The most important element of RPP, according to experts, was respiratory hazard evaluation. The average value of RPPI in the petrochemical plants was $49{\pm}15%$. The highest and lowest of CR among RPP elements were RPE selection and medical evaluation, respectively. Conclusion: None of studied petrochemical industries implemented RPP completely. This can lead to employees' overexposure to hazardous workplace air contaminants. Increasing awareness of employees and employers through training is suggested by this study to improve such conditions.