• Title/Summary/Keyword: Image quality

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A Web-based 'Patterns of Care Study' System for Clinical Radiation Oncology in Korea: Development, Launching, and Characteristics (우리나라 임상방사선종양을 위한 웹 기반 PCS 시스템의 개발과 특성)

  • Kim, Il Han;Chie, Eui Kyu;Oh, Do Hoon;Suh Chang-Ok;Kim, Jong Hoon;Ahn, Yong Chan;Hur, Won-Joo;Chung, Woong Ki;Choi, Doo Ho;Lee, Jae Won
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • v.21 no.4
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    • pp.291-298
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    • 2003
  • Purpose: We report upon a web-based system for Patterns of Care Study (PCS) devised for Korean radiation oncology. This PCS was designed to establish standard tools for clinical quality assurance, to determine basic parameters for radiation oncology processes, to offer a solid system for cooperative clinical studies and a useful standard database for comparisons with other national databases. Materials and Methods: The system consisted of a main server with two back-ups in other locations. The program uses a Linux operating system and a MySQL database. Cancers with high frequencies in radiotherapy departments in Korea from 1998 to 1999 were chosen to have a developmental priority. Results: The web-based clinical PCS .system for radiotherapy in www.pcs.re.kr was developed in early 2003 for cancers of the breast, rectum, esophagus, larynx and lung, and for brain metastasis. The total number of PCS study items exceeded one thousand. Our PCS system features user-friendliness, double entry checking, data security, encryption, hard disc mirroring, double back-up, and statistical analysis. Alphanumeric data can be input as well as image data. In addition, programs were constructed for IRB submission, random sampling of data, and departmental structure. Conclusion: For the first time in the field of PCS, we have developed a web-based system and associated working programs. With this system, we can gather sample data in a short period and thus save, cost, effort and time. Data audits should be peformed to validate input data. We propose that this system should be considered as a standard method for PCS or similar types of data collection systems.

Standardization of the Method of Measuring Average Glandular Dose (AGD) and Evaluation of the Breast Composition and Thickness for AGD (평균 유선선량 측정방법의 표준화 및 유방 두께, 실질양상과의 상관관계 분석)

  • Park, Hye-Suk;Kim, Hee-Joung;Lee, Chang-Lae;Cho, Hyo-Min;Yu, A-Ram
    • Progress in Medical Physics
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    • v.20 no.1
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    • pp.21-29
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    • 2009
  • Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among korean woman. Therefore, the early detection activities of breast cancer such as breast self-examinations, clinical breast examinations, mammography are important. A yearly mammography examination has been recommended for women aged 40 and older for the early detection of breast cancer in asymptomatic periods. However, the glandular tissue of breast is the most radiation-sensitive tissue, and the determination of average glandular dose (AGD) forms an important part of the quality control of the mammographic systems. Because of the difficulty of estimating AGD directly, it is often estimated from the measurements of the incident air kerma and by applying the appropriate conversion factors. The primary objective of this study was to standardize the method of measuring AGD. The secondary objective was to evaluate the relationships between AGD per various composition and thickness of the breast using Monte Carlo simulations. As a result, we standardized the method of measuring AGD according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines (CoP: an international code of practice). Overall, AGD for mammographic practice in Korea was less than 3.0 mGy recommended by the Korea Food and Drug Adminstration (KFDA) protocol, and Korean Institute for Accreditation of Medical Image (KIAMI). The measured and simulated AGD for a given condition were calculated as 1.7 and 1.6 mGy, respectively. For the AGDs obtained, there was no significant difference between them. The simulated AGD was dependent on the fraction of glandular tissue of the breast. The AGD increases with increasing of the breast glandularity due to increasing absorption of low energy photons. The AGD also increases as a function of breast thickness. In conclusion, the results of this study could be used as a baseline to establish a reference level of radiation dose in mammography.

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The comparison of landmark identification errors and reproducibility between conventional lateral cephalometric radiography and digital lateral cephalometric radiography (일반두부방사선계측사진과 디지털방사선계측사진의 계측점 식별의 오차 및 재현성에 관한 비교 연구)

  • Lee, Yang-Ku;Yang, Won-Sik;Chang, Young-Il
    • The korean journal of orthodontics
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    • v.32 no.2 s.91
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    • pp.79-89
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    • 2002
  • The purpose of this study is to evaluate the reproducibility and errors in landmark identification of conventional lateral cephalometric radiography and digital lateral cephalometric radiography. Fifteen conventional lateral cephalometric radiographs and fifteen digital lateral cephalometric radiographs were selected in adults with no considerations on sex and craniofacial forms. Each landmark was identified and expressed as the coordinate (x, y). The landmarks were classified into 3 groups. The landmarks of the first identification was T1, identification after one week was T2, and identification after one month was T3. The mean and standard deviation of identification errors between replicates were calculated according to the x and y coordinates. The errors between first identification and second identification were expressed as T2-T1(x), T2-T1(y) and those between first identification and third identification were expressed as T3-T1(x), T2-T1(y). Each was divided into conventional lateral cephalometric radiography and digital lateral cephalometric radiography. The independent t- test was used for statistical analysis of identification errors for the evaluation of reproducibility. The results of this study were as follows ; 1. Generally, the mean and standard deviation of landmark identification errors in digital lateral cephalometric radiography was smaller than those of conventional lateral cephalometric radiography. 2. Only a few landmarks showed statistically significant difference in identification error between conventional lateral cephalometric radiography and digital lateral cephalometric radiography. 3. The enhancement of image quality didn't guarantee decrease in landmark identification error and didn't affect tendency of landmark identification error.

A Research on Perception of Leadership Affects Long-term Working Intention in the Beauty Service Employees (미용서비스종사자의 리더십 지각이 장기근속의도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구)

  • Oh, Jin Sook;Youn, Chun Sung
    • Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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    • v.7 no.4
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    • pp.21-32
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    • 2012
  • The current beauty service of Korea is upgrading its outside appearance from traditional small-shop image and its speed of change and competition are more severe than ever before. The top priority trait of beauty management is based on man-power resource, and personnel-management is the most important thing that more than anything else. Compared with other arenas of business, personnel management plays a key role in beauty industry. As a result, this research begins with the issue of personnel management. In addition, I will show that the management leadership of beauty service affects organization civil actions and changing jobs in the beauty industry employees, and the leadership can lower changing job rate to some extent. The role and duty of business manager is very significant because the dependence of man-power resource is magnificent in beauty service. In spite of rapid changing of economic surroundings, the management of beauty service is still working without any detail plans. It is no exaggeration to say that the most of beauty service managers are lack of leadership conception. Although the demands of customers are changing everyday, the frequent changing of jobs among talented employees drops customers credibility and high-quality service. From a management viewpoint, re-training cost of employees leads to economic loss and the company suffers from financial problems. As a result, it creates vicious circle in the beauty industry. Today, the management atmosphere in the beauty service is hard to get its right track because of the cutthroat competitions of beauty industry and difficulties of hiring promising employees. It has been said that "Nothing ventured, Nothing gained" Above all, the beauty service requires job speciality and it produces economic profits. Therefore, the managers desperately need to change the way they regard those with job changers. In this research shows the principal index of the leadership type of beauty business managers how much affects its employees' long-term working condition. The new concept of leadership, such as alternative suggestions, setting goals, and organization civil action will reorganize the stereo-type frame. I will also investigate the factors of job changing and intention of the beauty service employees for the development option of the beauty industry.

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Anisotropy Measurement and Fiber Tracking of the White Matter by Using Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging: Influence of the Number of Diffusion-Sensitizing Gradient Direction (확산텐서 MR 영상을 이용한 백질의 비등방성 측정 및 백질섬유 트래킹: 확산경사자장의 방향수가 미치는 영향)

  • Jun, Woo-Sun;Hong, Sung-Woo;Lee, Jong-Sea;Kim, Sung-Hyun;Kim, Jae-Hyoung
    • Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2006
  • Purpose : Recent development of diffusion tensor imaging enables the evaluation of the microstructural characteristics of the brain white matter. However, optimal imaging parameters for diffusion tensor imaging, particularly concerning the number of diffusion gradient direction, have not been studied thoroughly yet. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of the number of diffusion gradient direction on the fiber tracking of the white matter. Materials and methods : 13 healthy volunteers (ten men and three women, mean age 30 years, age range 23-37 years) were included in this study. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed with different numbers of diffusion gradient direction as 6, 15, and 32, keeping the other imaging parameters constant. The imaging field ranged from 1 cm below the pons to 2-3 cm above the lateral ventricle, parallel to the anterior commissure-posterior commissure line. FA (fractional anisotropy) maps were created via image postprocessing, and then FA and its standard deviation were calculated in the genu and the splenium of the corpus callosum on each of FA maps. Fiber tracking of the corticospinal tract in the brain was performed and the number of the reconstructed fibers of the tract was measured. FA, standard deviation of FA and the number of the reconstructed fibers were compared statistically between the different diffusion gradient directions. Results : FA is not statistically significantly different between the different diffusion gradient directions. By increasing the number of diffusion gradient direction, standard deviation of FA decreased significantly, and the number of the reconstructed fibers increased significantly. Conclusion : The higher number of diffusion gradient direction provided better quality of fiber tracking.

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Study of Motion Effects in Cartesian and Spiral Parallel MRI Using Computer Simulation (컴퓨터 시뮬레이션을 이용한 직각좌표 및 나선주사 방식의 병렬 자기공명 영상에서 움직임 효과 연구)

  • Park, Sue-Kyeong;Ahn, Chang-Beom;Sim, Dong-Gyu;Park, Ho-Chong
    • Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.123-130
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    • 2008
  • Purpose : Motion effects in parallel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are investigated. Parallel MRI is known to be robust to motion due to its reduced acquisition time. However, if there are some involuntary motions such as heart or respiratory motions involved during the acquisition of the parallel MRI, motion artifacts would be even worse than those in conventional (non-parallel) MRI. In this paper, we defined several types of motions, and their effects in parallel MRI are investigated in comparisons with conventional MRI. Materials and Methods : In order to investigate motion effects in parallel MRI, 5 types of motions are considered. Type-1 and 2 are periodic motions with different amplitudes and periods. Type-3 and 4 are segment-based linear motions, where they are stationary during the segment. Type-5 is a uniform random motion. For the simulation, Cartesian and spiral grid based parallel and non-parallel (conventional) MRI are used. Results : Based on the motions defined, moving artifacts in the parallel and non-parallel MRI are investigated. From the simulation, non-parallel MRI shows smaller root mean square error (RMSE) values than the parallel MRI for the periodic (type-1 and 2) motions. Parallel MRI shows less motion artifacts for linear(type-3 and 4) motions where motions are reduced with shorter acquisition time. Similar motion artifacts are observed for the random motion (type-5). Conclusion : In this paper, we simulate the motion effects in parallel MRI. Parallel MRI is effective in the reduction of motion artifacts when motion is reduced by the shorter acquisition time. However, conventional MRI shows better image quality than the parallel MRI when fast periodic motions are involved.

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The Effectiveness Evaluation of Reconstruction Method Using DFOV Position Changes for Reduction of Artifact Around Hotspot in PET/CT Images (PET/CT 검사에서 열소 주변 인공물 감소를 위한 DFOV 위치 변화 재구성 방법의 유용성 평가)

  • Han, Dong Chan;Hong, Gun Chul;Choi, Choon ki;Lee, Hyeok;Choi, Seong Wook
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.90-94
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    • 2013
  • Purpose: In the PET/CT images, various artifacts cause degradation of the quantitative assessment. Most hotspot generated by radiopharmaceutical injection errors cause an artifact and degrade the quality of the images as well as the accuracy of the quantitative evaluation. The purpose of this study is to assess effectiveness of the elimination of the hotspot at the injection sites using shifting the center of DFOV (Display Field of View, DFOV) method and evaluate the quantitative evaluation of result. Materials and Methods: GE Discovery STE 16 (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, USA) and 1994 NEMA phantom were used for imaging acquisition. Phantom was filled with 0.005 MBq/mL of $^{18}F-FDG$. A hotspot was artificially placed on the outside of the phantom. The ratio of hotspot area activity to background area activity was regulated as 200:1. After image acquisition with routine protocol, all of the images were reconstructed using the shifting the center of DFOV method that wasn't overlapped with hotspot. Those images obtained before and after applying the shifting reconstruction method were compared. ROIs (Region Of Interests) were set in the hotspot areas, meanSUVs and standard deviations were calculated. Percentage differences were calculated with those meanSUVs and standard deviations. The evaluation on the effects of the shifting reconstruction method was done by comparison of the meanSUVs and the standard deviations, which were calculated for background areas unaffected by hotspot. Results: In the areas of unaffected by hotspot, meanSUVs before and after applying the shifting of center of DFOV method were $0.67{\pm}0.06g/mL$ and $0.65{\pm}0.06g/mL$, respectively. In the artifact areas affected by hotspot, meanSUVs before and after applying the shifting of center of DFOV method were $0.32{\pm}0.08g/mL$ and $0.56{\pm}0.12g/mL$, respectively. The percentage differences of the area adjacent to the hotspot and the area distant from the hotspot were 65.3% and 97.4%, respectively. Conclusion: In the PET/CT images, meanSUV was improved by 32.1% when the effect of artifact was removed with application of the shifting the center of DFOV methode. In other areas unaffected by artifacts, meanSUVs were not significantly different after applying DFOV center shift method. As shown in the result, adverse effects of hotspot made by swelling in the injection site can be reduced by applying DFOV center shift method. Therefore, DFOV center shift method can be applied for the more precise quantitative evaluation, and contribute to the increase of the diagnostic value of the images.

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A Study on the Awareness of Dental Patients about Dental Hygienists (치과내원환자의 치과위생사에 대한 인식도 조사 연구)

  • Park, Sung-Suk;Choo, Pyung-Ku
    • Journal of dental hygiene science
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    • v.10 no.3
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    • pp.191-197
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    • 2010
  • The purpose of this study was to examine the awareness of dental patients using dental institutions about dental hygienists in an effort to help educate dental hygiene students to have the right image of dental hygienists. And it's also meant to provide education for dental hygienists to develop their own capabilities, attitude and values to render quality medical services to patients. The subjects in this study were the patients who visited dental clinics and hospitals to receive treatment. A self- administered survey was conducted from March 5 to April 13, 2010, in consideration of their general characteristics. The answer sheets from 204 respondents were gathered, and 197 answer sheets were analyzed except seven incomplete ones. A factor analysis was carried out to find out their general characteristics, and independent-samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were utilized to get statistical data on mean and standard deviation. A SPSS 12.0 program was employed to analyze all the collected data. And it's found that the largest number of the patients thought that the main duty of dental hygienists was to give treatment to patients, and they took a favorable view of their services. They weren't well aware of the process of nurturing dental hygienists and their curriculum, and they put a relatively strong confidence in their treatment and had relatively favorable experiences with them.

Evaluation of TOF MR Angiography and Imaging for the Half Scan Factor of Cerebral Artery (유속신호증강효과의 자기공명혈관조영술을 이용한 뇌혈관검사에서 Half Scan Factor 적용한 영상 평가)

  • Choi, Young Jae;Kweon, Dae Cheol
    • Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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    • v.26 no.3
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    • pp.92-98
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    • 2016
  • To aim of this study was to assess the full scan and half scan of imaging with half scan factor. Patients without a cerebral vascular disease (n = 30) and were subject to the full scan half scan, and set a region of interest in the cerebral artery from the three regions (C1, C2, C3) in the range of 7 to 8 mm. MIP (maximum intensity projection) to reconstruct the images in signal strength SNR (signal to noise ration), PSNR (peak signal noise to ratio), RMSE (root mean square error), MAE (mean absolute error) and calculated by paired t-test for use by statistics were analyzed. Scan time was half scan (4 minutes 53 seconds), the full scan (6 minutes 04 seconds). The mean measurement range (7.21 mm) of all the ROI in the brain blood vessel, was the SNR of the first C1 is completely scanned (58.66 dB), half-scan (62.10 dB), a positive correlation ($r^2=0.503$), for the second C2 SNR is completely scanned (70.30 dB), half-scan (74.67 dB) the amount of correlation ($r^2=0.575$), third C3 of a complete scan SNR (70.33 dB), half scan SNR (74.64 dB) in the amount of correlation between the It was analyzed with ($r^2=0.523$). Comparative full scan with half of SNR ($4.75{\pm}0.26dB$), PSNR ($21.87{\pm}0.28dB$), RMSE ($48.88{\pm}1.61$), was calculated as MAE ($25.56{\pm}2.2$). SNR is also applied to examine the half-scans are not many differences in the quality of the two scan methods were not statistically significant in the scan (p-value > .05) image takes less time than a full scan was used.

Case studies of shallow marine investigations in Australia with advanced underwater seismic refraction (USR) (최신 수중 탄성파 굴절법(USR)을 이용한 호주의 천부해양탐사 사례연구)

  • Whiteley, Robert J.;Stewart, Simon B.
    • Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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    • v.11 no.1
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    • pp.34-40
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    • 2008
  • Underwater seismic refraction with advanced interpretation approaches makes important contributions to shallow marine exploration and geotechnical investigations in Australia's coastal areas. A series of case studies are presented to demonstrate the recent applications of continuous and static USR methods to river crossing and port infrastructure projects at various sites around Australia. In Sydney, static underwater seismic refraction (USR) with bottom-placed receivers and borehole seismic imaging assisted the development of improved geotechnical models that reduced construction risk for a tunnel crossing of the Lane Cove River. In Melbourne, combining conventional boomer reflection and continuous USR with near-bottom sources and receivers improved the definition of a buried, variably weathered basalt flow and assisted dredging assessment for navigation channel upgrades at Geelong Ports. Sand quality assessment with continuous USR and widely spaced borehole information assisted commercial decisions on available sand resources for the reclamation phase of development at the Port of Brisbane. Buried reefs and indurated layers occur in Australian coastal sediments with the characteristics of laterally limited, high velocity, cap layers within lower velocity materials. If these features are not recognised then significant error in depth determination to deeper refractors can occur. Application of advanced refraction inversion using wavefront eikonal tomography to continuous USR data obtained along the route of a proposed offshore pipeline near Fremantle allowed these layers and the underlying bedrock refractor to be accurately imaged. Static USR and the same interpretation approach was used to image the drowned granitic regolith beneath sediments and indurated layers in the northern area of Western Australia at a proposed new berthing site where deep piling was required. This allowed preferred piling sites to be identified, reducing overall pile lengths. USR can be expected to find increased application to shallow marine exploration and geotechnical investigations in Australia's coastal areas as economic growth continues and improved interpretation methods are developed.