• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.634-643
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• 2024

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy and safety of low-contrast-dose, dual-source dual-energy CT before transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in patients with compromised renal function. Materials and Methods: A total of 54 consecutive patients (female:male, 26:38; 81.9 ± 7.3 years) with reduced renal function underwent pre-TAVR dual-energy CT with a 30-mL contrast agent between June 2022 and March 2023. Monochromatic (40- and 50-keV) and conventional (120-kVp) images were reconstructed and analyzed. The subjective quality score, vascular attenuation, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were compared among the imaging techniques using the Friedman test and post-hoc analysis. Interobserver reliability for aortic annular measurement was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis. The procedural outcomes and incidence of post-contrast acute kidney injury (AKI) were assessed. Results: Monochromatic images achieved diagnostic quality in all patients. The 50-keV images achieved superior vascular attenuation and CNR (P < 0.001 in all) while maintaining a similar SNR compared to conventional CT. For aortic annular measurement, the 50-keV images showed higher interobserver reliability compared to conventional CT: ICC, 0.98 vs. 0.90 for area and 0.97 vs. 0.95 for perimeter; 95% limits of agreement width, 0.63 cm² vs. 0.92 cm² for area and 5.78 mm vs. 8.50 mm for perimeter. The size of the implanted device matched CT-measured values in all patients, achieving a procedural success rate of 92.6%. No patient experienced a serum creatinine increase of ≥ 1.5 times baseline in the 48-72 hours following CT. However, one patient had a procedural delay due to gradual renal function deterioration. Conclusion: Low-contrast-dose imaging with 50-keV reconstruction enables precise pre-TAVR evaluation with improved image quality and minimal risk of post-contrast AKI. This approach may be an effective and safe option for pre-TAVR evaluation in patients with compromised renal function.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.798-806
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• 2024

Objective: Dual-layer CT (DLCT) can create virtual monochromatic images (VMIs) at various monochromatic X-ray energies, particularly at low keV levels, with high contrast-to-noise ratio. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical feasibility of contrast-enhanced chest DLCT with a low keV VMI for preoperative breast cancer staging, in comparison to breast MRI. Materials and Methods: A total of 152 patients with 155 index breast cancers were enrolled in the study. VMIs were generated from contrast-enhanced chest DLCT at 40 keV and maximum intensity projection (MIP) with three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction was performed for both bilateral breast areas. Two radiologists reviewed in consensus the 3D MIP images of the chest DLCT with VMI and breast MRI in separate sessions with a 3-month wash-out period. The detection rate and mean tumor size of the index cancer were compared between the chest DLCT with VMI and breast MRI. Additionally, the agreement of tumor size measurement between the two imaging modalities were evaluated. Results: Of all index cancers, 84.5% (131/155) were detected in the chest DLCT with VMI, while 88.4% (137/155) were detected in the breast MRI (P = 0.210). The Bland-Altman agreement between the chest DLCT with VMI and breast MRI was a mean difference of -0.05 cm with 95% limits of agreement of -1.29 to 1.19 cm. The tumor size in the chest DLCT with VMI (2.3 ± 1.7 cm) was not significantly different from that in the breast MRI (2.4 ± 1.6 cm) (P = 0.106). Conclusion: The feasibility of chest DLCT with VMI was demonstrated for preoperative tumor staging in breast cancer patients, showing comparable cancer detectability and good agreement in tumor size measurement compared to breast MRI. This suggests that chest DLCT with VMI can serve as a potential alternative for patients who have contraindications to breast MRI.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1734-1741
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• 2023

This work presents the synthesis and preparation of a new glass system described by the equation of (70-x) B₂O₃-5TeO₂ -20SrCO₃-5ZnO -xBi₂O₃, x = 0, 1, 5, 10, and 15 mol. %, using the melt quenching technique at a melting temperature of 1100 ℃. The photon-shielding characteristics mainly the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) of the prepared glass samples were evaluated using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation N-particle transport code (MCNP-5) at gamma-ray energy extended from 59 keV to 1408 keV emitted by the radioisotopes Am-241, Ba-133, Cs-137, Co-60, Na-22, and Eu-152. Furthermore, we observed that the Bi₂O₃ content of the glasses had a significantly stronger impact on the LAC at 59 and 356 keV. The study of the lead equivalent thickness shows that the performance of fabricated glass sample with 15 mol.% of Bi₂O₃ is four times less than the performance of pure lead at low gamma photon energy while it is enhanced and became two times lower the perforce of pure lead at high energy. Therefore, the fabricated glasses special sample with 15 mol.% of Bi₂O₃ has good shielding properties in low, intermediate, and high energy intervals.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics A
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• v.28A no.9
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• pp.729-735
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• 1991

To form shallow $p^+$ -n junctions, Ge and As ions were employed for preamorphization, and B or BF2 was implanted for doping. Same B and BF$_2$ implantations were performed into single crystalline silicon to compare the material and electrical characteristics with the preamorphized samples. SIMS measurements for 10KeV B implanted samples revealed the somilar boron distribution for two preamophized cases, but the ASR profiles indicated that the shallower junctions could be formed by Ge preamorphzation. Sheet resostance of Ge preamorphized sample was lower than the As preamorphized sample, and the diode leakage current characteristics were similar for the preamorphized and non-preamorphized samples. Among the samples implanted with BF ions into the substrates preamorphized with 25keV Ge or As ions, high sheet resistance and leaky diode characteristics were observed for the As preamorphized samples. It was found that Ge preamorphization is more useful than As preamorphization for the purpose of forming shallow $p^+$ -n junctions using low energy BF$_2$ implantation.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.53.2-53.2
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• 2020

We measure X-ray timing and spectral properties of the pulsar PSR J0205+6449. Pulsar's rotation frequency ν = 15.20102357(9) s-1 and its derivative ${\dot{\nu}}=-4.5(1){\times}10^{-11}s^{-2}$ are measured, and the pulsed spectrum of 2-30 keV is model of power law with photon index ��psr = 1.07(16) and F2-30 keV = 7.3(6) × 10-13 erg cm-2 s-1. We use thermal emission models and non-thermal model to fit the pulsar spectrum and measure the surface temperature and luminosity of the pulsar. The surface temperature T∞ = 0.5-0.8 MK and luminosity Lth = 1-5 × 1032 erg s-1 are measure, and this result verifies the previous results known to have low surface temperature and luminosity for the age range of

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.683-689
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• 2015

For the formation of $N^+$ doping, the antimony ions are mainly used for the fabrication of a BJT (bipolar junction transistor), CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor), FET (field effect transistor) and BiCMOS (bipolar and complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process integration. Antimony is a heavy element and has relatively a low diffusion coefficient in silicon. Therefore, antimony is preferred as a candidate of ultra shallow junction for n type doping instead of arsenic implantation. Three-dimensional (3D) profiles of antimony are also compared one another from different tilt angles and incident energies under same dimensional conditions. The diffusion effect of antimony showed ORD (oxygen retarded diffusion) after thermal oxidation process. The interfacial effect of a $SiO_2/Si$ is influenced antimony diffusion and showed segregation effects during the oxidation process. The surface sputtering effect of antimony must be considered due to its heavy mass in the case of low energy and high dose conditions. The range of antimony implanted in amorphous and crystalline silicon are compared each other and its data and profiles also showed and explained after thermal annealing under inert $N_2$ gas and dry oxidation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.31.1-31.1
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• 2008

While some observations in the geomagnetic tail region supported electrons could be accelerated by reconnection processes, we still need more observation data to confirm electron acceleration in this region. Because most acceleration processes accompany strong pitch angle diffusion, if the electrons were accelerated in this region, strong energetic electron precipitation should be observed near earth on aurora oval. Even though there are several low altitude satellites observing electron precipitation, intense and small scale precipitation events have not been identified successfully. In this presentation, we will show an observation of strong energetic electron precipitation that might be analyzed by relativistic electron acceleration in the confined region. This event was observed by low altitude Korean STSAT-1, where intense several hundred keV electron precipitation was seen simultaneously with 10 keV electrons during storm time. In addition, we observed large magnetic field fluctuations and an ionospheric plasma depletion with FUV aurora emissions. Our observation implies relativistic electrons can be generated in the small area where Fermi acceleration might work.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.300-305
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• 2017

In this paper, we performed a evaluation for angular and energy dependence of military radiation detector PDR-1K. Its measuring range is divided into two section, low and high, and each range has a GM tube separately owing to broad scale. We observed a change in relative angular reactivity within 0.928 ~ 1.188 in low range and within 0.743 ~ 1.000 in high range from $-90^{\circ}$ to $+90^{\circ}$. The evaluation for energy dependence appeared a relative reactivity within 0.892 ~ 1.000 above 83 keV. This means PDR-1K isn't possible to use below 83 keV of radiation energy. It is possible to provide response information to user and to increase reliability of radiation measurement through this paper.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.30 no.5 s.248
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• pp.397-404
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• 2006

Effects of surface defect distribution on flame instability during flame-surface interaction are experimentally investigated. To examine chemical quenching phenomenon which is caused by radical adsorption and recombination processes on the surface, thermally grown silicon oxide plates with well-defined defect density were prepared. ion implantation technique was used to control the number of defects, i.e. oxygen vacancies. In an attempt to preferentially remove oxygen atoms from silicon dioxide surface, argon ions with low energy level from 3keV to 5keV were irradiated at the incident angle of $60^{\circ}$. Compositional and structural modification of $SiO_2$ induced by low-energy $Ar^+$ ion irradiation has been characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). It has been found that as the ion energy is increased, the number of structural defect is also increased and non-stoichiometric condition of $SiO_x({\le}2)$ is enhanced.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.2190-2194
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• 2024

The study investigates the dose-dependent direct X-ray sensing characteristics of Brucinium benzilate (BB) and N-acetylglycine (NAG) organic crystals. BB and NAG were prepared as a slurry and deposited as a thick film on a patterned metal electrode. The X-ray induced photocurrent response was examined for various exposure doses using an intraoral pulsed 70 keV X-ray machine connected to a source meter. Subsequently, the morphological properties and thickness of the thick films were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). At a photon energy of 70 keV, the attenuation coefficient values for NAG and BB crystals were determined to be approximately 0.181 and 0.178 cm²/g, respectively. The X-ray stopping power of the crystals was measured using a suniray-2 X-ray imaging system. To evaluate the responsiveness of the sensors, the photocurrent sensitivity and noise equivalent dose rate (NED) were calculated for both thick films. The findings demonstrated a noteworthy capability of sensing low doses (mGy), thereby suggesting the potential application of these organic materials in X-ray sensor development.