• Journal of International Society for Simulation Surgery
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 2014

In this paper, an overview of segmentation and 3D visualization methods are presented. Commonly, the two kinds of methods are used to visualize organs and vessels into 3D from medical images such as CT(A) and MRI - Direct Volume Rendering (DVR) and Iso-surface Rendering (IR). DVR can be applied directly to a volume. It directly penetrates through the volume while it determines which voxels are visualizedbased on a transfer function. On the other hand, IR requires a series of processes such as segmentation, polygonization and visualization. To extract a region of interest (ROI) from the medical volume image via the segmentation, some regions of an object and a background are required, which are typically obtained from the user. To visualize the extracted regions, the boundary points of the regions should be polygonized. In other words, the boundary surface composed of polygons such as a triangle and a rectangle should be required to visualize the regions into 3D because illumination effects, which makes the object shaded and seen in 3D, cannot be applied directly to the points.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.115-120
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• 2004

To investigate the correlation between the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cerebral fat embolism that is induced by injecting oleic acid into 10 cats, and a pathologic diagnosis. Using a microcatheter, 30 ${mu}ell$ of oleic acid was injected into the internal carotid artery of 10 cats. MR T2-weighted image (T2WI), diffusion-weighted image (DWI) and Gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted image (Gd-enhanced T1WI) were obtained after 30 minutes and 2 hours of embolization. After 30 minutes of the embolization, lesions of very high signal intensity were detected by T2WI in 6 cats, and of slightly high signal intensity in 2 cats; in the remaining 2 cats, signal intensity was normal. DWI showed lesions of very high intensity in 9 cats and of slightly high intensity in one cat. According to the findings of light microscopic examination, infarcted lesions mainly involved the gray matter, but also some white matter. A magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis for cerebral fat embolism that was induced by oleic acid through the internal carotid artery in cats showed high signal intensity on the T2WI and the DWI within an initial 2 hours, and with a well enhancement on the Gd-enhanced T1WI. Considering cellular edema, cerebrovascular injury and extracellular space widening, we assumed pathologically that cytotoxic and vasogenic edema exists at the same time.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.820-825
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• 2010

In this study, we intended to design the optimal Fermi filter to apply the k-space date that is knee image of the rheumatoid arthritis patient acquired from the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) instrument. After deciding the suitable coefficient for the Fermi filter, the results were compared with modified Fermi filter and inverse Chebyshev filter, Chebyshev filter, Elliptic filter and Butterworth filter. Firstly, in comparison to the results, the radiologist confirmed that modified Fermi filter was best decision for boundary of the rheumatoid arthritis images. The number of the black voxels of the histogram showed the quantity of the results. At the proposed filter images, numbers of the blacks voxels were statistically decreased. That meant voxels only appeared the black color were changed to others voxels color. Because the number of the total voxels was fixed, the area appeared block color could be effected to the other areas. If the modified Fermi filter were used for rheumatoid arthritis patient, the result will be better than other filters.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.253-260
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• 2003

In this study, the feasibility of magnetic resonance techniques for nondestructive internal quality evaluation of Korean red ginseng was examined. Relaxation time constants were measured using various grades of red ginsengs. Solid state magnetic resonance imaging technique was applied to image dried red ginsengs which have low moisture contents (about 13%). A 7 tesla magnetic resonance imaging system operating at a proton resonant frequency of 300 ㎒ was used for acquiring MR images of dried Korean red ginseng. The comparison test of cross cut digital images and magnetic resonance images of heaven grade, good grade with cavity inside, and good grade with white part inside red ginseng suggested the feasibility of the internal quality evaluation of Korean red ginsengs using MRI techniques. A good grade red ginseng included abnormal tissues such as cavities or white parts inside was observed by the signal intensity of MR image based on magnetic resonance properties of proton nucleus. Analysis on an one dimensional profile of acquired MR image of Korean red ginseng showed easy discrimination of normal and abnormal tissues. MR techniques suggested ways to detect internal defects of red ginsengs effectively.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.243-250
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• 1998

Reconstruction aspects of spiral scan imaging for ultra fast magnetic resonance imagine(MRI) have been investigated with polar and rectangular coordinates-based reconstruction. For the reconstruction of the spiral scan imaging, acquired data in spiral trjectory should be converted to polar or rectangular grids, where interpolation techniques are used. Various reconstruction algorithms for spiral scan imaging are tested, and reconstructed image qualities are compared with computed phantom. An improved reconstruction algorithm with dc-offset correction in projection domain is proposed, which provides the best reconstructed image quality from the simulation. Image artifact with existing algorithms is completely removed with the proposed method.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2000.07a
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• pp.441-445
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• 2000

This study is to segment white matter, gray matter, and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) on a brain MR image of coronal section and to calculate the volume of each. First, we segmented the whole region of a brain from a black colored background, a skull and a fat layer. Then, we calculated the partial volume of each component, which was present in scanning finite thickness, with the arithmetical analysis of gray value from the internal region of a brain showing the blurring effects on the basis of the MR image forming principle. Calculated partial volumes of white matter, gray matter and CSF were used to determine the threshold for the segmentation of each component on a brain MR image showing the blurring effects. Finally, the volumes of segmented white matter, gray matter, and CSF were calculated. The result of this study can be used as the objective diagnostic method to determine the degree of brain atrophy of patients who have neurodegenertive diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and cerebral palsy.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.308-321
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• 2022

Transabdominal ultrasound (TAUS) is useful in all aspects of lesion screening, monitoring activity, or treating/diagnosing any related complications of inflammatory bowel disease. Its ability to screen or diagnose complications is almost the same as that of other methods, such as CT or MRI. Moreover, its noninvasiveness makes it a first-line examination method. A TAUS image depicting ulcerative colitis will show large intestinal wall thickening that is continuous from the rectum, which is mainly due to mucosal layer thickening, while for Crohn's disease, a TAUS image is characterized by a diversity in the areas affected, distribution, and layer structure. Indicators of activity monitoring include wall thickness, wall structure, and vascular tests that use Doppler ultrasound or contrast agents. While all of these have been reported to be useful, at this time, no single parameter has been established as superior to others; therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of these parameters is justified. In addition, evaluating the elasticity of lesions using elastography is particularly useful for distinguishing between fibrous and inflammatory stenoses. However, the lack of objectivity is the biggest drawback of using ultrasound. Standardizing and popularizing the ultrasound process will be necessary, including scanning methods, equipment settings, and image analysis.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.72-77
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• 2012

Phase Contrast MR Angiography(PC MRA) is excellent MRA technique for measuring the velocity of vessels in the human body. PC MRA need to at least four images for angiogram reconstruction and it caused longer scan time. Therefore, we used keyhole imaging combined PC MRA to reduce the scan time. However, keyhole imaging can lead the erroneous effects as loss of phase information or frequency discontinuous. In this study, we applied the keyhole imaging combined 2D PC MRA for improving the temporal resolution and also measured the velocity to evaluate the accuracy of phase information. We used 0.32T MRI scanner(Magfinder II, Scimedix, Korea). Using the 2D PC MRA pulse sequence, the vascular images for a human brain targeted on the Superior Sagittal Sinus(SSS) were obtained. We applied tukey window function for keyhole images to minimize the ringing artifact and erroneous factors that are induced frequency discontinuous and phase information loss. We also applied zero-padded algorithm to peripheral missing k-space lines to compare keyhole imaging results and the artifact power(AP) value was measured on the complex difference images to validate the image quality. Consider as based on our results, heavy image distortions and artifacts were shown until using at least 50% keyhole factor. Using above the 50% keyhole factors are shown well reconstructed and matched for magnitude images and velocity information measurements. In conclusion, we confirmed the image quality and velocity information of keyhole technique combined 2D PC MRA. Especially, measured velocity information through the keyhole imaging combination was similar to the velocity information of full sampled k-space image despite of frequency discontinuous and phase information loss in the keyhole imaging reconstruction process. Consequently, the keyhole imaging combined 2D PC MRA will give some clinical usefulness and advantages as improving the temporal resolution and measuring the velocity information via selecting the appropriate keyhole factor at low tesla MRI system.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.48-60
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• 2005

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to design and build an optimized birdcage resonator configuration with a low pass filter, which would facilitate the acquisition of high-resolution 3D-image of small animals at 3T MRI system. Methods and Materials: The birdcage resonator with 12-element structures was built, in order to ensure B1 homogeneity over the image volume and maximum filling factor, and hence to maximize the signal to noise ratio (SNR) and resolution of the 3-dimensional images. The diameter and length of each element of a birdcage resonator were as follows: (1) diameter 13 cm, length 22 cm, (2) diameter 15 cm, length 22 cm, (3) diameter 17 cm, length 25 cm. Spin echo pulse sequence and fast spin echo pulse sequence were employed in obtaining MR images. The quality of the manufactured birdcage resonators wes evaluated on the basis of the return loss following matching and tuning process. Results: The experimental MR image of phantoms by the various manufactured birdcage resonators were obtained to compare the SNR in accordance with the size of objects. The size of an object to that of coil was identified by parameters that were estimated from the image of a phantom. First, the diameter of the birdcage resonator was 15cm, and the ratio of the tangerine to the birdcage resonator accounted for approximately 27%. The Q factor was 53.2 and the SNR was 150.7. Second, at the same birdcage resonator, the ratio of the orange was approximately 53%. The SNR and the Q parameter was 212.8 and 91.2, respectively. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that if birdcage resonators have the same forms, SNR could be different depending on the size of an object, especially when the size of an object to that of coil is approximately 40~80%, the former is bigger than the latter. Therefore, when the size of an object to be observed is smaller than that of coil, the coil should be manufactured in accordance with the size of an object in order to obtain much more excellent images.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.44-52
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• 2016

Purpose: To quantitatively and qualitatively compare fat-suppressed MRI quality using iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least-squares estimation (IDEAL) with that using frequency selective fat-suppression (FSFS) T2- and postcontrast T1-weighted fast spin-echo images of the head and neck at 3T. Materials and Methods: The study was approved by our Institutional Review Board. Prospective MR image analysis was performed in 36 individuals at a single-center. Axial fat suppressed T2- and postcontrast T1-weighted images with IDEAL and FSFS were compared. Visual assessment was performed by two independent readers with respect to; 1) metallic artifacts around oral cavity, 2) susceptibility artifacts around upper airway, paranasal sinus, and head-neck junction, 3) homogeneity of fat suppression, 4) image sharpness, 5) tissue contrast of pathologies and lymph nodes. The signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) for each image sequence were assessed. Results: Both IDEAL fat suppressed T2- and T1-weighted images significantly reduced artifacts around airway, paranasal sinus, and head-neck junction, and significantly improved homogeneous fat suppression in compared to those using FSFS (P < 0.05 for all). IDEAL significantly decreased artifacts around oral cavity on T2-weighted images (P < 0.05, respectively) and improved sharpness, lesion-to-tissue, and lymph node-to-tissue contrast on T1-weighted images (P < 0.05 for all). The mean SNRs were significantly improved on both T1- and T2-weighted IDEAL images (P < 0.05 for all). Conclusion: IDEAL technique improves image quality in the head and neck by reducing artifacts with homogeneous fat suppression, while maintaining a high SNR.