• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.226-232
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• 2009

In this study, treadmill walking and overground walking were compared at the same condition based on kinematics and energy expenditures(EE). In addition, we compared the actual energy expenditure and calculated EE by treadmill. The kinematics of treadmill and overground walking were very similar. The values at each joint were significantly different(P<0.05), but magnitude of the difference was generally less than 4$^{\circ}$. In the EE using cardiopulmonary exercise, EE of treadmill walking was significantly greater when measured on the overground. It seemed to be the increased stress during the gait by the continuous movement of the belt. As the velocity increased, there was significant difference between actual EE and calculated EE by treadmill due to EE curve increasing exponentially. Therefore the further study would be required to find the correlation of the two methods and calibrate the values from them.

• 한국정보전자통신기술학회논문지
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• 제4권4호
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• pp.231-235
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• 2011

최근 올바르지 못한 자세로 인하여 척추 측만증 등의 질환을 가지고 생활하는 사람의 수가 늘고 있다. 이러한 다양한 질환의 치료를 위한 자세 교정은 시간과 비용이 소요되며 지속적인 관찰이 필요하다. 본 논문에서는 소형 기울기 센서를 목과 허리에 장착하여 신체의 기울기를 실시간으로 관찰함으로써 자세 이상을 기록하고 경고하여 불완전한 자세를 교정하는 보조 시스템을 제안하였다. 가속도와 자이로 센서를 이용하여 신체의 올바르지 못한 자세의 기울임을 감지하여 경고 신호를 내 보내고 시간에 따른 자세의 변화를 외장 메모리에 기록하여 분석할 수 있도록 하였다.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.127-164
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• 2020

We perform an econometric assessment of the role that pharmaceutical innovation-the introduction and use of new drugs-has played in improving the health of Koreans, by investigating whether diseases for which more new drugs were launched had larger subsequent increases in longevity and smaller subsequent increases in hospitalization. Drugs launched during 1993-2012 are estimated to have increased mean age at death from all diseases by 1.71 years between 1995 and 2015 and 1.09 years between 2005 and 2015. We also estimate that new drugs increased the five-year relative survival rate from all cancers combined by 23.2 percentage points-78.5% of the total increase-between 1993-1995 and 2011-2015, and that new drugs launched during 2008-2010 reduced the number of hospital days in 2017 by 13.0 million. If the drugs launched during 2003-2012 had had no effect on other medical expenditure in 2015, the cost per life-year gained would not have exceeded 6332 USD. Therefore, even if we ignore the effect of new drugs on hospital utilization, the drugs launched during 2003-2012 were very cost-effective, overall. When reduced hospital utilization is accounted for, the evidence indicates that, in the long run, pharmaceutical innovation was cost-saving as well as life-year saving.

• 보건의료산업학회지
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• 제6권4호
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• pp.279-294
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• 2012

The study compared refractive surgery patients' hospital selection factors and satisfaction, through this to see the factors influencing patients' satisfaction, aiming at 235 patients visiting two Eye hospitals. The research results are followed. First, target group's hospital selection factors appeared facilities and environment factor, reliability factor, personal service factor, and accessibility factor in the order. Second, patients' satisfaction appeared reliability factor, facilities and environment factor, and personal factor in the order. Fourth, in the result comparing patients' expectation on hospital selection and satisfaction score, all factors of facilities and environment, personal service, and reliability had high satisfaction score than expectation. Third, in the result of factors influencing refractive surgery patients' satisfaction, in surgery determination period, surgery expenditure, and hospital selection factors among characteristics relating to refractive surgery, facilities and environment, personal service, and reliability appeared as satisfaction influencing factors. In conclusion, the study found that hospital selection factors and satisfaction influencing factors by refractive surgery patients' surgery type are considered to be able to be used to establish marketing strategy in the fields excluded from insurance application, the researches to improve patients' satisfaction in patient-oriented medical market should be continuously proceeded.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제52권4호
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• pp.214-223
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• 2019

Objectives: Equity in financial protection against healthcare expenditures is one the primary functions of health systems worldwide. This study aimed to quantify socioeconomic inequality in facing catastrophic healthcare expenditures (CHE) and to identify the main factors contributing to socioeconomic inequality in CHE in Iran. Methods: A total of 37 860 households were drawn from the Households Income and Expenditure Survey, conducted by the Statistical Center of Iran in 2017. The prevalence of CHE was measured using a cut-off of spending at least 40% of the capacity to pay on healthcare services. The concentration curve and concentration index (C) were used to illustrate and measure the extent of socioeconomic inequality in CHE among Iranian households. The C was decomposed to identify the main factors explaining the observed socioeconomic inequality in CHE in Iran. Results: The prevalence of CHE among Iranian households in 2017 was 5.26% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.04 to 5.49). The value of C was -0.17 (95% CI, -0.19 to -0.13), suggesting that CHE was mainly concentrated among socioeconomically disadvantaged households in Iran. The decomposition analysis highlighted the household wealth index as explaining 71.7% of the concentration of CHE among the poor in Iran. Conclusions: This study revealed that CHE is disproportionately concentrated among poor households in Iran. Health policies to reduce socioeconomic inequality in facing CHE in Iran should focus on socioeconomically disadvantaged households.

• Healthcare Informatics Research
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.276-282
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• 2018

Objectives: Due to the uncontrolled increase of the mobile health applications and their scarce use by elderly for reason of absence credibility of measurements by lack scientific support, the aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between the biophysical measurements based on standard instrument against a mobile application using controlled experiments with elderly to propose an effective validation model of the developed apps. Methods: The subjects of the study (50 people) were elderly people who wanted to check their weight and cardiac status. For this purpose, two mobile applications were used to measure energy expenditure based on physical activity (Activ) and heart rate (SMCa) during controlled walking at specific speeds. Minute-by-minute measurements were recorded to evaluate the average error and the accuracy of the data acquired through confidence intervals by means of statistical analysis of the data. Results: The experimental results obtained by the Activ/SMCa apps showed a consistent statistical similarity with those obtained by specialized equipment with confidence intervals of 95%. All the subjects were advised and trained on the use of the applications, and the initial registration of data to characterize them served to significantly affect the perceived ease of use. Conclusions: This is the first model to validate a health-app with elderly people allowed to demonstrate the anthropometric and body movement differences of subjects with equal body mass index (BMI) but younger. Future studies should consider not only BMI data but also other variables, such as age and usability perception factors.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.54-65
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• 2019

To develop a biomarker predicting tumor treatment efficacy is helpful to reduce time, medical expenditure, and efforts in oncology therapy. In clinics, microvessel density using immunohistochemistry has been proposed as an indicator that correlates with both tumor size and metastasis of cancer. In the preclinical study, we hypothesized that vascular morphometrics using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) could be potential indicators to estimate the treatment efficacy of breast cancer. To verify this hypothesis, a 13762-MAT-B-III rat breast tumor was grown in a dorsal skinfold window chamber which was applied to a nude mouse, and the change in vascular morphology was longitudinally monitored during tumor growth and metronomic cyclophosphamide treatment. Based on the daily OCTA maximum intensity projection map, multiple vessel parameters (vessel skeleton density, vessel diameter index, fractal dimension, and lacunarity) were compared with the tumor size in no tumor, treated tumor, and untreated tumor cases. Although each case has only one animal, we found that the vessel skeleton density (VSD), vessel diameter index and fractal dimension (FD) tended to be positively correlated with tumor size while lacunarity showed a partially negative correlation. Moreover, we observed that the changes in the VSD and FD are prior to the morphological change of the tumor. This feasibility study would be helpful in evaluating the tumor vascular response to treatment in preclinical settings.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제45권2호
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• pp.75-80
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• 2024

This research investigates the influence of chair tilt functionality on biometric signals and user comfort, addressing the ergonomic challenges posed by modern sedentary lifestyles. Through an experimental study involving eight male participants, the impact of chair tilt on electromyography (EMG), heart rate, metabolic rate, pressure distribution, and distance between the lumbar spine and the lumbar support part of the chair was measured across different seating postures. The study utilized chairs with both synchronous and non-synchronous tilt mechanisms to explore how adjustments in chair design affect user comfort and physiological responses during prolonged sitting. Key findings suggest that chair tilt functionality can significantly reduce muscle activity and energy expenditure, enhancing user comfort and potentially mitigating health risks associated with prolonged sedentary behavior. Notably, the study revealed a preference among participants for chairs that aligned the rotational center of the tilt with the hip joint, highlighting the importance of this ergonomic feature in enhancing user comfort. Additionally, the research proposes a novel methodology for assessing seating comfort through the analysis of both biometric and physical signals, providing valuable insights for the development of ergonomic chair designs focused on user health and comfort.

• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.11-18
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• 2024

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the unintended welfare losses induced by paid sick leave, examine the severity of the unintended moral hazard loss caused by paid sick leave, and evaluate how much moral hazard cost society can accept to obtain paid sick leave benefits. Research Design, Data and Methodology: We examine the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data collected in 2013 and 2014 by employing a panel probit analysis to control for individual heterogeneity. Results: The estimation result shows that the probability of absence due to paid sick leave increases from 4.91% to 7.84%. Among them, excluding the probability of increasing absence from 1.29% to 2.69% due to the actual disease, the probability of absence due to the moral hazard was estimated to be 2.41% to 6.49% in the proposed models. Based on the result, if we evaluate the increase in absence caused by moral hazard as a social cost, the estimated cost is approximately $174 to $297 per worker per year. Conclusion: Considering these expected costs, our society can obtain the access benefit from paid sick leave if we are willing to accept the moral hazard cost.

• 대한예방한의학회지
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.17-28
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• 2003

We met results like the followings through the literatures and questionnaires about the tasks and solutions about the insurance fee of packed medical herbs. 1) It's turned out that 74.8% of herb doctors agrees to the insurance fee of packed medical herbs. However, in comparison with the same survey of the herb doctor association the percentage of general approval went somewhat lower, and especially the percentage of 'positive approval' became notably lower$(43.7%{\rightarrow}26.5%)$ and the percentage of 'active objection' raised about 2 times$(6.8%{\rightarrow}12.9%)$. Inquiring into the approval reasons on the insurance fee application of packed medical herbs some heads such as 'development toward treatment medical science' and 'decrease of publics burden' were higher than the one of 'management income and expenditure.' 2) As a result of the research, 36.0% of the patients and 42.8% of the residents recognized that the pay range of Chinese herb health insurance is narrow. They recognized that less people have the experiences of Chinese medical hospital use and internal application of the packed medical herbs as they are older, men rather than women. 85.4% of the patients and 74.9% of the residents agreed on the insurance pay of packed medical herbs. It's shown that they agree on the Chinese medical hospital use more as the economic standard is lower, on the insurance pay as they have ever taken the packed medical herbs. In the aspect of increase of insurance fee, 66.7% of the patients and 44.3% of the residents agreed on the insurance pay of packed medical herbs, and 18.1% and 36.1% disagreed on the insurance pay of packed medical herbs. The main objective reason why they disagree on the insurance pay of packed medical herbs was 'because the insurance fee goes up higher,' which answered 95.2% of the patients and 78.8% of the residents. 7.22% of the patients and 1.80% of the residents answered that they can pay more insurance fee in case of the insurance pay of packed medical herbs. However, in the priority order of the insurance pay, it hold the 5th position between 2 target research groups which was less than medical examination, charges for hospital accommodation and taking MRI. 3) According to the result of analysis about the cost of packed medical herbs, current practice price is 115,000 won and the average prime cost of a packed medical herb is 73,000 to 106,000 won. It's examined that the herb doctors regard that 95,000 won will be reasonable when the packed medical herb is payed in insurance. However, it was found out that the public generally thinks that the price would be appropriate on the level of 30,000 to 40,000 won and the percentage of the answers of 20,000 won to 30,000 was fairly high. 4) the central system of a prescription should be change into the central system of demonstration and the sick and wounded. 5) To solve this problem, the government should regulate it to pass by the circulation gradation of [importer, $peasantry{\rightarrow}manufacturer{\rightarrow}wholesaler{\rightarrow}distributor$(Chinese medical hospital, pharmacy dispensary of Chinese medicine)]And it should intervene into the quality and the circulation steps of Chinese medicine through 'the office or organization which is in charge of certification of Chinese medicine' and 'the office or organization which is in charge of the circulation of Chinese medicine.' And some actions such as simple severance, lavation, drying should be included into the conception of manufacture and the boundary between food and medical supplies should be made at a manufactory. And the regulation of standardized goods at one's own house should be improved so that, the peasantry can sell the materials of Chinese medicine only to the manufacturer. 6) In company with the insurance pay of packed medical herbs, the study about the separation of dispensary from medical practice in the Chinese medicine should be accomplished.