• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.203-209
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• 2006

The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of ex vivo MR diffusion tensor imaging technique in order to observe the diffusion-contrast characteristics of human gastric tissues. On normal and pathologic gastric tissues, which have been fixed in a polycarbonate plastic tube filled with 10% formalin solution, laboratory made 3D diffusion tensor Turbo FLASH pulse sequence was used to obtain high resolution MR images with voxel size of $0.5{\times}0.5{\times}0.5mm^3\;using\;64{\times}32{\times}32mm^3$ field of view in conjunction with an acquisition matrix of $128{\times}64{\times}64$. Diffusion weighted- gradient pulses were employed with b values of 0 and $600s/mm^2$ in 6 orientations. The sequence was implemented on a clinical 3.0-T MRI scanner(Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) with a home-made quadrature-typed birdcage Tx/Rx rf coil for small specimen. Diffusion tensor values in each pixel were calculated using linear algebra and singular value decomposition(SVD) algorithm. Apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC) and fractional anisotropy(FA) map were also obtained from diffusion tensor data to compare pixel intensities between normal and abnormal gastric tissues. The processing software was developed by authors using Visual C++(Microsoft, WA, U.S.A.) and mathematical/statistical library of GNUwin32(Free Software Foundation). This study shows that 3D diffusion tensor Turbo FLASH sequence is useful to resolve fine micro-structures of gastric tissue and both ADC and FA values in normal gastric tissue are higher than those in abnormal tissue. Authors expect that this study also represents another possibility of gastric carcinoma detection by visualizing diffusion characteristics of proton spins in the gastric tissues.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Child Welfare
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• no.26
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• pp.7-30
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• 2008

The survival rate of children with cancer has increased significantly from less than 30% in 1960s to 75% during the recent years with the development of modern medical technologies. As a result, the cancer of children today is no longer classified as incurable diseases. Rather, it is recognized as a chronic illness. However, children with cancer are still suffering from physical and psychosocial ailments caused by long-term hospitalization. In particular, teenagers are more likely to be affected by these problems because of interests on one's appearance and peer relationships This study investigated the relationship of the level of body distortion and disease adjustment of children with cancer, and how demographic factors, disease factors, and the level of body distortion affect disease adjustment. Data were collected between October 22, 2007 and November 16, 2007 and the total respondents consisted of 82 children, ages 10 to 18. SPSS 12.0 with descriptive statistics, t-test, correlation and multiple regression were used for data analysis. The results showed that the factors which influence the disease adjustment of children with cancer were age, school enrollment, and the level of body distortion. The result of this study has major implications for the government to provide support for children with cancer to stay in school. Additionally, programs that assist children to build positive body images need to be developed in accordance with their ages and psychosocial characteristics.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.115-126
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• 2014

In order to improvement of the perceptive of health state and the motivation, this study suggests the ways and design forms which provide PHR information customizing individual attributes as well as guidelines through a decision support system and services which integrate medical information visualization. Expression methods using the color, form, position in order to visualization based on images improved performance of information awareness by changing radar chart from existing information which provide only numerical figure. The methods providing a graphic figure which seems like beads of blood which shows the result of blood tests would also arise patient's attention. They gives the patient's information which is able to compare their health status and normal status and visualizes the records as a human figure in order to perceiving their status as well. The visualization showing the position of human body figures marks in inspection elements located in position of relevant organs. The method also uses icons represent examination results so they improve attention of the results and shorten recognize times.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.22-31
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• 2018

Objectives : In this study, we investigated whether Astragali Radix Pharmacocupuncture (ARP) has an effective on the full thickness defect wound healing process of mouse. Methods : A total of 50 mice (ICR mouse, 7 week-old male) were divided into control group and ARP group. A single full thickness skin defect was made on the dorsal side of the each mouse using an 8mm diameter biopsy punch. Control group were treated with 0.2㎖ saline and ARP group were treat with 0.2ml ARP at 8 points around the wound every three days total 4 times during the experimental period. The change in wound size, contraction rate, healing rate, and epithelization rate was measured by digital images taken on days 3, 6, 9, and 13, and evaluated using a digital image analysis program. Tissues were collected for histological analysis, RT-PCR, and Western blot on days 3, 6, 9, and 15. Results : The results are as follows. ARP group accelerated the rate of wound contraction, wound healing and epithelization compared to the control group. ARP group showed the decrease of inflammatory cells in early inflammatory phase compared to the control group. ARP group upregulated PECAM-1 mRNA and protein expression compared to the control group. ARP group inhibited the scar width and area compared to the control group. Conclusions: ARP showed positive effects on wound healing through the inhibition of inflammatory reaction and increase of PECAM-1 expression related to the wound healing process.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.325-332
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• 2018

Carotid angiography covering the aortic arch includes contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CEA), which is applied to a large region and usually employs contrast media. However, the use of contrast media can be dangerous in infants, pregnant women, and patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). Follow-up patients informed of a lesion may also want to avoid constant exposure to contrast media. We aimed to apply time-of-flight (TOF) angiography to a large region and compare its usefulness with that of CEA. Ten patients (mean age, 58 years; range, 45~75 years) who visited our hospital for magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) participated in this study. A 3.0 Tesla Achieva magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system (Philips, Netherland) and the SENSE NeuroVascular 16-channel coil were employed for both methods. Both methods were applied simultaneously to the same patient. Three TOF stacks were connected to cover the aortic arch through the circle of Willis, and CEA was applied in the same manner. For the quantitative assessment, the acquired images were used to set the regions of interest (ROIs) in the common carotid artery (CCA) bifurcation, internal carotid artery, external carotid artery, middle cerebral artery, and vertebral artery, and to obtain the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for the soft tissues. Three radiologists and one radiological resident performed the qualitative assessment on a 5-point scale - 1 point, "very bad"; 2 points, "bad"; 3 points, "average"; 4 points, "good"; and 5 points, "very good" - with regard to 4 items: (1) sharpness, (2) distortion, (3) vein contamination, and (4) expression of peripheral vessels. For the quantitative assessment, we estimated the mean SNR and CNR in each of the 5 ROIs. In general, the mean SNR was higher in TOF angiography (166.1, 205.2, 154.39, 172.23, and 161.95) than in CEA(92.05, 95.43, 84.76, 73.69, and 88.3). Both methods had a similar mean CNR: 67.62, 106.71, 55.9, 73.74, and 63.46 for TOF angiography, and 67.82, 71.19, 60.52, 49.45, and 64.07 for CEA. In all ROIs, the mean SNR was statistically significant (p<0.05), whereas the mean CNR was insignificant (p>0.05). The mean values of TOF angiography and CEA for each item in the qualitative assessment were 4.2 and 4.28, respectively for item 1; 2.93 and 4.55, respectively, for item 2; 4.6 and 3.13, respectively, for item 3; and 2.88 and 4.65, respectively, for item 4. Therefore, TOF angiography had a higher mean for item 3, and CEA had a higher mean for items 2 and 4; there was no significant difference between the two methods for item 1. The results for item 1 were statistically insignificant (p>0.05), whereas the results for items 2~4 were statistically significant (p<0.05). Both methods have advantages and disadvantages and they complement each other. However, CEA is usually applied to a large region covering the aortic arch. Time-of-flight angiography may be useful for people such as infants, pregnant women, CRF patients, and followup patients for whom the use of contrast media can be dangerous or unnecessary, depending on the circumstance.

• Journal of Auto-vehicle Safety Association
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.7-12
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• 2018

Injury mechanisms of lower extremity injuries in motor vehicle accidents are focused on fractures, sprains, and contusions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the analysis of lower extremity injury mechanism in occupant motor vehicle accident by using Hospital Information System (HIS) and reconstruction program, based on the materials related to motor vehicle accidents. Among patients who visited the emergency department of Wonju Severance Christian Hospital due to motor vehicle accidents from August 2012 to February 2014, we collected data on patients with agreement for taking the damaged vehicle's photos. After obtaining the verbal consent from the patient, we asked about the cause of the accident, information on vehicle involved in the accident, and the location of car repair shop. The photos of the damaged vehicle were taken on the basis of front, rear, left side and right side. Damage to the vehicle was presented using the CDC code by analytical study of photo-images of the damaged vehicle, and a trauma score was used for medical examination of the severity of the patient's injury. Among the 1,699 patients due to motor vehicle crashes, 88 (5.2%) received a diagnosis of lower extremity fracture and 141 (8.3%) were the severe who had ISS over 15. Nevertheless during 19 months for research, it was difficult to build up in-depth database about motor vehicle crashes. It has a limitation on collecting data because not only the system for constructing database about motor vehicle crash is not organized but also the process for demanding materials is not available due to prevention of personal information. For accurate analysis of the relationship between occupant injury and vehicle damage in motor vehicle crashes, build-up of an in-depth database through carrying out various policies for motor vehicle crashes is necessary for sure.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2019

In this study, the micro- and nano-particles were used and their shapes were transferred into the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film to fabricate the dry adhesives and their properties were investigated. The Cu nanoparticles of the sizes of 20 nm, 40 nm and 70 nm and the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads of the size of $5{\mu}m$ were used to transfer their images and the resultant properties of the dry adhesives were compared. The effects of particle size and materials on the mechanical property, tensile adhesion strength, light transmittance, surface morphology, water contact angle were studied. The dry adhesives obtained from the transfer process of Cu nanoparticles with the size of 20 nm resulted in the enhancement of tensile adhesion strength more than 300% compared to that of the bare PDMS. The formation of nanostructure of large surface area on the surface of the PDMS film by the Cu nanoparticles may responsible for the improvement. This study suggests that the use of nanoparticles during the fabrication of PDMS dry adhesives is easy and effective and could be applied to the fabrication of the medical patch.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.164-171
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• 2021

Purpose: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a prodromal stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Brain atrophy in this disease spectrum begins in the medial temporal lobe structure, which can be recognized by magnetic resonance imaging. To overcome the unsatisfactory inter-observer reliability of visual evaluation, quantitative brain volumetry has been developed and widely investigated for the diagnosis of MCI and AD. The aim of this study was to assess the prediction accuracy of quantitative brain volumetry using a fully automated segmentation software package, NeuroQuant^®, for the diagnosis of MCI. Materials and Methods: A total of 418 subjects from the Korean Brain Aging Study for Early Diagnosis and Prediction of Alzheimer's Disease cohort were included in our study. Each participant was allocated to either a cognitively normal old group (n = 285) or an MCI group (n = 133). Brain volumetric data were obtained from T1-weighted images using the NeuroQuant software package. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to investigate relevant brain regions and their prediction accuracies. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that normative percentiles of the hippocampus (P < 0.001), amygdala (P = 0.003), frontal lobe (P = 0.049), medial parietal lobe (P = 0.023), and third ventricle (P = 0.012) were independent predictive factors for MCI. In ROC analysis, normative percentiles of the hippocampus and amygdala showed fair accuracies in the diagnosis of MCI (area under the curve: 0.739 and 0.727, respectively). Conclusion: Normative percentiles of the hippocampus and amygdala provided by the fully automated segmentation software could be used for screening MCI with a reasonable post-processing time. This information might help us interpret structural MRI in patients with cognitive impairment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.319-325
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• 2022

The Study In order to obtain a sharpness Image from Skull PA axial projection (Haas) in a head axial X-ray Examination, this study changed the posture angle using Skull Phantom and evaluated the image subjectively to 5 radiologists who worked in the Department of Imaging at University Hospital. In the prone position, the head was lowered 4 cm from the back of the head, entered 25° toward the head, and the image evaluation score was high with 20 points, such as the back bone, dorsum sellae projected in the large hole, and posterior clinoid process. In addition, the score significance was verified, and the Cronbach Alpha value was evaluated to have good reliability of 0.789. As a result of calculating the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by setting the region of interest (ROI) of the image, it was the highest at 5.957 for 25° incident at the back of the head and 6.430 for 30° incident at the back of the head. As a result of the study, in order to obtain a sharp image of the back of the head bone, dorsum sellae, and posterior clinoid process when shooting in the axial direction after the head, it is filmed by tilting 25° toward the head from 4 cm below the back of the head. In order to obtain a sharp image of rock pyramid symmetry, petrous ridge, sagittal suture, and lambdoid suture, it is thought that it will be helpful for clinical use if you shoot it 8cm down from the back of the head and tilt it 30° toward the head.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.51-62
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• 2022

Objectives Objective of this study is to investigate the role of paraspinal muscles by examining the correlation between slip percentage (SP) of spondylolisthesis and fatty infiltration of lumbar paraspinal muscle. Methods Retrospective analysis was performed on 45 patients diagnosed with spondylolisthesis based on medical records. Using T2-weighted axial magnetic resonance imaging, cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of psoas major (PM), multifidus (MU) and erector spinae (ES) were calculated and divided by CSA of lower level vertebral body (VB). SP was measured using sagittal T2-weighted images. Correlation of SP with muscle relative cross-sectional area (RCSA) and muscle fatty infiltration by Goutallier classification was respectively analyzed using Spearman correlation. Statistic assessment conducted by Wilcoxon signed rank test and paired t-test using program GraphPad prism 5 (GraphPad Software, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA). Results Spondylolisthesis forward slip percentage by Taillard's method was negatively associated with both side MU RCSAs. No significant correlation was found between PM RCSA, ES RCSA and SP. Forward slippage was significantly correlated with fatty infiltration of lumbar paraspinal muscle measured by Goutallier classification. Conclusions This study is to understand the role of paraspinal muscle affecting spinal instability by investigating correlation between statistical deviation of lumbar muscle characters (RCSA, fatty infiltration of lumbar muscle) and SP. We found that spondylolisthesis SP is positively related to fatty infiltration of lumbar paraspinal muscle. and is negatively associated with both side MU RCSAs.