• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.402-412
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• 2022

Objective: To evaluate the image quality and lesion detectability of lower-dose CT (LDCT) of the abdomen and pelvis obtained using a deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) algorithm compared with those of standard-dose CT (SDCT) images. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 123 patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 63 ± 11 years; male:female, 70:53) who underwent contrast-enhanced abdominopelvic LDCT between May and August 2020 and had prior SDCT obtained using the same CT scanner within a year. LDCT images were reconstructed with hybrid iterative reconstruction (h-IR) and DLIR at medium and high strengths (DLIR-M and DLIR-H), while SDCT images were reconstructed with h-IR. For quantitative image quality analysis, image noise, signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio were measured in the liver, muscle, and aorta. Among the three different LDCT reconstruction algorithms, the one showing the smallest difference in quantitative parameters from those of SDCT images was selected for qualitative image quality analysis and lesion detectability evaluation. For qualitative analysis, overall image quality, image noise, image sharpness, image texture, and lesion conspicuity were graded using a 5-point scale by two radiologists. Observer performance in focal liver lesion detection was evaluated by comparing the jackknife free-response receiver operating characteristic figures-of-merit (FOM). Results: LDCT (35.1% dose reduction compared with SDCT) images obtained using DLIR-M showed similar quantitative measures to those of SDCT with h-IR images. All qualitative parameters of LDCT with DLIR-M images but image texture were similar to or significantly better than those of SDCT with h-IR images. The lesion detectability on LDCT with DLIR-M images was not significantly different from that of SDCT with h-IR images (reader-averaged FOM, 0.887 vs. 0.874, respectively; p = 0.581). Conclusion: Overall image quality and detectability of focal liver lesions is preserved in contrast-enhanced abdominopelvic LDCT obtained with DLIR-M relative to those in SDCT with h-IR.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.49-58
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• 2019

Purpose: Automated analytical systems have begun to emerge as a database system that enables the scanning of medical images to be performed on computers and the construction of big data. Deep-learning artificial intelligence (AI) architectures have been developed and applied to medical images, making high-precision diagnosis possible. Materials and Methods: For diagnosis, the medical images need to be labeled and standardized. After pre-processing the data and entering them into the deep-learning architecture, the final diagnosis results can be obtained quickly and accurately. To solve the problem of overfitting because of an insufficient amount of labeled data, data augmentation is performed through rotation, using left and right flips to artificially increase the amount of data. Because various deep-learning architectures have been developed and publicized over the past few years, the results of the diagnosis can be obtained by entering a medical image. Results: Classification and regression are performed by a supervised machine-learning method and clustering and generation are performed by an unsupervised machine-learning method. When the convolutional neural network (CNN) method is applied to the deep-learning layer, feature extraction can be used to classify diseases very efficiently and thus to diagnose various diseases. Conclusions: AI, using a deep-learning architecture, has expertise in medical image analysis of the nerves, retina, lungs, digital pathology, breast, heart, abdomen, and musculo-skeletal system.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.242-245
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• 2019

In this paper, watermark embedding technique was proposed to securely conceal the watermark in color cover image by applying the spatial encryption technique. The embedded watermak can be extracted from stego-image without loss. The quality of the stego-image is very good. So it is not possible to visually distinguish the difference between the original cover image and the stego-image. The validity of the proposed technique was verified by mathematical analysis. The proposed watermark embedding technique can be used for intellectual property protection, military, and medical applications that require high security.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.261-276
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• 2013

Purpose: This study intends to offer strategic implications that can be used in Korean medicine hospitals through analysis of causal relationship among factors focusing on image improvement and trust building. Methods: Differential model was introduced to test causal relationship. Questionnaire was developed, and data was collected and analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling. Results: Medical service has effects on image, trust, and CS. CS has an effect on trustworthiness, and trustworthiness has positive effect on loyalty intention and has negative effect on switching intention. Emotional attachment has moderating functions between trust and loyalty intention and between trust and switching intention. Conclusion: This study offers practical implications to relevant managers, at the same time it has limitations that omits relevant study of inducing factor for emotional attachment.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.131-138
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• 2021

Objective: Iterative reconstruction degrades image quality. Thus, further advances in image reconstruction are necessary to overcome some limitations of this technique in low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scan of the chest. Deep-learning image reconstruction (DLIR) is a new method used to reduce dose while maintaining image quality. The purposes of this study was to evaluate image quality and noise of LDCT scan images reconstructed with DLIR and compare with those of images reconstructed with the adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-Veo at a level of 30% (ASiR-V 30%). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 58 patients who underwent LDCT scan for lung cancer screening. Datasets were reconstructed with ASiR-V 30% and DLIR at medium and high levels (DLIR-M and DLIR-H, respectively). The objective image signal and noise, which represented mean attenuation value and standard deviation in Hounsfield units for the lungs, mediastinum, liver, and background air, and subjective image contrast, image noise, and conspicuity of structures were evaluated. The differences between CT scan images subjected to ASiR-V 30%, DLIR-M, and DLIR-H were evaluated. Results: Based on the objective analysis, the image signals did not significantly differ among ASiR-V 30%, DLIR-M, and DLIR-H (p = 0.949, 0.737, 0.366, and 0.358 in the lungs, mediastinum, liver, and background air, respectively). However, the noise was significantly lower in DLIR-M and DLIR-H than in ASiR-V 30% (all p < 0.001). DLIR had higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) than ASiR-V 30% (p = 0.027, < 0.001, and < 0.001 in the SNR of the lungs, mediastinum, and liver, respectively; all p < 0.001 in the CNR). According to the subjective analysis, DLIR had higher image contrast and lower image noise than ASiR-V 30% (all p < 0.001). DLIR was superior to ASiR-V 30% in identifying the pulmonary arteries and veins, trachea and bronchi, lymph nodes, and pleura and pericardium (all p < 0.001). Conclusion: DLIR significantly reduced the image noise in chest LDCT scan images compared with ASiR-V 30% while maintaining superior image quality.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.429-431
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• 2002

Metabolic analysis of biological tissues, the interventional radiology in MRT (Magnetic Resonance Treatment) and for clinical diagnoses, representation of 4-Dimensional (4D) structural information (x,y,z,t) of biological tissues is required. This paper discusses image representation techniques for those 4D MR Images. We have proposed an image reconstruction method for ultra-fast 3D MRI. It is based on image interpolation and prediction of un-acquired pictorial data in both of the real and the k-space (the acquisition domain in MRI). A 4D MR image is reconstructed from only two 3D MR images and acquired a few echo signals that are optimized by prediction of the tissue motion. This prediction can be done by the phase of acquired echo signal is proportioned to the tissue motion. On the other hand, reconstructed 4D MR images are represented as a 3D-movie by using computer graphics techniques. Rendered tissue surfaces and/or ROIs are displayed on a CRT monitor. It is represented in an arbitrary plane and/or rendered surface with their motion. As examples of the proposed representation techniques, the finger and the lung motion of healthy volunteers are demonstrated.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.61-70
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• 2022

Purpose: This study was performed to compare and analyze practice self-efficacy, paramedics image, and major satisfaction according to paramedic students practice experience. Methods: The subjects of this study were 224 paramedic students from universities across the country. The analysis methods were completed using the SPSS/WIN 23.0 program as the frequency percentage, mean±standard deviation, independent samples t-test, Pearson correlation, and logistic regression. Results: It was found that students who experienced practical training had higher levels of practical self-efficacy compared to students who did not (adj OR=3.947, 95% CI=1.932-8.061). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it is thought that educational strategies and measures in the absence of practice in the paramedic students.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.191-197
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• 2013

Conventional CT and MRI scans produce cross-section slices of body that are viewed sequentially by radiologists who must imagine or extrapolate from these views what the 3 dimensional anatomy should be. By using sophisticated algorithm and high performance computing, these cross-sections may be rendered as direct 3D representations of human anatomy. The 2D medical image analysis forced to use time-consuming, subjective, error-prone manual techniques, such as slice tracing and region painting, for extracting regions of interest. To overcome the drawbacks of 2D medical image analysis, combining with medical image processing, 3D visualization is essential for extracting anatomical structures and making measurements. We used the gray-level thresholding, region growing, contour following, deformable model to segment human organ and used the feature vectors from texture analysis to detect harmful cancer. We used the perspective projection and marching cube algorithm to render the surface from volumetric MR and CT image data. The 3D visualization of human anatomy and segmented human organ provides valuable benefits for radiation treatment planning, surgical planning, surgery simulation, image guided surgery and interventional imaging applications.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.93-100
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• 2024

In this paper, we propose a novel robust blind crypto-watermarking method for medical images security based on hiding of DICOM patient information (patient name, age...) in the medical imaging. The DICOM patient information is encrypted using the AES standard algorithm before its insertion in the medical image. The cover image is divided in blocks of 8x8, in each we insert 1-bit of the encrypted watermark in the hybrid transform domain by applying respectively the 2D-LWT (Lifting wavelet transforms), the 2D-DCT (discrete cosine transforms), and the SVD (singular value decomposition). The scheme is tested by applying various attacks such as noise, filtering and compression. Experimental results show that no visible difference between the watermarked images and the original images and the test against attack shows the good robustness of the proposed algorithm.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.11 no.9
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• pp.4461-4475
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• 2017

Recently, introduction of the hospital information system has remarkably improved the efficiency of health care services within hospitals. Due to improvement of the hospital information system, the issue of integration of medical information has emerged, and attempts to achieve it have been made. However, as a preceding step for integration of medical information, the problem of searching the same patient should be solved first, and studies on patient identification algorithm are required. As a typical case, similarity can be calculated through MPI (Master Patient Index) module, by comparing various fields such as patient's basic information and treatment information, etc. but it has many problems including the language system not suitable to Korean, estimation of an optimal weight by field, etc. This paper proposes a method searching the same patient using MRI information besides patient's field information as a supplementary method to increase the accuracy of matching algorithm such as MPI, etc. Unlike existing methods only using image information, upon identifying a patient, a highest weight was given to physical information of medical image and set as an unchangeable unique value, and as a result a high accuracy was detected. We aim to use the similarity measurement result as secondary measures in identifying a patient in the future.