• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.102-107
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• 2007

In molecular imaging studies via magnetic resonance imaging, in vivo cell tracking is an important issue for the observation of cell therapy or disease behavior. High resolution imaging and longitudinal study are necessary to track the cell movement. Since the field inhomogeneity extends over several voxels, we have performed the numerical analysis using the sub-voxel method dividing a voxel of MR image into several elements and the information about the field inhomogeneity distribution around the micro-beads. We imbedded ferrite-composite micro-beads with the size of $20-150{\mu}m$ in the subject substituted for cells to induce local field distortion. In the phantom imaging with the isotropic voxel size of $200{\mu}m^3$, we could confirm the feasibility of sub-voxel tracking in a 3.0 T MRI.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.199-208
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was performed to introduce an in vivo hybrid multimodality technique involving the coregistration of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) to concomitantly visualize and quantify mineralization and vascularization at follow-up in a rat model. Materials and Methods: Three adult female rats were randomly assigned as test subjects, with 1 rat serving as a control subject. For 20 weeks, the test rats received a weekly intravenous injection of 30 ㎍/kg zoledronic acid, and the control rat was administered a similar dose of normal saline. Bilateral extraction of the lower first and second molars was performed after 10 weeks. All rats were scanned once every 4 weeks with both micro-CT and HR-MRI. Micro-CT and HR-MRI images were registered and fused in the same 3-dimensional region to quantify blood flow velocity and trabecular bone thickness at T0 (baseline), T4 (4 weeks), T8 (8 weeks), T12 (12 weeks), T16 (16 weeks), and T20 (20 weeks). Histological assessment was the gold standard with which the findings were compared. Results: The histomorphometric images at T20 aligned with the HR-MRI findings, with both test and control rats demonstrating reduced trabecular bone vasculature and blood vessel density. The micro-CT findings were also consistent with the histomorphometric changes, which revealed that the test rats had thicker trabecular bone and smaller marrow spaces than the control rat. Conclusion: The combination of micro-CT and HR-MRI may be considered a powerful non-invasive novel technique for the longitudinal quantification of localized mineralization and vascularization.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.113-117
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the FA value which can produce the best T2-weighted images by measuring the signal intensity and noise according to the FA value change in the brain image and the abdominal image of the mouse using micro-MRI. Brain imaging and abdominal imaging of BALB / C mice weighing 20g were performed using 4.7T (Bruker BioSpin MRI GmbH) micro-MRI equipment, Turbo RARE-T2 (spin echo-T2) images were scanned at TR 3500 msec and TE 36 msec. The changes of the FA values were $60^{\circ}$, $80^{\circ}$, $100^{\circ}$, $120^{\circ}$, $140^{\circ}$, $160^{\circ}$ and $180^{\circ}$. We measured signal intensity according to FA values of ventricle and thalamus in brain imaging, The signal intensity of kidney and muscle around the kidney was measured in abdominal images. To obtain SNR and CNR, we measured the background signals of two different parts, not the tissue. In the brain (thalamus) image, the signal intensity of FA $100^{\circ}$ was 7,433 and SNR (6.49) was the highest. In the abdominal (kidney) image, the signal intensity was highest at 16,523 when FA was $120^{\circ}$, and the highest SNR was 8.54 when FA was $140^{\circ}$. The CNR value of the brain image was 1.38 at FA $60^{\circ}$ and gradually increased to 8.29 at FA $180^{\circ}$. The CNR value of the muscle adjacent to the kidney gradually increased from 2.36 when the FA value was $60^{\circ}$ and the highest value was 4,57 at the FA value $180^{\circ}$.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2020

Purpose: Little is known regarding the accuracy of clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols with acceptable scan times in sinus graft assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlations between MRI and cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) measurements of maxillary sinus grafts using 2 different clinical MRI imaging protocols. Materials and Methods: A total of 15 patients who underwent unilateral sinus lift surgery with biphasic calcium phosphate were included in this study. CBCT, T1-weighted MRI, and T2-weighted MRI scans were taken 6 months after sinus lift surgery. Linear measurements of the maximum height and buccolingual width in coronal images, as well as the maximum anteroposterior depth in sagittal images, were performed by 2 trained observers using CBCT and MRI Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine files. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) was also performed to confirm the presence of bone tissue in the grafted area. Correlations between MRI and CBCT measurements were assessed with the Pearson test. Results: Significant correlations between CBCT and MRI were found for sinus graft height (T1-weighted, r=0.711 and P<0.05; T2-weighted, r=0.713 and P<0.05), buccolingual width (T1-weighted, r=0.892 and P<0.05; T2-weighted, r=0.956 and P<0.05), and anteroposterior depth (T1-weighted, r=0.731 and P<0.05; T2-weighted, r=0.873 and P<0.05). The presence of bone tissue in the grafted areas was confirmed via micro-CT. Conclusion: Both MRI pulse sequences tested can be used for sinus graft measurements, as strong correlations with CBCT were found. However, correlations between T2-weighted MRI and CBCT were slightly higher than those between T1-weighted MRI and CBCT.

• 한국초전도학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.07a
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• pp.65-65
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• 2009

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.463-469
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• 2020

Objective : This study aimed to investigate the changes and significance of microRNA155 levels in serum of patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Methods : Thirty patients with CSVD who met the inclusion criteria were selected and divided into eight patients with lacunar infarction (LI) group and 22 patients with multiple lacunar infarction (MLI) combined with white matter lesions (WML) group according to the results of head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Thirty samples from healthy volunteers without abnormalities after head MRI examination were selected as the control group. The levels of serum microRNA155 in each group were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction, and the correlation between microRNA155 in the serum of patients with CSVD and the increase of imaging lesions was analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. Results : Compared with the control group, the serum microRNA155 level in the LI group, MLI combined with WML group increased, the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05); serum microRNA155 level was positively correlated with the increase of imaging lesions (p<0.05). Conclusion : The change of serum microRNA155 level in patients with CSVD may be one of its self-protection mechanisms, and the intensity of this self-protection mechanism is positively correlated with the number of CSVD lesions.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2009

Many types of small animal imaging modalities, like micro-CT, micro-PET, and micro-SPECT, have been recently developed worldwide. Small animal imaging systems are now recognized as indispensable tools to validate efficacy and safety of new drugs or new therapeutic methods using the animal disease models. With increasing demands for small animal imaging in biomedical research, multimodal small animal imaging systems, like micro-PET/CT or micro PET/MRI, are now also being developed. Small animal imaging with spatial resolution and sensitivity comparable to human imaging is quite challenging since laboratory small animals are much smaller than human beings. Research activities in Korea on small animal imaging systems are reviewed in this paper. In the field of micro-CT and micro-PET, many world-class technologies have been developed successfully in Korea. It is expected that the developed animal imaging system technologies can be used in the development of clinical imaging systems in Korea in the near future.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.171-176
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• 2009

Purpose : To investigate the effect of coating material in RF coil, which is one of main parts in MRI machine, on the Q-factor and SNR(signal-to-noise ratio) in MR images. Materials and Methods : RF coils with inner diameter of 1.7 mm were made by using copper wires coated with polyester, polyurethane, polyimide, polyamideimide, and polyester-imide, and by using copper wires in which coating materials had been removed. Q-factors of the RF coils were measured by network analyzer, and SNR values in the spin-echo MR images obtained by 600 MHz (14.1 T, Bruker DMX600) micro-imaging system for the coated and uncoated cases. Results : The measured SNRs were almost same for the RF coils with coat-removed copper wires, however SNRs and Q-factors were different for the coated cases depending on the coating material. They were maximized in the polyurethane-coated case in which the SNR was > 30% greater than polyester-coated case. Conclusion : We made solenoid-type RF coils which were easily used for MR micro-imaging in Bruker MRI probe. There was a significant coating-material dependence in the measured Q values and SNRs for the home-made RF coils. The study demonstrated that the choice of coating material of RF coil may be a critical factor in the MRI sensitivity based on SNR value.

• 한국가시화정보학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.83-86
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• 2003

Synchrotron X-ray micro imaging technique was employed to non-invasively monitor the water flow inside xylem vessels in a bamboo leaf. The phase contrast X-ray images clearly visualized plant anatomy and the rise of a water front inside the vessels. Consecutive X-ray images taken for 60 seconds revealed water rise kinetics against gravity in the xylem of a cut dry leaf taken from a bamboo tree. For the first time, traces of water rise, variation of contact angle between water and xylem wall as well as the internal structure of xylem were obtained. In xylem vessels, a repeating flow pattern has a typical flow velocity of $30.7{\mu}m/s$ and faster flow is established intermittently. It is concluded that the transmission type of X-ray micro imaging can be used as a powerful tool to investigate the ascent of sap in the xylem vessels at a resolution higher than that of MRI.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.401-409
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• 2008

Purpose: Recently multi-modal imaging system has become widely adopted in molecular imaging. We tried to fabricate animal-specific positioning molds for PET/MR fusion imaging using easily available molding clay and rapid foam. The animal-specific positioning molds provide immobilization and reproducible positioning of small animal. Herein, we have compared fiber-based molding clay with rapid foam in fabricating the molds of experimental animal. Materials and Methods: The round bottomed-acrylic frame, which fitted into microPET gantry, was prepared at first. The experimental mice was anesthetized and placed on the mold for positioning. Rapid foam and fiber-based clay were used to fabricate the mold. In case of both rapid foam and the clay, the experimental animal needs to be pushed down smoothly into the mold for positioning. However, after the mouse was removed, the fabricated clay needed to be dried completely at $60^{\circ}C$ in oven overnight for hardening. Four sealed pipet tips containing $[^{18}F]FDG$ solution were used as fiduciary markers. After injection of $[^{18}F]FDG$ via tail vein, microPET scanning was performed. Successively, MRI scanning was followed in the same animal. Results: Animal-specific positioning molds were fabricated using rapid foam and fiber-based molding clay for multimodality imaging. Functional and anatomical images were obtained with microPET and MRI, respectively. The fused PET/MR images were obtained using freely available AMIDE program. Conclusion: Animal-specific molds were successfully prepared using easily available rapid foam, molding clay and disposable pipet tips. Thanks to animal-specific molds, fusion images of PET and MR were co-registered with negligible misalignment.