• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.252-260
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• 2012

The reduction of radiation dose from x-ray is a main concern in computed tomography (CT) imaging due to the side-effect of the dose on human body. Recently, the various methods for dose reduction have been studied in CT and one of the method is a iterative reconstruction based on total variation (TV) minimization at few-views data. In this paper, we evaluated the image quality between total variation (TV) minimization algorithm and Feldkam-Davis-kress (FDK) algorithm in micro computed tomography (CT). To evaluate the effect of TV minimization algorithm, we produced a cylindrical phantom including contrast media, water, air inserts. We can acquire maximum 400 projection views per rotation of the x-ray tube and detector. 20, 50, 90, 180 projection data were chosen for evaluating the level of image restoration by TV minimization. The phantom and mouse image reconstructed with FDK algorithm at 400 projection data used as a reference image for comparing with TV minimization and FDK algorithm at few-views. Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), Universal quality index (UQI) were used as a image evaluation metric. When projection data are not insufficient, our results show that the image quality of reconstructed with TV minimization is similar to reconstructed image with FDK at 400 view. In the cylindrical phantom study, the CNR of TV image was 5.86, FDK image was 5.65 and FDK-reference was 5.98 at 90-views. The CNR of TV image 0.21 higher than FDK image CNR at 90-views. UQI of TV image was 0.99 and FDK image was 0.81 at 90-views. where, the number of projection is 90, the UQI of TV image 0.18 higher than FDK image at 90-views. In the mouse study UQI of TV image was 0.91, FDK was 0.83 at 90-views. the UQI of TV image 0.08 higher than FDK image at 90-views. In cylindrical phantom image and mouse image study, TV minimization algorithm shows the best performance in artifact reduction and preserving edges at few view data. Therefore, TV minimization can potentially be expected to reduce patient dose in clinics.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.892-895
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• 2005

This study investigated changes of mechanical characteristics in the trabecular and cortical bone of the lumbar vertebrae of the ovariectomised(OVX) rat. In previous researches, there were many studies for morphology of osteoporotic bones based on Micro-CT (Micro - Computed Tomography). However, there were few studies for detecting and tracking changes of mechanical characteristics in the trabecular bone and cortical bone of the lumbar vertebrae for the OVX rat. For this study, one female Sprague-Dawley rat was used: an OVX rat. The 4th lumbar of the OVX rat was utilized as a specimen. Detecting and tracking changes of mechanical characteristics could be investigated in the trabecular and cortical bone of the lumbar vertebrae for an OVX rat using In-vivo Micro-CT. An OVX rat was scanned at week 0 (just before surgery), at week 4, and week 8 after surgery. Micro finite element(${\mu}\;FE$) analysis was used to investigate mechanical characteristics in the trabecular and cortical bone of the lumbar vertebrae for an OVX rat.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.53-59
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• 2007

Purpose : Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone microarchitecture are important determinants for bone strength. Recently micro-CT have provided possibilities for measuring a variety of structural indices to characterize bone microarchitecture. The objective of this study was to compare the BMD and micro-CT parameters with Young's modulus calculated by finite element analysis (FEA) for the evaluation of bone strength. Materials and Methods Bone specimens were obtained from the 18 female rabbits aged 16 weeks. Of those, 36 samples (right and left femur) were selected for 3D micro-CT analysis $(ANT^{TM},\;SKYSCAN,\;Belgium)$ and BMD by PIXlmus 2 (GE Lunar Co. USA). Five microstructural parameters of micro-CT, such as trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), bone specific surface (BS/BV), percent bone volume (BV/TV), structure model index (SMI) and degree of anisotropy (DOA) were studied. Young's modulus was obtained by software program (ANSYS 9.0, ANSYS Inc, Canonsburg, PA) based on micro-CT three dimensional images. Results : Young's modulus assessed by FEA correlated significantly with Tb.Th, BV/TV, BS/BV and SMI respectively. Young's modulus showed higher correlation with these rnicrostructural parameters of micro-CT than BMD. Microstructural parameters except DOA showed significant correlations within the examined group. Conclusion The microarchitectural parameters o( micro-CT and BMD represented some informations in the evaluation of bone strength assessed by FEA.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.228-235
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• 2004

The development and proliferation of the mandibular condyle can be altered by changes in the biomechanical environment of the temporomandibular joint. The biomechanical loads were varied by feeding diets of different consistencies. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether changes of masticatory forces by feeding a soft diet can alter the trabecular bone morphology of the growing mouse mandibular condyle, by means of micro-computed tomography. Thirty-six female, 21 days old, C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups. Mice in the hard-diet control group were fed standard hard rodent pellets for 8 weeks. The soft-diet group mice were given soft ground diets for 8 weeks and their lower incisors were shortened by cutting with a wire cutter twice a week to reduce incision. After 8 weeks all animals were killed after they were weighed. Following sacrifice, the right mandibular condyle was removed. High spatial resolution tomography was done with a Skyscan Micro-CT 1072. Cross-sections were scanned and three-dimensional images were reconstructed from 2D sections. Morphometric and nonmetric parameters such as bone volume(BV), bone surface(BS), total volume(TV), bone volume fraction(BV/TV), surface to volume ratio(BS/BV), trabecular thickness(Tb. Th.), structure model index(SMI) and degree of anisotropy(DA) were directly determined by means of the software package at the micro-CT system. From directly determined indices the trabecular number(Tb. N.) and trabecular separation(Tb. Sp.) were calculated according to parallel plate model of Parfitt et al.. After micro-tomographic imaging, the samples were decalcified, dehydrated, embedded and sectioned for histological observation. The results were as follow: 1. The bone volume fraction, trabecular thickness(Tb. Th.) and trabecular number(Tb. N.) were significantly decreased in the soft-diet group compared with that of the control group (p<0.05). 2. The trabecular separation(Tb. Sp.) was significantly increased in the soft-diet group(p<0.05). 3. There was no significant differences in the surface to volume ratio(BS/BV), structure model index(SMI) and degree of anisotropy(DA) between the soft-diet group and hard-diet control group (p>0.05). 4. Histological sections showed that the thickness of the proliferative layer and total cartilage thickness were significantly reduced in the soft-diet group.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.357-365
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• 2012

We have examined the effect of circadian disturbances induced by night shifts (NSs) on the phenotypes of the tibiae and abdominal adipose tissues (ADTs) in a mouse model by using in vivo micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). We found that the volumes of total and visceral ADTs in the night-shifted group of mice were significantly larger (69 and 92%, respectively) than those in the control. The mean polar moment of inertia, cross-sectional thickness, and bone mineral density of the cortical bone in the night-shifted group of mice were less (13, 5, and 3%, respectively) than those in the control. Moreover, the volume and the thickness of growth plates (GPs) of the tibiae in the night-shifted mice were significantly smaller (22 and 20%, respectively) than those in the control. Taken together, our results indicate that disturbances in the mouse circadian rhythms induced by NSs affect the morphological characteristics of cortical bone, the volume and the thickness of GPs, and the volume of ADTs.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.518-523
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• 2011

The three dimensional geometries of an aluminum open cell foam before and after uniaxial compressive loading were investigated using the X-ray micro CT(computed tomography). Aluminum 6101-T6 open cell foams of 10, 20, 40 ppi (pore per inch) were considered in this work. After the serial sectioning CT images of aluminum foams were obtained from non-destructive X-ray images, the exact 3D structure were reproduced and visualized with commercial image processing program. The relative density ratio was around the 7.0 to 9.0 range, the unit cells showed anisotropic shapes having the different dimensional ratios of 1.1 to 1.3 between the rise and the transverse directions. The yield stress increased with the relative density ratio and the volumetric strain increased proportionally with compressive strain. The plateau stress in the compressive stress-strain curve was caused by the buckling of ligaments.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.360-360
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• 2011

In this work, SUS310S used for valve plate assembly was electron beam (EB) welded to determine the influence of the parametric conditions on the characteristics of the weld and to minimize porosity and micro-fissures among others. The evolution in the weld geometry and microstructure was examined as a function of the process conditions such as beam current and focusing current under a constant welding speed and accelerating voltage. The integrity of the EB welds in SUS310S was examined for defects (e.g. cracking, porosity, etc.), adequate penetration depth, and tolerable weld width deviation for the various welding conditions. Optical microscopy (OM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and 3D micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) for the cross section analysis of the electron beam welded SUS310S were utilized. The tensile strength and hardness were analyzed for the mechanical properties of the EB weld. At the 6 kV accelerating voltage, it was determined that a satisfactory penetration depth and desirable weld width deviation requires a beam current of 30 mA and a focusing current of 0.687 A at the welding speed of 25 mm/sec.

• Composite Materials and Engineering
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.221-239
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• 2021

This paper presents a multiscale modeling method for sheet molding compound (SMC) composites through a novel bundle packing reconstruction algorithm based on a micro-CT (Computed Tomography) image processing. Due to the complex flow pattern during the compression molding process, the SMC composites show a spatially varying orientation and overlapping of fiber bundles. Therefore, significant inhomogeneity and anisotropy are commonly observed and pose a tremendous challenge to predicting SMC composites' properties. For high-fidelity modeling of the SMC composites, the statistical distributions for the fiber orientation and local volume fraction are characterized from micro-CT images of real SMC composites. After that, a novel bundle packing reconstruction algorithm for a high-fidelity SMC model is proposed by considering the statistical distributions. A method for evaluating specimen level's strength and stiffness is also proposed from a set of high-fidelity SMC models. Finally, the proposed multiscale modeling methodology is experimentally validated through a tensile test.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.24 no.1 s.190
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• pp.110-117
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• 2007

This study investigated changes of mechanical characteristics of the trabecular and cortical bone in the lumbar vertebrae of the ovariectomised (OVX) rat. In previous researches, there were many studies for morphology of osteoporotic bones based on Micro-Computed Tomography (Micro-CT). However, there were few studies for detecting and tracking changes of mechanical characteristics of the trabecular and cortical bone in the lumbar vertebrae of the OVX rat. For this study, the 4th lumbar of the OVX rat (female Sprague-Dawley) was utilized as a specimen. An OVX rat was scanned at week 0 (just before surgery), at week 4, and week 8 after surgery. Micro-finite element (${\mu}-FE$) analysis was used to investigate mechanical characteristics of the trabecular and cortical bone in the lumbar vertebrae for an OVX rat. When the OVX rat (at week 8) was compared with the OVX rat (at week 0), the structural modulus of cortical and trabecualr bone was decreased by 52% and 99%, respectively. This study showed the change of mechanical characteristics of cortical bone as well as trabecular bone of an OVX rat. Detecting and tracking changes of mechanical characteristics could greatly contribute to an experiment test for the trabecular and cortical bone in the lumbar vertebrae of an OVX rat by using In-vivo Micro-CT.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2012

Objective : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the different patterns of bone loss between the lumbar spine and the femur after ovariectomy in rats. Methods : Twenty-four female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent a sham operation (the sham group) or bilateral ovariectomy (the ovariectomized group). Four and eight weeks after operation, six rats from each of the two groups were euthanized. Serum biochemical markers of bone turnover including osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), which are sensitive biochemical markers of bone formation, and the telopeptide fragment of type I collagen C-terminus (CTX), which is a sensitive biochemical marker of bone resorption, were analyzed. Bone histomorphometric parameters of the 4th lumbar vertebrae and femur were determined by micro-computed tomography. Results : Ovariectomized rats were found to have higher osteocalcin, ALP and CTX levels than sham controls. Additionally, 8 weeks after ovariectomy in the OVX group, serum levels of osteocalcin, ALP and CTX were significantly higher than those of 4 weeks after ovariectomy. Bone loss after ovariectomy was more extensive in the 4th lumbar spine compared to the femur. Bone loss in the 4th lumbar spine was mainly caused by trabecular thinning, but in the femur, it was mainly caused by trabecular elimination. Conclusion : The present study demonstrates different patterns of bone loss between the 4th lumbar spine and the femur in ovariectomized rats. Therefore, when considering animal models of osteoporosis, it is important that bone sites should be taken into account.