• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.136-141
• /
• 2007

The Purpose Of This Paper Is To Use A Tactile Sensor To Compensate The Error Rate. Most Automated Sphygmomanometers Use The Oscillometric Method And Characteristic Ratio To Estimate Systolic And Diastolic Blood Pressure. However, Based On The Fact That Maximum Amplitude Of The Oscillometric Waveform And Characteristic Ratio Are Affected By Compliance Of The Aorta And Large Arteries, A Method To Measure The Artery Stiffness By Using A Tactile Sensor Was Chosen In Order To Integrate It With The Sphygmomanometer In The Future Instead Of Using Photoplethysmography. Since Tactile Sensors Have Very Weak Movements, Efforts Were Made To Maintain The Subject's Arm In A Fixed Position, And A 40hz Low Pass Filter Was Used To Eliminate Noise From The Power Source As Well As High Frequency Noise. An Analyzing Program Was Made To Get Time Delay Between The First And Second Peak Of The Averaged Digital Volume Pulse(${\Delta}t_{dvp}$), And The Subject's Height Was Divided By ${\Delta}t_{dvp}$ To Calculate The Stiffness Index Of The Arteries($Si_{dvp}$). Regression Equations Of Systolic And Diastolic Pressure Using $Si_{dvp}$ And Mean Arterial Pressure(Map) Were Computed From The Test Group (60 Subjects) Among A Total Of 121 Subjects(Age: $44.9{\pm}16.5$, Male: Female=40:81) And Were Tested In 61 Subjects To Compensate The Error Rate. Error Rates Considering All Subjects Were Systolic $4.62{\pm}9.39mmhg$, And Diastolic $14.40{\pm}9.62mmhg$, And Those In The Test Set Were $3.48{\pm}9.32mmhg,\;And\;14.34{\pm}9.67mmhg$ Each. Consequently, Error Rates Were Compensated Especially In Diastolic Pressure Using $Si_{dvp}$, Various Slopes From Digital Volume Pulse And Map To Systolic-$1.91{\pm}7.57mmhg$ And Diastolic $0.05{\pm}7.49mmhg$.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.131-136
• /
• 2021

Duplex sonography is used widely in various medical fields because of its repeatability and low cost. In particular, the carotid duplex sonography is a useful non-invasive test for diagnosing cerebrovascular disease and predicting the prognosis. In clinical practice, it is very important to reduce the test time and improve accuracy. The patient's clinical information must be known in advance to perform carotid duplex sonography quickly and accurately. Despite this, there are often difficulties finding new cervical vascular diseases that are not mentioned in the clinical information. Therefore, knowing a variety of cases can lead to fast and accurate results. In this context, this paper reports three cases of cervical vascular disease discovered unexpectedly during carotid duplex sonography: CASE 1, internal carotid artery occlusion and cerebral arteries branched from the external carotid artery; CASE 2, internal jugular vein thrombosis; CASE 3, microembolism observed in the vertebral artery.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.153-162
• /
• 2004

Purpose: The Helicobacter pylori stool antigen (HpSA) enzyme immunoassay is a non-invasive test for the diagnosis and monitoring of H. pylori infection. But, there are few validation studies on the HpSA test after eradication in children. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of HpSA enzyme immunoassay for the detection of H. pylori to confirm eradication in children. Methods: From January 2001 to October 2003, 164 tests were performed in 146 children aged 1 to 17.5 years (mean $9.3{\pm}4.3$ years). H. pylori infection was confirmed by endoscopy-based tests (rapid urease test, histology, and culture). All H. pylori infected children were treated with quadruple regimens (Omeprazole, amoxicillin, metronidazole and bismuth subcitrate for 7 days). Stool specimens were collected from all patients for the HpSA enzyme immunoassay (Primier platinum HpSA). The results of HpSA tests were interpreted as positive for $OD{\geq}0.160$, unresolved for $$0.140{\leq_-}OD$$<0.160, and negative for OD<0.140 at 450 nm on spectrophotometer. Results: 1) One hundred thirty-one HpSA tests were performed before treatment. The result of HpSA enzyme immunoassay showed three false positive cases and one false negative case. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of HpSA enzyme immunoassay before treatment were 96.4%, 97.1%, 90%, and 99%, respectively. 2) Thirty-three HpSA enzyme immunoassay were performed at least 4 weeks after eradication therapy. The results of HpSA enzyme immunoassay showed two false positive cases and one false negative case. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value after treatment were 88.9%, 91.7%, 80%, and 95.7%, respectively. Conclusion: Diagnostic accuracy of the HpSA enzyme immunoassay after eradication therapy was as high as that of the HpSA test before eradication therapy. The HpSA enzyme immunoassay was found to be a useful non-invasive method to confirm H. pylori eradication in children.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.45 no.2
• /
• pp.131-138
• /
• 2019

Carbonylated proteins (CPs) are synthesized by the chemical reaction of basic amino acid residues in proteins with aldehyde compounds yielded by lipid peroxidation. CPs are excited by a range of light from UVA to blue light, and resulted in the generation of superoxide anion radicals ($^{\cdot}O_2{^-}$) by photosensitizing reaction. Then, they CPs induce new protein carbonylation in stratum corneum through ROS generation. Furthermore, the superoxide anion radicals produce CPs in the stratum corneum (SC) through lipid peroxidation and finally affects skin conditions including color and moisture functions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the production of stratum corneum carbonylated protein (SCCP) and the skin elasticity. 46 healthy female Koream at the ages of 30 ~ 50 years old were participated in this study for 8 weeks. The skin test was experiment conducted into two groups; placebo group (N = 23) used cream that did not contain active ingredients, and the other group (N = 23) used cream containing the elasticity improving ingredients. Test areas were the crow 's feet and the cheek. Various non-invasive methods were carried out to measure biophysical parameters on human skin indicating that dermis density and skin wrinkle were measured by using DUB scanner and Primos premium, respectively. Skin elasticity were measured using dermal torque meter (DTM310) and balistometer (BLS780). SCCP was assessed in a simple and non-invasive method using skin surface biopsy on the cheek of the subject. The amount of SCCP was determined using image analysis. All measurements were taken at 0, 4 and 8 8week. Results revealed that the amount of CP in SC was reduced when the skin wrinkle and skin elasticity related parameters were improved. This indicates that the correlation between the elasticity improvement and the amount of CP can be used as a anti-aging indicator and applicable to the skin clinical test for the measurement of skin aging in the future.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.225-232
• /
• 2004

Purpose : Transient wall motion abnormality and contractile dysfunction of the left ventricle (LV) can be observed in patients with coronary artery disease due to post-stress myocardial stunning. To understand clinical characteristics of stress induced LV dysfunction, we have compared the findings of exercise stress test, myocardial perfusion SPECT and coronary angiography between subjects with and without post-stress LV dysfunction. Materials and Methods : Among subjects who underwent exercise stress test, myocardial perfusion SPECT and coronary angiography within a month of interval, we enrolled 36 patients with post-stress LV election fraction (LVEF) was $\geq5%$ lower than rest (stunning group) and 16 patients with difference of post-stress and rest LVEF was lesser than 1 %(non-stunning group) for this study. Treadmill exercise stress gated myocardial perfusion SPECT was performed with dual head SPECT camera using 740 MBq Tc-99m MIBI and coronary angiography was also performed by conventional Judkins method. Results : Stunning group had a significantly higher incidence of hypercholesterolemia than non-stunning group(45.5 vs. 7.1%, p=0.01). Stunning group also had higher incidence of diabetes mellitus and lower incidence of hypertension, but these were not statistically significant. Stunning group had larger and more severe perfusion defect in stress perfusion myocardial SPECT than non-stunning group(extent 18.2 vs. 9.2%, p=0.029; severity 13.5 vs. 6.9, p=0.040). Stunning group also had higher degree of reversibility of perfusion defect, higher incidence of positive exercise stress test and higher incidence of having severe stenosis ($80{\sim}99%$) in coronary angiography than non-stunning group, but these were not statistically significant. In stunning group, all of 4 patients without perfusion defect had significant coronary artery stenosis and had received revascularization treatment. Conclusion : Patients with post-stress LV dysfunction had larger and more severe perfusion defect and severe coronary artery stenosis than patients without post-stress LV dysfunction. All of the patients without perfusion defect in stunning group had significant coronary artery stenosis and needed revascularization. Therefore, we suggest that invasive diagnostic procedures and therapeutic interventions might be needed in patients with post-stress LV dysfunction.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.39-45
• /
• 2005

As a basic research for the development of a non-invasive blood glucose sensor using millimeter waves, we have presented a method for measuring the dielectric properties of high loss dielectrics, based on the reflection method, and investigated the variation of the dielectric properties of glucose-water and glucose -0.9% NaCl solutions in the 10～90 GHz range. In the proposed method, a minimal reflection condition is formed by placing a specially-chosen low-loss plane-parallel plate in front of a high-loss medium under test at a given frequency range. Using the minimal power reflection coefficient and the corresponding frequency at this condition, tile dielectric properties of the medium can be determined. The measured results on pure water have shown the adequacy of the proposed method. The measured results on glucose-water and glucose -0.9% NaCl solutions in the 10～90 GHz range showed that the variations of the dielectric properties of glucose solutions according to the change of their glucose concentration were maximum in the 30～45 GHz range. From these facts we concluded that the variation of about 3 mole/L in the glucose solutions must be distinguished With the measurement accuracies of ±0.1 dB and ±0.01 GHz.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.24 no.1 s.33
• /
• pp.93-97
• /
• 1991

The time honoured tuning fork at present widely available for examining vibration sensation is brought about the problem of great interobserver variation. To resolve t his problem, author developed a divice using electric magnet that stimulates constantly tuning fork. The perception time of vibration from tunung fork by this device was tested on the index finger of dominant hand of twenty eight subjects. It was 12.44 seconds on average and ranged from 9.47 to 17.25. Coefficient of variation of it was 16.89 percent. Correlation coefficient between test and retest after 30 minutes was 0.957(p<0.01). This device is portable. Test procedure in non-invasive, non-aversive and simple, can be performed within one minute, and does not require the skilled technician. It is felt that this device testing vibration perception time is suitable as screening tool for early detection of occupational peripheral neuropathy.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.199-208
• /
• 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 Korean Biological Nursing Science
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.99-106
• /
• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect on plasma beta endorphin concentration level and the influences on pain score of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) mediation to patients During a prostate needle biopsy. Methods: TENS was administered to only the experimental group. The electric current was given in high frequency (40-100 pps) and low intensity ($2-50{\mu}s$) from the waiting room stage until the end of the procedure. The average time spent was 35 minutes. Following 10 minutes of retention in the rectum, there was a biopsy. In two groups, the pain score was assessed twice when vas pain penetrated into the rectum, during the needle biopsy. The Beta endorphin concentration level was assessed through blood gathering 2 times in the Nuclear Medicine Labs before and after the test. Results: There was not much difference in pain levels from both groups when a microscope probe penetrated into the rectum and in the time when tissues were collected. However, the average overall pain level was reduced during those two procedures. The plasma beta endorphin level was increased in the TENS medicated group compared with the unmedicated group after the procedures were completed. Conclusion: The research indicates that TENS was desirable to be considered as a non-invasive method for controlling pain.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.16
• /
• pp.6963-6966
• /
• 2015

Background: During the past few years, Hesa-A, a herbal-marine mixture, has been used to treat cancer as an alternative medicine in Iran. Based on a series of studies, it is speculated that Hesa-A possesses special cytotoxic effects on invasive tumors. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the selective anticancer effects of Hesa-A on several cancer cell lines with different metastatic potential. Materials and Methods: Hesa-A was prepared in normal saline as a stock solution of 10 mg/ml and further diluted to final concentrations of $100{\mu}/ml$, $200{\mu}g/ml$, $300{\mu}g/ml$ and $400{\mu}g/ml$. MTT-based cytotoxicity assays were performed with A549 (lung non small cancer), MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma), SKOV3 (ovarian cancer), and PC-3 (prostate adenocarcinoma) cells. Results: All treated cancer cells showed significant (P<0.01) or very significant (P<0.0001) differences in comparison to negative control at almost all of the tested doses ($100-400{\mu}g/ml$). At the lower dose ($100{\mu}g/ml$), Hesa-A reduced cell viability to 66%, 45.3%, 35.5%, 33.2% in SKOV3, A549, PC-3 and MCF-7 cells, respectively. Moreover, at the highest dose ($400{\mu}g/ml$), Hesa-A resulted in 88.5%, 86.6%, 84.9% and 79.3% growth inhibition in A549, MCF-7, PC-3 and SKOV3 cells, respectively. Conclusions: Hesa-A exert potent cytotoxic effects on different human cancer cells, especially those with a high metastatic potential.