• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers D
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.502-510
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• 2006

In this paper, we describe implementation of a computer access device for the severly motor-disability. Many people with severe motor disabilities need an augmentative communication technology. Those who are totally paralyzed, or 'locked-in' cannot use conventional augmentative technologies, all of which require some measure of muscle control. The forehead is often the last site to suffer degradation in cases of severe disability and degenerative disease. For example, In ALS(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and MD(Muscular dystrophy) the ocular motorneurons and ocular muscles are usually spared permitting at least gross eye movements, but not precise eye pointing. We use brain and body forehead bio-potentials in a novel way to generate multiple signals for computer control inputs. A bio-amplifier within this device separates the forehead signal into three frequency channels. The lowest channel is responsive to bio-potentials resulting from an eye motion, and second channel is the band pass derived between 0.5 and 45Hz, falling within the accepted Electroencephalographic(EEG) range. A digital processing station subdivides this region into eleven components frequency bands using FFT algorithm. The third channel is defined as an Electromyographic(EMG) signal. It responds to contractions of facial muscles and is well suited to discrete on/off switch closures, keyboard commands. These signals are transmitted to a PC that analyzes in a time series and a frequency region and discriminates user's intentions. That software graphically displays user's bio-potential signals in the real time, therefore user can see their own bio-potentials and control their physiological signals little by little after some training sessions. As a result, we confirmed the performance and availability of the developed system with experimental user's bio-potentials.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2024

Patients with acute respiratory diseases, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) due to COVID-19, must wear masks, protective clothing, face shields, and gloves to prevent infection during treatment and performance. Even if it is applied to disabled people, families who protect them are severely mentally tired from severe physical fatigue and stress from exposure to high-risk infectious diseases. As such, the spread of infectious diseases such as respiratory diseases has not only caused difficulties in using existing welfare and medical services but also caused various problems throughout the daily life of disabled people due to the prolonged infectious disease, and its scope is gradually expanding. Therefore, it should not be overlooked that disabled people may experience various difficulties, from the spread of infectious diseases such as respiratory diseases to isolation, diagnosis, and treatment, and it is time to actively assess the life changes felt by families caring for disabled people and consider and research to provide adequate services. According to the survey of disabled people is being conducted in the context of the spread of infectious diseases such as respiratory diseases, while research on the spread of infectious diseases such as respiratory diseases is rare for parents with disabilities. There is a need for additional investigation into the characteristics in other areas of everyday life, including the health field, which is deteriorating through prior research. Therefore, through this survey, the purpose of this study is to investigate the life changes of parents with disabilities in the context of the spread of infectious diseases such as respiratory diseases and to compare and analyze them to find out how parents were affected by each type of disability. It will be used as evidence to identify more necessary needs and problems for parents with disabilities in the spread of infectious diseases such as respiratory diseases and to provide more appropriate health care and welfare services in the future.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.405-409
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• 2014

Objective : To determine the efficacy of endoscopic surgery in combination with long-acting somatostatin analogues (SSAs) in treating patients with growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary tumor. Methods : We performed retrospective analysis of 133 patients with GH producing pituitary adenoma who underwent pure endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery in our center from January 2007 to July 2012. Patients were followed up for a range of 3-48 months. The radiological remission, biochemical remission and complication were evaluated. Results : A total of 110 (82.7%) patients achieved radiological complete resection, 11 (8.2%) subtotal resection, and 12 (9.0%) partial resection. Eighty-eight (66.2%) patients showed nadir GH level less than 1 ng/mL after oral glucose administration. No mortality or severe disability was observed during follow up. Preoperative long-acting SSA successfully improved left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) and blood glucose in three patients who subsequently underwent success operation. Long-acting SSA (20 mg every 30 days) achieved biochemical remission in 19 out 23 (82.6%) patients who showed persistent high GH level after surgery. Conclusion : Endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery can biochemically cure the majority of GH producing pituitary adenoma. Post-operative use of SSA can improve biochemical remission.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.36
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• pp.1-20
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• 1998

This study was conducted to find out the effects of visiting companion dog program on people with chronic mental disability. Visiting companion dog program was carried out for one hour every week for about three months between January and March of 1997 for chronic schizophrenic patients with severe negative symptoms and evaluated by the treatment team as those who are incapable of participating in any other program aside from medication. In order to measure the effects of the program PANSS: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale was conducted by two trained evaluators. The results showed that there was a statistically significant decrease in scores of negative symtoms and general psypathological symtoms. Moreover, scaling scores reported by the nurses and occupational therapist also reveal that the patients show positive changes such as improvement in conversational interaction and facial expressions. Such results evidence that companion animals can have positive emotional and mental influence on people with chronic mental disability. Furthermore the fact that the visiting companion dog program became a program that the chronically mentally disabled who could not participate in any other program can easily participate and enjoy is a meaningful finding in and of itself.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.627-637
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to develop a plan to improve the status of local autonomous body ordinances applying disability grades according to welfare law for people with disabilities. The results are that First, 215 of the total municipalities applied the disability grade, and 1,071 cases were applied to the disability welfare law. Among them, 60.04% (643 cases) of the ordinance that can be divided into severe (1-3 grade) and mild (4-6 grade) were found, and 39.96% (428 cases). A new service eligibility standard that reflects factors such as the needs of persons with disabilities, social environment, etc. needs to be developed. Second, since the exemption reduction service accounts for more than 40% of all projects, it is necessary to set the standards considering the other standards within the scope of not decreasing the total service amount when revising the ordinance. Based on these results, We will provide important basic data for establishing new service provision criteria to replace the disability level at the local government level.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.267-272
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• 2016

In the era of ultra high speed information communication technology represented by Smart phone and Tablet PC, the disable and the aged people came to be in a position of so-called 'relatively weak people' in the field of information communication due to inconvenience of use and difference in information acquisition and processing ability. Thus, a survey was conducted on Smart phone accessibility items based on previous studies of the disabled with crippled disorder, brain lesions, myelopathy and muscular disabilities having more inconvenience relatively in their use of smart phone due to upper limb dysfunctions. Especially, people with upper limb dysfunctions with relatively weak grip had big inconvenience in the conditions of uses requiring actions such as grabbing and rotating the devices, and due to the characteristics of touch screen input method of Smart phone, they had big inconvenience due to a lack of a guidance for keyboard in input. As a result of questionnaires by the type of disability, it turned out that severe myelopathy causes the most inconvenience in using smart phone.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.451-456
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• 2020

This study compared the utility of walking aids, and activities of daily life depending on the ability of people with mobility disabilities to use walking aids. Data were extracted from the Korea Welfare Panel Study in 2014. Data of 435,947 individuals were analyzed using chi-square and t-tests. The findings from this study showed that disabled persons who cannot use walking aids independently were more likely to have a severe disability level and a lower level of daily activities than the independent group. The level of social participation and leisure activities were also significantly lower in the dependent than the independent group. Therefore, walking aids should be tailored for individuals depending on their level of independence for using walking aids.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.117-143
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcomes and the influential factors that predict outcomes of Personal Assistance Services (PAS). A phone survey was conducted with 201 people with severe disabilities who used PAS services through 10 Centers for Independent Living. Participants reported an increase in subjective health perceptions associated with use of PAS. Participants also reported increased psychological self-reliance as a consequence of using PAS, and high satisfaction with PAS in general. Additionally, the participants reported increased active participation in their communities, increased employment, and high self-confidence in getting or maintaining jobs as outcomes of PAS. Among influential factors predicting the outcomes of PAS, high monthly income and more mean hours of for PAS were positive predictors of psychological self-reliance. Younger age, lower income, and longer duration of service were positively associated with community participation. Longer duration of disability and service use were positive predictors of employment status. Less severe disability and high monthly income were associated with higher self-confidence related to getting or maintaining a job. The results highlight the importance of ensuring the availability of PAS to all Koreans with disabilities who are interested in these services.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.511-519
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• 2006

Objectives : As the disabled have higher prevalence rates and earlier onsets of chronic diseases than the non-disabled, their participation in mass screening is important for the early detection and intervention of chronic diseases. Nevertheless, in Korea, the disabled have lower participation rates in mass screening services than the non-disabled. The purpose of the study was to find determinants for the participation in the National Health Insurance (NHI) mass screening program among the disabled. Methods : In this study, the NHI mass screening data of 423,076 disabled people, which were identified using the National Disability Registry (2003), were analyzed. Of the factors affecting the participation rates in mass screenings, the following variables were included for the analysis: socioeconomic stati, such as sex, age, category of health insurance program, region and income, disability characteristics, such as disability type, and severity. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between the participation rates, disability characteristics variables and demographic variables. Results : The participation rate in mass screening of the disabled was 41.3%, but was lower in females, an age of more than 70 years, self-employed and for those with an average monthly insurance premium over 133,500 Won and in metropolitan legions. The participation rate was 1.31 times lower in females than males (95% CI=1.29-1.33); 3.50 times lower in the elderly (more than 70 years) than the younger (95% CI=3.33-3.67); 1.43 times lower in those who live in metropolitan areas (95% CI=1.40-1.46); 2.59 times lower for those in a health Insurance program for the self-employed than for employees (95% CI=2.56-2.63), 1.19 times lower for the higher income (more than 133,500) than the lower income group (4,400-22,000) for the average monthly insurance premium (95% CI=1.15-1.23): 2.04 times lower for those with brain palsy and stroke disabilities than with auditory impairments (95% CI: 1.97-2.11) and 3.27 times for those with severe compared to mild disabilities (95% CI=3.15-3.40). Conclusions : The disabled with high severity, and locomotive and communication disabilities have lower participation rates in mass screening services in Korea.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.177-185
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• 2017

Background: The mental problems of the elderly are at issue as a serious social phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to identify risk factors affecting the mood disorders of the elderly. Methods: The subjects were 1,779,236 aged ${\geq}65$ and participated in health screening. Dependent variable was mood disorders. Independent variables were consisted of community level (regional deprivation index and healthcare resources) and individual level (sex, age, insurance type, disability, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, body mass index, and healthcare utilization). Multilevel logistic regression was performed. Results: At the individual level, women, employed insured, severely disabled people, heavy alcohol drinkers, high-intensity physical activity, body mass index, and patients who had chronic disease and severe disease were significantly associated with mood disorders. As the age has increased, it has let increase of mood disorders. At the community level, as the regional deprivation index has increased by 1, mood disorders has been increased by 1.005 times. The intra-class coefficient was 7.04%. Conclusion: We found individual and community level factors are associated with mood disorders. Systematic approach is essential to reduce mood disorders.