• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.258-265
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• 2021

High levels for noise and a loss of true signal make the quantitative interpretation of nuclear medicine (NM) images difficult. An application of profile optimization using a sigmoidal function in this study was used to acquire the NM images with high quality. And the images were acquired by using three kinds of reconstruction method using each same sinogram: a standard filtered back-projection (FBP), an iterative reconstruction (IR) technique, and the sigmoidal function profile optimization (SFPO). Comparison of image according to reconstruction method was performed to show a superiority of the SFPO for imaging. The images reconstructed by using the SFPO showed an average of 1.49 times and of 1.17 times better in contrast than the results obtained using the standard FBP and the IR technique, respectively. Higher signal to noise ratios were obtained as an average of 12.30 times and of 3.77 times than results obtained using the standard FBP and the IR technique, respectively. This study confirms that reconstruction with SFPO (vs FBP and vs IR) can lead to better lesion detectability and characterization with noise reduction. It can be developed for future reconstruction technique for the NM imaging.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.23-33
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• 2023

Prostate cancer ranks as the world's second most frequently diagnosed cancer among men, and is responsible for the fifth highest number of cancer-related deaths in this population. The development of effective diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for prostate cancer remains a major challenge in the field of oncology. Over the past few years, the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has raised as a hopeful tracer for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.Various radioisotopes, such as ¹³¹I, ^99mTc, ⁶⁸Ga, and ¹⁷⁷Lu, have been used to label PSMA analogues, with varying degrees of success. Among these, ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 and ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA-617 have emerged as the most promising radioligands for clinical use. Recently, researchers have been exploring the use of other radioisotopes, such as ²¹¹At, ⁸⁹Zr, ^64/67Cu, and ^203/212Pb, for the labeling of PSMA-targeted radioligands. These radioisotopes have unique properties that may offer advantages over existing radioligands, such as longer half-lives, higher specific activities, and different emission profiles. Efforts are currently underway to develop these radiopharmaceuticals and make them more widely available for clinical use. These exciting developments highlight the potential of PSMA-targeted radioligands for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, and provided significant implications for the management of this disease in the future. The current study aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the latest research and clinical applications of radiolabeled PSMA inhibitors for diagnoses and therapy of prostate cancer, emphasizing the exciting developments in the field and their potential impact on clinical practice.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.490-496
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• 1998

Purpose: We evaluated brain perfusion SPECT findings of MELAS syndrome and mitochondrial myopathy in correlation with MR imaging in search of specific imaging features. Materials and Methods: Subjects were five patients (four females and one male; age range, 1 to 25 year) who presented with repeated stroke-like episodes, seizures or developmental delay or asymptomatic but had elevated lactic acid in CSF and serum. Conventional non-contrast MR imaging and Tc-99m-ethyl cysteinate dimer (ECD) brain perfusion SPECT were Performed and imaging features were analyzed. Results: MRI demonstrated increased T2 signal intensities in the affected areas of gray and white matters mainly in the parietal (4/5) and occipital lobes (4/5) and in the basal ganglia (1/5), which were not restricted to a specific vascular territory. SPECT demonstrated decreased perfusion in the corresponding regions of MRI lesions. In addition, there were perfusion defects in parietal (1 patient), temporal (2), and frontal (1) lobes and basal ganglia (1) and thalami (2). In a patient with mitochondrial myopathy who had normal MRI, decreased perfusion was noted in left parietal area and bilateral thalami. Conclusion: Tc-99m ECD SPECT imaging in patients with MELAS syndrome and mitochondrial myopathy showed hypoperfusion of parieto-occipital cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus and temporal cortex, which were not restricted to a specific vascular territory. There were no specific imaging features on SPECT. The significance of abnormal perfusion on SPECT without corresponding MR abnormalities needs to be evaluated further in larger number of patients.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.40-47
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• 2009

Purpose: Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) has variable degree of F-18 FDG avidity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between F-18 FDG uptake and pathological or immunohistochemical features of DTC. Materials and Methods: DTC patients who underwent both pre-operative F-18 FDG PET/CT scan and surgery were included in the study. Maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) of primary tumor were calculated. If the primary tumor showed no perceptibly increased F-18 FDG uptake, region of interest was drawn based on finding of a portion of the PET/CT images. Pathological and immunohistochemical markers such as presence of lymph node (LN) metastasis and underlying thyroiditis, tumor size, Ki-67 labeling index, expressions of EGFR, COX-2, and Galectin-3 were evaluated. Results: Total of 106 patients was included (102 papillary carcinomas, 4 follicular carcinomas). The mean SUVmax of the large tumors (above 1 cm) was significantly higher than the mean SUVmax of small (equal to or less than 1 cm) ones ($7.8{\pm}8.5$ vs. $3.6{\pm}3.1$, p=0.004). No significant difference in F-18 FDG uptake was found according to the presence or absence of LN metastasis and underlying thyroiditis, or the degree of Ki-67 labeling index, expression of EGFR, COX- 2 and Galectin-3. Conclusion: In conclusion, the degree of F-18 FDG uptake in DTC was associated with the size of primary tumor. But there seem to be no relationship between F-18 FDG uptake of DTC and expression of Ki-67, EGFR, COX-2 and Galectin-3.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.280-290
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• 2007

Purpose: Gender differences in personality are considered to have biological bases. In an attempt to understand the gender differences of personality on neurobiological bases, we conducted correlation analyses between regional brain glucose metabolism and temperament factors of personality in males and females. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six healthy right-handed volunteers (18 males, 33.8$\pm$17.6 y; 18 females, 36.2$\pm$20.4 y) underwent FDG PET at resting state. Three temperament factors of personality (novelty seeking (NS), harm avoidance (HA), reward dependence (RD)) were assessed using Cloninger's 240-item Temperament and Character Inventory (TCD within 10 days of FOG PET scan. Correlation between regional glucose metabolism and each temperament factor was tested using SPM2. Results: In males, a significant negative correlation between NS score and glucose metabolism was observed in the bilateral superior temporal gyri, the hippocampus and the insula, while it was found in the bilateral middle frontal gyri, the right superior temporal gyrus and the left cingulate cortex and the putamen in females. A positive HA correlation was found in the right midbrain and the left cingulate gyrus in males, but in the bilateral basal ganglia in females. A negative RD correlation was observed in the right middle frontal and the left middle temporal gyri in males, while the correlation was found in the bilateral middle frontal gyri and the right basal ganglia and the superior temporal gyrus in females. Conclusion: These data demonstrate different cortical and subcortical metabolic correlates of temperament factors of personality between males and females. These results may help understand biological substrate of gender differences in personality and susceptibility to neuropsychiatric illnesses.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.54-66
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• 2024

Background and Purpose: Dementia subtypes, including Alzheimer's dementia (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), pose diagnostic challenges. This review examines the effectiveness of ¹⁸F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET) in differentiating these subtypes for precise treatment and management. Methods: A systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was conducted using databases like PubMed and Embase to identify studies on the diagnostic utility of ¹⁸F-FDG PET in dementia. The search included studies up to November 16, 2022, focusing on peer-reviewed journals and applying the goldstandard clinical diagnosis for dementia subtypes. Results: From 12,815 articles, 14 were selected for final analysis. For AD versus FTD, the sensitivity was 0.96 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.88-0.98) and specificity was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.70-0.92). In the case of AD versus DLB, ¹⁸F-FDG PET showed a sensitivity of 0.93 (95% CI 0.88-0.98) and specificity of 0.92 (95% CI, 0.70-0.92). Lastly, when differentiating AD from non-AD dementias, the sensitivity was 0.86 (95% CI, 0.80-0.91) and the specificity was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.80-0.91). The studies mostly used case-control designs with visual and quantitative assessments. Conclusions: ¹⁸F-FDG PET exhibits high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating dementia subtypes, particularly AD, FTD, and DLB. This method, while not a standalone diagnostic tool, significantly enhances diagnostic accuracy in uncertain cases, complementing clinical assessments and structural imaging.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.389.2-389.2
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• 2016

The flexible solid state device has been widely studied as portable and wearable device applications such as display, sensor and curved circuits. A zero-bias operation without any external power consumption is a highly-demanding feature of semiconductor devices, including optical communication, environment monitoring and digital imaging applications. Moreover, the flexibility of device would give the degree of freedom of transparent electronics. Functional and transparent abrupt p/n junction device has been realized by combining of p-type NiO and n-type ZnO metal oxide semiconductors. The use of a plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film substrate spontaneously allows the flexible feature of the devices. The functional design of p-NiO/n-ZnO metal oxide device provides a high rectifying ratio of 189 to ensure the quality junction quality. This all transparent metal oxide device can be operated without external power supply. The flexible p-NiO/n-ZnO device exhibit substantial photodetection performances of quick response time of $68{\mu}s$. We may suggest an efficient design scheme of flexible and functional metal oxide-based transparent electronics.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.85-90
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• 2017

$^{68}Ga-PET$ is of growing importance in the practice of nuclear medicine diagnostic imaging for neuroendocrine tumors as well as prostate cancers. Following this interests, we herein present the radiosynthesis process of [$^{68}Ga$]edotreotide ([$^{68}Ga$]DOTA-TOC) based on the fully automated procedure for clinical doses that can be provided the reduction of radiation exposure and high reproducibility. The quality controls of clinical doses in compliant with European Pharmacopoeia are also discussed.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2006

Addiction to illicit drugs is one of today's most important social issues. Most addictive drugs lead to irreversible parenchymal changes in the human brain. Neuroimaging data bring to light the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of the abused drugs, and demonstrate that addiction is a disease of the brain. Continuous researches better illustrate the neurochemical alterations in brain function, and attempt to discover the links to consequent behavioral changes. Newer hypotheses and theories follow the numerous results, and more rational methods of approaching therapy are being developed. Substance abuse is on the rise in Korea, and social interest in the matter as well. On the other hand, diagnosis and treatment of drug addiction is still very difficult, because how the abused substance acts in the brain, or how it leads to behavioral problems is not widely known. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of drug addiction can improve the process of diagnosing addict patients, planning therapy, and predicting the prognosis. Neuroimaging approaches by nuclear medicine methods are expected to objectively judge behavioral and neurochemical changes, and response to treatment. In audition, as genes associated with addictive behavior are discovered, functional nuclear medicine images will aid in the assessment of individuals. Reviewing published literature on neuroimaging regarding nuclear medicine is expected to be of assistance to the management of drug addict patients. What's more, means of applying nuclear medicine to the care of drug addict patients should be investigated further.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.9
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• pp.1055-1058
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• 2002

뇌종양 치료성적은 점차 향상되고 있지만 백혈병 등 다른 소아암에 비해 향상 속도가 느리다. 하지만, 근래 MRI, PET scan 등 neuro-imaging 기술의 발달, 뇌종양의 분자유전학적 연구, 외과 수술 방법의 진전, 치료방사선요법의 다양화 등 많은 분야에서 꾸준한 발전을 보이고 있다. 그리고 여러 가지 신약개발에 의한 제 1, 제 2상의 약제시험, antiangiogenesis 약제의 임상시험, gene therapy 등의 연구가 활발하게 진행되고 있으므로, 이에 따른 환자의 치료 성적도 향상될 것으로 기대하고 있다. 외국에서는 여러 대학이 함께 참여하여 작성한 공동의 치료 protocol에 의한 치료가 활발하게 진행되어 생존율을 높이는데 반해, 우리나라에서는 아직까지 각 기관의 협조체제가 구축되지 못한 형편이다. 하지만 금년에 처음으로 여러 대학에서 임상각과가 참석하는 한국소아 뇌종양연구회가 탄생되어 우리나라 뇌종양 환아들의 치료 protocol 개발에 기여할 것을 기대하고 있다. 뇌종양 치료 후 생존하는 아이들을 위한 정밀한 추적관찰이 필수사항인데 여기에 소아과 의사들의 역할은 클 것으로 사료된다. 지능장애, 부적절한 대인관계, 사회적응의 어려움, 치료 후 발생한 내분비계통의 후유증 그리고 2차 암의 발생 등의 정확한 진단 및 치료가 소아과 의사들의 몫으로 남는다. 또한, 이러한 장애가 있는 환아들이 사회에 잘 적응하도록 하기 위해서는 재활교육에 대한 사회적인 관심과 그에 적절한 지원제도의 확립이 절실히 요구된다. 이 점에 있어서도 소아과 의사들의 관심과 지원이 필요하다.