• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2024

Medical institutions wishing to install and operate diagnostic radiation generators must complete appointment training within one year of appointment based on the 「Medical Act」 and the 「Rules on Safety Management of Diagnostic Radiation Generator Devices」 which will come into effect on January 1, 2024. Additionally, You must receive supplementary education every three years from the date you received it. The strengthening of safety management for diagnostic radiation generators used in medical institutions means that although the radiation exposure that may occur when using diagnostic radiation generators is low, the risk of carcinogenesis may be higher than previously evaluated. In addition, safety management of diagnostic radiation generators can be said to be an essential requirement because it has been reported that the incidence of leukemia and other diseases is increasing in diagnostic radiation tests. However, the safety management training targets and programs for radiation exposure management operated by other organizations other than diagnostic radiation generators are significantly different. In addition, since the public institutions that are responsible for radiation safety management are divided, there is a risk of duplicative, excessive, and under-administrative application to medical institutions and educational institutions that install and operate diagnostic radiation generators. Therefore, we would like to determine their consistency by comparing domestic and foreign related cases and the provisions of the 「Medical Act」 and the 「Nuclear Safety Act」.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4699-4704
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• 2015

Medical diagnostic X-ray workers are one occupational group that expose to the long-term low-dose external radiation over their working lifetime, and they may under risk of different cancers. This study aims to determine the relationship between the occupational X-ray radiation exposure and cancer risk among these workers in Jiangsu, China. We conducted Nested case-control study to investigate the occupational X-ray radiation exposure and cancer risk. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire, which includes but not limits to demographic data, personal behaviors and family history of cancer. Retrospective dose reconstruction was conducted to estimate the cumulative doses of the x-ray workers. Inferential statistics, t-test and 2 tests were used to compare the differences between each group. We used the logistic regression model to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of cancer by adjusting the age, gender. All 34 breast cancer cases and 45 esophageal cancer cases that detected in a cohort conducted among health workers between 1950~2011 were included in this presented study, and 158 cancer-free controls were selected by frequency-matched (1:2). Our study found that the occupational radiation exposure was associated with a significantly increased cancer risk compared with the control, especially in breast cancer and esophageal cancer (adjusted OR=2.90, 95% CI: 1.19-7.04 for breast cancer; OR=4.19, 95% CI: 1.87-9.38 for esophageal cancer, and OR=3.43, 95% CI: 1.92-6.12 for total cancer, respectively). The occupational X-ray radiation exposure was associated with increasing cancer risk, which indicates that proper intervention and prevention strategies may be needed in order to bring down the occupational cancer risk.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.584-590
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• 2017

Objective : Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children under age 24 months has characteristic features because the brain at this age is rapidly growing and sutures are opened. Moreover, children this age are completely dependent on their parents. We analyzed the demographic data and risk factors for outcomes in TBI patients in this age group to elucidate their clinical characteristics. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and radiological films of children under 24 months who were admitted to Kyungpook National University Hospital from January 2004 to December 2013 for TBI. Specifically, we analyzed age, cause of injury, initial Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score, radiological diagnosis, seizure, hydrocephalus, subdural hygroma, and Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) score, and we divided outcomes into good (GOS 4-5) or poor (GOS 1-3). We identified the risk factors for post-traumatic seizure (PTS) and outcomes using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results : The total number of patients was 60, 39 males and 21 females. Most common age group was between 0 to 5 months, and the median age was 6 months. Falls were the most common cause of injury (n=29, 48.3%); among them, 15 were falls from household furniture such as beds and chairs. Ten patients (16.7%) developed PTS, nine in one week; thirty-seven patients (61.7%) had skull fractures. Forty-eight patients had initial GCS scores of 13-15, 8 had scores of 12-8, and 4 had scored 3-7. The diagnoses were as follows : 26 acute subdural hematomas, 8 acute epidural hematomas, 7 focal contusional hemorrhages, 13 subdural hygromas, and 4 traumatic intracerebral hematomas larger than 2 cm in diameter. Among them, two patients underwent craniotomy for hematoma removal. Four patients were victims of child abuse, and all of them had PTS. Fifty-five patients improved to good-to-moderate disability. Child abuse, acute subdural hematoma, and subdural hygroma were risk factors for PTS in univariate analyses. Multivariate analysis found that the salient risk factor for a poor outcome was initial GCS on admission. Conclusion : The most common cause of traumatic head injury in individuals aged less than 24 months was falls, especially from household furniture. Child abuse, moderate to severe TBI, acute subdural hematoma, and subdural hygroma were risk factors for PTS. Most of the patients recovered with good outcomes, and the risk factor for a poor outcome was initial mental status.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.159-165
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• 2019

Purpose: This study investigated the recurrence rate after performing hallux valgus correction using scarf and Akin osteotomy, and also identified the correlation and cut-off values of both the preoperative and postoperative radiographic parameters as risk factors for the recurrence of hallux valgus. Materials and Methods: We reviewed 87 hallux valgus patients (122 feet) who received scarf and Akin osteotomy from January 2007 to August 2015. The clinical outcomes were evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS) and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores. The radiological outcome measures included the hallux valgus angle (HVA), intermetatarsal angle (IMA), and distal metatarsal articular angle (DMAA) as determined on the serial weight bearing radiographs. Recurrence was defined as more than 20 degrees of HVA noted on the final follow-up radiograph. Those radiological factors associated with recurrence were evaluated and analyzed. Results: The mean follow-up duration was 20.6 months (12.0~46.5 months) and the mean age was 44 years (13~80 years). The VAS and AOFAS scores were significantly improved at the time of the final follow-up (7.0 to 2.0, p<0.001; 78.0 to 92.0, p<0.001; respectively). Significant corrections in the HVA, IMA, and DMAA were obtained (p<0.001). Eleven (9.0%: 11/122) cases experienced recurrent hallux valgus deformity. The postoperative IMA, DMAA and HVA showed significant moderate to strong correlation with HVA at the final follow-up (Pearson correlation coefficient: 0.44, 0.70, and 0.88, respectively; p<0.001). Postoperative HVA>16.7 degrees, postoperative DMAA>13.9 degrees, and postoperative IMA>8.2 degrees showed statistically significant correlation with radiological recurrence at the last follow-up, and the odds ratio of each variable was high in order. Conclusion: Our radiographic results indicated that postoperative HVA>16.7 degrees, postoperative DMAA>13.9 degrees, and postoperative IMA>8.2 degrees can be risk factors for hallux valgus recurrence. These risk factors may be helpful for modifying surgical procedures and preventing the recurrence of hallux valgus.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.249-255
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• 2023

In this study, radiation exposure doses were measured in the course of clinical practice of radiation workers, radiological technologists in the radiation-related worker group, and preliminary-radiological technologists who were classified as frequent visitors. Radiological technologists who worked in the radiation area of C University Hospital in Incheon for a year from January 2021 and 121 students who completed clinical practice at the same medical institution from July 1 to August 31 were the subjects of the study. The nominal risk factor based on ICRP 103 was used to evaluate the probability of side effects due to the exposure dose to the lungs, which are organs at risk of damage due to radiation exposure dose. During the clinical practice period, radiology students, who were classified as frequent visitors, had a surface dose of 0.98 ± 0.14 mSv and a deep dose of 0.93 ± 0.14 mSv. In other words, 6.7 per 1,000,000 for shallow dose and 6.4 per 1,000,000 for deep dose were found to have side effects due to exposure to the lungs. This is a value in terms of exposure dose in one year. Considering that the radiation (science) education course is 3 or 4 years, systematic management and attention to prospective radiation workers who are going to clinical practice are required, and the stochastic effect of radiation In relation to this, it is considered that it will be used as basic data for radiation safety management.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.127-134
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• 2015

This study was designed to determine the prevalence of gallstones in the last three years and evaluate the associated risk factors in the population who underwent health screening. Although there are many studies reporting the prevalence and risk factors of GB polyp, the results varied among each report. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence rate and risk factors of GB polyp, colon polyp and fatty liver in the population who underwent health screening. The study population consisted of 4,877 visited the health promotion center in Dalseogu, Daegu in Korea from January 2011 to December 2013. Each participant in the study had their biliary system gallbladder examined using ultrasonography. The prevalence of GB polyp was evaluated along with age, gender, metabolic syndrom, body mass index (BMI), Fatty liver, Colon polyp. A showed of total 383 (7.9%) people were found to have GB polyps. The prevalence of sex among 256 (9.8%) patients men and 127 (5.6%) women which showed significantly higher in male than in female subjects(p=0.001). The mean size of the GB polyps 4.92 mm (1.6-17 mm). The sizes of most GB polyps (73.6%) were less than 10 mm in diameter. 122 subjects (31.28%) had multiple GB polyps which 2 or more polyps and 261 subjects (68.2%) had single polyp. Independent risk factors related with GB polyp were male gender (OR 0.551, p<0.001), overweight that BMI above $23kg/m^2$ (OR 0.713, p=0.002) triglyceride (OR 0.571, P<0.001), metabolic syndrome (OR 0.049, p=0.033) and colon polyp (OR 1.409, p=0.002). In spite of the conclusion, the prevalence GB polyp was higher than previous Korea and other country reports. The GB polyp in a healthy population was results as 7.9%. The risk factors of GB polyps were found to be male, being overweight, triglyceride, metabolic syndrome and colon polyp. Not only the subject of a health examination is needed but, a further study of the general public when possible.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.627-635
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• 2017

Brachytherapy is generally performed in conjunction with external radiation therapy, and the treatment course is very complicated, which can lead to radiation accidents. In order to solve this problem, we designed the process map by applying the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) method to the Brachytherapy and scored the risk priority number (RPN) for each treatment course based on this process map. The process map consisted of five steps, Patient consulting", "Brachytherapy simulation", "CT simulation", "Brachytherapy treatment planning" and "Treatment". In order to calculate the RPN, doctor, medical physicist, dose planners, therapist, and nurse participated in the study and evaluated occurrence, severity, and lack of detectability at each detail step. Overall, the process map is preceded by a patient identification procedure at each treatment stage, which can be mistaken for another patient, and a different treatment plan may be established to cause a radiation accident. As a result of evaluating the RPN for the detailed steps based on the process map, overall "Patient consulting" and "Brachytherapy treatment planning" step were evaluated as high risk. The nurses showed a tendency to be different from each other, and the nurses had a risk of 55 points or more for all the procedures except "Treatment", and the "Brachytherapy simulation" step was the highest with 88.8 points. Since the treatment stage differs somewhat for each medical institution performing radiotherapy, it is thought that the risk management should be performed intensively by preparing the process map for each institution and calculating the risk RPN.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1067-1073
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• 2023

Breast cancer is one of the top three most common cancers in modern women, and the incidence rate is increasing rapidly. Breast cancer has a high family history and a mortality rate of about 15%, making it a high-risk group. Therefore, breast cancer needs constant management after an early examination. Among the various equipment that can diagnose cancer, ultrasound has the advantage of low risk and being able to diagnose in real time. In addition, breast ultrasound will be more useful because Asian women's breasts are denser and less sensitive. However, the results of ultrasound examinations vary greatly depending on the technology of the examiner. To compensate for this, we intend to incorporate motion tracking technology. Motion tracking is a technology that specifies and analyzes a location according to the movement of an object in a three-dimensional space. Therefore, real-time control is possible, and complex and fast movements can be recorded in real time. We would like to present the production of an ultrasound examination guide using these advantages.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.195-203
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• 2021

Although intra oral dental x-ray is a lower dose than other radiological examinations, pediatric patients are known to have a higher risk of radiation damage than adults. For this reason, pediatric dental x-ray requires management of dose evaluation and imaging conditions during the examination. In this study, the dose calculation program ALARA-Dental(child/adult) was used to evaluate the organ dose and effective dose exposed to each examination site during intra oral imaging of children during dental radiographic examination, and dose analysis according to the imaging conditions was performed. As a result, the highest organ dose distribution was shown at 0.044 ~ 0.097 mGy in all are as of the mucous membrane of oral cavity except for the maxillary incisors and canines. Also, in the case of the thyroid gland, the maxillary canine and maxillary premolar examination showed 0.027 and 0.020 mGy, respectively, and the dose distribution was 15.4% to 70.0% higher than that of the mandibular examination. As for the effective dose calculated during intra oral imaging, the maxillary anterior and canine examinations showed the highest effective doses of 0.005 and 0.004 mSv, respectively, and the maxillary area examination showed a higher dose distribution on average than the mandible.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.45-59
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• 2023

The transport calculation for a wide variety of radionuclides contained in high-level radioactive waste, especially spent nuclear fuel, is computationally difficult, and input data collection for this also take a considerable amount of time. Accordingly, considering limited resources, it is possible to reduce the calculation time while minimizing impact on accuracy by including only radionuclides important to calculation result through applying some criteria among potential radiation source terms that may release into environment. In this paper, therefore, we reviewed and analyzed the screening process performed to select radionuclides to be considered in the safety assessment for the KBS-3 type repository in Sweden and Finland. In both countries, it was confirmed that a list of radionuclides was selected by comprehensively considering screening criteria such as radioactivity inventory, half-life, radiotoxicity, risk quotient, and transport properties, and etc. A comparison of radionuclides included in the radiological safety assessment in both countries suggests that most of nuclides are considered in common, and a few nuclides considered only in one country are due to differences in decay chain treatment or spent fuel types. As of now, since most of information on the disposal facility in Korea has not been determined, it is necessary to comprehensively model release and transport of all radionuclides considered in Sweden and Finland when performing the radiological safety assessment. Based on these results, we derived the screening concept of selecting a list of radionuclides to be considered in the radiological safety assessment for the domestic KBS-3 type geological disposal facility, and this result is expected to be used as technical basis for confirming conformity with the safety objective. In a more detailed evaluation reflecting domestic characteristics in the future, it would be desirable to consider only radionuclides selected in accordance with the screening procedure. However, further research should be conducted to determine the quantitative limit for each criteria.