• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.87-99
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• 1991

In order to elucidate whether capsaicin applied topically acts as a pain-producing subastance or as a tastant, neuronal activities of the chorda tympani nerve(CN), lingual nerve(LN), solitary tract nucleus(STN), and trigeminal nucleus(TGN) were recorded while thermal and taste stimuli, and capsaicin were being applied topically, and algesics intra-arterially to the tongue of cats anesthetized with ${\alpha}-chloralsoe$. In addition, the STN neurons were examined after wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase(WGA-HRP) was applied to the CN. The CN fibers responded to taste and thermal stimuli, algesics, and capsaicin. Responses to capsaicin were significantly correlated with those to taste and thermal stimuli. The LN fibers mainly responded to mechanical and thermal stimuli, algesics, and capsaicin. Responses to capsaicin were significantly correlated with those to algesics. The STN neurons responded to taste and thermal stiumli, algesics, and capsaicin. Responses to capsaicin were significantly correlated with those to taste and thermal stiumli in somewhat different fashion from those of the CN fibers. The TGN neurons mainly responded to mechanical stimuli, algesics, and capsaicin. Correlations between responses to capsaicin and any others were not significant. After WGA-HRP was applied to the CN, the STN neurons which receive input from the CN were identified largely in the medio-ventral portion to the solitary tract. These results suggest that capsaicin produce taste as well as pain sensation. Sensory information evoked by capsaicin can be conveyed to the STN, especially medio-ventral portion, via the CN as gustatory information on the one hand, and to the STN or TGN via the LN as noxious information on the other. In addiation, the noxious information may be conveyed to the STN via the CN.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.1 no.6
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• pp.625-637
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• 1997

Calcium ions are implicated in a variety of physiological functions, including enzyme activity, membrane excitability, neurotransmitter release, and synaptic transmission, etc. Calcium antagonists have been known to be effective for the treatment of exertional angina and essential hypertension. Selective and nonselective voltage-dependent calcium channel blockers also have inhibitory action on the acute and tonic pain behaviors resulting from thermal stimulation, subcutaneous formalin injection and nerve injury. This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of iontophoretically applied $Ca^{++}$ and its antagonists on the responses of WDR (wide dynamic range) cells to sensory inputs. The responses of WDR cells to graded electrical stimulation of the afferent nerve and also to thermal stimulation of the receptive field were recorded before and after iontophoretical application of $Ca^{++}$, EGTA, $Mn^{++}$, verapamil, ${\omega}-conotoxin$ GVIA, ${\omega}-conotoxin$ MVIIC and ${\omega}-agatoxin$ IVA. Also studied were the effects of a few calcium antagonists on the C-fiber responses of WDR cells sensitized by subcutaneous injection of mustard oil (10%). Calcium ions and calcium channel antagonists ($Mn^{++}$, verapamil, ${\omega}-conotoxin$ GVIA & ${\omega}-agatoxin$ IVA) current-dependently suppressed the C-fiber responses of WDR cells without any significant effects on the A-fiber responses. But ${\omega}-conotoxin$ MVIIC did not have any inhibitory actions on the responses of WDR cell to A-fiber, C-fiber and thermal stimulation. Iontophoretically applied EGTA augmented the WDR cell responses to C-fiber and thermal stimulations while spinal application of EGTA for about $20{\sim}30\;min$ strongly inhibited the C-fiber responses. The augmenting and the inhibitory actions of EGTA were blocked by calcium ions. The WDR cell responses to thermal stimulation of the receptive field were reduced by iontophoretical application of $Ca^{++}$, verapamil, ${\omega}-agatoxin$ IVA, and ${\omega}-conotoxin$ GVIA but not by ${\omega}-conotoxin$ MVIIC. The responses of WDR cells to C-fiber stimulation were augmented after subcutaneous injection of mustard oil (10%, 0.15 ml) into the receptive field and these sensitized C-fiber responses were strongly suppressed by iontophoretically applied $Ca^{++}$, verapamil, ${\omega}-conotoxin$ GVIA and ${\omega}-agatoxin$ IVA. These experimental findings suggest that in the rat spinal cord, L-, N-, and P-type, but not Q-type, voltage-sensitive calcium channels are implicated in the calcium antagonist-induced inhibition of the normal and the sensitized responses of WDR cells to C-fiber and thermal stimulation, and that the suppressive effect of calcium and augmenting action of EGTA on WDR cell responses are due to changes in excitability of the cell.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2015

This study investigated the effects of persimmon-dyed clothing materials upon thermophysiological responses and subjective comfort sensations during exercise and rest in a warm environment. Six healthy, untrained women participated in two separate testing sessions, with cotton materials dyed with astringent persimmon extract (DC) and undyed cotton materials (UDC). The physical characteristics associated with heat and moisture transfer were improved in DC; also, stiffness, anti-drapery stiffness and crispness in the primary hand values were higher in DC. The experimental protocol consisted of a 10-min rest, 15-min exercise on a treadmill (at ${7km{\cdot}h^{-1}}$) and 25-min recovery at $28{\pm}0.2^{\circ}C$ and $50{\pm}3%\;RH$. The results were as follows: When wearing DC rather than UDC, mean body temperature, heart rate, heat storage and body mass loss were significantly lower during the whole experimental period. Clothing microclimate temperature showed different profiles between the two clothing materials, being lower with DC than UDC during the first half of exercise and the second half of recovery. Clothing microclimate humidity was significantly lower with DC than UDC during the whole experimental period. When wearing UDC, subjects felt significantly warmer and less comfortable during exercise, and sensed greater humidity during exercise and recovery. These results suggest that eco-friendly clothing materials dyed with astringent persimmon extract can reduce exercise-induced heat load and improve subjective sensations when exercising and resting in a warm environment, due to greater heat dissipation from the body to the outside environment compared with undyed clothing materials.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.305-317
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• 1990

The present study was performed to investigate modification in the electrophysiological characteristics of cat dorsal horn cells during neurogenic inflammation induced by mustard oil. The results obtained were summarized as follows: 1) Following subcutaneous injection of mustard oil the majority of wide dynamic range (WDR) cells (10/15 units) showed enhanced responses (80%) to brush, while the responses to all types of mechanical stiumli were enhanced in 3/15 units. One cell was further activated by pinch and the another was not affected at all after induction of inflammation. 2) The sensitization of WDR cell was resulted from subcutaneous injection of mustard oil either inside or outside of the receptive field (RF), whereas the spontaneous activity increased only after mustard oil was injected inside of the RF. 3) In the animal with inflammation the responses of high threshold (HT) cell to noxious stimulus were not altered, while HT cell responded to such mechanical stimulus as pressure which was usually ineffective in normal animals. 4) After induction of inflammation, low threshold (LT) cell appeared to be converted to WDR cell, showing responses not only to brush but also to pressure and pinch. 5) The mustard oil-induced inflammation enhanced responses of WDR and HT cells to the thermal stimuli and also resulted in a pronounced after-discharge in WDR cells. 6) After subcutaneous injection of lidocaine, the increased background activity of WDR cells due to inflammation was almost completely abolished. 7) A subcutaneous injection of mustard oil inside of the RF invariably desensitized the dorsal horn cells which receive sensory inputs from the inflamed RF. From the results of Present study it was revealed that a neurogenic inflammation induced by mustard oil resulted in an enhancement of responses of cat dorsal horn cells to mechanical and thermal stimuli.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.85-96
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• 1996

Adenosine and its analogues are known to possess analgesic effects and to be involved in the opiate-induced antinociception as well. This study was designed to investigate the effects of three adenosine agonists, 5'- (N-cyclopropyl) -carboxamidoadenosine(CPCA), 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadeno-sine (NECA) and $N^6-cyclohexyladenosine$ (CHA) on the signal transmission in the spinal cord and also to elucidate mechanisms of their actions in the anesthetized cat. All the tested adenosine agonists(i.v,) exerted inhibitory effects on the responsiveness of the wide dynamic range (WDR) cells, the inhibitory action of CHA, an adenosine $A_1$ receptor agonist, $(80{\mu}g/Kg)$ being most weak. The intravenous CPCA, an adenosine $A_2$ receptor agonist, $(20{\mu}g\;/Kg)$ and NECA, nonspecific adenosine receptor agonist, $(20{\mu}g\;/Kg)$ inhibited the responses of WDR cells to pinch and C fiber stimulation more strongly than those to brush and A fiber stimulation. CPCA (i.v.) also suppressed the responses of WDR cells to thermal stimulus. And all the CPCA-induced inhibitions were caffeine-reversible. When CPCA was directly applied onto the spinal cord or intravenously administered into the spinal cat, on average, about three quarters of the CPCA-induced inhibitory effect was abolished. On the other hand, in the animal with spinal lesions in the ipsilateral dorsolateral area, the CPCA-induced inhibition was comparable to that observed in the spinal cats. In conclusion, this study shows that adenosine agonists strongly suppress the responses of WDR cells to pinch, C fiber stimulation and thermal stimuli mainly through the supraspinal adenosine $A_2-receptors$.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.22-32
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• 2022

Background: Migraine headaches have been associated with sensory hyperactivity and anomalies in social/emotional responses. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential involvement of orexin 1 receptors (Orx1R) within the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in the modulation of pain and psychosocial dysfunction in a nitroglycerin (NTG)-induced rat model of migraine. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were injected with NTG (5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) every second day over nine days to induce migraine. The experiments were done in the following six groups (6 rats per group): untreated control, NTG, NTG plus vehicle, and NTG groups that were post-treated with intra-BLA microinjection of Orx1R antagonist SB-334867 (10, 20, and 40 nM). Thermal hyperalgesia was assessed using the hot plate and tail-flick tests. Moreover, the elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field (OF) tests were used to assess anxiety-like behaviors. The animals' sociability was evaluated using the three-chamber social task. The NTG-induced photophobia was assessed using a light-dark box. Results: We observed no change in NTG-induced thermal hyperalgesia following administration of SB-334867 (10, 20, and 40 nM). However, SB-334867 (20 and 40 nM) aggravated the NTG-induced anxiogenic responses in both the EPM and OF tasks. The NTG-induced social impairment was overpowered by SB-334867 at all doses. Time spent in the dark chamber of light-dark box was significantly increased in rats treated with SB-334867 (20 and 40 nM/rat). Conclusions: The findings suggest a role for Orx1R within the BLA in control comorbid affective complaints with migraine in rats.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.446-452
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• 2011

Objective : We retrospectively investigated the long-term results of percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFT) using fluoroscopic image-guidance for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. Methods : A total of 38 patients diagnosed and treated with RFT as an idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia were investigated. To minimize the risks related to conventional technique based on cutaneous landmarks, and to eliminate the need to frequent reposition of cannula, we adopted a technique of image-guided fluoroscopic cannulation of the foramen ovale. To minimize sensory complication following thermal lesion, our target response was a generation of a lesion with mild to moderate hypalgesia rather than dense hypalgesia. Results : The immediate pain-relief was achieved in all patients underwent RFT. With mean duration of follow-up of 38.2 months (range,12-72), 11 (28.9%) experienced recurrence of pain. The mean timing of recurrence was 26.1 months (range,12-46). A 42.7% recurrence rate was estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis for the 38 patients at 46 months; 20.2% within 2 years, 29.1% within 3 years. In the long-term, 27 patients (71%) and 6 patients (15.8%) showed Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) score I and BNI score II responses. Three (7.9%) patients was assessed as BNI score III, 2 patients (5.3%) showed BNI score IV response. As a complication, troublesome dysesthesia occurred in 3 of 38 patients (7.9%), however, there was no permanent cranial nerve palsy or morbidity. Conclusion : These results indicates that RFT under fluoroscopic image-guided cannulation of foramen ovale is a safe, effective, and reliable means of treating trigeminal neuralgia.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 1985

The wall shear stress in the vicinity of end-to end anastomoses under steady flow conditions was measured using a flush-mounted hot-film anemometer(FMHFA) probe. The experimental measurements were in good agreement with numerical results except in flow with low Reynolds numbers. The wall shear stress increased proximal to the anastomosis in flow from the Penrose tubing (simulating an artery) to the PTFE: graft. In flow from the PTFE graft to the Penrose tubing, low wall shear stress was observed distal to the anastomosis. Abnormal distributions of wall shear stress in the vicinity of the anastomosis, resulting from the compliance mismatch between the graft and the host artery, might be an important factor of ANFH formation and the graft failure. The present study suggests a correlation between regions of the low wall shear stress and the development of anastomotic neointimal fibrous hyperplasia(ANPH) in end-to-end anastomoses. 30523 T00401030523 ^x Air pressure decay(APD) rate and ultrafiltration rate(UFR) tests were performed on new and saline rinsed dialyzers as well as those roused in patients several times. C-DAK 4000 (Cordis Dow) and CF IS-11 (Baxter Travenol) reused dialyzers obtained from the dialysis clinic were used in the present study. The new dialyzers exhibited a relatively flat APD, whereas saline rinsed and reused dialyzers showed considerable amount of decay. C-DAH dialyzers had a larger APD(11.70$\pm$1.32mmHg/min)compared to CF dialyzers(4.32$\pm$0.55mmHg/min)(p<0.05). However, there was no observable difference in the UFR between the two dialyzers. Neither APD nor UFR showed any significant increase with an increasing number of reuses for up to more than 20reuses. A substantial number of failures observed in APD(larger than 20mmHe/min)on the reused dialyzers(2 out of 40 CP and S out 26 C-DAK) were attributed to the Possible damage on the fibers. The CF 15-11 HFDs which failed APD test did not show changes in the UFR compared to normal dialyzers indicating that APD is a more sensitive test than UFR test to evaluate the integrity of the fibers. 30527 T00401030527 ^x For quantitative measurement of reflected light from a clinical diagnostic strip, a prototype old reflectance photometer was designed. The strip loader and cassette were made to obtain more accurate reflectance parameters. The strip was illuminated at 45˚c through optical fiber and the intensity of reflected light was determined at rectanguLat angle using a photodiode. The kubelka-munk coefficient and reflection optical density were determined ar four different wavelengths(500, 550, 570 and 610nm) for blood glucose strip. For higher concentration than 300mg/41 about glucose, a saturation state of abforbance was observed at 500, 550 and 570nm. The correlation between glucose concentration and parameters was the best at 610nm. 30535 T00401030535 ^x Radiation-induced fibrosarcoma tumors were grown on the flanks of C3H mice. The mice were divided into two groups. One group was injected with Photofrin II, intravenously (2.5mg/kg body weight). The other group received no Photofrin II. Mice from both groups were irradialed for approximately 15 minutes at 100, 300, or 500 mW/cm2 with the argon (488nm/514.5 nm), dye(628nm) and gold vapor (pulsed 628 nm) laser light. A photosensitizer behaved as an added absorber. Under our experimental conditions, the presence of Photolfrin II increased surface temperature by at least 40% and the temperature rise due to 300 mW/cm2 irradiation exceeded values for hyperthermia. Light and temperature distributions with depth were estimated by a computer model. The model demonstrated the influence of wavelength on the thermal process and proved to be a valuable tool to investigate internal temperature rise. 30536 T00401030536 ^x We investigated the structural geometry of thirty-eight Korean femurs. The purpose of this study is to identify major geometrical differences between Korean femurs 3nd others that we believe belong to Caucasians so that we would be able to get insights into the femoral component design that fits Asians including Koreans. We utilized computerized tomography (CT) images of femurs extracted from cadavers. The CT images were transformed into bitmap data by using a film scanner, and then analyzed by using a commercially available software called Image v.1.0 and a Macintosh IIci computer.The resulting data were compared with already published data. The major results show that the geometry of the Korean femurs is significantly different from that of Caucasians: (1) the anteversion angle and the canal flare index are greater by the amount of approximately 8˚ and 0.5, respectively, (2) the shape of the isthmus cross section is more round, and (3) the distance between the teaser trochanter and the proximal border of the isthmus is shelter by about 15 mm. The results suggested that the femoral component suitable for Asians should be different from the currently-used components designed and manufactured mostly by European or American companies. 30537 T00401030537 ^x It is well known that nonlinear propagation characteristics of the wave in the tissue may give very useful information for the medical diagnoisis. In this paper, a new method to detect nonlinear propagation characteristics of the internal vibration in the tissue for the low frequency mechanical vibration by using bispectral analysis is proposed. In the method, low frequency vibration of f0( = 100Hz) is applied on the surface of the object, and the waveform of the internal vibration x (t) is measured from Doppler frequency modulation of silmultaneously transmitted probing ultrasonic waves. Then, the bispectra of the signal x (t) at the frequencies (f0, f0) and (f0, 2f0) are calculated to estimate the nonlinear propagation characteristics as their magnitude ratio, w here since bispectrum is free from the gaussian additive noise we can get the value with high S/N. Basic experimental system is constructed by using 3.0 MHz probing ultrasonic waves and the several experiments are carried out for some phantoms. Results show the superiority of the proposed method to the conventional method using power spectrum and also its usefulness for the tissue characterization. 30541 T00401030541 ^x This paper describes the implementation of a computerized radial pulse diagnosis by aids of a clinical expert. On this base, we composed of the radial pulse diagnosis system in korean traditional medicine. The system composed of a radial pulse wave detection system and a radial pulse diagnosis system. With a detection system, we detected Inyoung and Cheongu radial pulse wave and processed it. Then, we have got the characteristic parameters of radial pulse wave and also quantified that according to the method of Inyoung-Cheongu Comparison Radial Pulse Diagnosis. We defined the jugement standard of radial pulse diagnosis system and then we confirmed the possibility for realization of automatic radial pulse diagnosis in korean traditional medicine. 30545 T00401030545 ^x Microspheres are expected to be applied to biomedical areas such as solid-phase immunoassays, drug delivery systems, immunomagnetic cell separation. To synthesize microspheres for biomedical application, "two stage shot growth method" was developed. The uniformity ratio of synthesized microspheres was always smaller than 1.05. And the surface charge density (or the number of ionizable functional groups) of the microspheres synthesized by "two stage shot growth method" was 6~13 times higher than that of the microspheres synthesized by conventional seeded batch copolymerization. As a previous step for biomedical application, adsorption experiments of bovine albumin on microspheres were carried out under various conditions. The maximum adsorbed amount was obtained in the neighborhood of pH 4.5. Isoelectric point of bovine albumin is pH 5.0, so experimental result shows that it shifted to acid area. The adsorption isotherm was obtained, the plateau region was always reached at 2.Og/L (bulk concentration of bovine albumin).The effect of the kind and the amount of surface functional group was also examined. 30575 T00401030575 ^x A medical image workstation was developed using multimedia technique. The system based on PC-486DX was designed to acquire medical images produced by medical imaging instruments and related audio information, that is, doctors' reporting results. Input information was processed and analyzed, then the results were presented in the form of graph and animation. All the informations of the system were hierarchically related with the image as the apex. Processing and analysis algorithms were implemented so that the diagnostic accuracy could be improved. The diagnosed information can be transferred for patient diagnosis through LAN(local area network). 30592 T00401030592 ^x In the conventional infrared imaging system, complex infrared lens systems are usually used for directing collimated narrow infrared beams into the high speed 2-dimensional optic scanner. In this paper, a simple reflective infrared optic system with a 2-dimensional optic scanner is proposed for the realization of medical infrared thermography system. It has been experimentally proven that the intfrared thermography system composed of the proposed optic system has the temperature resolution of 0.1˚c under the spatial resolution of lmrad, the image matrix size of 256 X 240, and tile imaging time of 4 seconds. 30593 T00401030593 ^x In this paper, MIIS (Medical Image Information System) has been designed and implemented using INGRES RDBMS, which is based on a client/server architecture. The implemented system allows users to register and retrieve patient information, medical images and diagnostic reports. It also provides the function to display these information on workstation windows simultaneously by using the designed menu-driven graphic user interface. The medical image compression/decompression techniques are implemented and integrated into the medical image database system for the efficient data storage and the fast access through the network. 30594 T00401030594 ^x In this paper, computerized BEAM was implemented for the space domain analysis of EEG. Trans-formation from temporal summation to two-dimensional mappings is formed by 4 nearest point inter-polaton method. Methods of representation of BEAM are two. One is dot density method which classify brain electrical potential 9 levels by dot density of gray levels and the other is colour method which classify brain electrical 12 levels by red-green colours. In this BEAM, instantaneous change and average energy distribution over any arbitrary time interval of brain electrical activity could be observed and analyzed easily. In the frequency domain, the distribution of energy spectrum of a special band can easily be distinguished normality and abnormality. 30608 T00401030608 ^x Laboratory information system (LIS) is a key tool to manage laboratory data in clinical pathology. Our department has developed an information system for routine hematology using down-sized computer system. We have used an IBM 486 compatible PC with 16MB main memory, 210 MB hard disk drive, 9 RS-232C port and 24 pin dot printer. The operating system and database management system were SCO UNIX and SCO foxbase, respectively. For program development, we used Xbase language provided by SCO foxbase. The C language was used for interface purpose. To make the system use friendly, pull-down menu was used. The system connected to our hospital information system via application program interface (API), so the information related to patient and request details is automatically transmitted to our computer. Our system interfaced with fwd complete blood count analyzers(Sysmex NE-8000 and Coulter STKS) for unidirectional data tansmission from analyzer to computer. The authors suggests that this system based on down-sized computer could provide a progressive approach to total LIS based on local area network, and the implemented system could serve as a model for other hospital's LIS for routine hematology. 30609 T00401030609 ^x To develop an artificial bone substitute that is gradually degraded and replaced by the regenerated natural bone, the authors designed a composite that is consisted of calcium phosphate and collagen. To use as the structural matrix of the composite, collagen was purified from human umbilical cord. The obtained collagen was treated by pepsin to remove telopeptides, and finally, the immune-free atelocollagen was produced: The cross linked atelocollagen was highly resistant to the collagenase induced collagenolysis. The cross linked collagen demonstrated an improved tensile strength. 30618 T00401030618 ^x This paper is a study on the design of adptive filter for QRS complex detection. We propose a simple adaptive algorithm to increase capability of noise cancelation in QRS complex detection with two stage adaptive filter. At the first stage, background noise is removed and at the next stage, only spectrum of QRS complex components is passed. Two adaptive filters can afford to keep track of the changes of both noise and QRS complex. Each adaptive filter consists of prediction error filter and FIR filter The impulse response of FIR filter uses coefficients of prediction error filter. The detection rates for 105 and 108 of MIT/BIH data base were 99.3% and 97.4% respectively. 30619 T00401030619 ^x To develop an artificial bone substitute that is gradually degraded and replaced by the regenerated natural bone, the authors designed and produced a composite that is consisted of calcium phosphate and collagen. Human umbilical cord origin pepsin treated type I atelocollagen was used as the structural matrix, by which sintered or non-sintered carbonate apatite was encapsulated to form an inorganic-organic composite. With cross linking atelocollagen by UV ray irradiation, the resistance to both compressive and tensile strength was increased. Collagen degradation by the collagenase induced collagenolysis was also decreased. 30620 T00401030620 ^x We have developed a monoleaflet polymer valve as an inexpensive and viable alternative, especially for short-term use in the ventricular assist device or total artificial heart. The frame and leaflet of the polymer valve were made from polyurethane, To evaluate the hemodynamic performance of the polymer valve a comparative study of flow dynamics past a polymer valve and a St. Jude Medical prosthetic valve under physiological pulsatile flow conditions in vitro was made. Comparisons between the valves were made on the transvalvular pressure drop, regurgitation volume and maximum valve opening area. The polymer valve showed smaller regurgitation volume and transvalvular pressure drop compared to the mechanical valve at higher heart rate. The results showed that the functional characteristics of the polymer valve compared favorably with those of the mechanical valve at higher heart rate. 30621 T00401030621 ^x Explosive evaporative removal process of biological tissue by absorption of a CW laser has been simulated by using gelatin and a multimode Nd:YAG laser. Because the point of maximun temperature of laser-irradiated gelatin exists below the surface due to surface cooling, evaporation at the boiling temperature is made explosively from below the surface. The important parameters of this process are the conduction loss to laser power absorption (defined as the conduction-to-laser power parameter, Nk), the convection heat transfer at the surface to conduction loss (defined as Bi), dimensionless extinction coefficient (defined as Br.), and dimensionless irradiation time (defined as Fo). Dependence of Fo on Nk and Bi has been observed by experiment, and the results have been compared with the numerical results obtained by solving a 2-dimensional conduction equation. Fo and explosion depth (from the surface to the point of maximun temperature) are increased when Nk and Bi are increased.To find out the minimum laser power for explosive evaporative removal process, steady state analysis has been also made. The limit of Nk to induce evaporative removal, which is proportional to the inverse of the laser power, has been obtained. 30622 T00401030622 ^x N1 and N2 gross neural action potentials were measured from the round window of the guinea pig cochlea at the onset of the acoustic stimuli. N1-N2 audiograms were made by means of regulating stimulant intensities in order to produce constant N1-N2 potentials as criteria for different input tone pip frequencies. The lowest threshold was measured with an input tone pip I5 dB SPL in intensity and 12 KHz in frequency when the animal was in normal physiological condition. The procedure of experimental measurements is explained in detail. This experimental approach is very useful for the investigation of the Cochlear function. Both noN1inear and active functions of the Cochlea can be monitored by N1-N2 audiograms. 30623 T00401030623 ^x In electrical impedance tomography(EIT), we use boundary current and voltage measurements toprovide the information about the cross-sectional distribution of electrical impedance or resistivity. One of the major problems in EIT has been the inaccessibility of internal voltage or current data in finding the internal impedance values. We propose a new image reconstruction method using internal current density data measured by NMR. We obtained a two-dimensional current density distribution within a phantom by processing the real and imaginary MR images from a 4.77 NMR machine. We implemented a resistivity mage reconstruction algorithm using the finite element method and sensitivity matrix. We presented computer simulation results of the mage reconstruction algorithm and furture direction of the research. 30624 T00401030624 ^x A new method of digital image analysis technique for discrimination of cancer cell was presented in this paper. The object image was the Thyroid eland cells image that was diagnosed as normal and abnormal (two types of abnormal: follicular neoplastic cell, and papillary neoplastic cell), respectively. By using the proposed region segmentation algorithm, the cells were segmented into nucleus. The 16 feature parameters were used to calculate the features of each nucleus. A9 a consequence of using dominant feature parameters method proposed in this paper, discrimination rate of 91.11% was obtained for Thyroid Gland cells. 30625 T00401030625 ^x An electrical stimulator was designed to induce locomotion for paraplegic patients caused by central nervous system injury. Optimal stimulus parameters, which can minimize muscle fatigue and can achieve effective muscle contraction were determined in slow and fast muscles in Sprague-Dawley rats. Stimulus patterns of our stimulator were designed to simulate electromyographic activity monitored during locomotion of normal subjects. Muscle types of the lower extremity were classified according to their mechanical property of contraction, which are slow muscle (msoleus m.) and fast muscle (medial gastrocneminus m., rectus femoris m., vastus lateralis m.). Optimal parameters of electrical stimulation for slow muscles were 20 Hz, 0.2 ms square pulse. For fast muscle, 40 Hz, 0.3 ms square pulse was optimal to produce repeated contraction. Higher stimulus intensity was required when synergistic muscles were stimulated simultaneously than when they were stimulated individually. Electrical stimulation for each muscle was designed to generate bipedal locomotion, so that individual muscles alternate contraction and relaxation to simulate stance and swing phases. Portable electrical stimulator with 16 channels built in microprocessor was constructed and applied to paraplegic patients due to lumbar cord injury. The electrical stimulator restored partially gait function in paraplegic patients. 30626 T00401030626 ^x Two-Dimensional modelling of the Cochlear biomechanics is presented in this paper. The Laplace partial differential equation which represents the fluid mechanics of the Cochlea has been transformed into two-dimensional electrical transmission line. The procedure of this transformation is explained in detail. The comparison between one and two dimensional models is also presented. This electrical modelling of the basilar membrane (BM) is clearly useful for the next approach to the further. Development of active elements which are essential in the producing of the sharp tuning of the BM. This paper shows that two-dimension model is qualitatively better than one-dimensional model both in amplitude and phase responses of the BM displacement. The present model is only for frequency response. However because the model is electrical, the two-dimensional transmission line model can be extended to time response without any difficult. 30627 T00401030627 ^x A method has been proposed for the fully automatic detection of left ventricular endocardial boundary in 2D short axis echocardiogram using geometric model. The procedure has the following three distinct stages. First, the initial center is estimated by the initial center estimation algorithm which is applied to decimated image. Second, the center estimation algorithm is applied to original image and then best-fit elliptic model estimation is processed. Third, best-fit boundary is detected by the cost function which is based on the best-fit elliptic model. The proposed method shows effective result without manual intervention by a human operator. 30628 T00401030628 ^x The intelligent trajectory control method that controls moving direction and average velocity for a prosthetic arm is proposed by pattern recognition and force estimations using EMG signals. Also, we propose the real time trajectory planning method which generates continuous accelleration paths using 3 stage linear filters to minimize the impact to human body induced by arm motions and to reduce the muscle fatigue. We use combination of MLP and fuzzy filter for pattern recognition to estimate the direction of a muscle and Hogan's method for the force estimation. EMG signals are acquired by using a amputation simulator and 2 dimensional joystick motion. The simulation results of proposed prosthetic arm control system using the EMf signals show that the arm is effectively followed the desired trajectory depended on estimated force and direction of muscle movements. 30638 T00401030638 ^x A new neural network architecture for the recognition of patterns from images is proposed, which is partially based on the results of physiological studies. The proposed network is composed of multi-layers and the nerve cells in each layer are connected by spatial filters which approximate receptive fields in optic nerve fields. In the proposed method, patterns recognition for complicated images is carried out using global features as well as local features such as lines and end-points. A new generating method of matched filers representing global features is proposed in this network. 30659 T00401030659 ^x An implementation scheme of the magnetic nerve stimulator using a switching mode power supply is proposed. By using a switching mode power supply rather than a conventional linear power supply for charging high voltage capacitors, the weight and size of the magnetic nerve stimulator can be considerably reduced. Maximum output voltage of the developed magnetic nerve stimulator using the switching mode power supply is 3, 000 volts and switching time is about 100 msec. Experimental results or human nerve stimulations using the developed stimulator are presented. 30768 T00401030768 ^x In this paper, we describe the design methodology and specifications of the developed module-based bedside monitors for patient monitoring. The bedside monitor consists of a main unit and module cases with various parameter modules. The main unit includes a 12.1" TFT color LCD, a main CPU board, and peripherals such as a module controller, Ethernet LAN card, video card, rotate/push button controller, etc. The main unit can connect at maximum three module cases each of which can accommodate up to 7 parameter modules. They include the modules for electrocardiograph, respiration, invasive blood pressure, noninvasive blood pressure, temperature, and SpO2 with Plethysmograph.SpO2 with Plethysmograph.