• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.683-687
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• 2013

Evacuation disorder(ED) is frequently observed in the elderly people. In this study, we investigated the tongue color properties in the elderly. 327 subjects were participated in this study and classified into normal group (n=95) and ED group (n=23) by two Korean Oriental Medicine doctors. The tongue images were acquired by using computerized tongue diagnosis system, and its color were linearly corrected base on CIE $L^*a^*b^*$ values of 12 color samples. The tongue region was segmented from acquired image and divided into two regions along the vertical direction. In order to estimate color properties of the tongue, a color histogram was calculated for the root region based on the CIE $L^*$ and $a^*$ values, and differences of color histogram values between normal and ED groups were computed based on the Mann-Whitney U test. As results, pixels corresponding to typical colors of the pale tongue and thin tongue coating were significantly more distributed in ED than those in normal group(p<0.05). The tongue color of the root region in ED was revealed to be different from those in healthy subjects.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1371-1374
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• 2015

Background: Tongue cancer is one of the leading sites of cancer in our population. Aim: To evaluate the socio-demographic profiles and stages at diagnosis of oral tongue (OT) and base of tongue (BT) cancers, and identify any possible variations in characteristics. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on tongue cancer cases, divided into OT and BT, registered at the hospital cancer registry of North-East India during January 2010 to May 2013. Cases were analyzed for age, gender, residential status and different levels of education for patients, the stage at diagnosis and presence of distant metastasis. Results: A total of 1,113 cases of tongue cancers were registered, 846(76.1%) of BT and 267(23.9%) of OT. While 33.9% of BT cancer patients were above 65 years of age, the figure for OT cancers was 18.4%, stages III and IV accounting for 90.8% and 77%, respectively. The relative risk for distant metastasis in OT cancers was 3.3 (95% CI 1.08-10.1, p=0.03). Conclusions: In the subsites of tongue cancers in our population, the majority arose from the base of tongue, these tending to occur in older individuals and presenting at late stage.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2013.05a
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• pp.801-804
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• 2013

We propose a new tongue examination model according to the taste division of tongue. The proposed sytem consists of image acquisition, region segmentation, color distribution analysis and abnormality decision of tongue. Tongue DB which is classified into abnormality is constructed with tongue images captured from oriental medicine hospital inpatients. We divided 4 basic taste(bitter, sweet, salty and sour) regions and performed color distribution analysis targeting each region under HSI(Hue Saturation Intensity) color model. To minimize the influence of illumination, the histograms of H and S components only except I are utilized. The abnormality of taste regions each by comparing the proposed diagnosis model with diagnosis results by a doctor of oriental medicine. We confirmed the 87.5% of classification results of abnormality by proposed algorithm is coincide with the doctor's results.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2010

Objective: The aim of this prospective, case-controlled study was to assess the difference of the amount of tongue coating between halitosis and non-halitosis patients using a digital tongue diagnosis system (DTDS). Methods: Sixty-five patients complaining of oral malodor were recruited for the study. The level of volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) in the oral cavity of the patients was measured by a portable gas chromatography. All patients were then divided into two groups, the halitosis group ($H_2S{\geq}1.5ng$/10ml, or $CH_3SH{\geq}0.5ng$/10ml) and the non-halitosis group ($H_2S$<1.5ng/10ml and $CH_3SH$<0.5ng/10ml), according to the VSC level criteria published by Tonzetich. Tongue images of the two groups were acquired and analyzed by DTDS, followed by the analysis of the tongue coating scores. Results: The tongue coating scores of the halitosis group were significantly higher than of the non-halitosis group (P=0.033). Furthermore, the difference of the posterior tongue coating between the two groups was more significant (P=0.000). Conclusions: Halitosis patients were shown to have a thicker tongue coating than those in the non-halitosis group. Moreover, the posterior dorsum of the tongue should be observed more cautiously when dealing with halitosis patients. Also, the progress and state of the patient's symptom of halitosis as diagnosed objectively by the portable gas chromatography could also possibly be analyzed instead by the DTDS tongue coating score.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.141-146
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• 2016

In this paper, we apply limited area mask operation and active contour model to accurately detect tongue area outline in tongue diagnosis system. To accurately analyze the properties of the tongue, first, the tongue area to be detected. Therefore an effective segmentation method for detecting the edge of tongue is very important. It experimented with tongue image DB consists of 20~30 students 30 people. Experiments on real tongue image show the good performance of this method. Experimental results show that the proposed method extracts object boundaries more accurately than existing methods without mask operation.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.51 no.11
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• pp.221-228
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• 2014

The color and shape of the tongue reflect the physiological and clinico-pathological condition of the body. Recently, various tongue image acquisition devices have been developed for accurate diagnosis based on quantitative and objective tongue features. Since a color information is essential for tongue diagnosis, the performance of an illuminator is very important for the tongue image acquisition device. In this study, we developed an indirect illumination, which is possible to improve a homogeneity of light intensities on the tongue surface, and evaluated its performances. In order to realize the indirect illumination (II), a semi-ellipsoidal solid structure (SESS) for the light reflex was located in the system, and two high-brightness white LEDs were placed for illuminating the areas under frontal camera in the SESS. The tongue surface was illuminated by reflected light from the SESS. The light homogeneity induced by three different illuminations including the II was evaluated by calculating coefficient of variation (CV) of illuminance of five regions. The II showed less than 0.01 of CV and the direct illumination (DI) and the direct illumination with a light diffusion plate (DILDP) showed 0.16 and 0.13, respectively. The reflexed pixel ratios of tongue phantom images show 5.76%, 4.22%, 1.79% for the DI, the DILDP and the II, respectively. The homogeneity of a tongue phantom was evaluated by calculating CV of mean pixel values of six different tongue regions, and showed less than 0.06 in the II. If the II technique apply to tongue diagnosis system, it is expected to improve diagnostic accuracy in clinic.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.242-254
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• 2023

Although upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are common diseases, there have been no studies of their relationship with the indices obtained from tongue image analyses. The purpose of this study was to identify a tongue index through an analysis of tongue images (TIs) showing significant changes before and after treatment in patients with URTIs. A computerized tongue image acquisition system was developed to acquire TIs from subjects in the same environment. An image was taken from each of 39 URTI patients and 39 healthy controls. For the patients, images were acquired before and after treatment to identify changes. The tongue area was classified into a tongue body and a tongue coating, and the coating ratio between the two areas, the average value of the colour of each area, and teeth marks were calculated. No significant difference was observed in age or sex between the URTI patients and control participants. Heart rates were slightly different. The analysis of TIs showed that the luminance of the tongue coating and the coating area ratio were decreased, while the reddish value of the tongue body at the centre area increased as the treatment progressed. Tongue coating and body in URTIs had different colour and shape from those in the normal. It is expected that this result will contribute not only to the objectification of traditional Chinese medicine but also to diagnostic methods that do not involve face-to-face physician visit during the pandemic.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.708-718
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• 2009

Objectives : The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between risk factors, warning signs, tongue diagnosis, pulse pattern, pattern identification and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale in acute stroke patients. Methods : We studied patients hospitalized within 4 wks after their ictus who were admitted at the Internal Medical Department at Kyunghee Oriental Medical Center, Kyunghee University East-West Neo Medical Center, Kyungwon University Songpa Oriental Medical Center, Kyungwon University Incheon Oriental Medical Center, Dongguk University Ilsan Oriental Medical Center from April 2007 to August 2009. We analyzed the relationship between risk factors, warning signs, tongue diagnosis, pulse pattern, pattern identification and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale in acute stroke patients. Results : 1506 subjects were included into the final analysis. 1. In the risk factors, the NIHSS mean score of atrial fibrillation was significantly higher than non-atrial fibrillation. 2. In the warning signs, the NIHSS mean scores of weakness, loss of eyesight, dysarthria, and sensory loss were significantly higher than in the non-warning signs. 3. There were no significant differences in lifestyle, tongue fur color, pattern identification between groups. 4. In the tongue color, the NIHSS mean score of red was significantly higher than pale or pale red. 5. There were significant differences statistically between forceful/weak, fine/not fine, slippery/not slippery pulse and NIHSS score. Conclusion : The above results show the relationship between risk factors, warning signs, tongue diagnosis, pulse pattern, pattern identification and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale in acute stroke patients. These results can be utilized in the future as a basis material.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.73-87
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• 2011

Objectives: This study is to investigate life style and weight control based on the body mass index, and tongue diagnosis in adolescent girls. Help controling unnecessary weight and establishing proper understanding of desirable body images and healthy life for adolescents are expected. Methods: The questionnaire surveys and physical examinations were conducted to examine the life style, weight-control behaviors, and the health status of 173 adolescent girls in Jeonju. Among the students surveyed, 162 answered seriously and were accepted as subjects for the study. Results: 1. The mean height was 160.4 cm and weight was 54.21 kg. The mean BMI of the girls was 21.1 kg/m2, which is normal. The percentages of the normal weight group (71.6%), overweight group (16.7%), obesity group (9.9%), underweight group (1.9%) were shown respectively. 2. The oriental medicine doctor examined the tongue diagnosis. The thin and white tongue fur was the most common (20.7%). This diagnosis showed no statistical significance to BMI. 3. The ideal height for the girls was 165 cm, and the ideal weight was 49 kg. 4. A considerable number of girls (50.6%) thought that a thin body figure was the most beautiful body shape for the women. 5. Even though the percentages of an actual overweight or obese group were 26.6%, 42.0% of the girls thought that they were plump. 6. 94.83% of the normal weight group concerned about the weight regulation. 7. Many girls were dissatisfied with their own body shape, and 86.9% of girls regarded being in a shape was important. 70.69% of the normal weight group answered that they were under stress of their body shapes. Conclusions: The findings of this study demonstrate that there are serious misconceptions on body shapes of the adolescent girls, and mostly, unnecessary and inadequate weight control behaviors were done. Therefore, establishing adequately education on their desirable body images and healthy life is needed for the adolescent girls. In this study, there is no significant relationship between BMI and tongue diagnosis. For the number of subjects is not enough, further study on the relationship between the two is expected.

• The Journal of the Society of Korean Medicine Diagnostics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.77-89
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• 2013

Objectives Tongue diagnosis is an important diagnostic method in traditional Eastern medicine, and it has a high potential to be used in the future healthcare because of easy, quick, and non-contact measuring features. Recently, research and development efforts on computerized tongue diagnosis systems (CTDS) have been active that led to the technical advancements in the field of photographing techniques, image extraction and classification algorithms. In this study, we analyzed the trends in the CTDS patents. Using the WIPS search engine (www.wipsglobal.com), quantitative and qualitative patent analyses were performed through Korea, China, Japan, U.S.A and Europe. Methods For a systematic search and data analysis, we defined patent categories based on the application area and technical details. By applying thus-obtained categorical key words, we obtained 360 relevant patents on photographing techniques, image extraction and classification algorithms for the purpose of diagnosis or security. Results As a result, companies related to image acquisition, medical imaging and mobile devices and research groups of universities in East Asia were major patent applicants. In all the five countries, the number of patents have been increasing since 1980. In particular, technology related to color correction and image segmentation were most actively patented categories, and expected to continue a high application rate.