• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.447-453
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• 2005

A total of 108 strains of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) clinical isolates was collected from $121^{st}$ general hospital (U.S. military hospital), Korean healthcare facility from January to March in 2005 and Wonju Christian hospital in 1999. Antimicrobial susceptibility test by Vitek System and MIC test using oxacillin and cephalothin stripes by E-test were executed. PCR based detection of mecA gene was performed on the all of MRSA clinical isolates, too. MRSA clinical isolates were characterized with antimicrobial resistance patterns, PCR based detection of mecA gene and validation of the multiplex PCR strategy of SCCmec among clinical isolates.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.91-98
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• 2022

Tetanus is a potentially fatal public health illness resulted from the neurotoxins generated by Clostridium tetani. C. tetani is not easily culturable and culturing the relevant bacteria from infected wounds has rarely been useful in diagnosis; PCR-based assays can only be conducted at highly sophisticated laboratories. Therefore, a real-time recombinase polymerase amplification assay (Exo-RPA) was constructed to identify the fragments of the neurotoxin gene of C. tetani. Primers and the exo probe targeting the conserved region were designed, and the resulting amplicons could be detected in less than 20 min, with a detection limit of 20 copies/reaction. The RPA assay displayed good selectivity, and there were no cross-reactions with other infectious bacteria common in penetrating wounds. Tests of target-spiked serum and pus extract revealed that RPA is robust to interfering factors and has great potential for further development for biological sample analysis. This method has been confirmed to be reliable for discriminating between toxic and nontoxic C. tetani strains. The RPA assay dramatically improves the diagnostic efficacy with simplified device architecture and is a promising alternative to real-time PCR for tetanus detection.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.85 no.4
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• pp.705-713
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• 2024

This article discusses studies and real-world experiences related to the clinical application of artificial intelligence-based computer-aided detection (AI-CAD) software (LuCAS-plus, Monitor Corporation) in detecting pulmonary nodules. During clinical trials for lung cancer screening, AI-CAD exhibited performance comparable to that of medical professionals in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Studies revealed that applying AI-CAD for diagnosing pulmonary metastases led to high detection rates. The use of a nodule matching algorithm in diagnosing pulmonary metastases significantly reduced false non-metastasis results. In clinical settings, implementing AI-CAD enhanced the efficiency of pulmonary nodule detection, saving time and effort during CT reading. Overall, AI-CAD is expected to offer substantial support for lung cancer screening and the interpretation of chest CT scans for malignant tumor surveillance.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.451-460
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• 2011

Dental caries has been widely prevalent with presence of cavitation on teeth. For the last several decades, the prevalence of dental caries in developed countries has rapidly decreased so there has been needed a new and detailed diagnostic guideline to differentiate the severity of dental caries, especially for early status of caries. The cariology specifically requires the development of an integrated definition of dental caries and uniform systems for measuring the caries process in the fields of clinical diagnosis and treatment, epidemiological researches, and dental education and so forth. The international Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) optically measures the enamel surface changes and potential histological depth of carious lesions by relying on surface characteristics of teeth. ICDAS is a visual classification system that was developed to diagnose the subtle changes of enamel surface, predict the progress direction of early caries, allow standardized data collection in relation to caries in different settings, and to enable better comparison of oral health between countries worldwide and research studies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 1998.06a
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• pp.535-537
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• 1998

In this paper, we devised a pulse rate detection system to provide basic clinical index of cold-hot diagnosis of oriental medicine. The system consists of pulse signal detection, respiration signal detection, electrocardiograph detection, A/D conversion and computer system parts. We define a pulse rate by a pulse count to the respiration period inspiration pulse rate by a pulse count to the inspiration period, and expiration pulse rate by a pulse count to the expiration period. The clinical experiments for normal Person to evaluate the pulse rate detection system show the pulse/respiration ratio of 4.30${\pm}$1.03, the pulse/inspiration ratio of 1.60${\pm}$0.32, the pulse/expiration ratio of 2.37${\pm}$0.75.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7639-7644
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among women in Sri Lanka. Early detection can lead to reduction in morbidity and mortality. The objective here was to identify perceptions of public health midwives (PHMs) on the importance of early detection of breast cancer and deficiencies of and suggestions on improving existing breast cancer early detection services provided through Well Woman Clinics. Materials and Methods: A qualitative study using four focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among 38 PHMs in the Gampaha district in Sri Lanka and the meetings were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using constant comparison and identifying themes and categories. Results: All the PHMs had a firm realization on the need of breast cancer early detection. The four FGDs among PHMs revealed non-availability of guidelines, inadequacy of training, lack of skills and material to provide health education, inability to provide privacy during clinical examination, shortage of stationery, lack of community awareness and motivation. The suggestions for the improvements of the programme identified in FGDs were capacity building of PHMs, making availability of guidelines, rescheduling clinics, improving the supervision, strengthening the monitoring, improving coordination between clinical and preventive sectors, and improving community awareness. Conclusions: Results of the FGDs can provide useful information on components to be improved in breast cancer early detection services. Study recommendations were training programmes at basic and post basic levels on a regular basis and supervision for the sustainance of the breast cancer early detection program.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.745-752
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• 2015

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most common mycobacterial infection in developing countries, requiring a rapid, accurate, and well-differentiated detection/diagnosis. For the rapid detection and discrimination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) from non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), a novel, simple, and primer-combined single-step multiplex PCR using three primer pairs (6110F-6110R, 1081F-1081R, and 23SF-23SR; annealing on each of IS6110, IS1081, and 23S rDNA targets), hereafter referred to as a triplex PCR, has been developed and evaluated. The expected product for IS6110 is 416 bp, for IS1081 is 300 bp, and for 23S rDNA is 206 bp by single PCR, which was used to verify the specificity of primers and the identity of MTC using DNA extracted from the M. tuberculosis H37Rv reference strain (ATCC, USA) and other mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT) templates. The triplex PCR assay showed 100% specificity and 96% sensitivity; the limit of detection for mycobacteria was ~100 fg; and it failed to amplify any target from DNA of MOTT (50 samples tested). Of 307 blinded clinical samples, overall 205 positive M. tuberculosis samples were detected by single PCR, 142 by conventional culture, and 90 by AFB smear methods. Remarkably, the triplex PCR could subsequently detect 55 positive M. tuberculosis from 165 culture-negative and 115 from 217 AFB smear-negative samples. The triplex PCR, targeting three regions in the M. tuberculosis genome, has proved to be an efficient tool for increasing positive detection/discrimination of this bacterium from clinical samples.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.414-419
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• 2019

JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a human pathogenic virus belonging to the family Polyomaviridae, a viral group containing dsDNA nucleic acid. A recent recommendation is to apply the presence of JCPyV as a fecal indicator for water contamination in environments like sewage, and techniques to monitor JCPyV in water are being proposed. To date, the conventional PCR system has been applied as a diagnostic method for detecting JCPyV. There is a need for a more rapid and sensitive JCPyV diagnostic detection method in clinical and environmental samples. In this study, we developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) primer set for the detection of JCPyV. Our results indicate that the LAMP method using a specific primer set shows about 10-fold higher detection sensitivity than the conventional PCR system. The effectiveness of the LAMP method developed in this study has been validated by PCR product digestion using the HaeIII restriction enzyme. We, therefore, propose that the LAMP method using a specific primer set can be applied as a rapid and sensitive detection method for monitoring JCPyV in clinical and environmental samples.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1470-1474
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• 2009

This paper describes the development a of direct multiplex reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, devised for simultaneous detection and typing of influenza viruses. This method combines the direct reverse transcription reaction without RNA purification with the enhancement of sensitivity and specificity of nested PCR. The method successfully detected three major human influenza viruses: influenza virus A subtype 1 (H1N1) and subtype 3 (H3N2), and influenza B virus (B). The minimum number of virus particles (pfu/ml) necessary for detection in spiked saliva samples was 200 (H1N1), 140 (H3N2), and 4.5 (B). The method's sensitivity and simplicity will be convenient for use in clinical laboratories for the detection and subtyping of influenza and possibly other RNA viruses.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.332-338
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• 2022

Continuous measurement of quality indicators (QIs) should be a routine part of colonoscopy, as a wide variation still exists in the performance and quality levels of colonoscopy in Korea. Among the many QIs of colonoscopy, the adenoma detection rate, average withdrawal time, bowel preparation adequacy, and cecal intubation rate should be monitored in daily clinical practice to improve the quality of the procedure. The adenoma detection rate is the best indicator of the quality of colonoscopy; however, it has many limitations for universal use in daily practice. With the development of natural language processing, the adenoma detection rate is expected to become more effective and useful. It is important that colonoscopists do not strictly and mechanically maintain an average withdrawal time of 6 minutes but instead perform careful colonoscopy to maximally expose the colonic mucosa with a withdrawal time of at least 6 minutes. To achieve adequate bowel preparation, documentation of bowel preparation with the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS) should be a routine part of colonoscopy. When colonoscopists routinely followed the bowel preparation protocols, ≥85% of outpatient screening colonoscopies had a BBPS score of ≥6. In addition, the cecal intubation rate should be ≥95% of all screening colonoscopies. The first step in improving colonoscopy quality in Korea is to apply these key performance measurements in clinical practice.