• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.102-109
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of the T1 3D subtraction technique and the conventional 2D dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE) technique in diagnosing Cushing's disease. Materials and Methods: Twelve patients with clinically and biochemically proven Cushing's disease were included in the study. In addition, 23 patients with a Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC) diagnosed on an MRI with normal pituitary hormone levels were included as a control, to prevent non-blinded positive results. Postcontrast T1 3D fast spin echo (FSE) images were acquired after DCE images in 3T MRI and image subtraction of pre- and postcontrast T1 3D FSE images were performed. Inter-observer agreement, interpretation time, multiobserver receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and net benefit analyses were performed to compare 2D DCE and T1 3D subtraction techniques. Results: Inter-observer agreement for a visual scale of contrast enhancement was poor in DCE (${\kappa}=0.57$) and good in T1 3D subtraction images (${\kappa}=0.75$). The time taken for determining contrast-enhancement in pituitary lesions was significantly shorter in the T1 3D subtraction images compared to the DCE sequence (P < 0.05). ROC values demonstrated increased reader confidence range with T1 3D subtraction images (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.94-1.00) compared with DCE (95% CI: 0.70-0.92) (P < 0.01). The net benefit effect of T1 3D subtraction images over DCE was 0.34 (95% CI: 0.12-0.56). For Cushing's disease, both reviewers misclassified one case as a nonenhancing lesion on the DCE images, while no cases were misclassified on T1 3D subtraction images. Conclusion: The T1 3D subtraction technique shows superior performance for determining the presence of enhancement on pituitary lesions compared with conventional DCE techniques, which may aid in diagnosing Cushing's disease.

• 한국방송∙미디어공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국방송∙미디어공학회 2018년도 하계학술대회
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• pp.59-62
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• 2018

In this paper, we propose a contrast enhancement algorithm using guided image filter (GIF). The GIF is used to divide an HDR image into a base layer and a detail layer. The energy scale of base layer determinate the darkness and brightness of the image. However, the detail information in the base layer is difficult to be displayed because of the high brightness and clusters of low brightness. We propose a contrast enhancement method by adjusting the gray level of base layer by subtracting the mean value of itself. It is combined with the detail layer to preserve the detail information. Experiment results show that the proposed algorithm has better performance in detail preservation and contrast enhancement.

• 대한의용생체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한의용생체공학회 1998년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.271-272
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• 1998

Contrast-enhanced CT has an important role in the assessment of liver lesions. However, the optimal protocol to get most effective result is not clear. The main principle for deciding injection protocol is to optimize lesion detectability by rapid scanning when lesion-to-liver contrast is maximum. For this purpose, we developed a physiological model of contrast medium enhancement based on the compartment modeling and pharmacokinetics. Blood supply to liver was modeled in two paths. This dual supply character distinguishes the CT enhancement of liver from that of the other organs. The first path is by hepatic artery and the second is by portal vein. It is assumed that only hepatic artery can supply blood to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compartment. It is known that this causes the difference of contrast enhancement between normal liver tissue and hepatic tumor. By solving differential equations for each compartment simultaneously using computer program Matlab, CT contrast-enhancement curves were simulated. Simulated enhancement curves for aortic, hepatic, portal vein, and HCC compartments were compared with mean enhancement curves from 24 patients exposed to the same protocols as simulation. These enhancement curves were in a good agreement. Furthermore, we simulated lesion-to-liver curves for various injection protocols, and analyzed the effects. These may help to optimize the scanning protocols for good diagnosis.

• 한국임상수의학회지
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• 제37권1호
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• pp.28-33
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• 2020

The aims of this study were to obtain the normal ranges of enhancement parameters for salivary gland in dynamic CT and to investigate the effects of fasting time on contrast enhancement in clinically normal beagle dogs. With five healthy beagle dogs, dynamic CT examination was performed according to fasting times (as fasting times, 12hours, 0 min, 20 min, 40 min, 1 hours, 6 hours, 24 hours). In normal beagles with 12hours fasting, enhancement parameters through the preliminary study were as follows: ImaxA - 472 .49 ± 19.01 HU; ImaxS - 138.95 ± 6.2 5 HU; TmaxA - 25.8 ± 1.79 sec; TmaxS - 69.0 ± 23.11 sec; Teq - 80.5 ± 6.61 sec; T-Aeq - 54.5 ± 5.51 sec (Imax - peak enhancement; Tmax - time to peak enhancement; Teq - time to equilibrium phase; T-Aeq - time between peak enhancement in the common carotid artery and onset of the equilibrium phase; A - common carotid; S - submandibular gland; HU - Hounsfield unit). Additionally, ImaxA and ImaxS were significantly increased in 40 min after eating. Because these results associated with postprandial hemodynamic changes can make the diagnosis of salivary gland diseases more difficult, sufficient fasting time is important for accurate diagnosis.

• 전자공학회논문지B
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• 제31B권8호
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• pp.160-171
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• 1994

The wide dynamic range and severely attenuated contrast in mediastinal area appearing in typical chest radiographs have often caused difficulties in effective visualization and diagnosis of lung diseases. This paper proposes a new adaptive image enhancement technique which potentially solves this problem and there by improves observer performance through image processing. In the proposed method image processing is applied to the chest radiograph with different processing parameters for the lung field and mediastinum adaptively since there are much differences in anatomical and imaging properties between these two regions. To achieve this the chest radiograph is divided into the lung and mediastinum by gray level thresholding using the cumulative histogram and the dynamic range compression and local contrast enhancement are carried out selectively in the mediastinal region. Thereafter a gray scale transformation is performed considering the JND(just noticeable difference) characteristic for effective image displa. The processed images showed apparenty improved contrast in mediastinum and maintained moderate brightness in the lung field. No artifact could be observed. In the visibility evaluation experiment with 5 radiologists the processed images with better visibility was observed for the 5 important anatomical structures in the thorax.

• 한국멀티미디어학회논문지
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.29-41
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• 2013

디지털 카메라는 제한된 크기의 다이내믹레인지를 갖는 이미지 센서의 한계로 인하여 인간의 눈으로 보는 것과 동일한 화질의 영상을 얻을 수 없기 때문에 이를 개선해야 할 필요성이 있다. 기존의 화질개선방법으로는 Land의 인간의 시각적 모델을 바탕으로 한 Retinex 알고리즘이 대표적이다. Retinex 알고리즘은 칼라의 일관성과 시각적인 개선을 제공하지만, 전역적인 contrast 감소와 후광효과 및 색왜곡 문제를 발생시키기도 한다. 이러한 문제를 개선하기 위해 본 논문에서는 YCbCr 색공간에서 휘도성분의 주파수성분에 대한 처리를 통해 전역적 contrast를 향상시키고, 색차성분에 대한 처리를 통해 칼라 선명도를 향상시키는 방법을 제안한다. 실험 결과영상의 비교를 통해 제안된 알고리즘이 기존의 알고리즘에 비해 연산량 감소효과가 뛰어나며 전역적 contrast 향상과 색상 보전 성능이 우수하고 후광효과를 효과적으로 제거함을 확인하였다.

• 한국임상수의학회지
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• 제34권5호
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• pp.330-334
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• 2017

The aim of this study was to establish an injection protocol of a test bolus and a main bolus of contrast material for computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) for visualizing optimal pulmonary arteries in normal beagle dogs. CTPA using a test bolus method from either protocol A or B were performed in each of four normal beagle dogs. In protocol A, CTPA was conducted with a scan duration for around 8 s, setting the contrast enhancement peak of the pulmonary trunk in the middle of the scan duration. The arrival time to the contrast enhancement peak was predicted from a previous dynamic scan using a test bolus (150 mg iodine/kg) injected with the same injection duration using for a main bolus (450 mg iodine/kg). In protocol B, CTPA was started at the predicted appearance time of contrast material in the pulmonary trunk based on a previous dynamic scan using a test bolus injected with the same injection rate as a main bolus. CTPA using protocol A showed the optimal opacification of the pulmonary artery with pulmonary venous contamination. Proper CTPA images in the absence of venous contamination were obtained in protocol B. CTPA with a scan duration for 8 s should be started at the appearance time of contrast enhancement in the pulmonary trunk, which can be identified exactly when a test bolus is injected at the same injection rate used for the main bolus.

• 정보과학회 논문지
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• 제42권7호
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• pp.910-918
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• 2015

본 논문에서는 조영증강 초음파영상의 분석과정에서 육안판별의 한계를 극복하기 위한 파라미터 가시화기법을 소개하고, 이 과정에서 영상의 왜곡과 노이즈를 보정하기 위한 방법론을 제시한다. 초음파영상에서 조영제의 전이형태에 대한 동적패턴은 간질환 진단에서 의미있는 파라미터가 되는데, 전이시간 정보와 조영증강 패턴을 정적인 단일영상으로 표현함으로써 급속도로 진행되는 동영상에서 정확한 정보를 효과적으로 판별할 수 있게 한다. 진단파라미터 데이터의 신뢰도를 저하시키는 요인으로 호흡에 의한 흔들림현상과 마이크로 버블에 의한 노이즈를 들 수 있다. 이에 대한 대안으로 영상의 움직임추적을 위한 다단계 알고리즘과 마르코프 랜덤 필드 모델에 기반한 영상개선기법을 제안한다. 실제 임상데이터를 사용한 실험결과를 통하여, 제안된 방법의 유용성을 실험적으로 고찰한다.

• 한국멀티미디어학회논문지
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• 제7권8호
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• pp.1046-1057
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• 2004

본 논문에서는 호모모프변환과 다중 스케일 분해를 이용하여 영상의 생동폭과 명암대비를 모두 개선시킬 수 있는 영상향상기법을 제안한다. 원 영상은 로그를 취하여 호모모프영역으로 변환하고, 이를 다중 스케일로 분해한 후 각 대역에 가중치를 가해 조합한다. 이 조합된 신호는 지수를 취하여 밝기영역으로 변환한다. 호모모프영역에서 저주파대역의 크기조절은 생동폭을 변환시키고, 고주파대역의 크기조절은 명암대비의 향상에 기여한다. 다중 스케일 분해는 계산이 간단하고 효율적인 구조를 가진 "${\AA}$ trous" 알고리듬을 사용하며, 이의 타당성은 시뮬레이션을 통해서 확인한다.

• 한국임상수의학회지
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.135-142
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• 2021

The aim of this study was to evaluate the contrast effect if a saline flush following low-volume contrast medium bolus improves vascular and parenchymal enhancement using a saphenous vein in abdominal CT for small animals. Six clinically healthy beagle dogs underwent abdominal contrast-enhanced CT. They were divided into nine groups (each group, n = 6), according to the volume of contrast medium 1, 2, and 3 mL/kg, and volume of the saline solution 0, 5, and 10 mL. Dynamic CT scanning was performed at the hepatic hilum level. The maximum contrast enhancement, time to maximum enhancement, and time to equilibrium phase were calculated from the time attenuation curves. Mean attenuation values for all groups were measured in the aorta, portal vein, and liver. After contrast enhancement, grading of image quality regarding surrounding artifacts and evaluation of the hepatic hilum structures was performed. For comparison of the effect of the contrast material and saline solution doses, differences in mean attenuation values between the contrast medium 2 mL/kg without saline flush group and the remaining groups, and between contrast medium 3 mL/kg without saline flush group and the remaining groups, were analyzed for statistical significance. There were no significant differences between with and without saline flushing at the same contrast medium dose groups. There were no significant differences in peak values between the 3 mL/kg dose of contrast medium alone and the 2 mL/kg dose of contrast medium with saline solution flush. However, there was a significant difference in peak values between the 3 mL/kg dose of the contrast medium without the saline flush group and the 2 mL/kg dose of the contrast medium alone group. Grades of the artifacts were not significantly different in the saline flush regardless of the dose of the contrast medium. Using 2 mL/kg of contrast medium with saline solution flush resulted in similar liver parenchyma attenuation, compared with using 3 mL/kg of contrast medium without saline solution flush. In CT evaluation of hepatic parenchymal diseases, using 2 mL/kg of contrast medium with saline solution flush may yield decreased risk of contrast nephropathy and cost-saving.