• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.95-108
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• 2016

Purpose: Ancillary tests such as immunohistochemistry or molecular testing for pathologic diagnosis are performed using ready-made tissue blocks for a histological examination. Various methods and processes during ancillary testing cause some of issues, particularly in the time required and the results reporting scheme. Methods: To solve these issues, we constructed real-time management software. When a pathologist or a clinician had ancillary tests examined using this software by selecting the codes of the needed ancillary tests on site and the system assigned the tests to each laboratory. Then, pathology technologists checked the referred tests and performed the examination. In clinical departments, serial number of each ancillary test can be matched the original pathologic ID. In the department of pathology, numbers of tissue blocks that needed additional tests could be indicated and detected using one-click detection system when a clinician referred the test. Results: Using this system resulted in simplifying the referral procedures from nine-steps to three-steps in each clinical department and from seven-steps to two-steps in department of pathology. Errors that happened on the paper-based request system were also reduced. Furthermore, the time required was saved by seven hours in pathologic laboratory on average. Mean durations from requesting to reporting of the ancillary test was reduced by three days for specimens of health promotion center. Conclusion: Construction of an effective information transfer system may be helpful for shortening the time required, reducing errors, and checking processing information of the tests in real time.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.349-354
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• 2005

Headache is a common complaint in pediatric office practices as well as in children presenting to emergency departments. Children who complain of headache usually are brought to medical attention by their parents, who seek reassurance that the headaches are not a sign of a serious illness. The etiologies of headache range from school problems to brain tumors. A history taking, physical examination, and appropriate diagnostic testing will enable to distinguish primary headaches from those of a secondary etiology. The clinical, neuroimaging, and laboratory evaluation of the child with headache are reviewed here.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.55-63
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• 2018

Clinical and genetic heterogeneity in association with overlapping spectrum is characteristic in pediatric neuromuscular disorders, which makes confirmative diagnosis difficult and time consuming. Considering evolution of molecular genetic diagnosis and resultant upcoming genetically modifiable therapeutic options, rapid and cost-effective genetic testing should be applied in conjunction with existing diagnostic methods of clinical examinations, laboratory tests, electrophysiologic studies and pathologic studies. Earlier correct diagnosis would enable better clinical management for these patients in addition to new genetic drug options and genetic counseling.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.68-72
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• 2020

Purpose: Trisomy 21, the cause of Down syndrome (DS) with various medical problems, is the most common aneuploidy during the fetal period. For diagnosis, a non-invasive screening test using maternal blood, which cannot be confirmed and invasive confirmation test with a risk of miscarriage, may be performed. The trophoblast retrieval and isolation of the cervix (TRIC) have been proposed by some researchers as an alternative to overcome the limitations of current tests. We experimented using TRIC to identify the possibility of trisomy 21 for the first time in Asia. Materials and Methods: Three cases of DS were analyzed confirmed by invasive tests (chorionic villus sampling, amniocentesis). All samples of trophoblasts immediately were immersed in phosphate-buffered saline and processed with formalin for fixation. The trophoblasts were isolated using an anti-human leukocyte antigen-G antibody coupled to magnetic nanoparticles. β-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-expressing cells were considered as trophoblast cells, and the detection rate calculated. DS was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Results: The mean trophoblast detection rate using β-hCG was 78.1%, and the detection rate using FISH was 22.2%. In all cases, the trisomy of chromosome 21 was identified. Conclusion: Trophoblast can be obtained from the five weeks of gestation and has a high detection rate, so it is noted that it can replace the current prenatal genetic test. To realize the clinical application as a prenatal genetic test, we will need additional efforts to identify trisomy 21 as well as other chromosomal abnormalities in future large-scale studies.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.81-89
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• 2024

Purpose : This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of laser acupuncture for each condition using information from laser acupuncture trials registered on clinicaltrials.gov from January 2013 to June 2023. Methods : We quantitatively and qualitatively analysed the results of 16 clinical trials of laser acupuncture whose research results were confirmed. A risk of bias assessment was also carried out to assess the quality of each clinical trial. Results : A meta-analysis including three clinical trials was conducted to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of laser acupuncture and sham laser acupuncture in reducing pain and found that the laser acupuncture group had a statistically significant reduction in pain compared with the sham laser acupuncture group. In addition, 11 of the 13 trials not included in the meta-analysis showed a positive effect of laser acupuncture. Conclusion : Although laser acupuncture has a long history of clinical use and a lot of research, there is still some scepticism due to the lack of a clear mechanism of action and inconsistent reports of clinical effectiveness. In addition, there is a significant lack of systematic reviews of clinical evidence for major disease specific, and ongoing research is needed to establish an objective evidence base for the clinical effectiveness of laser acupuncture.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2011

Previously, we have identified 14 putative downstream target genes of Hoxc8 homeoprotein in F9 murine embryonic teratocarcinoma cells through proteomics analysis. Among those, we tested a possibility of a DNA-k type molecular chaperone, Grp78, as a direct downstream target of Hoxc8, by cloning a 2.4 kb upstream region of murine Grp78 into a reporter plasmid and by testing if Hoxc8 can regulate its expression. We observed that Hoxc8 proteins could transactivate the reporter gene, which was affected by small interference RNAs (siRNAs) against to Hoxc8, suggesting that Grp78 is a novel downstream target of Hoxc8 in vivo.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.37-52
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• 2010

This study is aimed at proposing the national policy for medical device control system in Korea as deeply analysed the present status of the system. On 1979, Korean government had started to inspect 24 kinds of the medical devices such as X-ray diagnostic equipments, medical sterilizer and etc. mostly imported from advanced countries which USA, Germany and Japan for the first time according to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. However medical devices were becoming consideration as an important partner of diagnosis, curing and alleviation of diseases by medical doctors and also much important keeping the health at home. Furthermore medical devices industry can be designated as a national growth engine industry. So it is necessary not only to harmonize to international standards but also the harmonization of the system including pre-market application and post-market surveillance, is strongly needed by the Korea Food and Drugs Administration(KFDA).

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.82-87
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• 2008

In this paper, the study was carried out to design and implement the medical compound stimulator based on the preexisting individual medical stimulators with Low frequency, High frequency and cooling stimulation. The proposed equipment is designed to compound all the functions including a cooling stimulation with a range of $0{\sim}20^{\circ}C$ and the verified low and high frequencies of 250Hz, 500Hz, 1KHz and 1MHz respectively from the previous clinical experiment with a consideration of its credibility and efficiency. Also, it was constructed by using a new technique, thermoelectricity semiconductor with a consideration of miniaturization and stability. In accordance with patients' treatment purpose, the hand piece of low frequency/cooling stimulation and High frequency/cooling stimulation were separately designed for convenience. The frequency, accuracy and other factors of implemented medical compound stimulator was satisfied according to its measurement. It was also tested by Korean Testing Laboratory (KTL) for its stability and efficacy and it confirmed that the medical compound stimulator is suitable for use as it fits in with the medical equipment standards.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.270-277
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• 2023

Exposure to ionizing radiation induces free radicals in human nails. These free radicals generate a radiation-induced signal (RIS) in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Compared with the RIS of tooth enamel samples, that in human nails is more affected by moisture and heat, but has the advantages of being sensitive to radiation and easy to collect. The fingernail as a biological sample is applicable in retrospective dosimetry in cases of localized hand exposure accidents. In this study, the dosimetric characteristics of fingernails were analyzed in fingernail clippings collected from Korean donors. The dose response, fading of radiation-induced and mechanically induced signals, treatment method for evaluation of background signal, minimum detectable dose, and minimum detectable mass were investigated to propose a fingernail-EPR dosimetry protocol. In addition, to validate the practicality of the protocol, blind and field experiments were performed in the laboratory and a non-destructive testing facility. The relative biases in the dose assessment result of the blind and field experiments were 8.43% and 21.68% on average between the reference and reconstructed doses. The results of this study suggest that fingernail-EPR dosimetry can be a useful method for the application of retrospective dosimetry in cases of radiological accidents.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.375-381
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• 2018

Cytogenetic analysis plays an important role in examinations of a variety of human disorders. Over the years, cytogenetic analysis has evolved to a great extent and become a part of routine laboratory testing; the analysis provides significant diagnostic and prognostic results for human diseases. Microarray in conjunction with molecular cytogenetics and conventional chromosome analysis has transformed the outcomes of clinical cytogenetics. The advantages of microarray technologies have become obvious to the medical and laboratory community involved in genetic diagnosis, resulting in greatly improved visualization and validation capabilities. This article reviews how the field is moving away from conventional cytogenetics towards molecular approaches for the identification of pathogenic genomic imbalances and discusses practical considerations for the routine implementation of these technologies in genetic diagnosis.