• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.212-216
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• 2006

Neurocutaneous melanosis is a rare congenital syndrome characterized by the presence of large or multiple congenital melanocytic nevi and benign pigment cell tumors of the leptomeninges. Neurocutaneous melanosis is thought to represent an error in the morphogenesis of embryonal neuroectoderm. We experienced a neonate who presented with giant, dark colored pigmented nevi covering chest, abdomen, neck and arms, with satellite lesions. Magnetic resonance image showed a nodular hyperintense lesion in the amygdala of the right temporal lobe, and T1-weighted images showed hyperintensities in the adjacent leptomeninges. We report a rare case of neurocutaneous melanosis with a brief review of related literature.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2016

Anterior knee pain is a major problem among adolescents and young adults especially those who participates in sports. The most common pathogenesis of anterior knee pain can arise from compression and shear forces in the patellofemoral joint. It is also caused by impingement of infrapatellar fat pad. Fat pad impingement can occur when the fat pad becomes swollen and inflamed due to a direct blow or chronic irritation. As a result, the bottom tip (or inferior pole) of the patella can pinch the fat pad. One of the many causes of swollen fat pad can be secondary to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. The aim of this study was to compare the infrapatellar fat pad volume in patients with acute ACL injury and a group of age-, gender-, and activity- matched controls with intact ligament. Axial magnetic resonance (MR) images have been performed on 32 patients with torn ACL and 40 control patients. The volume of the fat pad was measured digitally from MR image by using a 3d Reconstruction software, ellipsoidal approximation, and a MATLAB code. The results were compared between patients with torn ACL and control group. Patients with a torn ACL had a significantly larger fat pad than the controls (P=0.01). There was no significant difference between the methods used to measure the infrapatellar fat pad volume (P=0.83-0.87). Thus, lesions of the infrapatellar fat pad is often associated with ACL injury.

• Journal of electromagnetic engineering and science
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2006

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of size and permittivity on the specific absorption rate(SAR) values of rat brains during microwave exposure at mobile phone frequency bands. A finite difference time domain (FDTD) technique with perfect matching layer(PML) absorbing boundaries is used for this evaluation process. A color coded digital image of the Sprague Dawley(SD) rat based on magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) is used in FDTD calculation with appropriate permittivity values corresponding to different tissues for 3, 4, 7, and 10 week old rats. This study is comprised of three major parts. First, the rat model structure is scaled uniformly, i.e., the rat size is increased without change in permittivity. The simulated SAR values are compared with other experimental and numerical results. Second, the effect of permittivity on SAR values is examined by simulating the microwave exposure on rat brains with various permittivity values for a fixed rat size. Finally, the SAR distributions in depth, and the brain-averaged SAR and brain 1 voxel peak SAR values are computed during the microwave exposure on a rat model structure when both size and permittivity have varied corresponding to different ages ranging from 3 to 10 weeks. At 900 MHz, the simulation results show that the brain-averaged SAR values decreased by about 54 % for size variation from the 3 week to the 10 week-old rat model, while the SAR values decreased only by about 16 % for permittivity variation. It is found that the brain averaged SAR values decreased by about 63 % when the variations in size and permittivity are taken together. At 1,800 MHz, the brain-averaged SAR value is decreased by 200 % for size variation, 9.7 % for permittivity variation, and 207 % for both size and permittivity variations.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.194-220
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• 1992

In recent years there has been a rapid influx of high cost MRI equipment into Korea. This diffusion has raised concerns about the changes it will bring for the health care utilization. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify socio-economic characteristics of MRI uses in Korea. A structured questionnaire was designed for this purpose, and 1, 091 users were surveyed at the 35 MRI units of 33 hospitals during a week, sometimes March 1992. The study reveals that high cost technology such as MRI, CT scanner is so prevalent in Korea. This is particularly the case in metropolitan areas. Among others, Seoul has the highest percentage of MRI equipment, 51.05%, Pusan 12.10% and Kwangju 11.9%. Unfortunately, most high cost technology equipments are foreign products. Thus, hospitals with such a high cost technology have difficulties in maintenance of the equipment. The average performance of MRI equipment has declined from 10.2 cases per day in 1988 to 7.16 cases in March 1992. Due to the rapid increase, the performance of MRI equipment seems to be deterioration. Male usere are dominant in the case of MRI use. The utilization rate has positively increased with the rise of educational level of users. The same is true for the level of income; the MRI utilization rate by income level shows that it is negatively proportional to income, which indicates that the poor have difficulties in the use of high cost technology. Particularly, the cost of MRI is so high that ordinary patients are unable to pay for it. For example, 86.3% of respondents have answered that the cost is too high even though they are insured by health insurance. This is the first empirical study on the use status of MRI. The information obtained in this study is sufficient to maintain that the Korean health insurance programme is urgently in need of improving the insurance benefit schemes. The easiest way to do this is to include provision of high cost technology service into the benefit package.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.454-462
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• 2021

Background: This study was performed to reveal the relationships between the cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of the paraspinal muscles and the severity of low back pain (LBP), including the level of disability. Methods: This single-center cross-sectional study was conducted on 164 patients with chronic LBP. The effects of demographic characteristics, posture, level of physical activity, disc herniation type, and sarcopenia risk on the CSAs of paraspinal muscles were evaluated along with the relationship between the CSAs and severity of pain and disability in all patients. The CSAs of paraspinal muscles were evaluated using the software program Image J 1.53. Results: A negative significant correlation was found between age and the paraspinal muscle's CSA (P < 0.05), whereas a positive correlation was present between the level of physical activity and the CSA of the paraspinal muscle at the L2-3 and L3-4 levels. The CSAs of paraspinal muscles in patients with sarcopenia risk was significantly lower than those in patients without sarcopenia risk (P < 0.05). The CSAs of paraspinal muscles at the L2-3 and L3-4 levels in obese patients were significantly higher than those in overweight patients (P = 0.028, P = 0.026, respectively). There was no relationship between the CSAs of paraspinal muscles and pain intensity or disability. Conclusions: Although this study did not find a relationship between paraspinal CSAs and pain or disability, treatment regimens for preventing paraspinal muscles from atrophy may aid pain physicians in relieving pain, restoring function, and preventing recurrence in patients with chronic LBP.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.281-291
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• 2021

This study aimed to measure the quantitative changes in images according to the use of compressed sensing in expressing the slow flow rate in TOF MRA test using magnetic resonance imaging. This study set different blood flow rate sections by using auto-injector and flow phantom and compared changes in the SNR, CNR, SSIM, and RMSE measurements by different CS factors between TOF with CS and TOF without CS. One-way ANOVA was performed to test the effect on the image induced by the increase of the CS factor. The results revealed that TOF MRA with CS significantly decreased scan time without significantly affecting SNR and CNR compared to TOF MRA with CS. On the other hand, the differences in SSIM and RMSE between TOF with CS and TOF without CS increased as the CS factor increased. Therefore, it is necessary to efficiently reduce scan time by adapting the CS technique while considering the appropriate range of the CS factor. Additionally, more studies are needed to evaluate CS factors and the similarity precision of images further.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.266-271
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• 2021

Osteoporosis associated with pregnancy and lactation is a rare disease that can cause osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). Patients usually complain of severe back pain, which is easily mistaken for pain due to pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation, making a rapid diagnosis and treatment difficult. The authors diagnosed OVCF related to pregnancy and lactation through a physical examination, simple radiography, whole-body bone scan, magnetic resonance image, bone marrow density, and blood tests in a 29-year-old female patient and a 31-year-old female patient who presented with low back pain. This paper reports two cases of symptom improvement through a teriparatide injection, wearing thoracic lumbar sacral orthosis and taking calcium and vitamin D with a review of the literature.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.162-171
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• 2023

Objective : The goal of this study was to analyze the clinical outcomes of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) and endoscopic septostomy when shunt malfunction occurs in a patient who has previously undergone placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Methods : From 2001 to 2020 at Seoul National University Children's Hospital, patients who underwent ETV or endoscopic septostomy for shunt malfunction were retrospectively analyzed. Initial diagnosis (etiology of hydrocephalus), age at first shunt insertion, age at endoscopic procedure, magnetic resonance or computed tomography image, subsequent shunting data, and follow-up period were included. Results : Thirty-six patients were included in this retrospective study. Twenty-nine patients, 18 males and 11 females, with shunt malfunction underwent ETV. At the time of shunting, the age ranged from 1 day to 15.4 years (mean, 2.4 years). The mean age at the time of ETV was 13.1 years (range, 0.7 to 29.6 years). Nineteen patients remained shunt revision free. The 5-year shunt revision-free survival rate was 69% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54-0.88). Seven patients, three males and four females, with shunt malfunction underwent endoscopic septostomy. At the time of shunting, the age ranged from 0.2 to 12 years (mean, 3.9 years). The mean age at the time of endoscopic septostomy was 11.9 years (range, 0.5 to 29.5 years). Four patients remained free of shunt revision or addition. The 5-year shunt revision-free survival rate was 57% (95% CI, 0.3-1.0). There were no complications associated with the endoscopic procedures. Conclusion : The results of our study demonstrate that ETV or endoscopic septostomy can be effective and safe in patients with shunt malfunction.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.92-96
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• 2019

Torticollis is an abnormal, asymmetric head or neck position which usually caused by imbalance of paracervical muscles. The traumatic torticollis can be caused by following events; atlantoaxial rotatory subluxation, atlantoaxial dislocation, cervical vertebral fractures, and injury to the cervical musculature. Especially, acute traumatic atlantoaxial rotatory subluxation usually presents limitation of cervical range of motion without pain or neurologic deficit. We report a case of a 58 year-old man who developed the acute atlantoaxial rotatory subluxation right after the chiropractic therapy, which induced the limitation of cervical range of motion to 52.5% of normal range. The magnetic resonance image revealed the facture of the odontoid process and the partial injury in transverse ligaments of the atlas. He underwent intramuscular botulinum toxin injection and 10 days of continuous cervical traction 15 hours a day using a 5 kg weight. The range of the cervical motion restored up to 90.2% of normal range.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.65-69
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• 2019

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of high-voltage microcurrent therapy in patients with herniated lumbar disc (HLD) presenting radicular or back pain. Method: This is a retrospective study with 33 patients who are complaining pain with HLD findings on magnetic resonance image. Microcurrent therapy was applied to leg or paralumbar area. Treatment was conducted for seven minutes with 250~1000 uA intensity as high as the patients could tolerate via stimulating probe with roller type and the frequency was 60 Hz with a sine wave pulse. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was measured just before and after the treatment. Results: The degree of pain reduction (△VAS) was 1.6 points after treatment on average. The △VAS according to the diagnosis, stenosis, dermatome area, medication, pain site and caudal epidural block was not statistically significant. However, the △VAS according to the number of treatments (< 3, ≥ 3 times) showed a statistically significant difference (p=0.04). Conclusion: High-voltage microcurrent therapy may help reduce lumbar or lumbosacral radiating pain after the procedure. The effect was better when microcurrent was applied three times or more. This result suggests that the microcurrent would have cumulative effect on reducing radicular or back pain in patients with HLD.