• Journal of Magnetics
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.148-152
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• 2016

The main goal was to evaluate effectiveness of a modified TSE sequence compared with DIR (double inversion recovery) sequence in acquisition of fast flow brain vessel images using signal void effect. 32 healthy volunteers (10 men and 22 women; mean age of 31 years; ranging between 28-43 years) who underwent black blood DIR sequence (group A) and the modified TSE sequence (group B) were enrolled in our study. Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) and Contrast to Noise Ratio (CNR) of the internal carotid arteries' lumen were compared in T1 and T2 weighted images for both group A and B. The images obtained from group B showed lower SNR values in internal carotid artery than the group A in both of the T1 and T2 weighted images (11.49% and 13.66% respectively). While the CNR values were higher in the group B than the group A in both of the T1 and T2 weighted images (8.69% and 7.55 % respectively). The qualitative score of all categories were not significantly different between the two groups. Furthermore approximately 49% of the total scan time was reduced from group B. Our study is to shorten the scanning time and minimize the inconveniences of the patients in acquisition of the black blood images of brain by using the signal void effect in the modified TSE technique while keeping the diagnostic value of the test.

• Applied Microscopy
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.6-13
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• 2016

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) has been considered an effective technique to investigate chemical properties of the specimens, especially of biological samples. Despite of this advantageous trait, researchers in this field have had difficulties applying FLIM to their systems because acquiring an image using FLIM consumes too much time. Although analog mean-delay (AMD) method was introduced to enhance the imaging speed of commonly used FLIM based on time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC), a real-time image reconstruction using AMD method has not been implemented due to its data processing obstacles. In this paper, we introduce a real-time image restoration of AMD-FLIM through fast parallel data processing by using Threading Building Blocks (TBB; Intel) and octa-core processor (i7-5960x; Intel). Frame rate of 3.8 frames per second was achieved in $1,024{\times}1,024$ resolution with over 4 million lifetime determinations per second and measurement error within 10%. This image acquisition speed is 184 times faster than that of single-channel TCSPC and 9.2 times faster than that of 8-channel TCSPC (state-of-art photon counting rate of 80 million counts per second) with the same lifetime accuracy of 10% and the same pixel resolution.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제24권9호
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• pp.890-902
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• 2023

Objective: The clinical impact of artificial intelligence-based computer-aided detection (AI-CAD) beyond diagnostic accuracy remains uncertain. We aimed to investigate the influence of the clinical implementation of AI-CAD for chest radiograph (CR) interpretation in daily practice on the rate of referral for chest computed tomography (CT). Materials and Methods: AI-CAD was implemented in clinical practice at the Seoul National University Hospital. CRs obtained from patients who visited the pulmonology outpatient clinics before (January-December 2019) and after (January-December 2020) implementation were included in this study. After implementation, the referring pulmonologist requested CRs with or without AI-CAD analysis. We conducted multivariable logistic regression analyses to evaluate the associations between using AI-CAD and the following study outcomes: the rate of chest CT referral, defined as request and actual acquisition of chest CT within 30 days after CR acquisition, and the CT referral rates separately for subsequent positive and negative CT results. Multivariable analyses included various covariates such as patient age and sex, time of CR acquisition (before versus after AI-CAD implementation), referring pulmonologist, nature of the CR examination (baseline versus follow-up examination), and radiology reports presence at the time of the pulmonology visit. Results: A total of 28546 CRs from 14565 patients (mean age: 67 years; 7130 males) and 25888 CRs from 12929 patients (mean age: 67 years; 6435 males) before and after AI-CAD implementation were included. The use of AI-CAD was independently associated with increased chest CT referrals (odds ratio [OR], 1.33; P = 0.008) and referrals with subsequent negative chest CT results (OR, 1.46; P = 0.005). Meanwhile, referrals with positive chest CT results were not significantly associated with AI-CAD use (OR, 1.08; P = 0.647). Conclusion: The use of AI-CAD for CR interpretation in pulmonology outpatients was independently associated with an increased frequency of overall referrals for chest CT scans and referrals with subsequent negative results.

• 한국통신학회논문지
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• 제34권7C호
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• pp.715-723
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• 2009

본 논문에서는 나머지 주파수 옵셋이 (residuaI frequency offset: RFO) 존재하는 대역 확산 시스템의 부호 획득을 위해 듀얼셀 결합 (dual-cell combining: DCC) 검파 기법을 제안한다. RFO가 존채할 때, 부호 획득 과정 동안 검파에 사용되는 상관 첨두는 작은 진폭을 갖는 두 개의 주변 첨두로 나눠지게 되며, 이로 인해 부호 획득 성능이 하락하게 된다. DCC 겹파 기법은 두 개의 연속된 상판값을 결합하여 결정 변수로 사용함으로써 RFO가 상관 첨두에 미치는 영향을 완화시킬 수 있다. 또한, 성능 평가를 통해 DCC 검파 기법이 한 개의 상관값을 결정 변수로 사용하는 이제까지의 검파 기법에 비해 더 나은 평균 동기화 시간 성능을 갖는 것을 확인할 수 있다.

• 한국전문물리치료학회지
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.16-26
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• 2016

Background: Deficiencies in the ability to maintain balance are common in elderly. Augmented feedback such as knowledge of results (KR) can accelerate learning and mastering a motor skill in older people. Objects: We designed this study to examine whether one session of Wii-Fit game with self-regulated KR is effective for elderly people, and to compare the effect of two different timings of self-regulated KR conditions. Methods: Thirty-nine community-dwelling elders, not living in hospice care or a nursing home, participated in this study. During acquisition, two groups of volunteers were trained in 10 blocks of a dynamic balancing task under the following 2 conditions, respectively: (a) a pre-trial self-regulated KR ($n_1=18$), or (b) a post-trial self-regulated KR ($n_2=21$). Immediate retention tests and delayed retention tests of balancing performance were administered in 15 minutes and 24 hours following acquisition period, respectively. Results: In both groups, significant improvements of balancing performances scores were observed during the acquisition period. Regardless of the group, mean of balancing performance scores on retention tests were well-maintained from the final session. There were no significant differences between groups in balancing performance scores during the acquisition period (p>.05); however, the post-trial self-regulated KR group exhibited significantly higher balancing performance scores in both the immediate retention test and delayed retention test than that of the pre-trial self-regulated KR group (p<.05). Conclusion: Therefore, subjects who regulated their feedback after a dynamic balancing task, during the acquisition period, experienced more efficient motor learning during the retention period than did subjects who regulated their feedback before a dynamic balancing task. Accordingly, in case of presenting the KR of motor learning in clinical settings to elders who reduced dynamic balance abilities, the requesting time of KR is imperative according to self-estimation processes as well as types of KR and practice.

• 대한전자공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한전자공학회 2005년도 추계종합학술대회
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• pp.141-146
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• 2005

In this paper, we propose to extend the TSS-LS (Two-Step Search scheme with Linear search based Second step) scheme which was already proposed by the authors for coherent UWB (Ultra Wide Band) systems, to rapid and reliable acquisition of noncoherent UWB systems in multipath channels. The proposed noncoherent TSS-LS employing simple energy window banks utilizes two different thresholds and search windows to achieve fast acquisition. Furthermore, the linear search is adopted for the second step in the proposed scheme to correctly find the starting point in the range of effective delay spread of the multipath channels, and to obtain reliable BER (Bit Error Rate) performance of the noncoherent UWB systems. Simulation results show that the proposed TSS-LS can achieve significant reduction of the required mean acquisition time as compared to general search schemes. In addition, the proposed scheme achieves quite good BER performance, which is favorably comparable to the case of ideal perfect timing.

• 한국통신학회논문지
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• 제28권9A호
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• pp.678-683
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• 2003

Ward에 의해 제안된 순차적 추정에 기반을 둔 의사 잡음 부호 획득 방법은 비교적높은 신호대잡음비 환경에서는 우수한 성능을 보이지만, 낮은 신호대잡음비 환경에서는 그 성능이 크게 저하된다. 본 논문에서는 부호 획득에서 실제적으로 관심을 두고 있는 낮은 신호대잡음비 환경에서도 우수한 성능을 지니는 시드 누적 순차적 추정기법과 이에 기반을 둔 부호 획득 시스템을 제안하고, 제안한 시스템의 평균 획득 시간 성능을 분석한다. 제안한 시드 누적 순차적 추정 기법을 이용한 부호 획득 시스템은 기존의 순차적 추정 기법을 이용한 부호 획득 시스템에 비해 낮은 신호대잡음비 환경에서 매우 우수한 성능을 지니며, 그 성능향상의 정도가 의사 잡음 부호의 주기가 증가할수록 더 커짐을 보인다.

• 한국통신학회논문지
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• 제39A권8호
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• pp.467-473
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• 2014

직접 수열 확산 대역 시스템에서는 (direct sequence spread spectrum: DSSS) 올바른 신호 동기화가 매우 중요하며, 이에 따라 부호 획득을 위한 다양한 순차 추정 기반 기법들이 연구되어 왔다. 대표적으로, rapid acquisition sequential estimation (RASE), seed accumulating SE (SASE), recursive soft SE (RSSE) 등의 기법이 연구되었다. 하지만, 기존의 기법들 간의 객관적인 성능 비교 및 분석은 현재까지 이루어진 바 없다. 본 논문에서는 순차 추정 기반 부호 획득 기법의 대표적 성능 지표인 올바른 칩 추정 확률 및 평균 부호 획득 시간을 (MAT) 이용하여 RASE, SASE, 및 RSSE 기법의 성능을 비교 및 분석한다.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제22권9호
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• pp.1525-1536
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of cine three-dimensional (3D) balanced steady-state free precession (b-SSFP) imaging combined with a non-local means (NLM) algorithm for image denoising in evaluating cardiac function in children with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF). Materials and Methods: Thirty-five patients with rTOF (mean age, 12 years; range, 7-18 years) were enrolled to undergo cardiac cine image acquisition, including two-dimensional (2D) b-SSFP, 3D b-SSFP, and 3D b-SSFP combined with NLM. End-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV), and ejection fraction (EF) of the two ventricles were measured and indexed by body surface index. Acquisition time and image quality were recorded and compared among the three imaging sequences. Results: 3D b-SSFP with denoising vs. 2D b-SSFP had high correlation coefficients for EDV, ESV, SV, and EF of the left (0.959-0.991; p < 0.001) as well as right (0.755-0.965; p < 0.001) ventricular metrics. The image acquisition time ± standard deviation (SD) was 25.1 ± 2.4 seconds for 3D b-SSFP compared with 277.6 ± 0.7 seconds for 2D b-SSFP, indicating a significantly shorter time with the 3D than the 2D sequence (p < 0.001). Image quality score was better with 3D b-SSFP combined with denoising than with 3D b-SSFP (mean ± SD, 3.8 ± 0.6 vs. 3.5 ± 0.6; p = 0.005). Signal-to-noise ratios for blood and myocardium as well as contrast between blood and myocardium were higher for 3D b-SSFP combined with denoising than for 3D b-SSFP (p < 0.05 for all but septal myocardium). Conclusion: The 3D b-SSFP sequence can significantly reduce acquisition time compared to the 2D b-SSFP sequence for cine imaging in the evaluation of ventricular function in children with rTOF, and its quality can be further improved by combining it with an NLM denoising method.

• 핵의학기술
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.117-121
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• 2010

핵의학 검사에서 정적 영상을 획득하는 방법은 총 계수 설정법(preset count method)과 시간 설정법(preset time method)이 있다. $^{99m}Tc$-DMSA를 이용한 정적 신장 검사는 총 계수 설정법을 주로 사용하고 있지만 시간 설정법을 사용하는 곳도 있다. 총 계수 설정법을 사용하는 경우는 매번 동일한 계수를 획득하게 되지만 검사 시간은 차이가 있고, 시간 설정법의 경우는 검사 시간은 일정하지만 동일하지 못한 계수가 획득되게 된다. 따라서, 본 연구에서는 획득되는 계수에 따른 좌우 신장의 기능 및 형태 정보에 어떠한 차이가 있는 지 알아보고자 하였다. 2010년1월11일부터 3월31일까지 서울아산병원 핵의학과에서 $^{99m}Tc$-DMSA 신장 검사를 시행한 환자 중 한쪽 신장의 상대적 기능이 40~60%인 30명(남:여=11:19)의 환자를 대상으로 하였으며, 신장 내에 냉소나 열소가 존재하여 신장 피질의 구분이 명확하지 않은 경우는 제외하였다. 대상자의 나이는 $14.83{\pm}22.07$세로서 성인과 소아를 따로 구분하지 않았으며, 검사 시 이용한 장비는 PHILIPS사의 BrigthView 감마카메라를 사용하였다. 신장의 기능 및 형태 분석을 위해서는 동일 회사의 JET stream release 3.0 version을 이용하였고, 통계 분석은 SPSS 12.0을 사용하여 기술통계, 대응 표본 t 검정 (paired t-test)을 시행하였다. 영상은 다른 검사인자들을 모두 동일하게 설정하고 획득 계수를 10만 계수와 30만 계수, 그리고 획득 시간을 7분 (30만 계수 초과)으로 변경하여 연속적으로 획득하였고, 신장의 기능 및 형태 정보를 평가하기 위해서 좌우 신장의 상대적 기능(renal relative function)과 기하평균(geometric mean) 그리고 신장의 크기(Size)를 측정하였으며 그에 따른 각각의 차이를 비교 분석하였다. 좌우 신장의 상대적 기능(좌측 신장 기준)의 경우 10만 계수는 $50.52{\pm}3.61%$, 30만 계수는 $50.38{\pm}3.66%$, 7분 획득은 $50.31{\pm}3.64%$였으며 각 방법 간에 통계적으로 유의한 차이는 없었다. 기하 평균(좌측 신장 기준)의 경우 10만 계수는 $50.08{\pm}3.25%$, 30만 계수는 $49.89{\pm}3.40%$, 7분 획득은 $49.91{\pm}3.24%$였으며 이 역시 통계적으로 유의한 차이는 없었다. 신장의 크기 중 좌측의 경우 10만 계수는 $8.23{\pm}1.96$ cm, 30만 계수는 $8.35{\pm}1.97$ cm, 7분 획득은 $8.45{\pm}2.01$ cm이었고, 각 방법 간에는 통계적으로 유의한 차이를 나타내었다(p<0.05). 우측 신장의 경우 10만 계수는 $7.91{\pm}1.88$ cm, 30만 계수는 $8.12{\pm}1.90$ cm, 7분 획득은 $8.25{\pm}1.96$ cm이었으며, 각 방법 간에는 통계적으로 유의한 차이를 나타내었다(p<0.05). 본 연구 결과에 의하면 획득 계수에 따른 좌우 신장의 상대적 기능과 기하 평균은 통계적으로 유의한 차이가 없었지만, 신장의 형태는 획득 계수가 증가할수록 크기가 증가하는 경향을 보였으며 통계적으로도 유의한 차이를 나타내었다. 따라서, 정적 신장 검사의 신뢰성 있는 정량 평가를 위해서는 시간 설정법보다 총 계수 설정법을 사용하는 것이 바람직할 것이다. 특히, 추적검사의 경우는 시간 설정법을 사용하면 검사 시마다 획득되는 계수가 다르게 되어 신장의 형태 평가에 차이를 발생시킬 것이다.