• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.356-358
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• 2002

MRI, particularly diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), plays vital roles in detection of the acute brain infarction$\^$1-4/ and others metabolic changes of biological tissues. In general, every molecule in biological tissues may diffuse and move randomly in three-dimensional space. However, in clinical diagnosis, only 2D-DWI is used. The authors have developed a new method for rapid three-dimensional DWI (3D-DWI). In this method, by refocusing of the magnetized spin with the applied gradient field, direction of which is opposite to phase encoding field. Magnetized spin of $^1$H is kept under the SSFP (steady state free precession)$\^$5-6/. Under SSFP, in addition of FID, spin echo and stimulated echo are also generated, so the acquired signal is increased. The signal intensity is increased depending on flip angle (FA) of magnetized spin. This phenomenon is confirmed by human brain and phantom studies. The performance of this method is quantitatively analyzed by using both of conventional spin echo DWI and 3D-DWI. From experimental results, three dimensional diffusion weighted images are obtained correctly for liquid phantoms (water, acetone and oil), diffusion coefficient is enhanced in each image. Therefore, this method will provide useful information for clinical diagnosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 2015

CD4+ T-cell count determines the effectiveness for antiretroviral therapy (ART) in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Although ART slows the progression of HIV to AIDS, rapid counting of CD4+ T lymphocytes with a drop of patient's blood sample is urgently needed to ensure timely ART treatment in rural areas. Recently point-of-care CD4 testing devices have been developed by using non-flow based imaging cytometer incorporated with a sample cartridge where CD4+ T cells are reacted with fluorescently tagged specific antibodies. Here we conducted an experimental study using a conventional fluorescence microscope-based imaging system to quantitate the interaction of CD4 antibodies with CD4+ T cells at different reaction conditions. We demonstrated that a fast and affordable point-of-care CD4 test is feasible with a far less amount of antibodies and a shorter incubation time compared with a conventional sample preparation protocol for flow cytometry. We also proposed a general method to evaluate and compare the detection limit across different CD4 counting platforms by using fluorescently labelled microbeads for intensity calibration.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.25-25
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• 2003

Atrial myocytes have two functionally separate $Ca^{2+}$ release sites: those in peripheral sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) adjacent to the $Ca^{2+}$ channels of surface membrane and those in central SR not associated with $Ca^{2+}$ channels. Study on the spatio-temporal properties of focal $Ca^{2+}$ releases (“sparks”) occurring spontaneously in central and peripheral sites of voltage-clamped rat atrial myocytes, using rapid two-dimensional (2-D) confocal $Ca^{2+}$ imaging revealed that peripheral and central sparks were similar in size and release time (~300,000 $Ca^{2+}$ ions for=12 ms), but significantly larger and longer than ventricular sparks. Both sites were resistant to Cd$^{2+}$ and inhibited by ryanodine. Peripheral sparks were brighter and flattened against surface membrane, had ~5-fold higher frequency, ~2 times faster diffusion coefficient, and dissipated abruptly. Central sparks, in contrast, occurred less frequently, were elongated along the cellular longitudinal axis, and dissipated slowly. Compound sparks (composed of 2-5 unitary focal releases) aligned longitudinally, occurred more frequently at the center.at the center.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.397-403
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• 2019

Microcystis sp. is one of the most common harmful cyanobacteria that release toxic substances. Counting algal cells is often used for effective control of harmful algal blooms. However, Microcystis sp. is commonly observed as a colony, so counting individual cells is challenging, as it requires significant time and labor. It is urgent to develop an accurate, simple, and rapid method for counting algal cells for regulatory purposes, estimating the status of blooms, and practicing proper management of water resources. The flow cytometer and microscope (FlowCAM), which is a dynamic imaging particle analyzer, can provide a promising alternative for rapid and simple cell counting. However, there is no accurate method for counting individual cells within a Microcystis colony. Furthermore, cell counting based on two-dimensional images may yield inaccurate results and underestimate the number of algal cells in a colony. In this study, a three-dimensional cell counting approach using a novel model algorithm was developed for counting individual cells in a Microcystis colony using a FlowCAM. The developed model algorithm showed satisfactory performance for Microcystis sp. cell counting in water samples collected from two rivers, and can be used for algal management in fresh water systems.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.32-42
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• 2023

In this study, spray characteristics of n-heptane and propane were investigated under different injection pressure using various imaging techniques such as Mie-scattering, DBI (diffuse back-illumination), and Schlieren imaging techniques. NI compact RIO system was used to control a test injector. Spray penetration length, length-to-width ratio and number of black pixels were calculated by using MATLAB software to compare spray characteristics of each fuel. Longer spray penetration length and higher length-to-width ratio were observed in propane spray because of flash boiling caused by high saturated vapor pressure. Spray collapse occurred in propane spray due to the high plume-to-plume interaction. Moreover, rapid evaporation occurred in propane spray, so that nozzle tip wetting could not be observed. Rapid evaporation of propane also caused fewer residual droplets compared to n-heptane spray. Therefore, propane is advantageous in reducing the generation of soot emission from large droplets that are not atomized. However, additional evaluation should be conducted considering combustion efficiency and the possibility of deposits by nozzle tip icing during fuel injection.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.770-776
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• 2006

This paper presents a hyperspectral imaging technique based on laser-induced fluorescence for non-invasive detection of tumorous tissue on mouse skin. Hyperspectral imaging sensors collect image data in a number of narrow, adjacent spectral bands. Such high-resolution measurement of spectral information reveals contiguous emission spectra at each image pixel useful for the characterization of constituent materials. The hyperspectral image data used in this study are fluorescence images of mouse skin consisting of 21 spectral bands in the visible spectrum of the wavelengths ranging from 440 nm to 640 nm. Fluorescence signal is measured with the use of laser excitation at 337 nm. An acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) is used to capture images at 10 nm intervals. All spectral band images are spatially registered with the reference band image at 490 nm to obtain exact pixel correspondences by compensating the spatial offsets caused by the refraction differences in AOTF at different wavelengths during the image capture procedure. The unique fluorescence spectral signatures demonstrate a good separation to differentiate malignant tumors from normal tissues for rapid detection of skin cancers without biopsy.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.91-96
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• 2007

The measurement of pathologically low levels of tissue $pO_2$ is an important diagnostic goal for determining the prognosis of many clinically important diseases including cardiovascular insufficiency, stroke and cancer. The target tissues nowaday have mostly been tumors or the myocardium, with less attention centered on the brain. Radiolabelled nitroimidazole or derivatives may be useful in identifying the hypoxic cells in cerebrovascular disease or traumatic brain injury, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. In acute stroke, the target of therapy is the severely hypoxic but salvageable tissue. $^{18}F-MISO$ PET and $^{99}mTc-EC-metronidazole$ SPECT in patients with acute ischemic stroke identified hypoxic tissues and ischemic penumbra, and predicted its outcome. A study using $^{123}I-IAZA$ in patient with closed head injury detected the hypoxic tissues after head injury. Up till now these radiopharmaceuticals have drawbacks due to its relatively low concentration with hypoxic tissues associated with/without low blood-brain barrier permeability and the necessity to wait a long time to achieve acceptable target to background ratios for imaging in acute ischemic stroke. It is needed to develop new hypoxic marker exhibiting more rapid localization in the hypoxic region in the brain. And then, the hypoxic brain imaging with imidazoles or non-imidazoles may be very useful in detecting the hypoxic tissues, determining therapeutic strategies and developing therapeutic drugs in several neurological disease, especially, in acute ischemic stroke.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.752-760
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• 2023

Radiologists and trauma surgeons should monitor for early killers among patients with thoracic trauma, such as tension pneumothorax, tracheobronchial injuries, flail chest, aortic injury, mediastinal hematomas, and severe pulmonary parenchymal injury. With the advent of cutting-edge technology, rapid volumetric computed tomography of the chest has become the most definitive diagnostic tool for establishing or excluding thoracic trauma. With the notion of "time is life" at emergency settings, radiologists must find ways to shorten the turnaround time of reports. One way to interpret chest findings is to use a systemic approach, as advocated in this study. Our interpretation of chest findings for thoracic trauma follows the acronym "ABC-Please" in which "A" stands for abnormal air, "B" stands for abnormal bones, "C" stands for abnormal cardiovascular system, and "P" in "Please" stands for abnormal pulmonary parenchyma and vessels. In the future, utilizing an artificial intelligence software can be an alternative, which can highlight significant findings as "warm zones" on the heatmap and can re-prioritize important examinations at the top of the reading list for radiologists to expedite the final reports.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.74-79
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• 2002

In addition to the well-established use of positron emission tomography (PET) in clinical oncology, novel roles for PET are rapidly emerging in the field of gene therapy. Methods for controlled gene delivery to living bodies, made available through advances in molecular biology, are currently being employed in animals for research purposes and in humans to treat diseases such as cancer. Although gene therapy is still in its early developmental stage, it is perceived that many serious illnesses could be treated successfully by the use of therapeutic gene delivery. A major challenge for the widespread use of human gene therapy is to achieve a controlled and effective delivery of foreign genes to target cells and subsequently, adequate levels of expression. As such, the availability of noninvasive imaging methods to accurately assess the location, duration, and level of transgene expression is critical for optimizing gene therapy strategies. Current endeavors to achieve this goal include methods that utilize magnetic resonance imaging, optical imaging, and nuclear imaging techniques. As for PET, reporter systems that utilize genes encoding enzymes that accumulate positron labeled substrates and those transcribing surface receptors that bind specific positron labeled ligands have been successfully developed. More recent advances in this area include improved reporter gene constructs and radiotracers, introduction of potential strategies to monitor endogenous gene expression, and human pilot studies evaluating the distribution and safety of reporter PET tracers. The remarkably rapid progress occurring in gene imaging technology indicates its importance and wide range of application. As such, gene imaging is likely to become a major and exciting new area for future application of PET technology.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.521-537
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• 2000

Ultrasonic imaging is the most widely used modality among modern imaging device for medical diagnosis and the system performance has been improved dramatically since early 90's due to the rapid advances in DSP performance and VLSI technology that made it possible to employ more sophisticated algorithms. This paper describes "main stream" digital signal processing functions along with the associated implementation considerations in modern medical ultrasound imaging systems. Topics covered include signal processing methods for resolution improvement, ultrasound imaging system architectures, roles and necessity of the applications of DSP and VLSI technology in the development of the medical ultrasound imaging systems, and array signal processing techniques for ultrasound focusing.