• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2008

We introduce a rotating-gantry-based x-ray micro-tomography system to be used for small animal imaging studies. It has the zoom-in imaging capability for high resolution imaging of a local region inside the animal subject without any contrast anomalies arising from truncation of the projection data. With the sliding mechanism mounted on the rotating gantry holding the x-ray source and the x-ray detector, we can control the magnification ratio of the x-ray projection data. By combining the projection data from the large field of view (FOV) scan of the whole animal subject and the projection data from the small FOV scan of the region of interest, we can obtain artifact-free zoomed-in images of the region of interest. For the acquisition of x-ray projection data, we use a $1248{\times}1248$ flat-panel x-ray detector with the pixel pitch of 100 mm. It has been experimentally found that the developed system has the spatial resolution of up to 121p/mm when the highest magnification ratio of 5:1 is applied to the zoom-in imaging. We present some in vivo rat femur images to demonstrate utility of the developed system for small animal imaging.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.157-162
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• 2015

A large five-axis gantry-type machine performs cutting operations by moving the gantry, along with a bed. During operation, there are three sources of position (zig-zag) errors: 1) the position difference between two control motors on the X axis, 2) friction difference from the different column weights, and 3) torque of the rotating spindle. This study improved the performance of a gantry-type machine by analyzing these three error sources. We changed the mass of a column in the gantry structure and measured the effect on the friction result. We also studied the spindle torque influences on the movement performance of the gantry in relation to the spindle rotation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.346-353
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• 2022

Recently, studies on the integrity of rotating machines, such as gantry cranes, which are used in the shipbuilding industry, have been actively conducted. Gantry cranes are driven at relatively low revolutions per minute (RPM), are frequently operated and stopped, and are impacted by external environmental factors, such as shock and noise in the measurement data. The purpose of this study was to construct a replica of a gantry crane hoist used in indoor shipbuilding and analyze the acquired data for errors caused by the shift in operating conditions (RPM) and the change in the position of the data acquisition sensor. Consequently, we observed that the error caused by differences in sensor positions did not occur significantly under low operating conditions but occurred significantly under relatively high operating conditions. Thus, we determined that both the operating condition and position of the acquisition sensor affected the data acquired by the rotary machine.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.95-101
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• 2007

Recently, small-animal imaging technology has been rapidly developed for longitudinal screening of laboratory animals such as mice and rats. One of newly developed imaging modalities for small animals is an x-ray micro-CT (computed tomography). We have developed two types of x-ray micro-CT systems for small animal imaging. Both systems use flat-panel x-ray detectors and micro-focus x-ray sources to obtain high spatial resolution of $10{\mu}m$. In spite of the relatively large field-of-view (FOV) of flat-panel detectors, the spatial resolution in the whole-body imaging of rats should be sacrificed down to the order of $100{\mu}m$ due to the limited number of x-ray detector pixels. Though the spatial resolution of cone-beam CTs can be improved by moving an object toward an x-ray source, the FOV should be reduced and the object size is also limited. To overcome the limitation of the object size and resolution, we introduce zoom-in micro-tomography for high-resolution imaging of a local region-of-interest (ROI) inside a large object. For zoom-in imaging, we use two kinds of projection data in combination, one from a full FOV scan of the whole object and the other from a limited FOV scan of the ROI. Both of our micro-CT systems have zoom-in micro-tomography capability. One of both is a micro-CT system with a fixed gantry mounted with an x-ray source and a detector. An imaged object is laid on a rotating table between a source and a detector. The other micro-CT system has a rotating gantry with a fixed object table, which makes whole scans without rotating an object. In this paper, we report the results of in vivo small animal study using the developed micro-CTs.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.71-80
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• 2020

This paper provides a brief review of the advanced technologies for carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT), with a focus on current developments. Compared to photon beam therapy, treatment using heavy ions, especially a carbon beam, has potential advantages due to its physical and biological properties. Carbon ion beams with high linear energy transfer demonstrate high relative biological effectiveness in cell killing, particularly at the Bragg peak. With these unique properties, CIRT allows for accurate targeting and dose escalation for tumors with better sparing of adjacent normal tissues. Recently, the available CIRT technologies included fast pencil beam scanning, superconducting rotating gantry, respiratory motion management, and accurate beam modeling for the treatment planning system. These techniques provide precise treatment, operational efficiency, and patient comfort. Currently, there are 12 CIRT facilities worldwide; with technological improvements, they continue to grow in number. Ongoing technological developments include the use of multiple ion beams, effective beam delivery, accurate biological modeling, and downsizing the facility.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.123-129
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• 2013

This study investigated the rate of setup variance by the rotating unbalance of gantry in image-guided radiation therapy. The equipments used linear accelerator(Elekta Synergy TM, UK) and a three-dimensional volume imaging mode(3D Volume View) in cone beam computed tomography(CBCT) system. 2D images obtained by rotating $360^{\circ}$and $180^{\circ}$ were reconstructed to 3D image. Catpan503 phantom and homogeneous phantom were used to measure the setup errors. Ball-bearing phantom was used to check the rotation axis of the CBCT. The volume image from CBCT using Catphan503 phantom and homogeneous phantom were analyzed and compared to images from conventional CT in the six dimensional view(X, Y, Z, Roll, Pitch, and Yaw). The variance ratio of setup error were difference in X 0.6 mm, Y 0.5 mm Z 0.5 mm when the gantry rotated $360^{\circ}$ in orthogonal coordinate. whereas rotated $180^{\circ}$, the error measured 0.9 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm in X, Y, Z respectively. In the rotating coordinates, the more increased the rotating unbalance, the more raised average ratio of setup errors. The resolution of CBCT images showed 2 level of difference in the table recommended. CBCT had a good agreement compared to each recommended values which is the mechanical safety, geometry accuracy and image quality. The rotating unbalance of gentry vary hardly in orthogonal coordinate. However, in rotating coordinate of gantry exceeded the ${\pm}1^{\circ}$ of recommended value. Therefore, when we do sophisticated radiation therapy six dimensional correction is needed.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 2005

We have developed a small bore x-ray CT for small animal imaging with a linear x-ray detector array and small-scale slip rings. The linear x-ray detector array consists of 1024 elements of 400□m×400□m with a gadolinium oxysulfide (GOS) scintillator on top of them. To avoid use of expensive large diameter slip rings for projection data transmission from the X­ray detector to the image reconstruction system, we used the wireless LAN technology. The projection data are temporally stored in the data acquisition system residing on the rotating gantry during the scan and they are transmitted to the image reconstruction system after the scan. With the wireless LAN technology, we only needed to use small-scale slip rings to deliver the AC electric power to the X-ray generator and the power supply on the rotating gantry. The performances of the small animal CT system, such as SNR, contrast, and spatial resolution, have been evaluated through experiments using various phantoms. It has been experimentally found that the SNR is almost linearly proportional to the tube current and tube voltage, and the minimum resolvable contrast is less than 30 CT numbers at 40kVp/3.0㎃. The spatial resolution of the small animal CT system has been found to be about 0.9Ip/㎜. Postmortem images of a piglet is also presented.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.373-375
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• 2002

4D CT is a dynamic volume imaging system of moving organs with an image quality comparable to conventional CT, and is realized with continuous and high-speed cone-beam CT. In order to realize 4D CT, we have developed a novel 2D detector on the basis of the present CT technology, and mounted it on the gantry frame of the state-of-the-art CT-scanner. In the present report we describe the design of the first model of 4D CT-scanner as well as the early results of performance test. The x-ray detector for the 4D CT-scanner is a discrete pixel detector in which pixel data are measured by an independent detector element. The numbers of elements are 912 (channels) ${\times}$ 256 (segments) and the element size is approximately 1mm ${\times}$ 1mm. Data sampling rate is 900views(frames)/sec, and dynamic range of A/D converter is 16bits. The rotation speed of the gantry is l.0sec/rotation. Data transfer system between rotating and stationary parts in the gantry consists of laser diode and photodiode pairs, and achieves net transfer speed of 5Gbps. Volume data of 512${\times}$512${\times}$256 voxels are reconstructed with FDK algorithm by parallel use of 128 microprocessors. Normal volunteers and several phantoms were scanned with the scanner to demonstrate high image quality.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.9 no.12
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• pp.107-113
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dose and image quality according to the rotation of the X-axis direction in the abdominal CT scan, and to find ways to reduce the exposure dose. The phantom was scanned by rotating in the X-axis direction at 0, 5, 10, and 15 degrees, respectively. The CTDIvol value, HU, noise, and signal-to-noise ratio were measured at each rotation. ANOVA analysis was performed using the SPSSWIN (ver 19.0) program. The radiation exposure dose was 5.44mGy, 5.70mGy, 5.98mGy and 6.38mGy at 0, 5, 10 and 15 degrees, respectively. HU, noise, and signal-to-noise ratio were not statistically significant. In the CT scan, if the patient is located in the isocenter of the gantry aperture and there is no rotation in the X-axis direction, the exposure dose is reduced.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.7-14
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide basic information for the establishment of a Heavy Ion Therapy center by analyzing the cases of Heavy Ion Therapy devices, introducing the equipment and space composition of Heavy Ion Therapy equipments. Methods: This study is carried out by study the Heavy Ion Therapy, by figure out status of the installation of treatment centers around the world and by analyze the composition of Heavy Ion Therapy equipments and spaces through case studies. Results: The results of this study, which investigated the treatment of Heavy Ion Therapy and analyzed the plans of the five Heavy Ion Therapy centers, are summarized as follows. 1) Heavy Ion equipment requires a significant floor area. Vertical as well, many cross-sectional areas need to be secured for the construction of a delivery system. The Heavy Ion Therapy device should be built as a shielded wall because of the radiation leaking. Therefore, it is necessary to consist of a independent treatment center. 2) The size of Heavy Ion devices is getting smaller. Linac can be put into syncrotron. and the size of syncrotron, delivery system, and rotating-gantry is getting smaller. 3) Japan is often installed for treatment, and control rooms are integrated, while Europe has secured research space and each control room is separated. Implications: People are not familiar with the Heavy Ion Therapy. And the effectiveness of the treatment is not well promoted yet. Hopefully, more attention will be paid to the research involved in the Heavy Ion Therapy.