• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
• /
• v.34 no.5
• /
• pp.48-57
• /
• 2019

As the super-aged society approaches rapidly, the number of people suffering from post-stroke and other neurological disorders is significantly increasing, where prompt and intensive rehabilitation is essential for such people to resume their physical activities in normal daily lives. To overcome the inherent limitations of manual physical therapy, various types of exoskeleton robots are being employed. However, the need of the hour is softer, thinner, lighter, and even stretchable systems for precisely monitoring the motion of each joint without restricting the patients' movements in rehabilitation tasks. In this paper, we discuss the technological trends and current status of emerging stretchable rehabilitation systems, in which sensors, interconnects, and signal-processing circuits are monolithically integrated within a single stretchable substrate attachable to the skin. Such skin-like stretchable rehabilitation devices are expected to provide much more convenient, user-friendly, and motivating rehabilitation to patients with neurological impairments.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.63 no.1
• /
• pp.69-79
• /
• 2020

Objective : To analyze trends in the incidence and treatment of diseases associated with ischemic stroke, namely, cerebral infarction (CI), cerebral arterial stenosis (CASTN), and moyamoya disease (MMD), based on Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) data from 2008 to 2016. Methods : Data was extracted from the national health-claim database provided by the NHIS for 2008-2016 using International Classification of Diseases codes. The crude and age-standardized incidences of each disease (CI, CASTN without a history of CI, and MMD) were calculated; additional analyses were conducted according to age and sex. Trends in the number of patients undergoing treatment according to treatment method were analyzed for each disease using the Korean Classification of Diseases procedure codes. Results : In 2016, the total number of adults with newly diagnosed CI was 83939, reflecting a 9.4% decrease from that in 2008. The age-standardized incidence of CI in adults was 153.2 per 100000 person-years in 2016, reflecting a 37.2% decrease from that in 2008, while that of CASTN was 167.3 per 100000 person-years in 2016, reflecting a 73.3% increase from that in 2008. Among treated cases, the number of patients who underwent intra-arterial (IA) treatment, including IA fibrinolysis and mechanical thrombectomy, showed the most prominent increase, increasing at an annual rate of 25.8%. For CASTN, the number of cases treated with carotid artery stenting or balloon angioplasty (CAS) showed the most prominent increase, increasing at a rate of 69.8% over the 9-year period. For MMD, the total number of patients with newly diagnosed MMD and that with adult MMD demonstrated significantly increasing trends, while the number of pediatric patients with newly diagnosed MMD declined by 18.0% over the 9-year period. The age-standardized incidences of pediatric and adult MMD in 2016 were 2.4 and 3.4 per 100000 person-years, respectively. Conclusion : Although the incidence of CI showed a declining trend over a 9-year period, the number and proportion of patients treated for CI increased. Meanwhile, the incidence of CASTN and the number of patients treated for CASTN have demonstrated increasing trends since 2008. On the other hand, the number of patients diagnosed with pediatric MMD decreased, despite no significant change in the incidence. In contrast, the number of patients and the incidence of adult MMD increased. These trends reflect changes in the population structure, gains in the accessibility of imaging examinations, and the development of endovascular techniques.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.67 no.1
• /
• pp.73-83
• /
• 2024

Objective : The Act on Life-Sustaining Treatment (LST) decisions for end-of-life patients has been effective since February 2018. An increasing number of patients and their families want to withhold or withdraw from LST when medical futility is expected. This study aimed to investigate the status of the Act on LST decisions for patients with acute cerebrovascular disease at a single hospital. Methods : Between January 2017 and December 2021, 227 patients with acute cerebrovascular diseases, including hemorrhagic stroke (n=184) and ischemic stroke (n=43), died at the hospital. The study period was divided into the periods before and after the Act. Results : The duration of hospitalization decreased after the Act was implemented compared to before (15.9±16.1 vs. 11.2±18.6 days, p=0.127). The rate of obtaining consent for the LST plan tended to increase after the Act (139/183 [76.0%] vs. 27/44 [61.4%], p=0.077). Notably, none of the patients made an LST decision independently. Ventilator withdrawal was more frequently performed after the Act than before (52/183 [28.4%] vs. 0/44 [0%], p<0.001). Conversely, the rate of organ donation decreased after the Act was implemented (5/183 [2.7%] vs. 6/44 [13.6%], p=0.008). Refusal to undergo surgery was more common after the Act was implemented than before (87/149 [58.4%] vs. 15/41 [36.6%], p=0.021) among the 190 patients who required surgery. Conclusion : After the Act on LST decisions was implemented, the rate of LST withdrawal increased in patients with acute cerebrovascular disease. However, the decision to withdraw LST was made by the patient's family rather than the patient themselves. After the execution of the Act, we also observed an increased rate of refusal to undergo surgery and a decreased rate of organ donation. The Act on LST decisions may reduce unnecessary treatments that prolong end-of-life processes without a curative effect. However, the widespread application of this law may also reduce beneficial treatments and contribute to a decline in organ donation.

• Journal of Multimedia Information System
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.39-42
• /
• 2017

Communication between human and machine is having been researched from last few decades and still it's a challenging task because human behavior is unpredictable. When it comes on handwritten digits almost each human has their own writing style. Handwritten digit recognition plays an important role, especially in the courtesy amounts on bank checks, postal code on mail address etc. In our study, we proposed an efficient feature extraction system for recognizing single digit number drawn by mouse or by a finger on a screen. Our proposed method combines basic image processing and reading the strokes of a line drawn. It is very simple and easy to implement in various platform as compare to the system which required high system configuration. This system has been designed, implemented, and tested successfully.

• The Journal of Korea Assosiation for Disability and Oral Health
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.40-44
• /
• 2019

Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a chronic, occlusive cerebrovascular disease of unknown etiology characterized by progressive stenosis at the terminal portion of the internal carotid artery and an abnormal vascular network at the base of the brain. The clinical presentations of MMD include transient ischemic attacks (TIA), ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, seizures, headache, and cognitive impairment. MMD is the most important cause of stroke or TIA in children in East Asian countries. A 5-year-3-month old boy with MMD experienced cerebral infarctions five times. Cerebrovascular anastomosis surgery was performed on him four years ago. He had dysphagia, developmental delay, hemiplegia, and strabismus. Besides, a number of dental caries in primary dentition were identified during clinical oral examination. Dental treatment under general anesthesia using sevoflurane was performed due to his lack of cooperation and underlying systemic disease. MMD is associated with various medical diseases requiring thoughtful consideration during dental treatment. Crying and hyperventilation in MMD patients may cause hypocapnia and have a cerebral vasoconstrictive effect. If dental treatment is required, control of pain and anxiety is very important. General anesthesia may be considered for dental treatment in uncooperative or very young patients with MMD.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.81-93
• /
• 2006

This study was carried out to examine the actual condition of health promotion program through oriental medicine in the health center and to provide basic data to develop proper policy of oriental medical health promotion program for the community people. The data were collected from 26 health centers which have been implementing the oriental medical health promotion program, using selfadministered questionnaire for two weeks from 1 October to 15 October 2006. The results are as follows : Generally, the respondents have the positive views on the level of budget and facilities/equipments of the oriental medical health promotion program in health center. However, they have the negative views on the level of manpower and education/training of the program. And also more than 70% of the respondents have the negative opinion on capabilities of formulating and evaluating the oriental medical health promotion program. The respondents indicated that there was the lack of coordination between the oriental medical health promotion program and existing health promotion in health center, and that low rate of utilizing community resources. With regard to the method of selecting the target group for the program, there are differences according to the each program. Many programs tended to select the target group not through the criteria of life-course and illness group but through the efficiency of selecting group. And many programs such as stroke prevention program, constitutional medicine program, oriental medical prenatal program, oriental medical prenatal and postnatal program, oriental medical child care program are mainly composed of the development of educational program and lecture. Regarding the number of the present oriental medical health promotion programs, around 65% of respondents answered that the number of the programs was many and thus they needed to decrease to the proper level. And with regard to the priority of the need, effectiveness and the satisfaction for each programs, on the whole, Qui gong program, stroke prevention program, area-specialty program and oriental medical home visiting program have high score. In particular, oriental medical quit-smoking program has lowest score. From these results, it requires to develop and improve the oriental medical health promotion program in health center considering the need and characteristics of community.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.90-97
• /
• 2016

Background: We have previously found that intra-peritoneal lidocaine instillation before pneumoperitoneum attenuates pneumoperitoneum-induced hypertension. Whether this procedure alters patient's hemodynamic status during operation should be determined for clinical application. This study elucidated the possible mechanism of the attenuation of the pneumoperitoneum-induced hypertension by intra-peritoneal lidocaine before pneumoperitoneum. Methods: Thirty-four patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) were randomly allocated into two groups. After induction of general anesthesia, 200 mL of 0.2% lidocaine (lidocaine group, n=17), or normal saline (control group, n=17) were sub-diaphragmatically instilled 10 minutes before pneumoperitoneum. The changes in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, central venous pressure, stroke volume, cardiac output, and systemic vascular resistance were compared between the groups. The number of analgesics used during post-operative 24 h was compared. Results: Systolic blood pressure was elevated during pneumoperitoneum in both groups (p<0.01), but the degree of elevation was significantly reduced in the lidocaine group than in the control (p<0.01). However, stroke volume and cardiac output were decreased and systemic vascular resistance was increased after induction of pneumoperitoneum (p<0.05) without statistical difference between two groups. The number of analgesics used was significantly reduced in the lidocaine group (p<0.01). Conclusion: These data suggest that intra-peritoneal lidocaine before pneumoperitoneum does not alter patient's hemodynamics, and attenuation of pneumoperitoneum-induced hypertension may be the consequence of reduced intra-abdominal pain rather than the decrease of cardiac output during pneumoperitoneum. Therefore, intra-peritoneal lidocaine instillation before pneumoperitoneum is a useful method to manage an intraoperative pneumoperitoneum-induced hypertension and to control postoperative pain without severe detrimental hemodynamic effects.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.546-559
• /
• 1997

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of cavity preparation and to determine the incidence of tooth crack when root-end retrograde cavity preparation was done with ultrasonics. 91 distobuccal root-ends of extracted human maxillary first molars were cut by 3 mm perpendicularly to the long axis of tooth using a slow speed diamond saw, retrocavities were prepared using a slow-speed no. 2 round bur as controls, and stainless steel ultrasonic tips of power settings of 1 through 10 as experimentals. Time consumed and the number of strokes used for the cavity preparation were measured and evaluated, and the incidence of tooth cracks was observed under a stereomicroscope. The results were as follows : For the retrograde cavity preparation, time and number of strokes used were decreased as the ultrasonic power setting increased (p<0.001). High power setting of ultrasonics induced significantly more tooth cracks than did the slow-speed bur or low- and medium power setting of ultrasonics (p<0.05). Teeth with previous crack induced significantly more tooth cracks than those without previous one when high power setting of ultrasonics were used for the retrograde cavity preparation (p<0.001). Teeth with initial apical canal size of no. 10 induced significantly more crack than did those with size of no. 15 when low power setting of ultrasonics were used for the retrograde cavity preparation (p<0.05).

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.146-155
• /
• 1986

Until recently, the calculation of torsional vibration for the marine diesel engine shafting has been performed only for vibratory stresses of resonant points and vibratory stresses for other engine speeds are determined by the estimation. With the advent of energy-saving engines which have a long stroke and a small number of cylinders, the first major critical torsional vibration of the propulsion shaft appears ordinarily near the MCR speed of engine and the flank of its vibratory stress exceeds now and then the limit stress defined by the rules of Classification Society. In order to know the above condition in the design stage of propulsion shafting, it is necessary to calculate the forced torsional vibration with the damping of propulsion shafting for all orders and to synthesize its calculated results according to their phase angles. In this study, the forced torsional vibrations with the damping of propulsion shafting are calculated for several orders by mechanical impedance method, and their results are synthesized. A computer program for above calculations are developed and some test-runs of the developed program are performed for propulsion shaftings of actual ships. The results of calculations are compared with measured values and also with those of the modal analysis method. They show fairly good agreements and the developed program is checked up on its reliability.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.27-35
• /
• 1996

The ship's propulsion efficiency depends upon a combibation of engine and propeller. The propeller has better efficiency as the engine has lower rotational speed. This situation led the engine manufacures to design the engine that has lower speed, longer stroke and a small number of cylinders. With this new trends the conventional mechanical-hydrualic governors for engine speed control have been replaced by digital speed controllers which adopted the PID control or the optimal control algorithm. But these control algorithms have not enough robustness to suppress the variations of the delay-time and the parameter perturbation especially in low speed engine. In this study we consider the perturbations of the engine parameters as the modeling uncetainties and design a robust speed controller for marine medium speed diesel engine by means of $ extit{H}_{infty}$control theory having the central solution. By comparing the results of the robust speed controller with those of mechanical governor and PID controller, the validity of the robust speed controller under parameter variations is confirmed. The speed control of the experimental diesel engine of carried out using actuator which is composed of PWM signal generator and D.C servo motor.