• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.14-24
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• 2016

Since the head and neck region is densely located with organs at risk (OAR), OAR-sparing is an important issue in the treatment of head and neck cancers. This study-in which different treatment plans were performed varying the head tilt angle on brain tumor patients-investigates the optimal head elevation angle for sparing normal organs (e.g. the hippocampus) and further compares the dosimetric characteristics of different types of radiation equipment. we performed 3D conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and tomotherapy on 10 patients with brain tumors in the frontal lobe while varying the head tilt angle of patients to analyze the dosimetric characteristics of different therapy methods. In each treatment plan, 95% of the tumor volume was irradiated with a dose of 40 Gy in 10 fractions. The step and shoot technique with nine beams was used for IMRT, and the same prescription dose was delivered to the tumor volume for the 3D-CRT and tomotherapy plans. The homogeneity index, conformity index, and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) were calculated. At a head elevation angle of $30^{\circ}$, conformity of the isodose curve to the target increased on average by 53%, 8%, and 5.4%. In 3D-CRT, the maximum dose received by the brain stem decreased at $15^{\circ}$, $30^{\circ}$, and $40^{\circ}$, compared to that observed at $0^{\circ}$. The NTCP value of the hippocampus observed in each modality was the highest at a head and neck angle of $0^{\circ}$ and the lowest at $30^{\circ}$. This study demonstrates that the elevation of the patients' head tilt angle in radiation therapy improves the target region's homogeneity of dose distribution by increasing the tumor control rate and conformity of the isodose curve to the target. Moreover, the study shows that the elevation of the head tilt angle lowers the NTCP by separating the tumor volume from the normal tissues, which helps spare OARs and reduce the delivered dose to the hippocampus.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.130-139
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• 2007

The disaster from functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) has detrimental impact on the quality of life of the affected population. There are, however, rare diagnostic methods for FGID. Our research group identified recently that the gastrointestinal tract well of the patients with FGID became more rigid than that of healthy people when palpating the abdominal regions overlaying the gastrointestinal tract. The objective of the current study is, therefore, to identify feasibility of a diagnostic system for FGID based on ultrasound technique, which can quantify the characteristics above. Two-dimensional finite difference (FD) models (one normal and two rigid models) were developed to analyze the reflective characteristic (displacement) on each soft-tissue layer responded after application of ultrasound signals. Based on the results from FD analysis, the ultrasound system for diagnosis of the FGID was developed and clinically tested via application of it to 40 human subjects with/without FGID who were assigned to Normal and Patient Groups. The results from FD analysis showed that the maximum displacement amplitude in the rigid models (0.12 and 0.16) at the interface between the fat and muscle layers was explicitly less than that in the normal model (0.29). The results from actual specimens showed that the maximum amplitude of the ultrasound reflective signal in the rigid models $(0.2{\pm}0.1Vp-p)$ at the interface between the fat and muscle layers was explicitly higher than that in the normal model $(0.1{\pm}0.0Vp-p)$. Clinical tests using our customized ultrasound system showed that the maximum amplitudes of the ultrasound reflective signals near to the gastrointestinal tract well for the patient group $(2.6{\pm}0.3Vp-p)$ were generally higher than those in normal group $(0.1{\pm}0.2Vp-p)$. These findings suggest that our customized ultrasound system using the ultrasound reflective signal may be helpful to the diagnosis of the FGID.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2020

Iron oxide nanoparticles were microencapsulated using fibroin, a protein polymer of silk fiber, for theragnostic applications. The content of iron oxide was determined to be 4.28% by thermogravimetric analysis and 5.11% by magnetometer. A suspension of murine fibroblast 3T3 cells grown in medium supplemented with iron oxide-microcapsules turned clear in response to the magnetic force and the cells aggregated to the magnet direction. Neodymium magnets placed on the top of the culture dish, and attracted cells to the center of the culture surface. The cells collected on the culture surface aggregated to form a rough spheroid of 2 mm in a diameter after 72 h. In the outer layer of the cell aggregate, cells were relatively large and gathered together to form a dense tissue, but the central part was observed to undergo cell death due to the mass transfer restriction. In the outer layer, iron oxide-microcapsules were lined up like chains in the direction of magnetic force. Using microCT, it was demonstrated that the iron oxides inside the cell aggregate were not evenly distributed but biased to the magnetic direction.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.81-90
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• 1998

Electromagnetic waves may induce various effects on nervous tissues either by thermal or non-thermal mechanisms. This paper intoduces a method to evalute the non-thermal effect to central nervous system by measuring the EEGs of the rabbits treated by nimodipine before exposed to weak microwave field. 20 rabbits were divided into 2 groups and their EEGs were measured after their head section were exposed to 2,450 MHz microwave with the power density of 10 dBm and 20 dBm respectively for 10 minutes and compared with those of the 3rd group of 10 rabbits which were not exposed. The 4th group of 10 rabbits were intravenously given with nimodipine before exposed to 20 dBm field to determine whether this drug would reverse the EEGs changes induced by weak microwave irradiation. As field poser exceeded 20 dBm although no significant physiological changes were observed, total induced EEGs power was remarkably decreased suggesting the presence of CNS activation. Using Fourier analysis on the EEGs signal it was found that remarkable decrease in delta band and increase in the alpha and beta bands in a significant manner(P<0.05) compared to control group. The changes were, however, not reversed by nimodipine-treatment. The effects may be pure thermal in nature because no significant change has been observed in nimodipine treated rabbits.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.491-497
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• 2014

Nowadays, starfish is one of problems about interruption of marine ecosystem, so many researchers are focusing on application of the starfish (Asterias amurensis). In this study, we investigated the contractile and relaxant activity of the smooth muscles and the antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of six different tissues (muscle, gut, liver, tube feet, gonads, and body) of A. amurensis. Frozen samples were extracted with distilled water containing 1% acetic acid. Extracts from all the tissues, except the body tissue, showed potent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli D31. The dorsal retractor muscles (DRM) of muscle and gut extracts showed strong contraction responses. On the other hand, contractile activity on esophagus of squid Todarodes pacificus could be detected in all tissues tested. The contractile activity of the liver extract was higher than that of the other tissues. The body, tube feet, and liver extracts showed the contractile activity on the intestine of the panther puffer fish (Takifugu pardalis). Relaxation response on the DRM of starfish (A. pectinifera) was observed in all tissues tested. Increased antioxidant activity was observed in the gut, liver, and body extracts. The results suggest that the starfish (A. amurensis) is a potential source of novel bioactive compounds.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.195-195
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• 2016

Titanium and its alloys are widely used as implants in orthopedics, dentistry and cardiology due to their outstanding properties, such as high strength, high level of hemocompatibility and enhanced biocompatibility. Hence, recent works showed that the synthesis of new Ti-based alloys for implant application involves more biocompatible metallic alloying element, such as, Nb, Hf, Zr and Mo. In particular, Nb and Hf are one of the most effective Ti ${\beta}-stabilizer$ and reducing the elastic modulus. Plasma electrolyte oxidation (PEO) is known as excellent method in the biocompatibility of biomaterial due to quickly coating time and controlled coating condition. The anodized oxide layer and diameter modulation of Ti alloys can be obtained function of improvement of cell adhesion. Silicon (Si) and magnesium (Mg) has a beneficial effect on bone. Si in particular has been found to be essential for normal bone and cartilage growth and development. In vitro studies have shown that Mg plays very important roles in essential for normal growth and metabolism of skeletal tissue in vertebrates and can be detected as minor constituents in teeth and bone. The aim of this study is to research Si and Mg doped hydroxyapatite film formation by plasma electrolytic oxidation. Ti-29Nb-xHf (x= 0, 3, 7 and 15wt%, mass fraction) alloys were prepared Ti-29Nb-xHf alloys of containing Hf up from 0 wt% to 15 wt% were melted by using a vacuum furnace. Ti-29Nb-xHf alloys were homogenized for 2 hr at $1050^{\circ}C$. Each alloy was anodized in solution containing typically 0.15 M calcium acetate monohydrate + 0.02 M calcium glycerophosphate at room temperature. A direct current power source was used for the process of anodization. Anodized alloys was prepared using 270V~300V anodization voltage at room. A Si and Mg coating was produced by RF-magnetron sputtering system. RF power of 100W was applied to the target for 1h at room temperature. The microstructure, phase and composition of Si and Mg coated oxide surface of Ti-29Nb-xHf alloys were examined by FE-SEM, EDS, and XRD.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.197-197
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• 2016

Commercially pure titanium (CP Ti) and Ti-6Al-4V alloys have been widely used for biomedical applications. However, the use of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy in biomaterial is then a subject of controversy because aluminum ions and vanadium oxide have potential detrimental influence on the human body due to vanadium and aluminum. Hence, recent works showed that the synthesis of new Ti-based alloys for implant application involves more biocompatible metallic alloying element, such as, Nb, Hf, Zr and Mo. In particular, Nb and Hf are one of the most effective Ti ${\beta}-stabilizer$ and reducing the elastic modulus. Plasma electrolyte oxidation (PEO) is known as excellent method in the biocompatibility of biomaterial due to quickly coating time and controlled coating condition. The anodized oxide layer and diameter modulation of Ti alloys can be obtained function of improvement of cell adhesion. Manganese(Mn) plays very important roles in essential for normal growth and metabolism of skeletal tissue in vertebrates and can be detected as minor constituents in teeth and bone. Radio frequency(RF) magnetron sputtering in the various PVD methods has high deposition rates, high-purity films, extremely high adhesion of films, and excellent uniform layers for depositing a wide range of materials, including metals, alloys and ceramics like a hydroxyapatite. The aim of this study is to research the Mn coatings on the micro-pore formed Ti-29Nb-xHf alloys by RF-magnetron sputtering for dental applications. Ti-29Nb-xHf (x= 0, 3, 7 and 15wt%, mass fraction) alloys were prepared Ti-29Nb-xHf alloys of containing Hf up from 0 wt% to 15 wt% were melted by using a vacuum furnace. Ti-29Nb-xHf alloys were homogenized for 2 hr at $1050^{\circ}C$. Each alloy was anodized in solution containing typically 0.15 M calcium acetate monohydrate + 0.02 M calcium glycerophosphate at room temperature. A direct current power source was used for the process of anodization. Anodized alloys was prepared using 270V~300V anodization voltage at room. Mn coatings was produced by RF-magnetron sputtering system. RF power of 100W was applied to the target for 1h at room temperature. The microstructure, phase and composition of Mn coated oxide surface of Ti-29Nb-xHf alloys were examined by FE-SEM, EDS, and XRD.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.199-199
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• 2016

Commercially pure titanium (cp-Ti) and Ti alloys (typically Ti-6Al-4V) display excellent corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Although the chemical composition and topography are considered important, the mechanical properties of the material and the loading conditions in the host have, conventionally. Ti and its alloys are not bioactive. Therefore, they do not chemically bond to the bone, whereas they physically bond with bone tissue. The electrochemical deposition process provides an effective surface for biocompatibility because large surface area can be served to cell proliferation. Electrochemical deposition method is an attractive technique for the deposition of hydroxyapatite (HAp). However, the adhesions of these coatings to the Ti surface needs to be improved for clinical used. Plasma electrolyte oxidation (PEO) enables control in the chemical com position, porous structure, and thickness of the $TiO_2$ layer on Ti surface. In addition, previous studies h ave concluded that the presence of $Ca^{+2}$ and ${PO_4}^{3-}$ ion coating on porous $TiO_2$ surface induced adhesion strength between HAp and Ti surface during electrochemical deposition. Silicon (Si) in particular has been found to be essential for normal bone and cartilage growth and development. Zinc (Zn) plays very important roles in bone formation and immune system regulation, and is also the most abundant trace element in bone. The objective of this work was to study electrochemical characteristcs of Zn and Si coating on Ti-6Al-4V by PEO treatment. The coating process involves two steps: 1) formation of porous $TiO_2$ on Ti-6Al-4V at high potential. A pulsed DC power supply was employed. 2) Electrochemical tests were carried out using potentiodynamic and AC impedance methoeds. The morphology, the chemical composition, and the micro-structure an alysis of the sample were examined using FE-SEM, EDS, and XRD. The enhancements of the HAp forming ability arise from $Si/Zn-TiO_2$ surface, which has formed the reduction of the Si/Zn ions. The promising results successfully demonstrate the immense potential of $Si/Zn-TiO_2$ coatings in dental and biomaterials applications.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.423-430
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• 2013

Recently, the personal identification technologies using vein pattern of back of the hand, palm, and finger have been developed actively because it has the advantage that the vein blood vessel in the body is impossible to damage, make a replication and forge. However, it is difficult to extract clearly the vein region from captured vein images through common image prcessing based region segmentation method, because of the light scattering and non-uniform internal tissue by skin layer and inside layer skeleton, etc. Especially, it takes a long time for processing time and makes a discontinuity of blood vessel just in a image because it has non-uniform illumination due to use a locally different adaptive threshold for the binarization of acquired finger-vein image. To solve this problem, we propose illumination normalization based fast method for extracting the finger-vein region. The proposed method has advantages compared to the previous methods as follows. Firstly, for remove a non-uniform illumination of the captured vein image, we obtain a illumination component of the captured vein image by using a low-pass filter. Secondly, by extracting the finger-vein path using one time binarization of a single threshold selection, we were able to reduce the processing time. Through experimental results, we confirmed that the accuracy of extracting the finger-vein region was increased and the processing time was shortened than prior methods.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.237-244
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to compare method in the treatment of breast cancer using dose index. And, it is to find the optimized treatment technique to the patient. The phantom filled with tissue-equivalent material were used simulation and treatment as techniques of 3D-CRT, IMRT, VMAT was planned using Eclipse v10. By using HI(homogeneity index), CI(Conformity index), OED(Organ equivalent dose), EAR(Excess Absolute Risk), were assessed for each treatment plans. HI and CI of 3D-CRT, IMRT, VMAT were calculated 16.89, 11.21, 9.55 and 0.59, 0.61, 0.83. The organ average doses of Lt lung, Rt lung, liver, heart, esophagus, cord, Lt breast, trachea and stomach were 0.01 ~ 2.02 Gy, 0.36 ~ 5.01 Gy, 0.25 ~ 2.49 Gy, 0.14 ~ 6.92 Gy, 0.03 ~ 2.02 Gy, 0.01 ~ 1.06 Gy, 0.25 ~ 6.08 Gy, 0.08 ~ 0.59 Gy, 0.01 ~ 1.34 Gy, respectively. The OED, EAR of the IMRT and VMAT show higher than 3D-CRT. As the result of this study, we could confirm being higher dose index(HI, CI) in IMRT and VMAT than 3D-CRT, but doses of around normal organs was higher IMRT, VMAT than 3D-CRT.