• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.573-584
• /
• 2012

Breast and prostate tumors or cancers tend to be stiffer than the surrounding normal tissue. However, the difference in echogenicity between cancerous and normal tissues is not clearly distinguishable in ultrasound B-mode imaging. Thus, imaging the stiffness contrast between the two different tissue types helps to diagnose lesions quantitatively, and such a method of imaging the elasticity of human tissue is termed ultrasound elasticity imaging. Recently, elasticity imaging has become an effective complementary diagnostic modality along with ultrasound B-mode imaging. This paper presents various elasticity imaging methods that have been reported up to now and describes their characteristics and principles of operation.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 1995.10a
• /
• pp.248-251
• /
• 1995

Nowadays, the internal images of a human body can be easily provided by the ultrasound imaging, the X-ray CT, or the MRI device, among which the ultrasound imaging device has good resolution for soft tissues of a human body compared with the other devices. Furthermore, the use of ultrasound imaging devices will increase in future especially in the obstetrics, territory, since it does not give harm to the human body. Although several techniques have been investigated until now in order to extract organs from ultrasound images, very few of them have achieved satisfactory results because of low contrast and high noise nature of images. This paper proposes a technique for automatic extraction of the gall bladder area from ultrasound images. The proposed technique first extracts a small reliable area of a gall bladder from an ultrasound image employing smoothing, binarization, expanding and shrinking, and labeling, and then expands the area referring to the binarized version of the original image. The technique is examined its performance by real ultrasound images of a gall bladder and satisfactory results are obtained. Some problems to be solved are discussed finally.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.79-87
• /
• 2024

The tarsus in dogs has a complex structure that makes its evaluation relatively challenging. Because an accurate diagnosis of the tarsus is difficult through basic examinations alone, imaging tests are essential. Previous studies have explored the anatomical and radiological features of the canine tarsus using several imaging modalities. However, the imaging utility of the tarsus across different modalities has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study aimed to visualize the tarsal structures using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography, compare their utility, and propose suitable imaging modalities and conditions for evaluating specific tarsal structures. Magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound scans of the tarsus of four healthy dogs were performed, and two observers rated the utility of each image on a five-point scale. Although MRI is more beneficial for assessing the tarsal structures than ultrasound, ultrasound also appears clinically useful for evaluating the cranial tibialis muscle, deep digital flexor tendon, subcutaneous fat, joint space, and superficial digital flexor tendon. In addition, each structure of interest can be evaluated for optimal visibility using specific ultrasound sections, MRI sequences, and planes. In veterinary clinical practice, an initial assessment using ultrasound imaging with optimal visibility is required and if further evaluation is necessary, MRI examinations with optimal MRI sequences and planes can be performed.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.22-29
• /
• 2006

This paper proposes an efficient array beamforming method using spatial matched filtering for ultrasound imaging. In the proposed method, ultrasound waves are transmitted from an array subaperture with fixed transmit focus as in conventional array imaging. At receive, radio frequency (RF) echo signals from each receive channel are passed through a spatial matched filter that is constructed based on the system transmit-receive spatial impulse response. The filtered echo signals are then summed. The filter remaps and spatially registers the acoustic energy from each element so that the pulse-echo impulse response of the summed output is focused with acceptably low side lobes. Analytical beam pattern analysis and simulation results using a linear array show that the proposed spatial filtering method can provide more improved spatial resolution and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) compared with conventional dynamic receive focusing (DRF) method by implementing two-way dynamically focused beam pattern throughout the field.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.151-157
• /
• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to report the clinical effect of Shihosogan-tang extract on NAFLD through ultrasound. Methods: The patient was treated with Shihosogan-tang extract. We observed the changes in symptoms and ultrasound imaging on a patient with NAFLD. Results: After treatment, the symptoms of the patient with NAFLD were decreased and ultrasound imaging were improved from moderate to mild grade. Conclusion: The patient of NAFLD was improved in symptoms and ultrasound imaging.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.11 no.5
• /
• pp.1486-1491
• /
• 2016

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.135-144
• /
• 2024

Ultrasonography examination has limitations in quantifying hepatic fat quantification. Therefore, this study aimed to experimentally demonstrate whether changes in signal attenuation during ultrasound imaging can be quantified using simulated hepatic phantoms to assess hepatic fat content. Additionally, we aimed to evaluate the potential of ultrasound imaging for diagnosing hepatic fatty liver by analyzing the relationship between hepatic fat content and signal intensity in ultrasound images. In this study, we developed a total of five stimulated hepatic phantoms by homogeneously mixing water and oil. We confirmed the fat content of the phantoms using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound imaging, and measured signal intensity according to distance in ultrasound images to analyze the correlation and mean comparison between fat content and signal intensity. We observed that as the fat content increased, the ultrasound penetration intensity decreased, confirming the potential for quantifying hepatic fat content using ultrasound. Additionally, the analysis of the correlation between the measured fat content using MRI and the signal intensity measured in ultrasound images showed a high correlation. Statistical analysis in our study confirmed that as the fat content increased, the slope representing signal during ultrasound imaging (US-GRE) decreased. In this study, it was statistically confirmed that the US-GRE value of ultrasound images gradually decreases as the fat content increases, and it is believed that US-GRE can serve as a biomarker expressing fatty liver content.

• Clinical Pain
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.86-92
• /
• 2021

Ultrasound imaging in clinical practice is one of the widely used diagnostic methods because there is no radiation risk, more cost- effective compared to MRI or CT, and possible to perform an intervention through fast real-time imaging. In order to increase the diagnostic value, the studies of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using an ultrasound contrast agent have been actively conducted since about 50 years ago and are being used clinically in vascularity and microcirculation of internal organs. Although ultrasound is actively used for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases in musculoskeletal disorders, there are some limitations in diagnosing mild or small lesions, inflammatory reactions, or abnormalities at the molecular level. In this review, the principles, types, and research, and clinical applications of ultrasound contrast agents have been summarized and introduced. If we understand the characteristics of the ultrasound contrast agents and anatomical knowledge, as well as molecular changes, the ultrasound contrast agents are widely applied in musculoskeletal disorders and have tremendous potential for diagnosis and treatment.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.43-48
• /
• 2020

Objective: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a major sequela after surgery or radiotherarpy for breast cancer. Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) is designed to reduce lymph swelling by facilitating lymphatic drainage. This study attempted to determine the histologic changes in the skin and subcutaneous layer, and the immediate effect of MLD in decreasing lymphedema using ultrasound imaging, which is the method used most commonly to eliminate BCRL. Design: A single-group experimental study. Methods: Five subjects who were diagnosed with hemiparetic upper extremity lymphedema more than six months after breast cancer surgery participated in the study. MLD was performed for 60 minutes in the order of the thorax, breast, axilla, and upper arm of the affected side. In order to determine the effect of MLD, ultrasound imaging and limb volume were assessed. Two measurement tools were used for asessing lymphedema thickness among the pretest, posttest, and 30-minute follow-up period. Results: Significant diferences in ultrasound imaging and upper limb volume were found between the affected side and non-affected side (p<0.05). On the affected side, although ultrasound imaging showed a significant decrease after MLD (p<0.05), there were no significant difference in upper limb volume when compared to the baseline. Conclusions: In this study, a significant decrease in lymphedema by MLD was demonstrated by ultrasound imaging, which is considered to be more useful in assessing histological changes than limb volume measurements. Further research on the protocol for eliminating lymphedema will be needed.

• Clinical Pain
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.7-14
• /
• 2021

Musculoskeletal ultrasound has evolved as the essential tool to diagnose and guide intervention procedures in people with neuromusculoskeletal conditions. Image optimization and understanding device operations are core components for ultrasound guided intervention procedure training. All ultrasound machines share the common operative features and there are various buttons for the features in the device control panel. Ultrasound "knobology" refers to the thorough understanding of imaging optimization. This review addressed basic information for the transducers, depth setting, gain and focus control, different modes focusing on brightness and doppler modes.