• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.65-76
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• 2010

Purpose: he use of PET scanners and the number of patient in Korea have been increased for recent several years dramatically. For this reason, technologists have more possibilities to be exposed to the radiation. The hospitals using PET scanners should make an effort to reduce the radiation exposure dose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the radiation exposure does when using radiation shielding devices. The evaluation was performed through questionnaire survey and experiment. Materials and Methods: First, the technologists who had experience working in PET center in 2008-2009 were surveyed with questionnaire and TLD Figures, personal opinion of utilization of radiation shielding devices are analyzed. Second, we measured the shielding rate of shielding devices which have been using in PET study procedures. We divided the procedures into four steps; distribution, moving, injection of $^{18}F$-FDG and patient setup. Results: First, the results of this survey, using of L-block+Syringe shield, L-block, Syringe shield, No shield during the injection, were each 58.5%, 20%, 9%, 12.3%. The TLD values according to utilization of radiation shield, using both L-block+Syringe Shield and L-block showed the lower TLD values, and Syringe shield only or No shield showed the higher TLD values. Second, the results of experiments according to PET study procedures measured the shielding rates as follows. The shielding rates during the distribution using L-block, L-block+Apron shield were measured 97.4%, 97.7%. The shielding rates during the $^{18}F$-FDG delivery to the injection room using mobile Syringe shield, Syringe holder, Syringe shield carrier were each 81.7%, 98.9%, 99.7%. The shielding rates during the injection using Syringe shield, L-block, L-block+Syringe shield were measured each 51.9%, 98.3%, 98.7%. The shielding rates of Apron were measured in each 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 cm distance. The measurement were each 16.9%, 14.2%, 16.6%, 17.1%, 18.1%, 18.6%. Conclusion: The most effective method for radiation shielding is to using L-block during the $^{18}F$-FDG distribution and Syringe shield carrier during in moving $^{18}F$-FDG. For the $^{18}F$-FDG injection, L-block+Syringe shield have to be used. The shielding effect of Apron has shown average 16.4%. According to the survey of questionnaire, the operators recognized well risk of the radiation exposure but, tended ignore in working. The radiation dose according to recognition of radiation exposure risk was not relevant. but radiation dose according to utilization of radiation shield lower the more use it. The main reason of no use of shielding devices is cumbersome, 55% of the respondents answered. I'm sure, by use of radiation shield in all PET procedure, radiation exposure will be reduced considerably.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.801-809
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• 2019

Existing Gamma Knife Radiosurgery(GKRS) for large lesions is often conducted in stages with volume or dose partitions. Often in case of volume division the target used to be divided into sub-volumes which are irradiated under the determined prescription dose in multi-sessions separated by a day or two, 3~6 months. For the entire course of treatment, treatment informations of the previous stages needs to be reflected to subsequent sessions on the newly mounted stereotactic frame through coordinate transformation between sessions. However, it is practically difficult to implement the previous dose distributions with existing Gamma Knife system except in the same stereotactic space. The treatment area is expanding because it is possible to perform the multistage treatment using the latest Gamma Knife Platform(GKP). The purpose of this study is to introduce the image-coregistration based on the stereotactic spaces and the strategy of multistage GKRS such as the determination of prescription dose at each stage using new GKP. Usually in image-coregistration either surgically-embedded fiducials or internal anatomical landmarks are used to determine the transformation relationship. Author compared the accuracy of coordinate transformation between multi-sessions using four or six anatomical landmarks as an example using internal anatomical landmarks. Transformation matrix between two stereotactic spaces was determined using PseudoInverse or Singular Value Decomposition to minimize the discrepancy between measured and calculated coordinates. To evaluate the transformation accuracy, the difference between measured and transformed coordinates, i.e., ${\Delta}r$, was calculated using 10 landmarks. Four or six points among 10 landmarks were used to determine the coordinate transformation, and the rest were used to evaluate the approaching method. Each of the values of ${\Delta}r$ in two approaching methods ranged from 0.6 mm to 2.4 mm, from 0.17 mm to 0.57 mm. In addition, a method of determining the prescription dose to give the same effect as the treatment of the total lesion once in case of lesion splitting was suggested. The strategy of multistage treatment in the same stereotactic space is to design the treatment for the whole lesion first, and the whole treatment design shots are divided into shots of each stage treatment to construct shots of each stage and determine the appropriate prescription dose at each stage. In conclusion, author confirmed the accuracy of prescribing dose determination as a multistage treatment strategy and found that using as many internal landmarks as possible than using small landmarks to determine coordinate transformation between multi-sessions yielded better results. In the future, the proposed multistage treatment strategy will be a great contributor to the frameless fractionated treatment of several Gamma Knife Centers.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.771-775
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• 1997

Treatment with electron beam irradiation was investigated for the elimination of Escherichia coli O157:H7 which has been linked to outbreaks of foodborne illness on undercooked and raw meat. Before treatment, the maximum populations were observed at 16 hr when E. coli O157:H7 was incubated in TSB at $37^{\circ}C$. Incubation at $4^{\circ}C$ did not influence survival and growth of the strain. The numbers of E. coli O157:H7 were present about $10^{7}\;CFU/mL$ in the log $(6\;hr\;at\;37^{\circ}C)$ and stationary phase $(16\;hr\;at\;37^{\circ}C)$ of cells, respectively. Freezing $(24\;hr\;at\;-18^{\circ})$ had a more marked lethal effect. The $D_{10}$ value at $-18^{\circ}C$ of E. coli O157:H7 contaminated in frozen beef was 0.45 kGy, and inactivation factor were $6.67{\sim}11.11$ at the radiation doses of $3{\sim}5\;kGy$. Therefore, electron beam irradiation was an effective method to eleminate of E. coli O157:H7.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.329-336
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• 2014

Purpose : To evaluate the dose on a contralateral breast and the usefulness of shielding according to the distance between the contralateral breast and the side of the beam by breast size when patients who got breast implant receive radiation therapy. Materials and Methods : We equipped 200 cc, 300 cc, 400 cc, and 500 cc breast model on the human phantom (Rando-phantom), acquired CT images (philips 16channel, Netherlands) and established the radiation treatment plan, 180 cGy per day on the left breast (EclipseTM ver10.0.42, Varian Medical Systems, USA) by size. We set up each points, A, B, C, and D on the right(contralateral) breast model for measurement by size and by the distance from the beam and attached MOSFET at each points. The 6 MV, 10 MV and 15 MV X-ray were irradiated to the left(target) breast model and we measured exposure dose of contralateral breast model using MOSFET. Also, at the same condition, we acquired the dose value after shielding using only Pb 2 mm and bolus 3 mm under the Pb 2 mm together. Results : As the breast model is bigger from 200 cc to 500 cc, The surface of the contralateral breast is closer to the beam. As a result, from 200 cc to 500 cc, on 180 cGy basis, the measurement value of the scattered ray inclined by 3.22 ~ 4.17% at A point, 4.06 ~ 6.22% at B point, 0.4~0.5% at C point, and was under 0.4% at D point. As the X-ray energy is higher, from 6 MV to 15 MV, on 180 cGy basis, the measurement value of the scattered ray inclined by 4.06~5% at A point, 2.85~4.94% at B point, 0.74~1.65% at C point, and was under 0.4% at D point. As using Pb 2 mm for shield, scattered ray declined by average 9.74% at A and B point, 2.8% at C point, and is under 1% at D point. As using Pb 2 mm and bolus together for shield, scattered ray declined by average 9.76% at A and B point, 2.2% at C point, and is under 1% at D point. Conclusion : Commonly, in case of patients who got breast implant, there is a distance difference by breast size between the contralateral breast and the side of beam. As the distance is closer to the beam, the scattered ray inclined. At the same size of the breast, as the X-ray energy is higher, the exposure dose by scattered ray tends to incline. As a result, as low as possible energy wihtin the plan dose is good for reducing the exposure dose.

• 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.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.233-241
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• 1994

Purpose : This study was performed to verify dose distribution with the tissue compensator which is used for uniform dose distribution in total body irradiation(TBI). Materials and methods : The compensators were made of lead(0.8mm thickness) and aluminum(1mm or 5mm thickness) plates. The humanoid phantom of adult size was made of paraffin as a real treatment position for bilateral total body technique. The humanoid phantom was set at 360cm of source-axis distance(SAD) and irradiated with geographical field size(FS) $144{\times}144cm^2(40{\times}40cm^2$ at SAD 100cm) which covered the entire phantom. Irradiation was done with 10MV X-ray(CLINAC 1800, Varian Co., USA) of linear accelerator set at Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Chonnam University Hospital. The midline absorbed dose was checked at the various regions such as head, mouth, mid-neck, sternal notch, mid-mediastinum, xiphoid, umbilicus, pelvis, knee and ankle with or without compensator, respectively. We used exposure/exposure rate meter(model 192, Capintec Inc., USA) with ionization chamber(PR 05) for dosimetry, For the dosimetry of thorax region TLD rods of $1x1x6mm^3$ in volume(LiF, Harshaw Co., Netherland) was used at the commercially available humanoid phantom. Results : The absorbed dose of each point without tissue compensator revealed significant difference(from $-11.8\%\;to\;21.1\%$) compared with the umbilicus dose which is a dose prescription point in TBI. The absorbed dose without compensator at sternal notch including shoulder was $11.8\%$ less than the dose of umbilicus. With lead compensator the absorbed doses ranged from $+1.3\%\;to\;-5.3\%$ except mid-neck which revealed over-compensation($-7.9\%$). In case of aluminum compensator the absorbed doses were measured with less difference(from $-2.6{\%}\;to\;5.3\%$) compared with umbilicus dose. Conclusion : Both of lead and aluminum compensators applied to the skull or lower leg revealed a good compensation effect. It was recognized that boost irradiation or choosing reference point of dose prescription at sternal notch according to the lateral thickness of patient in TBI should be considered.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.143-150
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• 2014

In general radiotherapy, mega-voltage (MV) x-ray images are widely used as the unique method to verify radio-therapeutic fields. But, the image quality of MV images is much lower than that of kilo-voltage x-ray images due to scatter interactions. Since 1990s, studies for the scatter correction have performed with digital-based MV imaging systems. In this study, a novel method for the scatter correction is suggested using scatter to primary ratio (SPR), instead of conventional methods such as digital image processing or scatter kernel calculations. We measured two MV images with and without a solid water phantom describing a patient body with given imaging conditions, and calculated un-attenuated ratios. Then, we obtained SPR distributions for the scatter correction. For experimental validation, a line-pair (LP) phantom using several Al bars and a clinical pelvis MV image was used. As the result, scatter signals of the LP phantom image were successfully reduced so that original density distribution of the phantom was restored. Moreover, image contrast values increased after SPR correction at all ROIs of the clinical image. The mean value of increases was 48%. The SPR correction method suggested in this study has high reliability because it is based on actually measured data. Also, this method can be easily adopted in clinics without additional cost. We expected that the SPR correction can be an effective method to improve the quality of MV image guided radiotherapy.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.177-185
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• 2014

This study focused on effects of patient exposure dose reduction with AEC (Auto Exposure Control) marker that is designed for showing location of AEC in X-ray Chest radiography. It included 880 adults who have to use Chest X-ray Digital Radiography system (DRS, LISTEM, Korea). AEC (Ion chambers are posited in top of both sides) are used to every adult and set X-ray system as Field size $17{\times}17inch$, 120kVp, FFD 180cm. 440 people of control group are posited on detector to include both sides of lung field and the other 440 people of experimental group are set to contact their lung directly to Ion chamber (making marker to shows location). Then, measured every DAP and, estimated patient effective dose by using PCXMC 2.0. The average age of control group (M:F=245:195) is 53.9 and the average BMI is 23.4. BMI ranges from under weight: 35, normal range: 279, over weight: 106 to obese: 20 and average DAP is 223.56mGycm2, Mean effective dose is 0.045mSv. The average age of experimental group (M:F=197:243) is 53.7 and the average BMI is 22.7. BMI ranges from under weight: 34, normal range: 315, over weight: 85 to obese: 6 and average DAP is 207.36mGycm2, Mean effective dose is 0.041mSv. Experimental group shows less Mean effective dose as 0.004mSv (9.7%) than control group. Also, patient numbers who got over exposure more than 0.056mSv (limit point to know efficiency of AEC marker) is 65 in control group (14.7%), 19 in experimental group (4.3%) and take statistics with t-Test. The statistical difference between two groups is 0.006. In order to use proper amount of X-ray in auto exposure controlled chest X-ray system, matching location between ion chamber and body part is needed, and using AEC marker (designed for showing location of ion chamber) is a way to reduce unnecessary patient exposure dose.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.288-293
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• 1986

The washed fresh ginsengs packed with air, vaccum and nitrogen gas were irradiated at the levels of 1,2 and 3kGy gamma radiation and then stored at $4{\sim}5^{\circ}C$ for 90days to investigate the effects of gamma radiation on microbial inactivation, eelworm disinfestation and physicochemical changes. After a 90 day storage, $2{\sim}3kGy$ irradiated groups showed 20% of weight loss and 10% of rot while non-irradiated group 100% and 20% or more, respectively. Also the irradiated groups showed somewhat lower values of specific gravity, color density and hardness immediately after irradiation, thereafter higher value of them with storage time than those of non-irradiated group. The irradiation increased the yields of ginseng extract and crude saponins but no effects on the proximate composition and TLC and HPLC patterns of saponin. The food-borne microorganisms decreased in viable cell counts by $2{\sim}3$ log cycles with $2{\sim}3kGy$ radiation and the eelworms were completely disinfested with 1 kGy radiation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.5 s.72
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• pp.790-795
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• 2005

The effects of liquid culture of Coriolus (C) versicolor on weight gain, food intakes, food efficiency ratios, serum and hepatic lipid concentrations were investigated in male rats fed the high cholesterol diets. Eight weeks old Sprague-Dawley rats were given three different types of diet for six weeks, respectively: a control diet ($ 20\% fat +0.5 \% $ cholesterol), two kinds of C versicolor diet (control diet + $ 30\% or 40\%$C. versicozor in water) according to the levels of C. versicolor supplementation. The body weight gains of the rats fed $ 30\% or 40\% $ C. versicolor diets were lower than those in the rats fed the control diet. The food intake, food efficiency ratios, and liver, kidney, epididymal fat pad weights of the rats fed $ 30\% or 40\%$ C. versicoEer diets were similar to those of the rats fed the control diet. The concentrations of hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride in the rats fed $ 30\% or 40\% $ C. versicolor diets were significantly lower than those in the rats fed the control diet. The concentrations in serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and atherogenic index ratios were significantly lower in the rats fed $ 30\% or 40\%$ C. versicolor diets compared to those fed the control diet. The HDL-cholesterol/total-cholesterol ratios was significantly higher in the rats fed $ 30\% or 40\% $ C. versicolor diets compared to those fed the control diet. The fecal excretion of total lipid and triglyceride in the rats fed $ 40\% $ C. versicolor diet was significantly higher than that of the rats fed the control diet. There were no significant difference found in the serum trigly-ceride, phospholipid and HDL-cholesterol concentrations among the experimental groups. These results showed that the C. versicolor feeding decreased the hepatic cholesterol, triglyceride, and the serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and atherogenic index, and increased the serum HDL-cholesterol/ total-cholesterol ratio of the rats.