• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.322-335
• /
• 2000

Purpose: For quantitative estimation of cerebrovascular reserve (CVR), we estimated the cerebral blood flow (CBF) using Lassen's nonlinearity correction algorithm and Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT images acquired with consecutive acquisition protocol. Using the values of CBF in basal and acetaBolamide (ACZ) stress states, CBF increase was calculated. Materials and Methods: In 9 normal subjects (age; $72{\pm}4$ years), brain SPECT was performed at basal and ACZ stress states consecutively after injection of 555 MBq and 1,110 MBq of Tc-99m HMPAO, respectively. Cerebellum was automatically extracted as reference region on basal SPECT image using threshold method. Assuming basal CBF of cerebellum as 55 ml/100g/min, CBF was calculated lot every pixel at basal states using Lassen's algorithm. Cerebellar blood flow at stress was estimated comparing counts of cerebellum at rest and ACZ stress and Lassen's algorithm. CBF of every pixel at ACZ stress state was calculated using Lassen's algorithm and ACZ cerebellar count. CVR was calculated by subtracting basal CBF from ACZ stress CBF for every pixel. The percent CVR was calculated by dividing CVR by basal CBF. The CBF and percentage CVR parametric images were generated. Results: The CBF and percentage CVR parametric images were obtained successfully in all the subjects. Global mean CBF were $49.6{\pm}5.5ml/100g/min\;and\;64.4{\pm}10.2ml/100g/min$ at basal and ACZ stress states, respectively. The increase of CBF at ACZ stress state was $14.7{\pm}9.6ml/100g/min$. The global mean percent CVR was 30.7% and was higher than the 13.8% calculated using count images. Conclusion: The blood flow at basal and ACZ stress states and cerebrovascular reserve were estimated using basal/ACZ Tc-99m-HMPAO SPECT images and Lassen's algorithm. Using these values, parametric images for blood flow and cerebrovascular reserve were generated.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.355-363
• /
• 2003

Purpose: Regional contractility can be calculated using the regional volume change of left ventricle measured by gated myocardial SPECT image and curve of central artery pressure obtained from radial artery pressure data. In this study, a program to obtain the regional contractility was developed, and reproducibility of regional contractility measurement was assessed. Materials and Methods: Seven patients(male:female=5:2, $58{\pm}11.9$ years) with coronary artery diseases underwent gated Tc-99m MIBI myocardial SPECT twice without delay between two scans. Regional volume change of left ventricle was estimated using CSA (Cardiac SPECT Analyzer) software developed in this study. Regional contractility was iteratively estimated from the time-elastance curve obtained using the time-pressure curve and regional time-volume curve. Reproducibility of regional contractility measurement assessed by comparing the contractility values measured twice from the same SPECT data and by comparing those measured from the pair of SPECT data obtained from a same patient. Results: Measured regional contractility was $3.36{\pm}3.38{mm}Hg/mL$ using 15-segment model, $3.16{\pm}2.25{mm}Hg/mL$ using 7-segment model, and $3.11{\pm}2.57{mm}Hg/mL$ using 5-segment model. The harmonic average of regional contractility value was almost identical to the global contractility. Correlation coefficient of regional contractility values measured twice from the same data was greater than 0.97 for all models, and two standard deviations of contractility difference on Bland Altman plot were 1.5%, 1.0%, and 0.9% for 15-, 7-, and 5-segment models, respectively. Correlation coefficient of regional contractility values measured from the pair of SPECT data obtained from a same patient was greater than 0.95 for all models, and two standard deviations on Bland Altman plot were 2.2%, 1.0%, and 1.2%. Conclusion: Regional contractility of left ventricle measured using developed software in this study was reproducible. Regional contractility of left ventricle will be a new useful index for myocardial function after analysis of the clinical data.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.71-77
• /
• 2014

In this paper, we propose an improved numeric character recognition method which can recognize numeric characters well under low-illuminated and shade-illuminated environment. The LN(Local Normalization) preprocessing method is used in order to enhance low-illuminated and shade-illuminated image quality. The reading area is detected using line segment information extracted from the illumination-normalized meter images, and then the three-phase procedures are performed for segmentation of numeric characters in the reading area. Finally, an efficient hybrid classifier is used to classify the segmented numeric characters. The proposed numeric character classifier is a combination of multi-layered feedforward neural network and template matching module. Robust heuristic rules are applied to classify the numeric characters. Experiments using meter image database were conducted. Meter image database was made using various kinds of meters under low-illuminated and shade-illuminated environment. The experimental results indicates the superiority of the proposed numeric character recognition method.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.31-40
• /
• 2010

Purpose : To compare the relative values of various fast breath-hold imaging sequences for superparamagnetic iron-oxide (SPIO)-enhanced hepatic MRI for the assessment of solid focal lesions with a 3T MRI unit. Materials and Methods : 102 consecutive patients with one or more solid malignant hepatic lesions were evaluated by spoiled gradient echo (GRE) sequences with three different echo times (2.4 msec [GRE_2.4], 5.8 msec [GRE_5.8], and 10 msec [GRE_10]) for $T2^*$-weighted imaging in addition to T2-weighted turbo spin echo (TSE) sequence following intravenous SPIO injection. Image qualities of the hepatic contour, vascular landmarks and artifacts were rated by two independent readers using a four-point scale. For quantitative analysis, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was measured in 170 solid focal lesions larger than 1 cm (107 hepatocellular carcinomas, nine cholangiocarcinomas and 54 metastases). Results : GRE_5.8 showed the highest mean points for hepatic contour, vascular anatomy and imaging artifact presence among all of the subjected sequences (p<0.001) and was comparable (p=0.414) with GRE_10 with regard to lesion conspicuity. The mean CNRs were significantly higher (p<0.001) in the following order: GRE_10 ($24.4{\pm}14.5$), GRE_5.8 ($14.8{\pm}9.4$), TSE ($9.7{\pm}6.3$), and GRE_2.4 ($7.9{\pm}6.4$). The mean CNRs of CCCs and metastases were higher than those of HCCs for all imaging sequences (p<0.05). Conclusion : Regarding overall performances, GRE using a moderate echo time of 5.8 msec can provide the most reliable data among the various fast breath-hold SPIO-enhanced hepatic MRI sequences at 3T unit despite the lower CNR of GRE_5.8 compared to that of GRE_10.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.29-36
• /
• 2008

Purpose: We wanted to evaluate the relationship between the clinical outcomes and cuff integrity after open rotator cuff repair and we wanted to analyze the causes of rotator cuff retear. Materials and Methods: 78 patients who underwent open rotator cuff repair were enrolled from 2004 to 2006. All the patients were observed for a minimum follow-up of 12 months and they were evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The clinical outcomes were accessed by dividing the patients into the retear group and the intact group. The groups were also compared to analyze the cause of rotator cuff retear according to the preoperative tear size, the symptom duration, and so on. Results: The clinical outcome of the retear group (n=22) was improved significantly after operation (p<0.001, p<0.001), but the muscle power was not improved significantly (p=0.099, p=0.243). More retears were found in the patients who had a larger preoperative tear (p<0.001) and the symptom duration of the retear group was longer (p=0.027). Conclusion: Although there were retear after rotator cuff repair, the clinical outcomes were improved. Yet the muscle power of the supraspinatus and external rotator were not improved significantly. There were more retears for the cases that had a larger preoperative tear size and a longer duration of symptoms.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.120-136
• /
• 2016

This study, views the color of scenery not as a static state, but rather as a continuous sequence of perceptions that incorporates the concept of time. This study derived techniques to quantitatively analyze the flow and data from this sequence. By utilizing this, urban color trends can be based on openness. This is very close to what would be experienced by an actual viewer: it extracted color data and visual amount from frames at 2-second intervals by shooting a video of the color sequence of the city as seen from both the left and right sides from the inside of the monorail (line 3 of the Daegu urban railway). These images were classified by color group, brightness, chroma, high chroma distribution derived techniques such as openness of space, brightness level, clarity level, high-chroma distribution and code, advantage of visual amount, dominant factor exposure, hot and cold color image and dynamic of sequence rhythm. During the derived sequence, the data determines the openness in the visual amount of sky and it was found that the tendency of the colors of the city was opening regression analysis. The more colorful the city is opening the brightness is lowered, the chroma increased slightly, cold colors significantly increased, which also had a very deep relationship with Lynch enclosed proportion, color change of the city trends through the actual scenery could grasp in more detail.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.73-82
• /
• 2003

Objectives: A new software (Cardiac SPECT Analyzer: CSA) was developed for quantification of volumes and election fraction on gated myocardial SPECT. Volumes and ejection fraction by CSA were validated by comparing with those quantified by Quantitative Gated SPECT (QGS) software. Materials and Methods: Gated myocardial SPECT was peformed in 40 patients with ejection fraction from 15% to 85%. In 26 patients, gated myocardial SPECT was acquired again with the patients in situ. A cylinder model was used to eliminate noise semi-automatically and profile data was extracted using Gaussian fitting after smoothing. The boundary points of endo- and epicardium were found using an iterative learning algorithm. Enddiastolic (EDV) and endsystolic volumes (ESV) and election fraction (EF) were calculated. These values were compared with those calculated by QGS and the same gated SPECT data was repeatedly quantified by CSA and variation of the values on sequential measurements of the same patients on the repeated acquisition. Results: From the 40 patient data, EF, EDV and ESV by CSA were correlated with those by QGS with the correlation coefficients of 0.97, 0.92, 0.96. Two standard deviation (SD) of EF on Bland Altman plot was 10.1%. Repeated measurements of EF, EDV, and ESV by CSA were correlated with each other with the coefficients of 0.96, 0.99, and 0.99 for EF, EDV and ESV respectively. On repeated acquisition, reproducibility was also excellent with correlation coefficients of 0.89, 0.97, 0.98, and coefficient of variation of 8.2%, 5.4mL, 8.5mL and 2SD of 10.6%, 21.2mL, and 16.4mL on Bland Altman plot for EF, EDV and ESV. Conclusion: We developed the software of CSA for quantification of volumes and ejection fraction on gated myocardial SPECT. Volumes and ejection fraction quantified using this software was found valid for its correctness and precision.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.181-191
• /
• 2013

Purpose : To evaluate the usefulness of in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for tracking intravenously injected superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-labeled human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in an acute renal failure (ARF) rat model. Materials and Methods: HUVECs were labeled with SPIO and poly-L-lysine (PLL) complex. Relaxation rates at 1.5-T MR, cell viability, and labeling stability were assessed. HUVECs were injected into the tail vein of ARF rats (labeled cells in 10 rats, unlabeled cells in 2 rats). Follow-up serial $T2^*$-weighted gradient-echo MR imaging was performed at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days after injection, and the MR findings were compared with histologic findings. Results: There was an average of $98.4{\pm}2.4%$ Prussian blue stain-positive cells after labeling with SPIOPLL complex. Relaxation rates ($R2^*$) of all cultured HUVECs at day 3 and 5 were not markedly decreased compared with that at day 1. The stability of SPIO in HUVECs was maintained during the proliferation of HUVECs in culture media. In the presence of left unilateral renal artery ischemia, $T2^*$-weighted MR imaging performed 1 day after the intravenous injection of labeled HUVECs revealed a significant signal intensity (SI) loss exclusively in the left renal outer medulla regions, but not in the right kidney. The MR imaging findings at days 3, 5 and 7 after intravenous injection of HUVECs showed a SI loss in the outer medulla regions of the ischemically injured kidney, but the SI progressively recovered with time and the right kidney did not have a significant change in SI in the same period. Upon histologic analysis, the SI loss on MR images was correspondent to the presence of Prussian blue stained cells, primarily in the renal outer medulla. Conclusion: MR imaging appears to be useful for in vivo monitoring of intravenously injected SPIO-labeled HUVECs in an ischemically injured rat kidney.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.211-224
• /
• 2009

The objective of this study is to examine the condylar surfaces in order to find out the types, the incidence and common occurrence area of the osseous abnormalities of the condyles according to the age, genders and the purpose of CT taking, and to compare those between the groups for TMD diagnosis and the other groups. 3D CT images of 199 patients which were scanned with the $i-CAT^{TM}$ Cone Beam Computed Tomography were collected from Sanbon Dental Hospital of Wonkwang university and the MPR images were transfered to the TMJ mode to be showed serial sagittal images and coronal images. The images were macroscopically examined by three independent observers for the types and incidences of the osseous abnormalities, their common occurrence area and general shapes of the condyles. As a result, type F is most common ever than type N. The common occurrence area in sagittal images is antero-superior and superior area except for type D-C which were showed on postero-superior area commonly. In coronal images, latero-superior and superior area is most common except for type E which were present on mesio-superior and superior area most frequently. The osseous abnormalities of the condyles are more common in TMD diagnosis group except for type D-C, that is type N and type D-C are more common in the other groups. In this study, abnormalities of the condyles are classified into 6 types and it has a common occurrence area each. And TMD diagnosis group shows a tendency to have higher rate for osseous abnormalities except for type D-C.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.237-250
• /
• 2022

In this study, we propose a method to estimate the biomass of invertebrate grazers from the videos with underwater drones by using a multi-object tracking model based on deep learning. In order to detect invertebrate grazers by classes, we used YOLOv5 (You Only Look Once version 5). For biomass estimation we used DeepSORT (Deep Simple Online and real-time tracking). The performance of each model was evaluated on a workstation with a GPU accelerator. YOLOv5 averaged 0.9 or more mean Average Precision (mAP), and we confirmed it shows about 59 fps at 4 k resolution when using YOLOv5s model and DeepSORT algorithm. Applying the proposed method in the field, there was a tendency to be overestimated by about 28%, but it was confirmed that the level of error was low compared to the biomass estimation using object detection model only. A follow-up study is needed to improve the accuracy for the cases where frame images go out of focus continuously or underwater drones turn rapidly. However,should these issues be improved, it can be utilized in the production of decision support data in the field of invertebrate grazers control and monitoring in the future.