• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2011

Purpose: To evaluate the pathological and clinical effects of preoperative chemoradiation (CCRT) in cases of locally advanced rectal cancer and to determine the predictive factors for tumor downstaging. Materials and Methods: From March 2004 to August 2008, 33 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer were treated with preoperative CCRT. Twenty-eight patients (84.8%) were treated using a concomitant boost technique while five (15.2%) patients were treated using a cone down boost technique. All patients received 50.4 Gy of irradiation and concurrent chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil. The median follow-up duration was 24.2 months (range, 9.8 to 64.7 months). Results: Thirty-one (93.9%) patients underwent surgery. Twenty-four patients (72.7%) underwent anal sphincter-preserving surgery. The 3-year disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival rates were 63.4% and 78.8%, respectively. Post-operative factors were more important for DFS. Pathologic N stage, margin status, and pathologic differentiation were significant prognostic factors (p=0.001, 0.029, 0.030). Tumor size and lymphovascular invasion were also associated with marginal significance (p=0.081, 0.073). However, only pre-treatment T stage was a significant pre-operative factor (p=0.018). The complete pathological response rate was 9.1 %. T-downstaging was observed in ten (30.3%) patients, whereas N-downstaging was found in 24 (72.7%) patients. Pre-treatment T stage and the interval between CCRT and operation were the predictive factors for downstaging in a univariate analysis (p=0.029, 0.027). Pre-treatment carcinoembryogenic antigen was also associated with marginal significance (p=0.068). Conclusion: The survival of rectal cancer patients can be better determined based on post-operative findings. Therefore, pre-operative CCRT for downstaging of the tumor seems to be important. Pre-treatment T stage and the interval between CCRT and operation can be used to predict downstaging.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.311-324
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• 2013

To ensure the reliability of computer programs used for the post-closure safety assessment in the Wolsong LILW Center, the results from MASCOT, SAFE-ROCK and GOLDSIM programs are compared with a problem for degradation. Advantages and disadvantages of each computer programs are individually analyzed. Effects on the individual dose are assessed with each computer programs. MASCOT and SAFE-ROCK showed similar results for $^{129}I$ and $^3H$. However, GOLDSIM represented different results for $^{129}I$ and $^3H$. It is analyzed further and compared with the fluxes in each barrier of the disposal system. Througout the benchmarking testing of the computer program, the limitation of computer program can be continuously found out for the mature post-closure safety of Korean radwaste disposal system.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.211-217
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• 2006

For more realistic assessment of Korean food chain radiation doses due to the operation of nuclear facilities, it is required to use domestically produced data for radionuclide transfer parameters in crop plants. This paper analyzed results of last about 10 year's studies on radionuclide transfer parameters in major crop plants by the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute, comparing with the published international data, and consequently suggested the proper parameters to use. The trends of transfer parameter shows normal distributions if we have a lot of experimental data, but some radionuclides showed enormous variations with the environment of experimental, crops and soils. These transfer factors can be used to assess realistic radiation doses or to predict the doses in crops for normal operation or accidental release. Some kinds of parameter can be produced as conservatives or fragmentary results because soil-to-plant transfer factors were measured through greenhouse experiments which sometimes showed improper field situations. But these parameters mentioned in this paper can be representative of the status of Korean food chain than that of foreign country.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.83-87
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• 2008

Diagnostic and functional imaging device have been developed independently. The recognition that combining of these two devices can provide better diagnostic outcomes by fusing anatomical and functional images. The representative examples of combining devices would be PET/CT and SPECT/CT. Development and their applications of animal imaging and instrumentation have been very active, as new drug development with advanced imaging device has been increased. The development of advanced imaging device resulted in researching and developing for detector technology and imaging systems. It also contributed to develop a new software, reconstruction algorithm, correction methods for physical factors, image quantitation, computer simulation, kinetic modeling, dosimetry, and correction for motion artifacts. Recently, development of MRI and PET by combining them together was reported. True integration of MRI and PET has been making the progress and their results were reported. The recent status of imaging and instrumentation in nuclear medicine is reported in this paper.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.65-72
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• 1999

A methodology for determining the optimal durations of the use of contaminated crops as feedstuffs of cattle was designed based on the cost-benefit analysis method. The results of application for pigs, an omnivorous cattle, were discussed for the hypothetical deposition of radionuclides on August 15 when a number of crops are fully developed in Korean agricultural conditions. For investigating the relative cost-effectiveness of the use of contaminated crops as feedstuffs, the net benefit was compared with the case of the direct disposal of contaminated crops. The time-dependent radionuclide concentration in crops after the deposition was predicted using a dynamic food chain model DYNACON. The net benefit from the actions was quantitatively evaluated in terms of cost equivalent of doses and monetary costs of implementing the action. It depended on a number of factors such as radionuclides, variety of crops supplied as feedstuffs and duration of the actions. The use of contaminated crops as feedstuffs was more cost effective for $^{90}Sr\;or\;^{131}I$ deposition than for $^{137}Cs$ deposition.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.213-219
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• 2004

Soybean plants were exposed to HTO vapor in an exposure box for 1 hour at different growth stages. Relative concentrations of TFWT at the end of exposure (percent ratios of TFWT concentrations to mean HTO concentrations in air moisture in the box during exposure) decreased on the whole in the order of leaf > shell > seed > stem with the highest values of 40.2% and 6.4% for leaf and stem, respectively. TFWT concentrations reduced by factors of several thousands to several hundred-thousands from the end of exposure till the harvest. The reduction factor decreased in the order of leaf > shell > seed > stem. Relative OBT concentrations at harvest (ratios of the OBT concentration in the dry plant part at harvest to the initial leaf TFWT concentration, ml $g^{-1}$) were in the range of $2.2{\times}10^{-5}{\sim}9.5{\times}10^{-3}$ for seeds being the highest when the exposure was performed at the actively seed-developing stage. The exposure time-dependent variation in the OBT concentration was much greater in seeds and shells than in leaves and stems. It was indicated that OBT would contribute to almost all the radiation dose due to the consumption of soybean seeds in most cases after an acute exposure of growing plants to HTO vapor. Present results are applicable to establishing and validating soybean $^3H$ models for an acute accidental release of HTO.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.749-755
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• 2019

In this study, we investigated the effects of tube voltage (kVp) and tube current (mAs) on an exposure index (EI) applied to a digital radiography. There used an inverter type digital X-ray generator and an image receptor (IR) utilized a portable wireless detector without a grid. Radiographic images were acquired using a cone pyramid phantom produced using a 3D printer. The X-ray tube voltage was increased from 40 kVp to 120 kVp with 10 kVp increment, and the tube current was increased from 1 mAs to 128 mAs with the twice increment. As a result, kVp had logarithmic relationship with the EI as high $R^2$ value, and mAs had a very high linear relationship too. Also, there was a high correlation between the area dose and the EI of the IR, with the $R^2$ value being 0.76 or more. In conclusion, it had showed that mAs affected the EI linearly, and that it could be advantageous to adjust the easy-to-predict mAs to maintain proper image qualities.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.25-31
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• 2011

In this study, the experimental design methodology was applied to optimize 1,4-dioxane treatment in E-beam process. Main factor was mathematically described as a function of parameters 1,4-dioxane removal efficiencies(%), TOC removal efficiencies(%) modeled by the use of the central composite design(CCD) method among the response surface methodology(RSM). Concentration of 1,4-dioxane is designated as "$x_1$" and Irradiation intensity is designated as "$x_2$". The regression equation in coded unit between the 1,4-dioxane concentration and removal efficiencies(%) was $y=71.00-10.85x_1+20.67x_2+{1.53x_1}^2-{7.92x_2}^2-1.23x_1x_2$. The regression equation in coded unit between the 1,4-dioxane concentration and TOC removal efficiencies(%) was $y=44.48-13.25x_1+9.54x_2+{5.43x_1}^2-{1.35x_2}^2+4.45x_1x_2$. The model predictions agreed well with the experimentally observed results $R^2$(Adj) over 90%. Toxicity test using algae Pseudokirchneriella Subcapitata showed that the inhibition was reduced according to increasing an E-beam irradiation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.401-408
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• 2021

Proton therapy using the Bragg peak is one of the radiation therapies and can deliver its maximum energy to the tumor with giving least energy for normal tissue. A cross-sectional image of the human body taken with the computed tomography (CT) has been used for radiation therapy planning. The HU values change according to the tube voltage, which lead to the change in the boundary and thickness of the anatomical structure on the CT image. This study examined the changes in the Bragg peak of the brain region according to the thickness variation in the head phantom composed of several materials using the Geant4. In the phantom composed of a single material, the Bragg peak according to the type of media and the incident energy of the proton beams were calculated, and the reliability of Geant4 code was verified by the Bragg peak. The variation of the peak in the brain region was examined when each thickness of the head phantom was changed. When the thickness of the soft tissue was changed, there was no change in the peak position, and for the skin the change in the peak was small. The change of the peak position was mainly changed when the bone thickness. In particular, when the bone was changed only or the bone was changed together with other tissues, the amount of change in the peak position was the same. It is considered that measurement of the accurate bone thickness in CT images is one of the key factors in depth-dose distribution of the radiation therapy planning.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.295-302
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• 2022

Sparse-view computed tomography (CT) imaging technique is able to reduce radiation dose, ensure the uniformity of image characteristics among projections and suppress noise. However, the reconstructed images obtained by the sparse-view CT imaging technique suffer from severe artifacts, resulting in the distortion of image quality and internal structures. In this study, we proposed a convolutional neural network (CNN) with wavelet transformation and residual learning for reducing artifacts in sparse-view CT image, and the performance of the trained model was quantitatively analyzed. The CNN consisted of wavelet transformation, convolutional and inverse wavelet transformation layers, and input and output images were configured as sparse-view CT images and residual images, respectively. For training the CNN, the loss function was calculated by using mean squared error (MSE), and the Adam function was used as an optimizer. Result images were obtained by subtracting the residual images, which were predicted by the trained model, from sparse-view CT images. The quantitative accuracy of the result images were measured in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity (SSIM). The results showed that the trained model is able to improve the spatial resolution of the result images as well as reduce artifacts in sparse-view CT images effectively. Also, the trained model increased the PSNR and SSIM by 8.18% and 19.71% in comparison to the imaging model trained without wavelet transformation and residual learning, respectively. Therefore, the imaging model proposed in this study can restore the image quality of sparse-view CT image by reducing artifacts, improving spatial resolution and quantitative accuracy.