• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.253-260
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• 2023

The germanium-68/gallium-68 (⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga) generator has high spatial utilization and requires little maintenance, making it economical and easy to produce. Thus, the frequency of use of ⁶⁸Ga radiopharmaceuticals is rapidly increasing worldwide. Therefore, this study attempted to develop an automated synthesizer for the routine clinical application of ⁶⁸Ga radiopharmaceuticals. The automated synthesizer was based on a fixed tubing system and the structure was designed after adjusting the position of the parts to reflect the synthesis method. Using various components that can be supplied in Korea, the automated synthesizer was manufactured at a much lower price cost than that of a commercialized automated synthesizer sold by companies. ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-[Tyr3]-octreotide (⁶⁸Ga-DOTATOC) was synthesized to evaluate the performance of the automated synthesizer. ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATOC could be synthesized with about 65% of non-decay corrected yield, and the synthesized ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATOC met all quality control standards. We have synthesized ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATOC more than 100 times, and only faced a few problems caused by mechanical errors. In this study, we successfully developed a simple automated synthesizer for ⁶⁸Ga radiopharmaceuticals with high reproducibility. As various ⁶⁸Ga radiopharmaceuticals have recently been developed, it is expected that the automated synthesizer developed in this study will be useful for routine clinical use.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.147-152
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• 2024

Most medical sensors are disposable products. In order to reduce inspection and diagnosis costs, it is more important to develop the inexpensive electrode materials. We fabricated the CuO NPs/PANI/E-PGE as an electrode material for disposable electrochemical sensors and applied it to a non-enzymatic glucose sensor. For surface activation of PGE, pretreatment was performed using chemical and electrochemical methods, respectively. Electrochemical properties according to the pretreatment method were analyzed through chronoamperometry (CA), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance (EIS). From these analytical results, the electrochemically pretreated PGE (E-PGE) was finally adopted. The non-enzymatic glucose sensor based on CuO NPs/PANI/E-PGE shows sensitivity of 239.18 mA/mM×cm² (in a linear range of 0.282~2.112 mM) and 36.99 mA/mM×cm² (3.75423~50 mM), detection limit of 17.6 μM and good selectivity. Based on the results of this study, it was confirmed that the modified PGE is a high-performance electrode material. Therefore, these electrodes can be applied to a variety of disposable sensors.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 1997

This study was carried out to reveal the status of health examination among farmers and to attract more attention to the health care system for farmers. Ten pre-trained medical students interviewed the rural residents 18 years of age and older in eight villages which were randomly selected from a county near Taegu city in Korea, in August 1996. Finally 751 persons were interviewed of whom the percentages of male and female were 41.8%, 58.2% respectively. Among the subjects, 361(48.3%) were fully engaged in farming, 184(24.4%) were partly engaged, and the remaining 206(27.3%) were not engaged in farming at all. The overall prevalence of farmer's disease was 23.0% and there was no significant difference between the group of fully engaged in farming(23.3%) and the group of not-fully engaged(22.9%). But the prevalence of farmer's disease in female subjects(27.8%) was significantly higher than that in male(16.2%)(p<0.01). Among the 288 farmer engaged in spraying pesticide, 113(39.2%) had experienced one or more pesticide related symptoms during last one year, but only 18(15.9%) of them had visited medical facilities due to their symptoms. The experience of receiving education about pesticide was significantly correlated with the degree of wearing protectors during pesticide spraying(p<0.001). Among the 736 persons excluding non-respondents, 281(38.2%) received health examination during last one year ; 176(62.6%) of them received free health examination, and 105(37.4%) received charged one. Among the 533 persons 40 years age and older, only 124(23.3%) had received the 'health examination for the elderly' during last one year, which is provided for the 40 years age and older by Korea medical insurance corporation and medical insurance societies. Most of all beneficiaries of self-employed medical insurance thought the imposed contributions as very expensive(77.4%) or moderately expensive(13.2%). The great majority of farmers are exposed to various health risk factors including pesticide, high temperature, overwork etc. comparable to industrial workers. But farmers are excluded from the regular yearly worker's health examination because of not belonging to a company despite they pay relatively more medical insurance contributions compared with the industrial workers and the urban self-employed medical insureds. It is necessary to develop special health management program for farmers such as the special health examination for the industrial workers exposed harmful agents.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Information Technology Applications Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.300-320
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• 2007

정보기술의 발달과 함께 소프트웨어 제품은 모든 산업에 필수요소가 되었고, 품질과 평가에 대한 관심도 점차 증가되고 있다. 하지만 일부 산업에서는 소프트웨어 품질 평가에 대한 사용자들의 만병 통치적 기대, 품질 표준의 부족, 측정을 위한 양질의 데이터 부족, 소프트웨어 분석과 디자인에 대한 공학적 한계로 소프트웨어 품질 평가에 대해 많은 문제점이 지적되고 있다. 국내에서도 의료산업 관련 정보시스템의 오류 및 사용자들의 운영 미숙은 매년 많은 금액의 사회적 비용을 증가시켰고, 병원정보시스템의 품질에 대한 관심을 초래하였다. 특히, 산업적 특성이 강한 병원정보시스템은 성공적 구축을 위해 사용자 중심의 소프트웨어 디자인과 다양한 전문가들의 지식 통합이 필요하며, 정보시스템 품질 측정으로 연구자들과 개발자들의 시스템 설계 혼란을 감소시키는 방법론이 필요하다는 연구들이 등장하고 있다. 대부분의 병원정보시스템이 단편적인 업무처리 위주로 개발 운영되고 있고, 장기적 경영전략이나 임상연구를 위한 분석적 정보처리 기능들은 결여되어 있다. 또한 소프트웨어 재설계나 추가적 개발 에 활용될 수 있는 객관적 품질 기준이 부족하고, 사용자들의 요구사항에 대해 소프트웨어 설계에 있어서 효율적으로 반영되지 못하고 있다. 이에 본 연구는 최근 발표된 병원정보시스템 품질 평가에 대한 연구 경향을 종합하고, 품질 평가에 대 해 효율적으로 활용되고 있는 사용성(Usability)을 기준으로 병원산업의 특수성을 포함한 품질 평가 방법과 품질척도를 제안하고자 한다. 국제표준기구(ISO:International Standards Organization)에서는 품질 특성을 기능성, 신뢰성, 사용성, 효율성, 유지 보수성과 이식성의 특성을 제시하고 있다. 특히 Folmer & Bosch(2004)가 정리한 ISO9126에서는 품질의 특성을 배움의 용이성, 운영의 용이성, 이해성과 매력성으로 분류하였고, ISO9241-11는 효과성, 효율성과 만족성으로 분류하였다. 또한 Shackel(1991)은 배움의 용이성(배움과 시간, 기억력), 효과성(오류, 직무시간), 유연성과 마음가짐으로 분류하고 있다(Shackel, 1991). Nielsen(1997)은 배움의 용이성, 기억의 용이성, 오류, 효율성, 만족성으로 분류하고 있고(Nielsen, 1997), Shneiderman(1998)는 효과성(직무시간, 배움의 시간), 효율성(기억의 지속시간, 오류), 만족도를 품질의 특성으로 분류하였다. 이와 같은 소프트웨어의 품질은 소프트웨어 계획, 개발, 성장과 쇠퇴의 모든 과정에 적용되며, 환경적 변화에 따라 사용자들의 정보욕구를 적절하게 반영하여 만족도를 높이 는 것이라고 요약할 수 있다. 그러나 현재까지 소프트웨어 품질 평가에 대한 연구들 은 보편적인 평가 항목들을 대상으로 측정하여 일반적인 품질기준을 제시하고 있고, 유사한 측정 내용들이 중복되어 있다. 이러한 경향은 산업별 특수성이 강한 소프트웨어에 대해서는 정확한 품질측정이 어려웠고, 품질측정에 대한 신뢰성을 떨어뜨리는 계기가 되었다. 이러한 한계를 극복하고자 나타난 방법론이 최종사용자들의 요구사항을 얼마나 적절하게 시스템에 반영했는지에 대한 사용성(Usability) 측정이다. 사용성에 대한 정의는 사용자들이 실질적으로 일하는 장소에서 직접 사용자들의 시스템 운용실태를 파악하여 문제점을 개선하는 것으로 요약할 수 있다. ISO9124-11에서는 사용성을 "어떤 제품이 구체적인 사용자들에 의해 구체적인 목적을 달성하기 위한 구체적인 사용의 맥락에서 효율성, 효과성을 만족함으로 사용될 수 있는 정도"로 정의하고 있다. 지난 10년간 병원정보시스템 평가에 대한 문헌들을 고찰한 결과 품질 측정의 효과는 정보화에 대한 동기유발과 의료품질을 높이는 게기가 되었으며, 질병에 대한 예방효과도 높은 것으로 조사되었다. 그러나 평가에 대한 인식의 문제, 평가 방법의 신뢰성 부족, 평가 지침과 부분적 평가에 따른 인증의 어려움 평가 결과에 대한 확산과 단편적 연구의 한계 등으로 연구결과에 대한 신뢰도와 활용도는 낮은 것으로 조사되었고, HIS에 대한 연구 빈도와 범위 가 매우 미약하였다. 특히, 품질속성은 같은 용어이지만 연구자에 따라 전혀 다른 측정 내용을 제시하고 있어 효율적인 품질 지표를 제시하는데 많은 혼란을 초래하고 있다. 이러한 품질 평가의 경향은 시스템 설계 및 개발자들에게 필요한 사용자들의 구체적이고 독특한 욕구나 병원정보시스템 환경의 특수성 파악에 한계를 보였으며, 평가 범위도 부분적으로 이루어져 전사적 시스템 설계 및 개발에 중요한 자료를 제공하지 못하고 있다. 이러한 문제점과 한계를 극복하고자 ISO와 같은 품질 표준 속성과 컨텍스트(Context)를 중심으로 사용자에 의한 평가 척도의 설정은 구체적이고 실용적이며 신뢰성 있는 평가 방법이 될 것이다.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.167-175
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• 2007

There are some positive effects by the introduction of PACS(Picture Archiving Communication System). This study is to analyze the mutual relation between before and after of the introduction of PACS in terms of the environment effect. It is supposed to cause the reduction of developing and fixing wastewater according to the increase in the rate of a non-film. This study will also show the amount of wastewater. Target places were the department of image medicine(diagnostic radiation) of the general hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do, which are equiped with full PACS. The authors examined questionnaires on the number of projection, the number of indirect projection, the amount of the film used, the number of radiation image CD loan, the amount of the developing and fixing solution used, the change of the amount of fixing wastewater. According to the analysis, we analyzed the change of the amount of developing and fixing solution per a film and the change of the amount of developing and fixing wastewater which is supposed to be reduced proportionally by the introduction of PACS. We got conclusion as below after analyzing 8 hospitals except the largest and the least amount of examination, film used, developing and fixing solution and the amount of developing and fixing wastewater in order to decrease the deviation from 10 general hospitals located in Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do. We compared data one year before adopting PACS Versus 3 years after adopting PACS. 1. The frequences of examination increased to 7,357.7 cases per month but the amount of film used decreased to 90%, from 42,774.4 to 4,181.88 after adopting the PACS. 2. 3 years after adopting PACS, monthly average amount of developing solution used decreased to 92% and the monthly average amount of fixing solution decreased to 86%. 3. Monthly average amount of developing solution used per film increased to 1.49 times and fixing solution increased as much as three times. 4. Monthly average wastewater for developing decreased to 88% and wastewater for fixing decreased up to 87%. 5. Monthly average wastewater for developing per film increased to 3.77 times and wastewater for fixing increased to 3.85 times. Although the amount of film used and the amount of developing and fixing wastewater affected by the reduction of the developing and fixing solution became less on the whole by introduction of PACS, they did not decrease proportionally. Moreover the amount of the developing and fixing solution used and the amount of developing and fixing wastewater per a film increased. That means the expectation for an environmental improvement differs from the actual condition.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.1897-1904
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• 2010

The administration data of the national health insurance and health insurance bills were utilized in this study. The data of 432,915 patients who were at the age of 30 and up and used the out-patient departments of every medical institution located in some regions involving two southern and northern provinces once or more during a 184-day period from July to December. As a result of analyzing their prescription compliance and factors affecting it, the following findings were given: The average rate of the prescription compliance of the patients stood at 61.5 percent. It denoted that they were prescribed to take medicine for approximately 113 days during the six-month(184 days) period of time, and the rate of the patients who complied with the prescriptions just stood at 13.0 percent. They used out-patient department for 4.3 days on the average due to hypertension and they visited 1.1 medical institutions on the average. 94.9 percent just used a medical institution. The largest group (11.6%) suffered from diabetes as co-morbidity, and 23.3 percent of the hypertensives had co-morbidity. Concerning the relationship between their characteristics and prescription compliance, those who were male, who were beneficiaries of the national health insurance, who mainly used general hospitals and who suffered from co-morbidity complied better with the prescription they got. Their prescription compliance got better at the age of 65 to 74 and got worse afterwards. As for factors affecting their prescription compliance, the patients who were male, who were aged between 55 and 64 and who were beneficiaries of the national health insurance, who mainly used specialized general hospitals, general hospitals and public health centers and who had heart diseases and diabetes as co-morbidity complied better with the prescriptions. The above-mentioned findings of the study suggested that it's needed to make a factor analysis of the poor prescription compliance of patients from diverse angles, and that existing hypertension care plans should carefully be reviewed to improve the prescription compliance of patients and to find a feasible alternative. As hypertensives are easily likely to develop co-morbidity like diabetes, systematic health education should be provided for them to get into the right life habits such as taking low-salt meals or quitting smoking. In addition, the development of health care programs is required.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.63-79
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• 2009

While previous epidemiological studies on temporomandibular disorders (TMD) have been based on a given health center or population sample, no study has been performed on general population of Korea, especially concerning about treatment pattern such as clinician’s specialty involved in TMD treatment, types and amount of prescription medication and cost. This study aimed to investigate magnitude of health visits and treatment patterns for Korean patients with TMD through the computerized database of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRAS). Inclusion criteria were all patients registered on the HIRAS database over 3 years' period from 2003 to 2005 and the medical records of patients with TMD as a main diagnosis were extracted. Information collected was as follows; distribution related to gender, age and region and type of hospital the patients visited, treatment duration, clinicians' specialty involved in treatment, cost, types of prescription medication and surgical treatment. The results of this study indicated that 0.15% of the population yearly sought TMD treatment, presenting with increase of incidence over the three years. Most of TMD patients were women (99.8%) and the biggest age group was second and third decades and decreased with age. Seoul and Kyeonggi province presented with higher incidence of TMD compared to the other regions of Korea, which seems to be related with magnitude of population. 56% of TMD patients visited primary care sector and the numbers of treatment visits was the highest in dental clinic (38.4%), followed by orthopedics (28%) and ENT (13.6%) clinics in order. Duration of prescription medication was the longest for anti-inflammatory analgesics, followed by antipsychotic drugs and muscle relaxants. Inpatient care related to TMD was primarily performed in dental hospital compared to medical hospital. Medical database of HIRAS provided comprehensive and vast information on epidemiologic characteristics and treatment patterns for patients seeking TMD treatment, which can be more reliable data to expect medical demand for TMD in condition that accurate diagnosis and standardized treatment is delivered in clinical settings.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.113-119
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• 2007

This study attempts to find factors contributing to the use pattern of prosthetics by investigating the current condition of prosthetics for the aged of over 65 years old by place of practice. Among those of over 65 years old who live in Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu, Seongbuk-gu, and Gwanak-gu of Seoul and use the apartment senior's center, those having prosthetics were selected as subjects of this study, and this study was conducted in forms of interview and record. Findings of this study are summarized as follows: First, in regard of the state of prosthetics and relevant symptoms in the mouth according to the place of prosthetics practice, there was significant difference in the questions except the medical benefit of prosthetics between unlicensed facilities and dental clinics and hospitals. Second, regarding difference in satisfaction according to the place of prosthetics practice, dental clinics and hospitals showed a higher level of aesthetic satisfaction than unlicensed facilities. For difference in satisfaction at pronunciation, chewing, pain, a sense of foreign body, and holding power, dental clinics and hospitals showed a higher level than unlicensed facilities, Third, after factor analysis on the perception factors of unlicensed treatment and dental treatment, unlicensed facilities showed the highest level of reliability, and then convenience, word of mouth, and modernity in order. Dental clinics and hospitals also showed the highest level of reliability, however, and then convenience, modernity, and word of mouth in order. Fourth, as a consequence of analyzing the factors to influence the use pattern of prosthetics, regarding residential pattern, there were higher possibilities to use dental clinics and hospitals when the subjects lived together with their children and in Gangnam, and the more were the number of pyeong for the residence, pocket money, medical expense, and property in their name, compared to unlicensed facilities. In conclusion, economic factors appear to be the most important factors in selecting facilities for denture prosthodontics. Therefore, it is important to ensure the denture prosthodontics for the elderly are reimbursable so that they can enjoy a healthier life.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.128-136
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• 2011

This study was carried out to investigate the factors of food service satisfaction of the elderly in Busan. The survey was conducted from September 1 to October 15, 2009 by questionnaires and data analyzed by SPSS program. Fifty point nine percent of the subjects lived alone and the source of living expenses of 70.5% of the subjects was subsidy from government. The most important reason for the elderly to participate in meal service was 'economic difficulty' and 'to meet friend'. The subjects had various chronic degenerative diseases, such as arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiac disease. Sixty-six point eight percent of the subjects needed diet therapy for their diseases, but 87.1% of them don't want to pay the extra fee. Thirty six point five percent of the subjects attained information about lunch program because it was 'close to home' but 20.7% was 'from public officials'. The reasons for the use of the meal service were 'economic difficulty' (40.0%), 'to meet friends' (22.6%), and 'bother to prepare meal' (16.50%). The services provided by welfare center were health care, physical exam and haircut. The score given by the subjects on the satisfaction of meal service was 3.84 on the 5-point maximum scale. Higher satisfaction on kindness of staff, satisfaction of social support and awareness of support resulted in higher satisfaction of food service. It would be effective to provide food service models that meet specific needs of the elderly according to social welfare service and social community activities.

• Journal of Legislation Research
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• no.41
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• pp.87-123
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• 2011

Korea is expected to become an 'aged society' with more than 14 percent of the public aged 65 years or more by 2018. The rapid aging is giving rise to various problems within the society along with falling birthrate in a short period of time. In this context, the role and function of laws on welfare for the aged must be particularly emphasized. Also the Senior Citizens Welfare Act is of great importance as it provides social welfare service on the basis of functional connection with social insurance and public assistance. First, this paper looks into the history of laws related to welfare for the elderly such as the Senior Welfare Act, the Act on Long-term Care Insurance for Senior Citizens and the Basic Old Age Pension Act as well as the findings of earlier studies. In the second place, it will break down such laws by main components aiming to examine details of the laws and questions raised regarding them and to seek ways to achieve improvement with an emphasis on health care, old age income security, housing welfare(assisted living facilities), job security for the aged. The Senior Welfare Act offers substance of social welfare service for the elderly. Income security, health and medical care, welfare measures through long-term care and assisted living facilities, social participation by working are the key elements and all of them should be closely associated to ensure citizens get sufficient public support in their old age. For this purpose, the Senior Welfare Act is under a normative network with laws such as Act on Long-term Care Insurance for Senior Citizens and Basic Old Age Pension Act. Current laws on welfare for the aged including Senior Welfare Act are not sufficiently responsive to the aged society of the 21st century. Income security combined with decent social participation, health and medical care closely connected with long-term care system, efficient expense sharing between government and local government, enhancement of effectiveness of welfare measures can be considered as means to improve current welfare system so that the elderly can enjoy their old age with dignity and respect.