• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.295-301
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• 2017

In this study, We subtracted the calcification blooming artifact from MDCT images of coronary atherosclerosis patients and verified their accuracy and usefulness. We performed coronary artery calcification stenosis phantom and a program to subtract calcification blooming artifact by applying 8 different image segmentation method (Otsu, Sobel, Prewitt, Canny, DoG, Region Growing, Gaussian+K-mean clustering, Otsu+DoG). As a result, In the coronary artery calcification stenosis phantom with the lumen region 5 mm the calcification blooming artifact was subtracted in the application of the mixture of Gaussian filtering and K- Clustering algorithm, and the value was close to the actual calcification region. These results may help to accurately diagnose coronary artery calcification stenosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation of blooming artifacts according to dilution ratio of contrast agent on CT angiography images. A total of 10 sets were prepared by differently setting the ratio of contrast media and saline in a ball phantom made by a 3D printer. CT scan images were obtained and reconstructed by MIP and MPR techniques to obtain axial, sagittal and coronal images, respectively. After, the diameter of the ball phantom of the image obtained after the test was measured each 30 times, a total 1800 times. As a result, the dilution of 20:80 in the coronal plane was the smallest (p<0.05). Similarly, when dilute to 20:80 in the sagittal plane of MIP, it was the smallest as 20.39 ± 0.08 mm (p<0.05). Correlation analysis between dilution ratio and measurement size confirmed strong negative correlations in all reconstructed images (p<0.05). In conclusion, the higher the dilution ratio of the contrast agent, the more difficult it is to measure actual blood vessel measurement. Therefore, this study may provide basic data in future studies on actual measurement.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2015

Purpose: Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) is a new magnetic resonance technique that can exploit the magnetic susceptibility differences of various tissues. Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) looks a dark blooming on the magnitude images of SWI. However, the pattern of ICH on phase images is not well known. The purpose of this study is to characterize hemorrhagic lesions on the phase images of SWI. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively enrolled patients with ICH, who underwent both SWI and precontrast CT, between 2012 and 2013 (n = 95). An SWI was taken, using the 3-tesla system. A phase map was generated after postprocessing. Cases with an intracranial hemorrhage were reviewed by an experienced neuroradiologist and a trainee radiologist, with 10 years and 3 years of experience, respectively. The types and stages of the hemorrhages were determined in correlation with the precontrast CT, the T1- and T2-weighted images, and the FLAIR images. The size of the hemorrhage was measured by a one- directional axis on a magnitude image of SWI. The phase values of the ICH were qualitatively evaluated: hypo-, iso-, and hyper-intensity. We summarized the imaging features of the intracranial hemorrhage on the phase map of the SWI. Results: Four types of hemorrhage are observed: subdural and epidural; subarachnoid; parenchymal hemorrhage; and microbleed. The stages of the ICH were classified into 4 groups: acute (n = 34); early subacute (n = 11); late subacute (n = 15); chronic (n = 8); stage-unknown microbleeds (n = 27). The acute and early subacute hemorrhage showed heterogeneous mixed hyper-, iso-, and hypo-signal intensity; the late subacute hemorrhage showed homogeneous hyper-intensity, and the chronic hemorrhage showed a shrunken iso-signal intensity with the hyper-signal rim. All acute subarachnoid hemorrhages showed a homogeneous hyper-signal intensity. All parenchymal hemorrhages (> 3 mm) showed a dipole artifact on the phase images; however, microbleeds of less than 3 mm showed no dipole artifact. Larger hematomas showed a heterogeneous mixture of hyper-, iso-, and hypo-signal intensities. Conclusion: The pattern of the phase value of the SWI showed difference, according to the type, stage, and size.