• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.255-260
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• 2011

We wanted to evaluate the usefulness of three-dimensional reconstructive images using computed tomography for rib fracture patients. The reconstruction used in clinical multi planar reformation(MPR), volume rendering technique(VRT), and image data using quantitative methods and qualitative methods were compared. Much more, the artifact shadow was minimized to reconstruct with 3D volumetric image by using an law data in the analysis of the reconstructive image and chest CT scan of the evaluation result fractures of the thoracic patient. And we could know that the fractures of the thoracic determination and three dimension volume image reconstruction time were reduced.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.203-209
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• 2022

One of the typical methods for lowering radiation dose while maintaining image quality of computed tomography (CT) is the use of model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR). This study is to evaluate the image quality by adjusting the strength of the advanced modeled iterative reconstruction (ADMIRE), which is well known as a representative model of MBIR. The study was conducted using phantom, and CT images were obtained while adjusting the strength of ADMIRE in units of 1 to 5. Quantitative evaluation includes noise levels using coefficient of variation (COV) and contrast to noise ratio (CNR), as well as natural image quality evaluation (NIQE) and blind/referenceless image spatial quality evaluator (BRISQUE). As a result, in both noise level and blind quality evaluation results, the higher the strength of ADMIRE, the better the results were derived. In particular, it was confirmed that COV and CNR were improved 1.89 and 1.75 times at ADMIRE 5 compared to ADMIRE 1, respectively, and NIQE and BRISQUE were proved to be improved 1.35 and 1.22 times at ADMIRE 5 compared to ADMIRE 1, respectively. In conclusion, this study was proved that the reconstruction strength of ADMIRE had a great influence on the noise level and overall image quality evaluation of CT images.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.126-131
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• 2009

Acetabular dysplasia is a condition defined by inadequate development of an individual's acetabulum. Individual diversity of the symptoms in this disease needs safe and accurate preoperative planning. Technologies that utilize multidimensional image information are thus important. The assessment method by Janzen et al. was suggested a coefficient method in evaluation of acetabular dysplasia. In this study, we applied it, using a three-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) on the koreans. 19 cases of the normal hips and 4 cases of the acetabular dysplasia were investigated to evaluate the proved method; 3D CT was used to define the geometric center of the femoral head and to measure center edge angles at $10^{\circ}$ rotational increments around the acetabular rim. Mean and standard deviation in CEAs (Center Edge Angle) of normal 19 hips at $10^{\circ}$ rotational increments from anterior to posterior rim were determined, and termed as a 'normal curve'. Then this normal values were compared with the CEA data measured from 4 cases of acetabular dysplasia patiens. Quantative comparison of the CEA values between the normal cases and dysplasia cases was successfully demonstrated, and thus, we claim that this simple CT method of assessing acetabular dysplasia can be well applicable to diagnosis, quantification and surgical planning for adult acetabular dysplasia patients.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.241-249
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• 2016

Purpose: To evaluate the added value of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) to computed tomography (CT) for detecting pancreatic abnormality in patients with clinically suspected acute pancreatitis (AP). Materials and Methods: 203 patients who underwent abdomen CT and subsequent DWI to do a workup for epigastric pain were analyzed. Two blinded radiologists independently performed an interval reading based on CT image sets first, then based on combined CT and DWI image sets. The diagnostic criterion on DWI was the increased signal intensity in the pancreas to that of the spleen. For quantitative analysis, the third radiologist measured ADC value of the pancreas in each patient. Results: For AP (n = 43), the sensitivity for detecting pancreatic abnormality increased, from 42% to 70% for reader 1 (P < 0.05) and from 44% to 72% for reader 2 (P < 0.05). For borderline pancreatitis (n = 42), the sensitivity also increased, from 10% to 26% for reader 1 (P < 0.05) and from 7% to 29% for reader 2 (P < 0.05). The mean ADC values (unit, ${\times}10^{-3}mm^2/s$) were significantly different among the three groups (for AP, $1.09{\pm}0.16$; for borderline pancreatitis, $1.28{\pm}0.2$; for control, $1.46{\pm}0.15$, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Sensitivity for detecting pancreatic abnormality increased significantly after adding DWI to CT in patients with clinically suspected AP.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.17-28
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• 2023

Laboratory-scale hydraulic fracturing experiments were conducted on granite specimens at various viscosities and injection rates of the fracturing fluid. A series of cross-sectional computed tomography (CT) images of fractured specimens was obtained via a three-dimensional X-ray CT imaging method. Pixel-level fracture segmentation of the CT images was conducted using a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based Nested U-Net model structure. Compared with traditional image processing methods, the CNN-based model showed a better performance in the extraction of thin and complex fractures. These extracted fractures extracted were reconstructed in three dimensions and morphologically analyzed based on their fracture volume, aperture, tortuosity, and surface roughness. The fracture volume and aperture increased with the increase in viscosity of the fracturing fluid, while the tortuosity and roughness of the fracture surface decreased. The findings also confirmed the anisotropic tortuosity and roughness of the fracture surface. In this study, a CNN-based model was used to perform accurate fracture segmentation, and quantitative analysis of hydraulic stimulated fractures was conducted successfully.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.175-182
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• 2024

Advanced modeled iterative reconstruction (ADMIRE) represents a repetitive reconstruction method that can adjust strength and kernel, each of which are known to affect computed tomography (CT) image quality. The aim of this study was to quantitatively analyze the noise and spatial resolution of CT images according to ADMIRE control factors. Patient images were obtained by applying ADMIRE strength 2 and 3, and kernel B40 and B59. For quantitative evaluations, the noise level, spatial resolution, and overall image quality were measured using coefficient of variation (COV), edge rise distance (ERD), and natural image quality evaluation (NIQE). The superior values for the average COV, ERD, and NIQE results were obtained for the ADMIRE reconstruction conditions of ADMIRE 2 + B40, ADMIRE 3 + B59, and ADMIRE3 + B59. NIQE, which represents the overall image quality based on no-reference, was about 6.04 when using ADMIRE 3 + B59, showing the best result among the reconstructed image acquisition conditions. The results of this study indicate that the ADMIRE strength and kernel chosen for use in ADMIRE reconstruction have a significant impact on CT image quality. This highlights the importance of adjusting to the control factors in consideration of the clinical environment.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.229-235
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• 2017

In abdominal Ultrasonography, the fatty liver is diagnosed through hepatic parenchymal echo increased parenchymal density and unclear blood vessel boundary, and according to many studies, abdominal Ultrasonography has 60~90% of sensitivity and 84~95% of specificity in diagnosis of fatty liver, but the result of Ultrasonography is dependent on operators, so there can be difference among operators, and quantitative measurement of fatty infiltration is impossible. Among examinees who same day received abdominal Ultrasonography and chest computed tomography (CT), patients who were diagnosed with a fatty liver in the Ultrasonography were measured with liver Hounsfield Units (HU) of chest CT imaging to analyze the accuracy of the fatty liver diagnosis. Among 720 subject examinees, those who were diagnosed with a fatty liver through abdominal Ultrasonography by family physicians were 448, which is 62.2%. The result of Liver HU measurement in the chest CT imaging of those who were diagnosed with a fatty liver showed that 175 out of 720 had the measured value of less than 40 HU, which is 24.3%, and 173 were included to the 175 among 448 who were diagnosed through Ultrasonography, so 98.9% corresponded. This indicates that the operators' subjective ability has a great impact on diagnosis of lesion in Ultrasonography diagnosis of a fatty liver, and that in check up chest CT, under 40 HU in the measurement of Liver HU can be used for reference materials in diagnosis of a fatty liver.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.3
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• pp.386-396
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• 2020

Objective : To generate synthetic spine magnetic resonance (MR) images from spine computed tomography (CT) using generative adversarial networks (GANs), as well as to determine the similarities between synthesized and real MR images. Methods : GANs were trained to transform spine CT image slices into spine magnetic resonance T2 weighted (MRT2) axial image slices by combining adversarial loss and voxel-wise loss. Experiments were performed using 280 pairs of lumbar spine CT scans and MRT2 images. The MRT2 images were then synthesized from 15 other spine CT scans. To evaluate whether the synthetic MR images were realistic, two radiologists, two spine surgeons, and two residents blindly classified the real and synthetic MRT2 images. Two experienced radiologists then evaluated the similarities between subdivisions of the real and synthetic MRT2 images. Quantitative analysis of the synthetic MRT2 images was performed using the mean absolute error (MAE) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR). Results : The mean overall similarity of the synthetic MRT2 images evaluated by radiologists was 80.2%. In the blind classification of the real MRT2 images, the failure rate ranged from 0% to 40%. The MAE value of each image ranged from 13.75 to 34.24 pixels (mean, 21.19 pixels), and the PSNR of each image ranged from 61.96 to 68.16 dB (mean, 64.92 dB). Conclusion : This was the first study to apply GANs to synthesize spine MR images from CT images. Despite the small dataset of 280 pairs, the synthetic MR images were relatively well implemented. Synthesis of medical images using GANs is a new paradigm of artificial intelligence application in medical imaging. We expect that synthesis of MR images from spine CT images using GANs will improve the diagnostic usefulness of CT. To better inform the clinical applications of this technique, further studies are needed involving a large dataset, a variety of pathologies, and other MR sequence of the lumbar spine.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.683-692
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• 2019

Objective: We aimed to evaluate correlations between computed tomography (CT) parameters and pulmonary function test (PFT) parameters according to disease severity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and to determine whether CT parameters can be used to predict PFT indices. Materials and Methods: A total of 370 patients with COPD were grouped based on disease severity according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) I-IV criteria. Emphysema index (EI), air-trapping index, and airway parameters such as the square root of wall area of a hypothetical airway with an internal perimeter of 10 mm (Pi10) were measured using automatic segmentation software. Clinical characteristics including PFT results and quantitative CT parameters according to GOLD criteria were compared using ANOVA. The correlations between CT parameters and PFT indices, including the ratio of forced expiratory volume in one second to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) and FEV₁, were assessed. To evaluate whether CT parameters can be used to predict PFT indices, multiple linear regression analyses were performed for all patients, Group 1 (GOLD I and II), and Group 2 (GOLD III and IV). Results: Pulmonary function deteriorated with increase in disease severity according to the GOLD criteria (p < 0.001). Parenchymal attenuation parameters were significantly worse in patients with higher GOLD stages (P < 0.001), and Pi10 was highest for patients with GOLD III (4.41 ± 0.94 mm). Airway parameters were nonlinearly correlated with PFT results, and Pi10 demonstrated mild correlation with FEV1/FVC in patients with GOLD II and III (r = 0.16, p = 0.06 and r = 0.21, p = 0.04, respectively). Parenchymal attenuation parameters, airway parameters, EI, and Pi10 were identified as predictors of FEV₁/FVC for the entire study sample and for Group 1 (R² = 0.38 and 0.22, respectively; p < 0.001). However, only parenchymal attenuation parameter, EI, was identified as a predictor of FEV₁/FVC for Group 2 (R² = 0.37, p < 0.001). Similar results were obtained for FEV₁. Conclusion: Airway and parenchymal attenuation parameters are independent predictors of pulmonary function in patients with mild COPD, whereas parenchymal attenuation parameters are dominant independent predictors of pulmonary function in patients with severe COPD.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.202-212
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• 2018

Purpose: Bone-to-implant contact (BIC) is difficult to measure on micro-computed tomography (CT) because of artifacts that hinder accurate differentiation of the bone and implant. This study presents an advanced algorithm for measuring BIC in micro-CT acquisitions using a spiral scanning technique, with improved differentiation of bone and implant materials. Methods: Five sandblasted, large-grit, acid-etched implants were used. Three implants were subjected to surface analysis, and 2 were inserted into a New Zealand white rabbit, with each tibia receiving 1 implant. The rabbit was sacrificed after 28 days. The en bloc specimens were subjected to spiral (SkyScan 1275, Bruker) and round (SkyScan 1172, SkyScan 1275) micro-CT scanning to evaluate differences in the images resulting from the different scanning techniques. The partial volume effect (PVE) was optimized as much as possible. BIC was measured with both round and spiral scanning on the SkyScan 1275, and the results were compared. Results: Compared with the round micro-CT scanning, the spiral scanning showed much clearer images. In addition, the PVE was optimized, which allowed accurate BIC measurements to be made. Round scanning on the SkyScan 1275 resulted in higher BIC measurements than spiral scanning on the same machine; however, the higher measurements on round scanning were confirmed to be false, and were found to be the result of artifacts in the void, rather than bone. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that spiral scanning can reduce metal artifacts, thereby allowing clear differentiation of bone and implant. Moreover, the PVE, which is a factor that inevitably hinders accurate BIC measurements, was optimized through an advanced algorithm.