• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.55-65
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• 2016

Detecting an object which is located at seabed is an important issue for various areas. This paper presents an approach to detection of an object that is placed at seabed in the shallow water. A conventional scheme is to employ a side-scan sonar to obtain images of a detection area and to use image processing schemes to recognize an object. Since this approach relies on high frequency signals to get clear images, its detection range becomes shorter and the processing time is getting longer. In this paper, we consider an active sonar system that is repeatedly sending a linear frequency modulated signal of 6~20 kHz in the shallow water of 100m depth. The proposed approach is to model consecutively received reflected signals and to measure their modeling error magnitudes which decide the existence of an object placed on seabed depending on relative magnitude with respect to threshold value. The feature of this approach is to only require an assumption that the seabed consists of an homogeneous sediment, and not to require a prior information on the specific properties of the sediment. We verify the proposed approach in terms of detection probability through computer simulation.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.195-200
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• 2003

Purpose: Advancement of computed tomography (CT) hardware and software has allowed thin section scanning and reconstruction of fascinating 2-dimentional (2D) and 3- dimentional (3D) images. Especially, the reconstruction of 3D images of gastrointestinal tract has been used in the detection and diagnosis of pre-malignant and malignant diseases. To compare the efficacy of CT gastrography with conventional upper gastrointenstinal series (UGIs) in gastric cancer patients. Materials and Methods: During Nov. 2002 and Mar. 2003, twenty-seven patients who had gastric cancer received both double contrast upper GI series and CT gastrography prior to radical surgery. Among these patients, nineteen had early gastric cancer (EGC) and 8 had advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Fifteen patients were male and 12 were female. The mean age was 54 yrs (range, $27\∼75$ yrs). The patients were placed on NPO and Stomach was distended with gas in fasting state prior to CT scanning. Double contrast upper GI series were performed as routine manual. CT scan was conducted in all patients using 8 or 16-channel multidetector CT in this study. The collimation and reconstruction for CT scanning were set at 2.5 mm and 1.25 mm, respectively. CT scanning was performed in the supine position. For image processing, CT gastrography, in which raysum and surface rendering images were constructed, virtual and 2D image in coronal and sagittal images were performed. The detectability of gastric cancer was assessed between UGIs and CT gastrography. Results: In AGCs, the detection rate of cancer using CT gastrography and virtual gastroscopy was higher than EGC cases. However, CT gastrography and virtual gastroscopy showed less favorable results than UGIs. Even though only a small number of cases had been studied, we might conclude that CT gastrography and virtual gastroscopy could replace UGIs in the detection of AGC cases. Conclusion: The detection rate used with CT gastrography and Virtual gastroscopy is not better than that of UGIs in early gastric cancer, however, in advanced gastric cancer cases, it is nearly equal to that of UGIs.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.447-454
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• 2019

In order to improve and supplement the shielding method for electron beam treatment, we designed a patient-specific shielding method using a 3D printer, and evaluated the usefulness by comparing and analyzing the distribution of electron beam doses to adjacent organs. In order to treat 5 cm sized superficial tumors around the lens, a CT Simulator was used to scan the Alderson Rando phantom and the DICOM file was converted into an STL file. The converted STL file was used to design a patient-specific shield and mold that matched the body surface contour of the treatment site. The thickness of the shield was 1 cm and 1.5 cm, and the mold was printed using a 3D printer, and the patient customized shielding block (PCSB) was fabricated with a cerrobend alloy with a thickness of 1 cm and 1.5 cm. The dosimetry was performed by attaching an EBT3 film on the surface of the Alderson Rando phantom eyelid and measuring the dose of 6, 9, and 12 MeV electron beams on the film using four shielding methods. Shielding rates were 83.89%, 87.14%, 87.39% at 6, 9, and 12 MeV without shielding, 1 cm (92.04%, 87.48%, 86.49%), 1.5 cm (91.13%, 91.88% with PSCB), 92.66%) The shielding rate was measured as 1 cm (90.7%, 92.23%, 88.08%) and 1.5 cm (88.31%, 90.66%, 91.81%) when the shielding block and the patient-specific shield were used together. PCSB fabrication improves shielding efficiency over conventional shielding methods. Therefore, PSCB may be useful for clinical application.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.301-307
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• 2002

Direct bonded SOI wafer pairs with $Si ll SiO_2/Si_3N_4 ll Si$ the heterogeneous insulating layers of SiO$_2$-Si$_3$N$_4$are able to apply to the micropumps and MEMS applications. Direct bonding should be executed at low temperature to avoid the warpage of the wafer pairs and inter-diffusion of materials at the interface. 10 cm diameter 2000 ${\AA}-SiO_2/Si(100}$ and 560 $\AA$- ${\AA}-Si_3N_4/Si(100}$ wafers were prepared, and wet cleaned to activate the surface as hydrophilic and hydrophobic states, respectively. Cleaned wafers were pre- mated with facing the mirror planes by a specially designed aligner in class-100 clean room immediately. We employed a heat treatment equipment so called fast linear annealing(FLA) with a halogen lamp to enhance the bonding of pre mated wafers We kept the scan velocity of 0.08 mm/sec, which implied bonding process time of 125 sec/wafer pairs, by varying the heat input at the range of 320~550 W. We measured the bonding area by using the infrared camera and the bonding strength by the razor blade clack opening method, respective1y. It was confirmed that the bonding area was between 80% and to 95% as FLA heat input increased. The bonding strength became the equal of $1000^{\circ}C$ heat treated $Si ll SiO_2/Si_3N_4 ll Si$ pair by an electric furnace. Bonding strength increased to 2500 mJ/$\textrm{m}^2$as heat input increased, which is identical value of annealing at $1000^{\circ}C$-2 hr with an electric furnace. Our results implies that we obtained the enough bonding strength using the FLA, in less process time of 125 seconds and at lowed annealing temperature of $400^{\circ}C$, comparing with the conventional electric furnace annealing.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.119-126
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• 2022

Mini-implant has been reported as an alternative method to conventional diameter implants in the treatment of mandibular anterior region with narrow ridge. However, one-piece type mini-implant showed biological and technical complications, such as peri-implantitis by residual cement and prosthetic detachment. Recently, one-piece type mini-implant with additional retentive structure has been introduced to increase the retention and stability of the mini-implant. The mini-implant is based on spreading the upper retentive structure with a spreader and connected it with the inner surface of the zirconia prosthesis. In two cases, we tried to reduce these complications through the mini-implant on the narrow mandibular anterior region, and it was possible to reduce the overall treatment period through a digital system. In this case report, restoration using the digital mini-implant system showed improvement of patient satisfaction on the aspect of function and esthetic in the narrow mandibular anterior region.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.681-689
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• 2023

Purpose: Muons are characterized by a strong penetrating ability and can travel through thousands of meters of rock, making them ideal to image large volumes and substances typically impenetrable to, for example, electrons and photons. The feasibility of 3D image reconstruction and material identification based on a cosmic ray muons tomography (MT) system with triangular bar plastic scintillator detectors has been verified in this paper. Our prototype shows potential application value and the authors wish to apply this prototype system to 3D imaging. In addition, an MT experiment with the same detector system is also in progress. Methods: A simulation based on GEANT4 was developed to study cosmic ray muons' physical processes and motion trails. The yield and transportation of optical photons scintillated in each triangular bar of the detector system were reproduced. An image reconstruction algorithm and correction method based on muon scattering, which differs from the conventional PoCA algorithm, has been developed based on simulation data and verified by experimental data. Results: According to the simulation result, the detector system's position resolution is below 1 ~ mm in simulation and 2 mm in the experiment. A relatively legible 3D image of lead bricks in size of 20 cm × 5 cm × 10 cm used our inversion algorithm can be presented below 1× 10⁴ effective events, which takes 16 h of acquisition time experimentally. Conclusion: The proposed method is a potential candidate to monitor the cosmic ray MT accurately. Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to discuss the application of the detector and the simulation results have indicated that the detector can be used in cosmic ray MT. The cosmic ray MT experiment is currently underway. Furthermore, the proposal also has the potential to scan the earth, buildings, and other structures of interest including for instance computerized imaging in an archaeological framework.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.285-295
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• 2023

With the development of technology, efforts to reduce the exposure dose received by patients in CT scans are continuing with the development of new reconstruction techniques. Recently, deep learning reconstruction techniques have been developed to overcome the limitations of repetitive reconstruction techniques. This study aims to evaluate the usefulness of images according to reconstruction techniques in pediatric chest CT images. Patient study conducted a study on 85 pediatric patients who underwent chest CT scan at P-Hospital in Gyeongsangnam-do from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022. The phantom used in the Phantom Study is the Pediatrics Whole Body Phantom PBU-70. After the test, the images were reconstructed with FBP, ASIR-V (50%) and DLIR (TF-Medium, High), and the images were evaluated by obtaining SNR and CNR values by setting ROI of the same size. As a result, TF-H of deep learning reconstruction techniques had the lowest noise value compared to ASIR-V (50%) and TF-M in all experiments, and SNR and CNR had the highest values. In pediatric chest CT scans, TF images with deep learning reconstruction techniques were less noisy than ASiR-V images with adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction techniques, CNR and SNR were higher, and the quality of images was improved compared to conventional reconstruction techniques.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.281-289
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• 2023

PURPOSE. This study aimed to predict the positional coordinates of incisor points from the scan data of conventional complete dentures and verify their accuracy. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The standard triangulated language (STL) data of the scanned 100 pairs of complete upper and lower dentures were imported into the computer-aided design software from which the position coordinates of the points corresponding to each landmark of the jaw were obtained. The x, y, and z coordinates of the incisor point (X_P, Y_P, and Z_P) were obtained from the maxillary and mandibular landmark coordinates using regression or calculation formulas, and the accuracy was verified to determine the deviation between the measured and predicted coordinate values. Y_P was obtained in two ways using the hamularincisive-papilla plane (HIP) and facial measurements. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict Z_P. The root mean squared error (RMSE) values were used to verify the accuracy of the X_P and Y_P. The RMSE value was obtained after crossvalidation using the remaining 30 cases of denture STL data to verify the accuracy of Z_P. RESULTS. The RMSE was 2.22 for predicting X_P. When predicting Y_P, the RMSE of the method using the HIP plane and facial measurements was 3.18 and 0.73, respectively. Cross-validation revealed the RMSE to be 1.53. CONCLUSION. Y_P and Z_P could be predicted from anatomical landmarks of the maxillary and mandibular edentulous jaw, suggesting that Y_P could be predicted with better accuracy with the addition of the position of the lower border of the upper lip.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.508-518
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• 2023

This paper presents a new approach for the automatic mapping of discontinuities in a tunnel face based on its 3D digital model reconstructed by LiDAR scan or photogrammetry techniques. The main idea revolves around the identification of discontinuity areas in the 3D digital model of a tunnel face by segmenting its 2D projected images using a deep-learning semantic segmentation model called U-Net. The proposed deep learning model integrates various features including the projected RGB image, depth map image, and local surface properties-based images i.e., normal vector and curvature images to effectively segment areas of discontinuity in the images. Subsequently, the segmentation results are projected back onto the 3D model using depth maps and projection matrices to obtain an accurate representation of the location and extent of discontinuities within the 3D space. The performance of the segmentation model is evaluated by comparing the segmented results with their corresponding ground truths, which demonstrates the high accuracy of segmentation results with the intersection-over-union metric of approximately 0.8. Despite still being limited in training data, this method exhibits promising potential to address the limitations of conventional approaches, which only rely on normal vectors and unsupervised machine learning algorithms for grouping points in the 3D model into distinct sets of discontinuities.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.111-127
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• 2023

Purpose: Gallium-68 (⁶⁸Ga) is increasingly used in nuclear medicine imaging for various conditions such as lymphoma and neuroendocrine tumors by labeling tracers like Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) and DOTA-TOC. However, compared to Fluorine-18 (¹⁸F) used in conventional nuclear medicine imaging, ⁶⁸Ga has lower spatial resolution and relatively higher Signal to Background Ratio (SBR). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the optimized parameters and reconstruction methods for PET/CT imaging using the ⁶⁸Ga radiotracer through model-based image evaluation. Materials and Methods: Based on clinical images of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA PET/CT, a NEMA/IEC 2008 PET phantom model was prepared with a Hot vs Background (H/B) ratio of 10:1. Images were acquired for 9 minutes in list mode using DMIDR (GE, Milwaukee WI, USA). Subsequently, reconstructions were performed for 1 to 8 minutes using OS-EM (Ordered Subset Expectation Maximization) + TOF (Time of Flight) + Sharp IR (VPFX-S), and BSREM (Block Sequential Regularized Expectation Maximization) + TOF + Sharp IR (QCFX-S-400), followed by comparative evaluation. Based on the previous experimental results, images were reconstructed for BSREM + TOF + Sharp IR / 2 minutes (QCFX-S-2min) with varying β-strength values from 100 to 700. The image quality was evaluated using AMIDE (freeware, Ver.1.0.1) and Advanced Workstation (GE, USA). Results: Images reconstructed with QCFX-S-400 showed relatively higher values for SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio), CNR (Contrast to Noise Ratio), count, RC (Recovery Coefficient), and SUV (Standardized Uptake Value) compared to VPFX-S. SNR, CNR, and SUV exhibited the highest values at 2 minutes/bed acquisition time. RC showed the highest values for a 10 mm sphere at 2 minutes/bed acquisition time. For small spheres of 10 mm and 13 mm, an inverse relationship between β-strength increase and count was observed. SNR and CNR peaked at β-strength 400 and then decreased, while SUV and RC exhibited a normal distribution based on sphere size for β-strength values of 400 and above. Conclusion: Based on the experiments, PET/CT imaging using the ⁶⁸Ga radiotracer yielded the most favorable quantitative and qualitative results with a 2 minutes/bed acquisition time and BSREM reconstruction, particularly when applying β-strength 400. The application of BSREM can enhance accurate quantification and image quality in ⁶⁸Ga PET/CT imaging, and an optimization process tailored to each institution's imaging objectives appears necessary.