• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 1988

Because the amount of radiation emerging from the thorax behind the lungs is often literally thousands of times that exiting behind the mediastinum, the dynamic range of X-ray chest image is very large. In order to solve the dynamic range problem, we propose a signal adaptive algorithm which enhances the local contrast and contracts the enhancement of quantum noise by local mean/valiance estimator.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.395-401
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• 2010

Image enhancement algorithm aims to improve the visual quality of low contrast image through eliminating the noise and blurring, increasing contrast, and raising detail. This paper proposes adaptive dynamic range linear stretching(ADRLS) algorithm based on advantages of existing methods. ADRLS method is focused on generating sub-histograms of the majority through partitioning the histogram of input image and applying adaptive scale factor. Generated sub-histograms are finally applied by linear stretching(LS) algorithm. In order to validate proposed method, it is compared with LS and histogram equalization(HE) algorithm generally used. As the result, the proposed method show to improve contrast of input image and to preserve distinct characteristics of histogram by controlling excessive change of brightness.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2020

Tietze's syndrome is an inflammatory condition associated with painful swelling of the costochondral, costosternal, and sternoclavicular joints. Tietze's syndrome has been mostly attributed to microtrauma until now; however, this etiology is currently disputed. The diagnosis is based on clinical findings, although a few studies suggest the advantages of imaging. We report a case of Tietze's syndrome with a review of radiological findings, especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with dynamic contrast enhancement.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.104-111
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• 2010

This paper presents an adaptive image enhancement method using the spatial frequency property in the DCT(discrete cosine transform) compressed domain. The dc coefficients, the illumination components of image, are adjusted to compress the dynamic range of image, and the ac coefficients are modified to enhance the contrast by using the human visual system(HVS) and the spatial frequency property. The ac coefficients are separated into vertical direction, horizontal direction, and mixed spatial frequency components, and adaptively modified to minimize the block artifacts that possibly occur in the image enhancement. The proposed method using dynamic range compression and adaptive contrast enhancement shows the advanced performance without the block artifact compared with existing method.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.93-96
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• 2018

This study aimed to establish an injection protocol to determine the precise CT scan timing in canine abdominal multi-phase CT using the test bolus method. Three dynamic scans with different contrast injection parameters were performed using a crossover design in eight normal beagle dogs. A contrast material was administered at a fixed dose of 200 mg iodine/kg as a test bolus for dynamic scans 1 and 2, and 600 mg iodine/kg as a main bolus for dynamic scan 3. The contrast materials were administered with 1 ml/s in dynamic scan 1, and 3 ml/s in dynamic scan 2 and 3. The mean arrival time to the appearance of aortic enhancement in dynamic scan 3 was similar to that in dynamic scan 2, and different significantly to that in dynamic scan 1. The mean arrival time to the peak aortic and pancreatic parenchymal enhancement in dynamic scan 3 was similar to that in dynamic scan 1, and different significantly to that in dynamic scan 2. In multi-phase CT scan, a test bolus should be injected with the same injection duration of a main bolus, to obtain the precise arrival times to peak of arterial or pancreatic parenchymal enhancement.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.837-856
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• 2016

Underwater image enhancement has received considerable attention in last decades, due to the nature of poor visibility and low contrast of underwater images. In this paper, we propose a new automatic underwater image enhancement algorithm, which combines nonsubsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) domain enhancement techniques with the mechanism of the human visual system (HVS). We apply the multiscale retinex algorithm based on the HVS into NSCT domain in order to eliminate the non-uniform illumination, and adopt the threshold denoising technique to suppress underwater noise. Our proposed algorithm incorporates the luminance masking and contrast masking characteristics of the HVS into NSCT domain to yield the new HVS-based NSCT. Moreover, we define two nonlinear mapping functions. The first one is used to manipulate the HVS-based NSCT contrast coefficients to enhance the edges. The second one is a gain function which modifies the lowpass subband coefficients to adjust the global dynamic range. As a result, our algorithm can achieve contrast enhancement, image denoising and edge sharpening automatically and simultaneously. Experimental results illustrate that our proposed algorithm has better enhancement performance than state-of-the-art algorithms both in subjective evaluation and quantitative assessment. In addition, our algorithm can automatically achieve underwater image enhancement without any parameter tuning.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.561-571
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• 2020

Objective: To evaluate the clinical utility of ultrafast dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI compared to conventional DCE-MRI by studying lesion conspicuity and size according to the level of background parenchymal enhancement (BPE). Materials and Methods: This study included 360 women (median age, 54 years; range, 26-82 years) with 361 who had undergone breast MRI, including both ultrafast and conventional DCE-MRI before surgery, between January and December 2017. Conspicuity was evaluated using a five-point score. Size was measured as the single maximal diameter. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare median conspicuity score. To identify factors associated with conspicuity, multivariable logistic regression was performed. Absolute agreement between size at MRI and histopathologic examination was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: The median conspicuity scores were 5 at both scans, but the interquartile ranges were significantly different (5-5 at ultrafast vs. 4-5 at conventional, p < 0.001). Premenopausal status (odds ratio [OR] = 2.2, p = 0.048), non-mass enhancement (OR = 4.1, p = 0.001), moderate to marked BPE (OR = 7.5, p < 0.001), and shorter time to enhancement (OR = 0.9, p = 0.043) were independently associated with better conspicuity at ultrafast scans. Tumor size agreement between MRI and histopathologic examination was similar for both scans (ICC = 0.66 for ultrafast vs. 0.63 for conventional). Conclusion: Ultrafast DCE-MRI could improve lesion conspicuity compared to conventional DCE-MRI, especially in women with premenopausal status, non-mass enhancement, moderate to marked BPE or short time to enhancement.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.08a
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• pp.1483-1486
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• 2006

We describe the contrast enhancement of images using an APL(Average Picture Level) in an AC-PDP. A CEC(Contrast Enhancement Curve) determined by the APL was applied to enhance the contrast of images depending on the dominant gray levels. The most effective advantage of the proposed method is that it is easier to adjust the dynamic ranges to be enhanced with good quality and implement in a hardware system. The simulation result shows that the proposed method enhanced the contrast of given images significantly and kept the original brightness except the specific area of them compared to the HE(Histogram Equalization).

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.220-227
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• 2019

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of wash-in color map in detecting early enhancement of prostate focal lesion compared to whole dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DEC MRI) images. Materials and Methods: This study engaged 50 prostate cancer patients who underwent multiparametric MRI and radical prostatectomy as subjects. An expert [R1] and a trainee [R2] independently evaluated early enhancement and recorded the time needed to review 1) a wash-in color map and 2) whole DCE MRI images. Results: The review of whole DCE images by R1 showed fair agreement with color map by R1, whole images by R2, and color map by R2 (weighted kappa values = 0.59, 0.44, and 0.58, respectively). Both readers took a significantly shorter time to review the color maps as compared to whole images (P < 0.001). Conclusion: A trainee could achieve better agreement with an expert when using wash-in color maps than when using whole DCE MRI images. Also, color maps took a significantly shorter evaluation time than whole images.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.102-109
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of the T1 3D subtraction technique and the conventional 2D dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE) technique in diagnosing Cushing's disease. Materials and Methods: Twelve patients with clinically and biochemically proven Cushing's disease were included in the study. In addition, 23 patients with a Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC) diagnosed on an MRI with normal pituitary hormone levels were included as a control, to prevent non-blinded positive results. Postcontrast T1 3D fast spin echo (FSE) images were acquired after DCE images in 3T MRI and image subtraction of pre- and postcontrast T1 3D FSE images were performed. Inter-observer agreement, interpretation time, multiobserver receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and net benefit analyses were performed to compare 2D DCE and T1 3D subtraction techniques. Results: Inter-observer agreement for a visual scale of contrast enhancement was poor in DCE (${\kappa}=0.57$) and good in T1 3D subtraction images (${\kappa}=0.75$). The time taken for determining contrast-enhancement in pituitary lesions was significantly shorter in the T1 3D subtraction images compared to the DCE sequence (P < 0.05). ROC values demonstrated increased reader confidence range with T1 3D subtraction images (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.94-1.00) compared with DCE (95% CI: 0.70-0.92) (P < 0.01). The net benefit effect of T1 3D subtraction images over DCE was 0.34 (95% CI: 0.12-0.56). For Cushing's disease, both reviewers misclassified one case as a nonenhancing lesion on the DCE images, while no cases were misclassified on T1 3D subtraction images. Conclusion: The T1 3D subtraction technique shows superior performance for determining the presence of enhancement on pituitary lesions compared with conventional DCE techniques, which may aid in diagnosing Cushing's disease.