• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.141-151
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• 2016

Purpose: Advances of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially that of the Ultra-High Field (UHF) MRI will be reviewed. Materials and Methods: Diffusion MRI data was obtained from a healthy adult young male of age 30 using a 7.0T research MRI scanner (Magnetom, Siemens) with 40 mT/m maximum gradient field. The specific imaging parameters used for the data acquisition were a single shot DW echo planar imaging. Results: Three areas of the imaging experiments are focused on for the study, namely the anatomy, angiography, and tractography. Conclusion: It is envisioned that, in near future, there will be more 7.0T MRIs for brain research and explosive clinical application research will also be developed, for example in the area of connectomics in neuroscience and clinical neurology and neurosurgery.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2003.07d
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• pp.2783-2785
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• 2003

In multi-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging, data is obtained in the spatial frequency domain. Since the signal variation in the spatial frequency domain is much larger than that in the spatial domain, analog-to-digital converts with wide conversion bits are required. In this paper, the quantization noise in magnetic resonance imaging is analyzed. The signal-to-quantization noise ratio(SQNR) in the reconstructed image is derived from the level of quantization in the data acquisition. Since the quantization noise is proportional to the signal amplitude, it becomes more dominant in high field imaging. Using the derived formula the SQNR for several MRI systems are evaluated, and it is shown that the quantization noise can be a limiting factor in high field imaging, especially in three dimensional imaging in magnetic resonance imaging.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2007

Purpose: To acquire high-resolution spiral-scan images at higher magnetic field, high homogeneous magnetic field is needed. Field inhomogeneity mapping and in-vivo shimming are important for rapid imaging such as spiral-scan imaging. The rapid scanning sequences are very susceptible to inhomogeneity. In this paper, we proposed a higher-order shimming method to obtain homogeneous magnetic field. Materials and Methods: To reduce measurement time for field inhomogeneity mapping, simultaneous axial/ sagittal, and coronal acquisitions are done using multi-slice based Fast Spin echo sequence. Acquired field inhomogeneity map is analyzed using the spherical harmonic functions, and shim currents are obtained by the multiplication of the pseudo-inverse of the field pattern with the inhomogeneity map. Results: Since the field inhomogeneity is increasing in proportion to the magnetic field, higher order shimming to reduce the inhomogeneity becomes more important in high field imaging. The shimming technique in which axial, sagittal, and coronal section inhomogeneity maps are obtained in one scan is developed, and the shimming method based on the analysis of spherical harmonics of the imhomogenity map is applied. The proposed technique is applicable to a localized shimming as well. High resolution spiral-scan imaging was successfully obtained with the proposed higher order shimming. Conclusion: Proposed pulse sequence for rapid measurement of inhomogeneity map and higher order shimming based on the inhomogeneity map work very well at 3 Tesla MRI system. With the proposed higher order shimming and localized higher order shimming techniques, high resolution spiral-scan images are successfully obtained at 3 T MRI system.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.108-116
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• 2006

Purpose : High-resolution spiral-scan imaging is performed at 3 Tesla MRI system. Since the gradient waveforms for the spiral-scan imaging have lower slopes than those for the Echo Planar Imaging (EPI), they can be implemented with the gradient systems having lower slew rates. The spiral-scan imaging also involves less eddy currents due to the smooth gradient waveforms. The spiral-scan imaging method does not suffer from high specific absorption rate (SAR), which is one of the main obstacles in high field imaging for rf echo-based fast imaging methods such as fast spin echo techniques. Thus, the spiral-scan imaging has a great potential for the high-speed imaging in high magnetic fields. In this paper, we presented various high-resolution images obtained by the spiral-scan methods at 3T MRI system for various applications. Materials and Methods : High-resolution spiral-scan imaging technique is implemented at 3T whole body MRI system. An efficient and fast higher-order shimming technique is developed to reduce the inhomogeneity, and the single-shot and interleaved spiral-scan imaging methods are developed. Spin-echo and gradient-echo based spiral-scan imaging methods are implemented, and image contrast and signal-tonoise ratio are controlled by the echo time, repetition time, and the rf flip angles. Results : Spiral-scan images having various resolutions are obtained at 3T MRI system. Since the absolute magnitude of the inhomogeneity is increasing in higher magnetic fields, higher order shimming to reduce the inhomogeneity becomes more important. A fast shimming technique in which axial, sagittal, and coronal sectional inhomogeneity maps are obtained in one scan is developed, and the shimming method based on the analysis of spherical harmonics of the inhomogeneity map is applied. For phantom and invivo head imaging, image matrix size of about $100{\times}100$ is obtained by a single-shot spiral-scan imaging, and a matrix size of $256{\times}256$ is obtained by the interleaved spiral-scan imaging with the number of interleaves of from 6 to 12. Conclusion : High field imaging becomes increasingly important due to the improved signal-to-noise ratio, larger spectral separation, and the higher BOLD-based contrast. The increasing SAR is, however, a limiting factor in high field imaging. Since the spiral-scan imaging has a very low SAR, and lower hardware requirements for the implementation of the technique compared to EPI, it is suitable for a rapid imaging in high fields. In this paper, the spiral-scan imaging with various resolutions from $100{\times}100$ to $256{\times}256$ by controlling the number of interleaves are developed for the high-speed imaging in high magnetic fields.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.2 no.6
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• pp.568-575
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• 2018

Various techniques to measure the three-dimensional (3D) surface profile of a 3D micro- or nanostructure have been proposed. However, it is difficult to apply such techniques directly to industrial uses because most of them are relatively slow, unreliable, and expensive. The HiLo optical imaging technique, which was recently introduced in the field of fluorescence imaging, is a promising wide-field imaging technique capable of high-speed imaging with a simple optical configuration. It has not been used in measuring a 3D surface profile although confocal microscopy originally developed for fluorescence imaging has been adapted to the field of 3D optical measurement for a long time. In this paper, to the best of our knowledge, the HiLo optical imaging technique for measuring a 3D surface profile is proposed for the first time. Its optical configuration and algorithm for a precisely detecting surface position are designed, optimized, and implemented. Optical performance for several 3D microscale structures is evaluated, and it is confirmed that the capability of measuring a 3D surface profile with HiLo optical imaging technique is comparable to that with confocal microscopy.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.151-155
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• 2014

Although various ophthalmic imaging methods, including fundus photography and optical coherence tomography, have been applied for effective diagnosis of ocular diseases with high spatial resolution, most of them are limited by shallow imaging penetration depth and a narrow field of view. Also, many of those imaging modalities are optimized to provide microscopic anatomical information, while functional or cellular information is lacking. Compared to other ocular imaging modalities, photoacoustic imaging can achieve relatively deep penetration depth and provide more detailed functional and cellular data based on photoacoustic signal generation from endogenous contrast agents such as hemoglobin and melanin. In this paper, array-based ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging was demonstrated to visualize pigmentation in the eye as well as overall ocular structure. Fresh porcine eyes were visualized using a real-time ultrasound micro-imaging system and an imaging probe supporting laser pulse delivery. In addition, limited photoacoustic imaging field of view was improved by an imaging probe tilting method, enabling visualization of most regions of the retina covered in the ultrasound imaging.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.109-111
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• 2003

Compared to the present clinical field strengths, MR at 47 and above promises to improve anatomic imaging quality by factors, and to bring metabolic and functional imaging to the forefront of research and diagnostic modalities. While human bore sized magnets as high as 9.4T are now installed, realization of the potential benefit of these magnets will require more of the MR system than a simple field, frequency or power scaling from technologies used at lower fields. New constraints on the high field MR studies, both physical and physiological, will require new technical developments to be considered for the highest field systems.

• Proceedings of the Safety Management and Science Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.103-112
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• 2010

This study was done to provide basic data on the safety of professionals in medical imaging system by measuring the electromagnetic waves generated in the medical imaging system being used in medical organization. The studied medical imaging systems were general X-ray system, computed tomography(CT), ultrasonographic system, magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), PET-CT and fluoroscopic system, and through these devices, electric field and magnetic field were measured and analyzed. As a result of the analysis, the measured values classified by the medical organizations were not much significant, but in the measurement by the medical imaging systems, there were high hazard elements in the sequential order of electric field PET-CT($17.7{\pm}22.9$)v/m, CT($10.3{\pm}8.7$)v/m, general X-ray system ($8.8{\pm}8.8$)v/m, magnetic field general X-ray system($5.06{\pm}8.26$)mG, CT($2.71{\pm}4.53$)mG and PET-CT($0.74{\pm}0.34$)mG, the systems that adopted X-ray as main ray source, and the more aged the medical imaging systems, the greater the effects of electro-magnetic waves($10.6{\pm}15.93v/m$ for 5 years or more, $6.14{\pm}5.60v/m$ for 5 years or less). The effects of electromagnetic waves on medical imaging systems or facilities were not much when the notification of ministry of knowledge economy is considered, but in the overall perspective considering all the equipments and facility of the medical organization, such effects were significant. It is determined that sustainable safety managements of electric field and magnetic field must be done during process from medical imaging system installation to maintenance to rule out such factors.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.67-72
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• 2010

This study was done to provide basic data on the safety of professionals in medical imaging system by measuring the electromagnetic waves generated in the medical imaging system being used in medical organization. The studied medical imaging systems were general X-ray system, computed tomography(CT), ultrasonographic(USG) system, magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), PET-CT and fluoroscopic(R/F) system, and through these devices, electric field and magnetic field were measured and analyzed. As a result of the analysis, the measured values classified by the medical organizations were not much significant, but in the measurement by the medical imaging systems, there were high hazard elements in the sequential order of electric field PET-CT($17.7{\pm}22.9$)v/m, CT($10.3{\pm}8.7$)v/m, general X-ray system($8.8{\pm}8.8$)v/m, magnetic field general X-ray system($5.06{\pm}8.26$)mG, CT($2.71{\pm}4.53$)mG and PET-CT($0.74{\pm}0.34$)mG, the systems that adopted X-ray as main ray source, and the more aged the medical imaging systems, the greater the effects of electro-magnetic waves($10.6{\pm}15.93v/m$ for 5 years or more, $6.14{\pm}5.60v/m$ for 5 years or less). The effects of electromagnetic waves on medical imaging systems or facilities were not much when the notification of ministry of knowledge economy is considered, but in the overall perspective considering all the equipments and facility of the medical organization, such effects were significant. It is determined that sustainable safety managements of electric field and magnetic field must be done during process from medical imaging system installation to maintenance to rule out such factors.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics D
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• v.35D no.2
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• pp.1-12
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• 1998

In this paper, an incoherent imaging of a high-contrast cylindrical cavity illuminated by the time-harmonic cylindrical wave is obtained ia the back-projections of he incoherent intensity patterns, which si acquired by averaging out the multi-frequency intensities of the total electric field scattered from this object in the cross-borehole measurement configuration. Multi-freuqncy effect is shown numerically and is intepreted analytically by the mutual coherence function defined in the is frequency domain. This imaging method is validated by imaging high-contrast cylindrical cavidities and the conditions to get better image are investigated.