• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.53-63
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• 2005

We propose a fuzzy neural network (FNN) theory capable of deciding the quality of a road image prior to extracting lane-related information. The accuracy of lane-related information obtained by image processing depends on the quality of the raw images, which can be classified as good or bad according to how visible the lane marks on the images are. Enhancing the accuracy of the information by an image-processing algorithm is limited due to noise corruption which makes image processing difficult. The FNN, on the other hand, decides whether road images are good or bad with respect to the degree of noise corruption. A cumulative distribution function (CDF), a function of edge histogram, is utilized to extract input parameters from the FNN according to the fact that the shape of the CDF is deeply correlated to the road image quality. A suitability analysis shows that this deep correlation exists between the parameters and the image quality. The input pattern vector of the FNN consists of nine parameters in which eight parameters are from the CDF and one is from the intensity distribution of raw images. Experimental results showed that the proposed FNN system was quite successful. We carried out simulations with real images taken in various lighting and weather conditions, and obtained successful decision-making about $99\%$ of the time.

• 한국항공우주학회지
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• 제38권2호
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• pp.188-194
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• 2010

본 연구에서는 영상레이다 (SAR)의 영상품질 분석 변수 및 확장 보간법, 배경레벨 제거 기법 등의 분석 기법을 정의하고 이를 바탕으로 SAR 영상품질 분석 툴을 개발하였다. 개발된 SAR 영상품질 분석 툴은 크게 점 표적 분석 (PTA) 모듈, 분산 표적 분석 (DTA) 모듈, 모호성 분석 (AMA) 모듈, NESZ 분석 (NESZA) 모듈, 총 4개의 주요 모듈로 구성된다. 개발 툴은 SAR 제품 파일 포맷에서 다양한 시스템 파라미터 추출하고, 이를 바탕으로 임펄스 응답 특성, 방사 성능, 모호성 등의 SAR 영상 품질 변수를 계산한다.

• 항공우주기술
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• 제1권2호
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• pp.66-74
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• 2002

위성 영상 품질 인자들 중에서 위성 영상 탑재체에 의해 결정되는 인자들의 특성을 조사하였고 그들의 특성을 연구하였다. 위성 영상은 일차적으로 위성영상탑재체에 의해 생성되므로 위성 영상의 품질은 위성영상탑재체의 성능에 크게 의존한다. 따라서 위성 영상품질 인자로서 탑재체 성능 인자를 고려하여야 한다. 탑재체 성능 인자는 대략적으로 관측파장대역(Spectral Band), 지상화소거리(Ground Sample Distance: GSD) 결정 인자, 관측폭 결정 인자, 탑재체 Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), 탑재체 신호대잡음비(Signal to Noise Ratio: SNR), 여러 탑재체 복사 응답 특성 인자, Pixel Registration, 탑재체 보정 등이 있다.

• 제어로봇시스템학회논문지
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• 제8권6호
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• pp.468-476
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• 2002

The confidence of information from image processing depends on the original image quality. Enhancing the confidence by an algorithm has an essential limitation. Especially, road images are exposed to lots of noisy sources, which makes image processing difficult. We, in this paper, propose a FNN (fuzzy-neural network) capable oi deciding the quality of a road image prior to extracting lane-related information. According to the decision by the FNN, road images are classified into good or bad to extract lane-related information. A CDF (cumulative distribution function), a function of edge histogram, is utilized to construct input parameters of the FNN, it is based on the fact that the shape of the CDF and the image quality has large correlation. Input pattern vector to the FNN consists of ten parameters in which nine parameters are from the CDF and the other one is from intensity distribution of raw image. Correlation analysis shows that each parameter represents the image quality well. According to the experimental results, the proposed FNN system was quite successful. We carried out simulations with real images taken by various lighting and weather conditions and achieved about 99% successful decision-making.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• 제47권2호
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• pp.75-86
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to apply a newly developed free software program, at low cost and with minimal time, to evaluate the quality of dental and maxillofacial cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. Materials and Methods: A polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) phantom, CQP-IFBA, was scanned in 3 CBCT units with 7 protocols. A macro program was developed, using the free software ImageJ, to automatically evaluate the image quality parameters. The image quality evaluation was based on 8 parameters: uniformity, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), noise, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), spatial resolution, the artifact index, geometric accuracy, and low-contrast resolution. Results: The image uniformity and noise depended on the protocol that was applied. Regarding the CNR, high-density structures were more sensitive to the effect of scanning parameters. There were no significant differences between SNR and CNR in centered and peripheral objects. The geometric accuracy assessment showed that all the distance measurements were lower than the real values. Low-contrast resolution was influenced by the scanning parameters, and the 1-mm rod present in the phantom was not depicted in any of the 3 CBCT units. Smaller voxel sizes presented higher spatial resolution. There were no significant differences among the protocols regarding artifact presence. Conclusion: This software package provided a fast, low-cost, and feasible method for the evaluation of image quality parameters in CBCT.

• 대한원격탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한원격탐사학회 2003년도 Proceedings of ACRS 2003 ISRS
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• pp.628-630
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• 2003

Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) is an active microwave instrument that performs high-resolution observation under almost all weather condition. Research and algorithms have been proposed to process radar signal and to increase the quality of SAR products. In fact, many complicated steps are involved in order to generate a SAR image product. The purpose of this paper is to derive quality assessment procedures and define important test parameters in each procedure inside a SAR processor. Thus those test parameter values indicate the quality of SAR image products and verify the processor's performance. Moreover, required procedures to correct and handle errors which are indicated during the assessment are also presented.

• 한국콘텐츠학회논문지
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• 제10권6호
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• pp.329-335
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• 2010

디지털 방사선시스템에서의 의료영상 획득의 방법은 X선을 조사하고, 반도체 디텍터(Detector)를 이용하여 직접 및 간접으로 변환하여 기존 업체마다 여러 가지 알고리즘을 적용하여 적절한 이미지 프로세싱을 거쳐서 임상의 적정한 영상을 획득한다. 방사선과에서 적절한 의료 영상 형성을 위하여 적용하는 이미지 프로세싱 파라미터(Image Processing Parameters)는 Edge, Frequency, Contrast, Latitude, LUT, Noise 등의 영상 증강의 과정은 기술력 및 업체 알고리즘에 따라 다르게 적용되고 있다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 디지털 방사선 환경에서의 최종의 임상 영상을 위한 이미지 증강의 파라미터들의 적정 세팅 값의 기준을 제시하고자 한다. 그리고 각 병원들의 의료 영상을 바탕으로 이미지 프로세싱 파라미터들을 변화하여 각 파라미터들의 세부적인 기준 세팅값을 연구하며, 실제적인 파라미터 변화에 대한 적합한 의료 영상을 디지털방사선시스템의 영상 평가 방법을 도식화하여 결과를 제시하고, 향후 임상에서 적응 및 활용 가능한 객관적인 영상 파라미터에 대한 특성 평가의 응용을 정립하고자 한다. 또한 다양한 표본 병원의 디지털 방사선 환경에서 적정 파라미터 값들을 조사하여 임상에서 영상의 화질에 미치는 영향으로 특성 평가의 객관적인 기준의 변조전달함수(MTF)의 공간해상력을 제시하고 한다.

• 대한원격탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한원격탐사학회 2004년도 Proceedings of ISRS 2004
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• pp.397-400
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• 2004

Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) is an active micro­wave instrument that performs high-resolution observation under almost all weather conditions. Although there are many advantages of SAR instrument, many complicated steps are involved in order to generate SAR image products. Many research and algorithms have been proposed to process radar signal and to increase the quality of SAR products. However, it is hard to find research which compare the quality of SAR products generated with different algorithms and processing methods. In our previous research, a SAR processing s/w was developed for a ground station. In addition, quality assessment procedures and their test parameters inside a SAR processor was proposed. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of SAR images generated from the developed SAR processing s/w. However, If there are no direct measurements such as radar reflector or scattering field measurement values it is difficult to compare SAR images generated with different methods. An alternative procedures and parameters for SAR image quality evaluation are presented and the problems involved in the comparison methods are discussed. Experiments based on real data have been conducted to evaluate and analyze quality of SAR images.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• 제49권2호
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• pp.139-151
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• 2019

Purpose: This study was performed to investigate the effect of exposure parameters on image quality obtained using a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanner and the relationship between physical factors and clinical image quality depending on the diagnostic task. Materials and Methods: CBCT images of a SedentexCT IQ phantom and a real skull phantom were obtained under different combinations of tube voltage and tube current (Alphard 3030 CBCT scanner, 78-90 kVp and 2-8 mA). The images obtained using a SedentexCT IQ phantom were analyzed technically, and the physical factors of image noise, contrast resolution, spatial resolution, and metal artifacts were measured. The images obtained using a real skull phantom were evaluated for each diagnostic task by 6 oral and maxillofacial radiologists, and each setting was classified as acceptable or unacceptable based on those evaluations. A statistical analysis of the relationships of exposure parameters and physical factors with observer scores was conducted. Results: For periapical diagnosis and implant planning, the tube current of the acceptable images was significantly higher than that of the unacceptable images. Image noise, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), the line pair chart on the Z axis, and modulation transfer function (MTF) values showed statistically significant differences between the acceptable and unacceptable image groups. The cut-off values obtained using receiver operating characteristic curves for CNR and MTF 10 were useful for determining acceptability. Conclusion: Tube current had a major influence on clinical image quality. CNR and MTF 10 were useful physical factors that showed significantly associations with clinical image quality.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제19권6호
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• pp.1031-1041
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• 2018

Objective: To compare image quality and radiation dose of high-pitch dual-source spiral cardiothoracic computed tomography (CT) between non-electrocardiography (ECG)-synchronized and prospectively ECG-triggered data acquisitions in young children with congenital heart disease. Materials and Methods: Eighty-six children (${\leq}3$ years) with congenital heart disease who underwent high-pitch dual-source spiral cardiothoracic CT were included in this retrospective study. They were divided into two groups (n = 43 for each; group 1 with non-ECG-synchronization and group 2 with prospective ECG triggering). Patient-related parameters, radiation dose, and image quality were compared between the two groups. Results: There were no significant differences in patient-related parameters including age, cross-sectional area, body density, and water-equivalent area between the two groups (p > 0.05). Regarding radiation dose parameters, only volume CT dose index values were significantly different between group 1 ($1.13{\pm}0.09mGy$) and group 2 ($1.07{\pm}0.12mGy$, p < 0.02). Among image quality parameters, significantly higher image noise ($3.8{\pm}0.7$ Hounsfield units [HU] vs. $3.3{\pm}0.6HU$, p < 0.001), significantly lower signal-to-noise ratio ($105.0{\pm}28.9$ vs. $134.1{\pm}44.4$, p = 0.001) and contrast-to-noise ratio ($84.5{\pm}27.2$ vs. $110.1{\pm}43.2$, p = 0.002), and significantly less diaphragm motion artifacts ($3.8{\pm}0.5$ vs. $3.7{\pm}0.4$, p < 0.04) were found in group 1 compared with group 2. Image quality grades of cardiac structures, coronary arteries, ascending aorta, pulmonary trunk, lung markings, and chest wall showed no significant difference between groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: In high-pitch dual-source spiral pediatric cardiothoracic CT, additional ECG triggering does not substantially reduce motion artifacts in young children with congenital heart disease.