• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 1999

Eddy current in MRI systems degrades gradient field linearity and distorts gradient waveform. When the waveform distortion is spatially variant, it is very difficult to perform special imaging techniques such as the echo planar imaging technique or the fast spin echo imaging technique. In this study, we have developed a new technique to estimate the distorted gradient waveforms at any points inside the imaging region using the finite element method. After obtaining the eddy-current-effect transfer function, which represents magnitude and phase characteristics of the gradient field at a particular point, we have used the transfer function to estimate the actual gradient waveforms at the point. To verify the proposed technique, we have compared the estimated gradient waveforms with the measured ones.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.4108-4114
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• 2015

An image acquisition by using an optical mirror is called as a catadioptric method. The catadioptric imaging method is generally used for acquisition of 360-degree all directional visual information in an image. An exemplar omnidirectional optical mirror is the bowl-shaped hyperbolic mirror. In this paper, a single camera omnidirectional stereo imaging method is studied with an additional concave lens. It is possible to obtain 3 dimensional coordinates of environmental objects from the omnidirectional stereo image by matching the stereo image having different view points. The omnidirectional stereo imaging system in this paper is cost-effective and relatively easy for correspondence matching because of consistent camera intrinsic parameters in the stereo image. The parameters of the imaging system are extracted through 3-step calibration and the performance for 3-dimensional coordinates reconstruction is verified through experiments in this paper. Measurable range of the proposed imaging system is also presented by depth-resolution analysis.

• 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.

• IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing and Computing
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.161-170
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• 2012

This paper presents an efficient and robust approach for determining the correspondence between unbalanced stereo images. The disparity vectors were used instead of feature points, such as corners, to calculate a correspondence relationship. For a faster and optimal estimation, the vectors were classified into several regions, and the homography of each region was calculated using the RANSAC algorithm. The correspondence image was calculated from the images transformed by each homography. Although it provided good results under normal conditions, it was difficult to obtain reliable results in an unbalanced stereo pair. Therefore, a balancing method is also proposed to minimize the unbalance effects using the histogram specification and structural similarity index. The experimental results showed that the proposed approach outperformed the baseline algorithms with respect to the speed and peak-signal-to-noise ratio. This work can be applied to practical fields including 3D depth map acquisition, fast stereo coding, 2D-to-3D conversion, etc.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.303-310
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• 2011

Purpose : This study examined the feedback effect of real-time ultrasound imaging on the thickness of transversus abdominis(TrA), internal abdominal oblique(IO) and external abdominal oblique(EO) during abdominal hollowing exercise(AHE) in crook lying. Methods : We performed this study on 30 healthy men who voluntarily consented to participate in this study after listening to its purpose and method. All subject were divided into an experimental group(n=15) with using the real-time ultrasound imaging feedback(RUIF) and a control group(n=15) without the RUIF The thickness changes between rest and AHE were compared between the two groups in crook lying. Results : The difference in TrA and EO thickness changes between the groups were significant in crook lying (p<0.05). Conclusion : The group with using real-time ultrasound imaging feedback showed a higher increase in the thickness of TrA than the other group without real-time ultrasound imaging feedback. And the thickness of EO in the group with using real-time ultrasound imaging feedback decreased than the other group without real-time ultrasound imaging feedback. If the muscle thickness can be regarded as an indicator of muscle activity, RUIF will be helpful for inducing the independent activity of TrA by reducing the activities of abdominal muscles such as EO.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.230.1-230.1
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• 2015

One of the major problems of biological ToF-SIMS imaging is the lack of protein and peptide imaging. Most of biological story telling is mianly based on proteins. The biological implication of lipid ToF-SIMS imaging would be much higher if protein imaging is provided together. Utilizing high secondary ion yields of metals, proteins can be ToF-SIMS imaged with nanoparticle tagged proteins. Nanoparticles such as Fe3O4, SiO2, PbS were used for imaing NeuN, MCH, Orexin A, ${\alpha}$ synucline, TH(Tryosine Hydroxylase) in mouse tissues with a spatial resolution of ${\sim}2{\mu}m$ using a TOF-SIMS. Lipids and neurotransmitters images obtained simultaneously with protein images were overlayed for more deeper understanding of neurobiology, which is not allowed by any other bioimaging technqiues. The protein images from TOF-SIMS were compared with confocal fluorescence microscopy and NanoSIMS images. A new sample preparation method for imaging single cell membranes in a tissue using the vibrotome technique to prepare a tissue slice without any fixation and freeze drying will be also presented briefly for Hippocampus and Hypothalamus tissues.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.91-100
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• 1998

In magnetic resonance imaging, the fast spin echo imaging technique is a widely used clinical imaging method. since its scanning time is much shorter than the conventional spin echo imaging and it gives the almost same image quality. However, the fast spin echo technique has two times longer imaging time for the dual echo acquisition which can obtain a spin density image and a T-give the same qulity images at the single echo imaging time. T he proposed technique reduces the imaging time by overlapping most of were obtained at the 0.3T permanent MRI system are presented.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2018

Molecular imaging refers to detect the biochemical process in living organisms at the cellular and molecular levels and to quantify them. Due to several advantages of nanomaterials, various molecular images using nanomaterials are being tried. Attempts have been made to combine nanoparticles, known as micro- or nanosized nanomaterials, with radioactive isotopes for molecular imaging probe. The radiolabeled nanoparticles will expend the molecular imaging due to nanoparticle's size-dependent nature. In particular, iron oxide nanoparticles can be used for magnetic resonance imaging, can be adjusted in size, easily functionalized, and biocompatible, making it a very good platform for molecular imaging. In addition, iron oxide nanoparticles may be the best example for a new approach to molecular imaging techniques. In this paper, we introduce various methods for preparation of iron oxide nanoparticle combined with radioisotope starting from various synthesis methods of iron oxide nanoparticles to utilize iron oxide nanoparticles as a platform for molecular imaging through radioactive labeling.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.115-120
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• 2004

Molecular imaging is a rapidly growing field due to the advances in molecular biology and imaging technologies. With the introduction of imaging reporter genes into the cell, diverse cellular processes can be monitored, quantified and imaged non-invasively in vivo. These precesses include the gene expression, protein-protein interactions, signal transduction pathways, and monitoring of cells such as cancer cells, immune cells, and stem cells. In the near future, molecular imaging analysis will allow us to observe the incipience and progression of the disease. These will make us easier to give a diagnosis in the early stage of intractable diseases such as canter, neuro-degenerative disease, and immunological disorders. Additionally, molecular imaging method will be a valuable tool for the real-time evaluation of cells in molecular biology and the basic biological studies. As newer and more powerful molecular imaging tools become available, it will be necessary to corporate clinicians, molecular biologists and biochemists for the planning, interpretation, and application of these techniques to their fullest potential. in order for such a multidisciplinary team to be effective, it is essential that a common understanding of basic biochemical and molecular biologic techniques is achieved. Basic molecular techniques for molecular imaging methods are presented in this paper.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.88-93
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• 2016

Recently laser speckle contrast (LSC) imaging has become a widely used optical method for in vivo assessment of blood flow in the animal brain. LSC imaging is useful for monitoring brain hemodynamics with relatively high spatio-temporal resolution. A speckle contrast imaging system has been implemented with electrical sensory stimulation apparatus. LSC imaging is combined with optical intrinsic signal imaging in order to measure changes in cerebral blood flow as well as neural activity in response to electrical sensory stimulation applied to the hindlimb region of the mouse brain. We found that blood flow and oxygen consumption are correlated and both sides of hindlimb activation regions are symmetrically located. This apparatus could be used to monitor spatial or temporal responses of cerebral blood flow in animal disease models such as ischemic stroke or cortical spreading depression.