• Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 2012

To test the real image quality of a spectral attenuated inversion-recovery (SPAIR) fat-suppression (FS) techniquein clinical abdominal MRI by comparison to turbo spin echo inversion-recovery (TSEIR) fat-suppression (FS) technique. 3.0T MRI studies of the abdomen were performed in 30 patients with liver lesions (hemangiomas n: 15; HCC n: 15). T2W sequences were acquired using SPAIR TSEIR. Measurements included retroperitoneal and mesenteric fat signal-to-noise (SNR) to evaluate FS; liver lesion contrast-to-noise (CNR) to evaluate bulk water signal recovery effects; and bowel wall delineation to evaluate susceptibility and physiological motion effects. SPAIR-TSEIR images produce significantly improved FS and liver lesion CNR. The mean SNR of the retroperitoneal and mesenteric fat for SPAIR were 20.5, 10.2 and TSEIR were 43.2, 24.1 (P<0.05). SPAIR-TSEIR images produced higher CNR for both hemangiomas CNR 164.88 vs 126.83 (P<0.05) and metastasis CNR 75.27 vs 53.19 (P<0.05). Bowel wall visualization was significantly improved using in both SPAIR-TSEIR (P< 0.05). The real image quality of SPAIR was better than over conventional TSEIR FS on clinical abdominal MRI scans.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.38-42
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• 2018

A case of surgically treated intervertebral disc extrusion with intraoperatively confirmed intradiscal hematoma in a 30-year-old physical trainer is presented. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging revealed downward migrating disc herniation, without definite suggestive findings of intradiscal hematoma. Intervertebral disc herniation with concomitant intradiscal hematoma is extremely rare, but could occur in patients who have excessive axial stress to the spine occupationally. In our case, the patient was an occupational physical trainer who had repetitive minor trauma to the lumbar spine. Although the patient did not have any clear history of major trauma to the spine, the intraoperative findings revealed intradiscal hematoma, which is very rare. The presence of intradiscal hematoma is to be suspected even when preoperative imaging studies shows indefinite findings of hematoma, considering the change in signal intensity of hematoma by time.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.534-541
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• 1998

We describe a 27-year-old man who developed gait disturbance and dysarthria 2 years after the onset of cardinal symptoms of Behcet's disease. Positron emission tomography with $^{18}F$-fluorodeoxyglucose revealed severe hypometabolisrn in the cerebellum, in accordance with cerebellar symptoms and signs of the patient. However, single-photon emission tomography with $^{99m}Tc$-HMPAO and $^{99m}Tc$-ECD did not disclose significant perfusion abnormalities in the brain. Routine brain magnetic resonance imaging did not show signal abnormalities. The findings of imaging studies compared with neurological manifestations of the patient are discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2007

The global environment is deteriorating at an alarming rate, despite of enhanced international environmental regulation. Many studies have been performed to reduce toxic pollutants. Recently, plant-based phytoremediation technology for moving toxic contaminants from soil and water has been receiving large attention. Arsenic-contaminated soil is one of the major pollutant sources for drinking water. Pteris erotica has been known as a hyper-accumulator of arsenic from soils. In this study, we investigated the effect of arsenic absorption on sap flow inside xylem vessels of Pteris. The synchrotron X-ray micro-imaging technique was employed to monitor the refilling process of water containing arsenic inside the xylem vessels of Pteris's leaves and stems non-invasively. The captured phase-contrast X-ray images show both anatomy of internal structure and transport of water inside Pteris. The exposure of Pteris to arsenic solution was found to increase largely the water raise speed in xylem vessels. The present results would provide important information needed for understanding the mechanisms of accumulation and transportation of toxic materials in plants.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.193-198
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• 2017

In this study, we propose a three-dimensional (3D) visualization technique of occluded objects using integral imaging with a plenoptic camera. In previous studies, depth map estimation from elemental images was used to remove occlusion. However, the resolution of these depth maps is low. Thus, the occlusion removal accuracy is not efficient. Therefore, we use a plenoptic camera to obtain a high-resolution depth map. Hence, individual depth map for each elemental image can also be generated. Finally, we can regenerate a more accurate depth map for 3D objects with these separate depth maps, allowing us to remove the occlusion layers more efficiently. We perform optical experiments to prove our proposed technique. Moreover, we use MSE and PSNR as a performance metric to evaluate the quality of the reconstructed image. In conclusion, we enhance the visual quality of the reconstructed image after removing the occlusion layers using the plenoptic camera.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.109-112
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• 2015

Since the early 2000s, there has been a continued interest in lie detection using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in neuroscience and forensic sciences, as well as in newly emerging fields including neuroethics and neurolaw. Related fMRI studies have revealed converging evidence that brain regions including the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, parietal cortex, and anterior insula are associated with deceptive behavior. However, fMRI-based lie detection has thus far not been generally accepted as evidence in court, as methodological shortcomings, generalizability issues, and ethical and legal concerns are yet to be resolved. In the present review, we aim to illustrate these achievements and limitations of fMRI-based lie detection.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.75-83
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• 2007

Elasticity is an important physical property of biological tissues. Differences in elasticity can help facilitate the diagnosis of tumors and their extent. Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) tries to visualize images of tissue elasticity by externally applying shear stress on the surface of an imaging object. Applied shear stress induces internal displacements that can be measured from MR phase images. In order to conduct MRE imaging experiments, we need to first develop a vibrator. We found that there does not exist enough technical information to design the MRE vibrator. In this paper, we describe the theory, design and construction of an MRE vibrator. We report the performance of the developed vibrator using two different test methods. We found that the vibrator successfully induces enough internal displacements that can be imaged using an MRI scanner. We suggest future studies of numerous MRE imaging experiments using the vibrator.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.296-298
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• 2011

Spinal intradural cysticercosis is a rare manifestation of neurocysticercosis. We report a unique patient who showed visual symptoms and normal imaging of the brain caused by isolated spinal neurocysticercosis. A 59-year-old male patient was admitted to the emergency unit with a history of severe headache and progressive blurred vision. Brain computed tomographic scanning and magnetic resonance imaging showed normal cerebral anatomy without hydrocephalus. The fundoscopic evaluation by an ophthalmologist showed bilateral papilledema. Perimetry studies revealed visual field defects in both eyes. With the diagnosis of pseudotumor cerebri, a lumbar tap was attempted; however, we could not drain the cerebrospinal fluid in spite of appropriate attempts. Lumbar magnetic resonance imaging revealed multilevel intraspinal lesions that were confirmed histologically to be neurocysticercosis. An intraoperative lumbar puncture revealed an increased opening pressure and cytochemical analysis showed elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein level. The headache resolved immediately after surgery. However, the visual symptoms remained and recovered only marginally despite antihelminthic medications after six months of operation.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.449-464
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• 2008

An array based, outward monitoring, ultrasonic guided wave based SHM technique using a single transmitter and multiple receivers (STMR), with a small footprint is discussed here. The previous implementation of such SHM arrays used a phase-reconstruction algorithm (that is similar to the beam-steering algorithm) for the imaging of reflectors. These algorithms were found to have a limitation during the imaging of defects/reflectors that are present in the "near-field" of the array. Here, the "near-field" is defined to be approximately 3-4 times the diameter of the compact array. This limitation is caused by approximations in the beam-steering reconstruction algorithm. In this paper, a migration-based reconstruction algorithm, with dispersion correction in the frequency domain, is discussed. Simulation and experimental studies are used to demonstrate that this algorithm improves the reconstruction in the "near-field" without decreasing the ability to reconstruct defects in the "far-field" in both isotropic and anisotropic plates.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.60-67
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• 2020

Despite its benefit in engine thermal efficiency, gasoline-direct-injection (GDI) engines generate substantial particulate matter (PM) emissions compared to conventional port-fuel-injection (PFI) engines. One of the reasons for this is that the spray collapse caused by the spray-to-spray interaction forms the locally rich fuel-air mixture and increases the fuel wall film. Previous studies have investigated the spray collapse phenomenon through the macroscopic observation of spray behavior using laser optical techniques, but it is somewhat difficult to understand the interaction between sprays that is initiated in the near-nozzle region within 10 mm from the nozzle exit. In this study, the spray structure, droplet size and velocity data were obtained using an X-ray imaging technique from the near-nozzle to the downstream of the spray to investigate the spray-to-spray interaction and discuss the effects of spray collapse on local droplet size and velocity distribution. It was found that as the ambient density increases, the spray collapse was promoted due to the intensified spray-to-spray interaction, thereby increasing the local droplet size and velocity from the near-nozzle region as a result of droplet collision/coalescence.