• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.3
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• pp.562-574
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• 2021

MRI has the advantages of having excellent soft-tissue contrast and providing functional information without any harmful ionizing radiation. Although previous technical limitations restricted the use of chest MRI, recent technological advances and expansion of insurance coverage are increasing the demand for chest MRI. Recognizing the need for guidelines on appropriate use of chest MRI in Korean clinical settings, the Korean Society of Radiology has composed a development committee, working committee, and advisory committee to develop Korean chest MRI justification guidelines. Five key questions were selected and recommendations have been made with the evidence-based clinical imaging guideline adaptation methodology. Recommendations are as follows. Chest MRI can be considered in the following circumstances: for patients with incidentally found anterior mediastinal masses to exclude non-neoplastic conditions, for pneumoconiosis patients with lung masses to differentiate progressive massive fibrosis from lung cancer, and when invasion of the chest wall, vertebrae, diaphragm, or major vessels by malignant pleural mesothelioma or non-small cell lung cancer is suspected. Chest MRI without contrast enhancement or with minimal dose low-risk contrast media can be considered for pregnant women with suspected pulmonary embolism. Lastly, chest MRI is recommended for patients with pancoast tumors planned for radical surgery.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.467-475
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• 2014

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is a well-known and rich source of biologically active compounds, such as flavonoids, carotenoids, steroids, vitamins, tannins, and oleic acid. The effects of sea buckthorn fruit extract (SBFE) on ultraviolet (UV)-induced cell death was investigated in SK-MEL-2 cells cotreated with UV and a low concentration (LoC), medium concentration (MeC), or high concentration (HiC) of SBFE. Cell viability gradually decreased in accordance with an increase in the UV dose. The cell viability of the UV+SBFE cotreated cells increased significantly compared to that of UV+vehicle-treated cells during the application of an appropriate UV radiation dose (400 mJ). In addition, the number of 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), propidium iodine (PI)-, and annexin V-stained apoptotic cells was higher in the UV+vehicle-treated cells than in the UV untreated cells. The decrease of apoptotic cell numbers varied in each treated group, but it was most significant in the SBFE-treated group. The number of PI-stained cells dramatically decreased in accordance with the concentration of SBFE, and the maximum decrease was detected in the UV+HiC-treated group. In addition, Bax expression increased and Bcl-2 expression decreased in the SBFE-treated group compared with the UV-only treated group. The level of caspase-3 remained constant in all the groups. These results suggest that SBFE may contribute to a recovery from UV-induced cell death through the regulation of apoptotic protein expression and that it may have potential therapeutic utility in ameliorating UV-induced skin ageing.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.161-166
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• 2006

Purpose: Recently, the incidence of early gastric cancer (EGC) patients is rapidly increased in Korea. However, they're often not perceptible by surgical palpation or inspection. The aim of this study is 1) to develope a software that can locate the tumor and measure the mucosal distance from an anatomic landmark to the tumor using CT gastrography and 2) to compare the distance measured by the developed software with the distance measured by the pathologic findings. Materials and Methods: Between January 2004 and September 2005, sixty patients (male=45, female=15, mean 57.8 years old) estimated for EGC with preoperative CT scans and undergone gastrectomies in Kyungpook National University Hospital were enrolled in this study. Preoperative CT scans were performed after insufflations of room air via 5 Fr NG tube. The scans included the following parameters: (slice thickness/reconstruction interval: 0.625 mm, kVp: 120, mAs: 200). 3D volume rendering and measurement of the surface distance from the pylorus to the EGC were performed using the developed software. Results: The average difference between the lesion to pylorus distances measured from pathologic specimens and CT gastrography was $5.3{\pm}2.9\;mm(range,\;0{\sim}23\;mm)$. The lesion to pylorus distance measured from CT gastrography was well correlated with that measured from the pathologic specimens (r=0.9843, P<0.001). Conclusion: These results suggest that the surface distance from an anatomic landmark to the EGC can be measured accurately by CT gastrography. This technique could be used for preoperative localization of early gastric carcinomas to determine the optimal extent of surgical resection.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.102-112
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• 2008

We developed a high-resolution micro-CT system based on rotational gantry and flat-panel detector for live mouse imaging. This system is composed primarily of an x-ray source with micro-focal spot size, a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) flat panel detector coupled with Csl (TI) (thallium-doped cesium iodide) scintillator, a linearly moving couch, a rotational gantry coupled with positioning encoder, and a parallel processing system for image data. This system was designed to be of the gantry-rotation type which has several advantages in obtaining CT images of live mice, namely, the relative ease of minimizing the motion artifact of the mice and the capability of administering respiratory anesthesia during scanning. We evaluated the spatial resolution, image contrast, and uniformity of the CT system using CT phantoms. As the results, the spatial resolution of the system was approximately the 11.3 cycles/mm at 10% of the MTF curve, and the radiation dose to the mice was 81.5 mGy. The minimal resolving contrast was found to be less than 46 CT numbers on low-contrast phantom imaging test. We found that the image non-uniformity was approximately 70 CT numbers at a voxel size of ${\sim}55{\times}55{\times}X100\;{\mu}^3$. We present the image test results of the skull and lung, and body of the live mice.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.807-820
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• 2023

Objective: To assess whether computed tomography (CT) conversion across different scan parameters and manufacturers using a routable generative adversarial network (RouteGAN) can improve the accuracy and variability in quantifying interstitial lung disease (ILD) using a deep learning-based automated software. Materials and Methods: This study included patients with ILD who underwent thin-section CT. Unmatched CT images obtained using scanners from four manufacturers (vendors A-D), standard- or low-radiation doses, and sharp or medium kernels were classified into groups 1-7 according to acquisition conditions. CT images in groups 2-7 were converted into the target CT style (Group 1: vendor A, standard dose, and sharp kernel) using a RouteGAN. ILD was quantified on original and converted CT images using a deep learning-based software (Aview, Coreline Soft). The accuracy of quantification was analyzed using the dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and pixel-wise overlap accuracy metrics against manual quantification by a radiologist. Five radiologists evaluated quantification accuracy using a 10-point visual scoring system. Results: Three hundred and fifty CT slices from 150 patients (mean age: 67.6 ± 10.7 years; 56 females) were included. The overlap accuracies for quantifying total abnormalities in groups 2-7 improved after CT conversion (original vs. converted: 0.63 vs. 0.68 for DSC, 0.66 vs. 0.70 for pixel-wise recall, and 0.68 vs. 0.73 for pixel-wise precision; P < 0.002 for all). The DSCs of fibrosis score, honeycombing, and reticulation significantly increased after CT conversion (0.32 vs. 0.64, 0.19 vs. 0.47, and 0.23 vs. 0.54, P < 0.002 for all), whereas those of ground-glass opacity, consolidation, and emphysema did not change significantly or decreased slightly. The radiologists' scores were significantly higher (P < 0.001) and less variable on converted CT. Conclusion: CT conversion using a RouteGAN can improve the accuracy and variability of CT images obtained using different scan parameters and manufacturers in deep learning-based quantification of ILD.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.83-89
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• 2010

Purpose: The Wide Beam Reconstruction (WBR) algorithms that UltraSPECT, Ltd. (U.S) has provides solutions which improved image resolution by eliminating the effect of the line spread function by collimator and suppression of the noise. It controls the resolution and noise level automatically and yields unsurpassed image quality. The aim of this study is WBR of whole body bone scan in usefulness of clinical application. Materials and Methods: The standard line source and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) reconstructed spatial resolution measurements were performed on an INFINA (GE, Milwaukee, WI) gamma camera, equipped with low energy high resolution (LEHR) collimators. The total counts of line source measurements with 200 kcps and 300 kcps. The SPECT phantoms analyzed spatial resolution by the changing matrix size. Also a clinical evaluation study was performed with forty three patients, referred for bone scans. First group altered scan speed with 20 and 30 cm/min and dosage of 740 MBq (20 mCi) of $^{99m}Tc$-HDP administered but second group altered dosage of $^{99m}Tc$-HDP with 740 and 1,110 MBq (20 mCi and 30 mCi) in same scan speed. The acquired data was reconstructed using the typical clinical protocol in use and the WBR protocol. The patient's information was removed and a blind reading was done on each reconstruction method. For each reading, a questionnaire was completed in which the reader was asked to evaluate, on a scale of 1-5 point. Results: The result of planar WBR data improved resolution more than 10%. The Full-Width at Half-Maximum (FWHM) of WBR data improved about 16% (Standard: 8.45, WBR: 7.09). SPECT WBR data improved resolution more than about 50% and evaluate FWHM of WBR data (Standard: 3.52, WBR: 1.65). A clinical evaluation study, there was no statistically significant difference between the two method, which includes improvement of the bone to soft tissue ratio and the image resolution (first group p=0.07, second group p=0.458). Conclusion: The WBR method allows to shorten the acquisition time of bone scans while simultaneously providing improved image quality and to reduce the dosage of radiopharmaceuticals reducing radiation dose. Therefore, the WBR method can be applied to a wide range of clinical applications to provide clinical values as well as image quality.