• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.170-186
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• 2001

Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) has newly evolved by the mechanical improvement of the machine over past several years, becoming a part of imaging techniques for the evaluation of variable diseases in the musculoskeletal system. MSUS has proven diagnostic superiority in pathologies including rotator cuff disease of the shoulder, lateral epicondylitis of the elbow, diseases of the peripheral nerve, detection of intra-articular loose bodies and soft tissue foreign bodies, and in evaluating small superficial soft tissue tumors such as ganglion, epidermoid cyst, and glomus tumor. Besides, MSUS is very useful for obtaining tissue or fluid via percutaneous fine needle aspiration and/or biopsy for the histopathologic diagnosis. Combining MSUS with MR would play a great role in the field of the diagnostic imaging of the musculoskeletal system. The MSUS examiner should have the knowledge of cross-sectional anatomy, and of the mechanical and physical properties of ultrasound in order to interpret the ultrasound findings accurately and properly, and to avoid diagnostic errors due to variable artifacts subsequently. The goal of this article is to introduce the capabilities of MSUS in certain kinds of clinical situation and to familiarize the reader with MSUS. For the purpose, author intends to describe this article according not to the disease-, or organ-based, but to the clinical problem-based format.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.636-646
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• 2007

Adequate postural control depends on the spatial and temporal integration of vestibular, visual, and somatosensory information. Especially, the musculoskeletal function is essential to maintain the postural control. The experimental studies was performed on the muscular activities in the lower extremities during maintaining and moving exercises on an unstable platform with Magneto Rheological(MR) dampers. The unstable platform of the developed system was controlled by electric currents to the MR dampers. A subject executed the maintaining and moving exercises which are presented through the display monitor. The electromyographies of the eight muscles in lower extremities were recorded and analyzed in the time and the frequency domain: the muscles of interest were rectus femoris(RF), biceps femoris(BF), tensor fasciae latae(TFL), vastus lateralis(VL), vastus medialis(VM), gastrocnemius(Ga), tibialis anterior(TA), Soleus(So). The experimental results showed that the muscular activities differed in the four moving exercises and the nine maintaining exercises. For the anterior-posterior pattern, the TA showed highest activities; for the left-right pattern, the TFL; for the 45, $-45^{\circ}$ pattern, the TFL and TA. Also, the rate of the increase in the muscular activities were affected by the condition of the unstable platform with MR dampers for the maintaining and moving exercises. The experimental results suggest that the choice of different maintaining and moving exercises could selectively train different muscles in various intensity. Futhermore, the findings suggested that the training using this system can improve the ability of postural control.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

Purpose : To compare Multi Echo Data Image Combination (MEDIC) and fast SE T2-weighted images with fat saturation (T2FS) to suggest more accurate evaluation of the histologic components of soft-tissue tumors. Materials and Methods : The experimental group included 25 histologic tissues (5 vascular, 4 neural, 4 fibrous, 4 hypercellular, 2 hemorrhagic necroses, 2 cystic, 2 lipoid, 1 myxoid stroma, and 1 thrombus) in 10 patients who had pathologically confirmed schwannoma (n = 3), hemangioma (n = 2), lipoma (n = 1), angiokeratoma (n = 1), synovial sarcoma (n = 1), liposarcoma (n = 1), and malignant fibrous histiocytoma (n = 1). The inhomogeneity values were measured using the standard deviation value (SD) divided by the mean value as SD presents an error amount similar to that of imaging heterogeneity. Results : The inhomogeneity values of 25 histologic components were lower on MEDIC than those on T2FS (p < .001). Conclusion : We conclude that MEDIC is more accurate than T2FS for evaluating the tissue components of soft-tissue tumors using digitalized data because MEDIC images have far lower inhomogeneity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.881-887
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• 2023

This study aims to analyze the development and current trends of AI-based medical imaging devices commercialized in South Korea. As of September 30, 2023, there were a total of 186 AI-based medical devices licensed, certified, and reported to the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, of which 138 were related to imaging. The study comprehensively examined the yearly approval trends, equipment types, application areas, and key functions from 2018 to 2023. The study found that the number of AI medical devices started from four products in 2018 and grew steadily until 2023, with a sharp increase after 2020. This can be attributed to the interaction between the advancement of AI technology and the increasing demand in the medical field. By equipment, AI medical devices were developed in the order of CT, X-ray, and MR, which reflects the characteristics and clinical importance of the images of each equipment. This study found that the development of AI medical devices for specific areas such as the thorax, cranial nerves, and musculoskeletal system is active, and the main functions are medical image analysis, detection and diagnosis assistance, and image transmission. These results suggest that AI's pattern recognition and data analysis capabilities are playing an important role in the medical imaging field. In addition, this study examined the number of Korean products that have received international certifications, particularly the US FDA and European CE. The results show that many products have been certified by both organizations, indicating that Korean AI medical devices are in line with international standards and are competitive in the global market. By analyzing the impact of AI technology on medical imaging and its potential for development, this study provides important implications for future research and development directions. However, challenges such as regulatory aspects, data quality and accessibility, and clinical validity are also pointed out, requiring continued research and improvement on these issues.