• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.658-665
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• 2023

Background/Aims: We aimed to study the effects of sedation on endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study evaluating the role of sedation in endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition by comparing two groups: anesthesia care provider (ACP) sedation and endoscopist-directed conscious sedation (CS). Results: Technical success was achieved in 219/233 (94.0%) in the ACP group and 114/136 (83.8%) in the CS group (p=0.0086). In multivariate analysis, the difference in technical success between the two groups was not significant (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.234-1.069; p=0.0738). A successful diagnostic yield was present in 146/196 (74.5%) in the ACP group and 66/106 (62.3%) in the CS group, respectively (p=0.0274). In multivariate analysis, the difference in diagnostic yield between the two groups was not significant (aOR, 0.643; 95% CI, 0.356-1.159; p=0.142). A total of 33 adverse events (AEs) were observed. The incidence of AEs was significantly lower in the CS group (5/33 CS vs. 28/33 ACP; OR, 0.281; 95% CI, 0.095-0.833; p=0.022). Conclusions: CS provided equivalent technical success and diagnostic yield for malignancy in endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition. Increased AEs were associated with anesthesia for the endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2021

The use of ultrasonography has recently been increasing in musculoskeletal diagnosis or intervention treatment. Ultrasound guided procedure offers a reliable alternative to fluoroscopy or computed tomography for lumbar medial branch block, facet joint block and peripheral nerves of lower extremity. Further, there is no exposure to radiation and additional equipment necessary for the protection against radiation is required. And ultrasound guided procedure needs smaller space than fluoroscopy guided procedure with real time images in the outpatient department. This article reviews ultrasound guided procedure at lumbar vertebra and peripheral nerves of lower extremity.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.198-201
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• 2010

Persistent and intractable hiccups (with respective durations of more than 48 hours and 1 month) can result in depression, fatigue, impaired sleep, dehydration, weight loss, malnutrition, and aspiration syndromes. The conventional treatments for hiccups are either non-pharmacological, pharmacological or a nerve block treatment. Pulsed radiofrequency lesioning (PRFL) has been proposed for the modulation of the excited nervous system pathway of pain as a safe and nondestructive treatment method. As placement of the electrode in close proximity to the targeted nerve is very important for the success of PRFL, ultrasound appears to be well suited for this technique. A 74-year-old man suffering from intractable hiccups that had developed after a coronary artery bypass graft and had continued for 7 years was referred to our pain clinic. He had not been treated with conventional methods or medications. We performed PRFL of the phrenic nerve guided by ultrasound and the hiccups disappeared.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.329-337
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• 2018

This study was investigated quantitative ultrasound (QUS) usage in Korea for the QUS quality control guidelines. A total of 344 questionnaires collected from July 24th to August 25th 2017 were analyzed. Questionnaires were created through user interviews, expert group advice, literature review and field observation. As a result of the general characteristics of quantitative ultrasound holding amounted to 81.98% of clinic and 6.69% of hospitals. The main user was radio-logical technologists as 31.39%. The contact methods of the gel pad (balloon) were the most used at 56.68% and the scan region was 91.9% of calcaneus. The quantitative ultrasound quality control cycle was 67.37% when the abnormality was found in the equipment, and 63.66% when the accuracy control was implemented according to the manual. The phantoms of QUS were 34.30% of the manufacturer's own phantoms. User of QUS had never received education for quality control of quantitative ultrasound as 62.20%. This study was expected to be useful when creating detailed quality control guidelines in the future, as well as guidelines for the quality control of Korea's standard quantitative ultrasound.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.483-488
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• 2016

Ultrasound imaging by using piezoelectric materials, such as lead zirconium titanate (PZT) has been one of the most preferred modes of imaging in the medical field due to its simple, low cost and non-ionizing radiation in comparison to other imaging techniques. Recently, the market demand for portable ultrasound is becoming larger with applications in developing countries, disaster area, military, and emergency purposes. However, most of ultrasound probes used is bulky and high power consumable, so unsuitable for such applications. In this study, the 3 layered ceramic specimen consisted of 128 pitches of $420{\mu}m$ in width and $450{\mu}m$ in thickness were prepared by using the Ti-rich PZT compositions co-fired at $1,050^{\circ}C$. Their electrical and ultrasound pulse-echo properties were investigated and compared to the single layer specimen. The 3 layered ultrasound probe showed 1.584 V of Vp-p, which is 3.2 times higher than single layered one, implying that it would allow effectively such a portable ultrasound probe system. The result were discussed in terms of higher capacitance, lower impedance and higher dielectric coefficient of the 3 layered ultrasound probe.

• IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing and Computing
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2014

Recently, ultrasound therapy has become a new and effective treatment for many brain diseases. Therefore, skull-mimicking phantoms have been developed to simulate the skull and brain tissue of a human and allow further research into ultrasound therapy. In this study, the suitability of various skull-mimicking materials(HDPE, POM C, Acrylic) for studies of brain-tumor treatments was evaluated using focused ultrasound. The acoustic properties of three synthetic resins were measured. The skull-mimicking materials were then combined with an egg white phantom to observe the differences in the ultrasound beam distortion according to the type of material. High-intensity polyethylene was found to be suitable as a skull-mimicking phantom because it had acoustic properties and a denatured-area shape that was close to those of the skull,. In this study, a skull-mimicking phantom with a multi-layer structure was produced after evaluating several skull-mimicking materials. This made it possible to predict the denaturation in a skull in relation to focused ultrasound. The development of a therapeutic protocol for a range of brain diseases will be useful in the future.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.15-21
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• 2012

Image segmentation for object to extract data from ultrasound acquired is an essential preprocessing step for the effective diagnosis. Various image segmentation methods have been studied. In this study, interactive image segmentation method by graph cut algorithm is proposed to develop a variety of applications of vascular ultrasound imaging and diagnostics. General imaging and vascular ultrasound imaging segmentation by entering constrain condition such as foreground and background. In the future it will be able to develop new ultrasound diagnostics.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2007.07a
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• pp.357-358
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• 2007

Contrast enhancement in the field of ultrasound imaging contributes to improve the accuracy of medical diagnosis by enhancing the visibility of ultrasound images. This paper proposes a contrast enhancement method that improves the contrast of ultrasound images both globally and locally by fusing global and adaptive contrast enhancement methods. Experimental results show that our approach yields more competitive results than the existing global and adaptive contrast enhancement methods in enhancing the visibility of ultrasound images.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.120-127
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• 2024

Background: Physiatrists are facing with survivors from disasters in both the acute and chronic phases of muscle and nerve injuries. Similar to many other clinical conditions, neuromusculoskeletal ultrasound can play a key role in the management of such cases (with various muscle/nerve injuries) as well. Accordingly, in this article, a recent single-center experience after the Turkey-Syria earthquake will be rendered. Methods: Ultrasound examinations were performed for various nerve/muscle lesions in 52 earthquake victims referred from different cities. Demographic features, type of injuries, and applied treatment procedures as well as detailed ultrasonographic findings are illustrated. Results: Of the 52 patients, 19 had incomplete peripheral nerve lesions of the brachial plexus (n=4), lumbosacral plexus (n=1), and upper and lower limbs (n=14). Conclusion: The ultrasonographic approach during disaster relief is paramount as regards subacute and chronic phases of rehabilitation. Considering technological advances (e.g., portable machines), the use of on-site ultrasound examination in the (very) early phases of disaster response also needs to be on the agenda of medical personnel.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.555-565
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• 2022

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of ultrasound (US)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Materials and Methods: This prospective study enrolled 39 participants (14 male, 25 female; mean age, 59.5 ± 15.3 [range, 18-87] years) between September 1, 2018, and January 31, 2021. All participants had parathyroid lesions causing PHPT, proven biochemically and through imaging. The imaging features of the PHPT nodules, including the shape, margin, size, composition, and location, were evaluated before treatment. Serum intact parathyroid hormone, calcium, and phosphorus levels; parathyroid nodule volume; and PHPT-related symptoms were recorded before and after treatment. We calculated the technical success, biochemical cure, and clinical cure rates for these patients. Complications were evaluated during and after the ablation. Results: Complete ablation was achieved in 38 of the 39 nodules in the 39 enrolled participants. All the patients were treated in one session. The technical success rate was 97.4% (38/39). The mean follow-up duration was 13.2 ± 4.6 (range, 6.0-24.9) months. At 6 and 12 months post-RFA, the biochemical cure rates were 82.1% (32/39) and 84.4% (27/32), respectively, and the clinical cure rates were 100% (39/39) and 96.9% (31/32), respectively. Only 2.6% (1/39) of the patients had recurrent PHPT. At 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after technically successful RFA, 44.7% (17/38), 34.3% (12/35), 15.8% (6/38), and 12.5% (4/32) of participants, respectively, had elevated eucalcemic parathyroid hormone levels. Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis occurred in 5.1% (2/39) of the patients, who recovered spontaneously within 1-3 months. Conclusion: US-guided RFA was effective and safe for PHPT patients. RFA may be an alternative treatment tool for patients who cannot tolerate or refuse to undergo surgery.