• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.97-104
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• 2011

Objectives : In this paper, we proposed a method for selecting reliable variables from various vocal features such as frequency derivative features, frequency band ratios, intensities of 5 vowels and an intensity of a sentence, since some features are sensitive to the variation of a subject's utterance. Methods : To obtain the reliable voice variables, the coefficient of variation (CV) was used as the index to evaluate the level of reliability. Since the distributions of a few features are not Gaussian, but are instead skewed to the right or left, we transformed the features by taking the log or square root. Moreover, the definition of the variables that are suitable to represent the vocal property was explained and analyzed. Results : At first, we recorded the vowels and the sentence five times both in the morning and afternoon of the same day, totally ten recordings from each of six subjects (three males and three females). We then analyzed the CVs of each subject's voice to obtain the stable features with a sufficient repeatability. The features having less than 20% CVs for all six subjects were selected. As a result, 92 stable variables from the 222 features were extracted, which included all the transformed variables. Conclusions : Voice can be widely used to classify the four constitution types and to recognize one's health condition from extracting meaningful features as physical quantity in traditional Korean medicine or Western medicine. Therefore, stable voice variables can be useful in the u-Healthcare system of personalized medicine and for improving diagnostic accuracy.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.20-29
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• 2010

1. Objectives Our goal is to observe the feasibility of constitution discrimination from computing quantitative roughness index from dynamic friction coefficients and their gradients with the measurement device of skin friction with 3-Axis load cell sensor. 2. Methods In the traditional Korean medicine, skin diagnosis is one of the examination methods to discriminate Sasang constitution since it was known that Tae-eumin has rough skin, and Soyangin has smooth one. It is based on the skin roughness on the back of one's hand for the discrimination. The measurement device of skin friction with 3-axis load cell sensor has been developed in order to provide quantitative skin roughness through dynamic friction coefficients. The effective interval of the coefficients is obtained from the automatic sampling algorithm to use their curvature and slope. Then, Fisher's discriminant function of them makes the discrimination. 3. Results The success rate of extracting the effective interval was about 90% and the discriminant accuracy between Tae-eumin and Soyangin was 70% and 68% for men and women, respectively. The entire methods showed the possibility to distinguish between Tae-eumin and Soyangin by using stochastic properties of roughness index, which can make the entire system to include the measurement, the computation of the roughness index and the discrimination of constitution automatical. 4. Conclusions The measurement device, the automatic sampling algorithm of dynamic friction coefficients and the constitution discrimination algorithm were developed, respectively, and their combination can become the serial and automatic procedure for quantitative and objective skin diagnosis, which mimics the movement of the Oriental medical doctors' skin diagnosis. It can be applied to healthcare as well as the diagnosis of constitution in a u-Health system soon.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.1108-1112
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• 2011

Voice can be widely used to classify the four constitution types and to recognize one's health condition from extracting meaningful features as physical quantity in traditional Korean medicine or Western medicine. In this paper, we proposed the method to update the standard operating procedure (SOP) to acquire and record voices for extracting stable vocal features since they are sensitive to the variation of a subject's utterance. At first, we obtained pitch frequencies from vowels and the sentence and intensity form the sentence as features with voices acquired under subjects' utterance conditions and then the deviation ratios of features from median values according to the utterance conditions were obtained and the condition to minimize the ratio was selected as a new SOP. As a result, we decided the SOP for a subject to utter vowels with the length of 2s~1s and sentences with over 2s interval between them after practice, in consideration of the deviation and qualitative requirements. Stable voice features obtained from updated SOP produce accurate diagnosis, which will be developed and simplified for using in the u-Healthcare system of personalized medicine.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.19-26
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• 2015

Purpose: Maximizing human comfort in design of medical environments depends immensely on specialized architects particularly critical care design; the study proposes Evidence-Based Design as an apparent analog to Evidence-Based Medicine. Healthcare facility designs are substantially based on the findings of study in an effort to design environments that augment care by improving patient safety and being therapeutic. On SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) t-test is applied to simulate two independent variables of PDR (Pre Design-Research) and POE (Post- Occupancy Evaluation). PDR is conducted on relatively new hospital Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital to analyse visibility from researchers' point of view, here the ICU is arranged in I-Shape. POE is applied on Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital to simulate walking on LogWare where two NS are designed based on L- Shape and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea where five NS are functional for ICU Intensive Care Unit, Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), Critical Care Unit (CCU), Korean Oriental Medical Care Unit which are mostly arranged in U-Shape, and walking pattern is recognized to be in a zigzag path. Method: T-Test is applied on two dependent communication variables: walkability and visibility, with confidence interval of 95%. This study systematically analyses the Nurse Station (NS) typo-morphology, and simulates nurse horizontal circulation, by computing round route visits to patient's bed, then estimating minimum round route on LogWare stop sequence software. The visual connectivity is measured on depth map graphs. Hence the aim is to reduce staff stress and fatigue for better patients care by minimizing staff horizontal travel time and to facilitate nurse walk path and support space distribution by increasing effectiveness in delivering care. Result: Applying visibility graph and isovist field on space syntax on I- Shape, L- Shape and U- Shape ICU (SICU, MICU and CCU) configuration, I-shape facilitated 20% more patients in linear view as they stir to rise from their beds from nurse station compared to U-shape. In conclusion, it was proved that U-Shape supply minimum walking and maximum visibility; and L shape provides just visibility as the nurse is at pivot. I shape provides panoramic view from the Nurse Station but very rigorous walking.