• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.569-574
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• 1998

This paper presents a two-paralleled 4 quadrant DC chopper type PWM power conversion circuit in order to generate a gradient magnetic field in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system. This power amplifier is connected in parallel with the conventional 4-quadrant DC chopper using IGBTs at their inputs/outputs to realize further high-power density, high speed current tracking control, and to get a low switching ripple amplitude in a controlled current in the Gradient Coils (GCs). Moreover, the power conversion circuit has to realize quick rise/fall response characteristics in proportion to various target currents in GCs. It is proposed in this paper that a unique control scheme can achieve the above objective. DSP-based control systems realize a high control facility and accuracy. It is proved that the new control system will greatly enlarge the diagnostic target and improve the image quality of MRI.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.401-406
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• 1994

A magnetic resonance neurography technique for exclusive imaging of nerve networks is proposed. In the proposed technique, the anisotropy of diffusion coefficients of the molecules inside nerve cells was utilized to effectively suppress the magnetic resonance signal radiating from ones other than nerve tissues. Two images were obtained with diffusionweighting magnetic field gradients applied in the parallel and perpendicular directions with respect to the nerve orientation. One image was then subtract- ted from the other to form the neurogram. Experimentally obtained neurograms of the squld are presented.

• Journal of International Society for Simulation Surgery
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2016

Computed tomography (CT) can completely digitize the interior and the exterior of nearly any object without any destruction. Generally, the resolution for industrial CT is below a few microns. The industrial CT scanning, however, has a limitation because it requires long measuring and processing time. Whereas, 2D X-ray imaging is fast. In this paper, we propose a novel concept of 3D non-destructive inspection technique using the advantages of both micro-CT and dual X-ray images. After registering the master object’s CT data and the sample objects’ dual X-ray images, 3D non-destructive inspection is possible by analyzing the matching results. Calculation for the registration is accelerated by parallel computing using graphics processing unit (GPU).

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1999.07g
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• pp.3153-3155
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• 1999

최근 수년간 의료영상분야는 국내외적으로 급격한 발전을 거듭하고 있다. 특히 자기공명영상장치 (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), X-ray CT(Computed Tomography)와 단층촬영장치는 인체내부를 비침습적(non-invasive)으로 영상화함으로써 해부학적인 질병진단에 많은 장점을 가지고 있다. 이와같은 단층영상 재구성에는 역매트릭스법(matrix inversion). 반복재구성법(interative method), 역투영 법(back-projection), 2차원 Fourier 변환법(2D FFT), 중첩재구성법(Filtered back-projection) 등의 다양한 알고리즘을 사용하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 X-ray CT에서의 단층영상재구성 기법 중 널리 사용되고 있는 Filtered Back Projection 기법의 연산순서도와 연산량을 분석하고 이를 시뮬레이션을 통하여 확인하고 실시간 영상재구성을 위하여 범용 Digital Signal Processor의 병렬처리시스템 구성에 기반된 최적 Architecture를 선정하고자 한다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2010.10a
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• pp.147-148
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• 2010

Recently, advancement in the visual technology has lead to the further development of the three dimensional (3D) imaging systems. The visual perception to view a pair of images simultaneously, is a crucial factor to build a stereoscopic 3D image. In this paper, we present the depth cues between the intensities of the two images when viewing with both eyes. Due to this stereoscopic effect, objects at different distances from the eyes differ in their horizontal positions, giving the depth cue of horizontal disparity. By simple image processing technique, we also present the binocular disparity map between the two images. A median filter has been used to filter out all the noises occurring in the disparity map image.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2006

Purpose : Recent development of diffusion tensor imaging enables the evaluation of the microstructural characteristics of the brain white matter. However, optimal imaging parameters for diffusion tensor imaging, particularly concerning the number of diffusion gradient direction, have not been studied thoroughly yet. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of the number of diffusion gradient direction on the fiber tracking of the white matter. Materials and methods : 13 healthy volunteers (ten men and three women, mean age 30 years, age range 23-37 years) were included in this study. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed with different numbers of diffusion gradient direction as 6, 15, and 32, keeping the other imaging parameters constant. The imaging field ranged from 1 cm below the pons to 2-3 cm above the lateral ventricle, parallel to the anterior commissure-posterior commissure line. FA (fractional anisotropy) maps were created via image postprocessing, and then FA and its standard deviation were calculated in the genu and the splenium of the corpus callosum on each of FA maps. Fiber tracking of the corticospinal tract in the brain was performed and the number of the reconstructed fibers of the tract was measured. FA, standard deviation of FA and the number of the reconstructed fibers were compared statistically between the different diffusion gradient directions. Results : FA is not statistically significantly different between the different diffusion gradient directions. By increasing the number of diffusion gradient direction, standard deviation of FA decreased significantly, and the number of the reconstructed fibers increased significantly. Conclusion : The higher number of diffusion gradient direction provided better quality of fiber tracking.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.96-100
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• 2012

In high static field magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) systems, $B_0$ fields of 7 T and 9.4 T, the impressed RF field shows larger inhomogeneity than in clinical MRI systems with B0 fields of 1.5 T and 3.0 T. In multi-channel RF coils, the magnitude and phase of the input to each coil element can be controlled independently to reduce the non-uniformity of the impressed RF $B_1^+$ field. The convex optimization technique has been used to obtain the optimum excitation parameters with iterative solutions for homogeneity in a selected ROI(Region of Interest). To demonstrate the technique, the multichannel transmission line coil was modeled together with a human head phantom at 400 MHz for the 9.4 T MRI system and $B_1^+$ fields are obtained. In this paper, all the optimized $B_1^+$ in each isolated ROIs are combined to achieve significantly improved homogeneity over the entire field of view. The simulation results for 9.4 T MRI systems are discussed in detail.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.372-378
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• 1996

In the case of $^{123}I$ from the $^{124}Te$(p,2n)reaction, the radionuclidic impurity is the high-energy gamma-emitting $^{124}I$, which interferes greatly with nuclear medicine images. The choice of a collimator can affect the quality of clinical SPECT images of [I-123]MIBG, [I-123] ${\beta}$-CIT, or [I-123]IPT. The tradeoffs that two different collimators make among spatial resolution, sensitivity, and scatter were studied by imaging a line source at 5cm, 10cm, 15cm distance using a number of plexiglass sheets between source and collimator, petri dish, two-dimensional Hoffman brain phantom, Jaszczak phantom, and three-dimensional Hoffman brain phantom after filling with $^{123}I$. (FWHM, FWTM, Sensitivity) for low-energy ultrahigh-resolution parallel - hole (LEUHRP) collimator and medium- energy general - purpose (MEGP) collimator were measured as (9.27mm, 61.27mm, $129CPM/{\mu}Ci$) and (10.53mm, 23.17mm, $105CPM/{\mu}Ci$), respectively. The image quality of two-dimensional Hoffman brain phantom with LEUHRP looked better than the one with MEGP. However, the image quality of Jaszczak phantom and three-dimensional Hoffman brain phantom with LEUHRP looked much worse than the one with MEGP because of scatter contributions in three-dimensional imaging situation. The results suggest that the MEGP is preferable to LEUHRP for three-dimensional imaging studies of [I-123]MIBG, [I-123] ${\beta}$-CIT, or [I-123]IPT.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.10-16
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• 2012

For high speed visual inspection in semiconductor industries, it is essential to acquire two-dimensional images on regions of interests with a large field of view (FOV) and a high resolution simultaneously. In this paper, an imaging system is newly proposed to achieve high quality image in terms of precision and FOV, which is composed of single lens, a beam splitter, two camera sensors, and stereo image grabbing board. For simultaneously acquired object images from two camera sensors, Zhang's camera calibration method is applied to calibrate each camera first of all. Secondly, to find a mathematical mapping function between two images acquired from different view cameras, the matching matrix from multiview camera geometry is calculated based on their image homography. Through the image homography, two images are finally registered to secure a large inspection FOV. Here the inspection system of using multiple images from multiple cameras need very fast processing unit for real-time image matching. For this purpose, parallel processing hardware and software are utilized, such as Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). As a result, we can obtain a matched image from two separated images in real-time. Finally, the acquired homography is evaluated in term of accuracy through a series of experiments, and the obtained results shows the effectiveness of the proposed system and method.

• International Journal of Railway
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.149-156
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• 2008

During maintenance or construction works in or at the tracks of railways, high risks for passengers and railway staff, especially for the workers on the construction site exist. The high risks result out of the movement of rail vehicles, like trains or construction vehicles, which must be faced by using any available technical and operational technologies for securing them against the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the level of protection continuously and to identify new and innovative methods and technologies for the protection of the gang (construction worker, machines and material). Especially on construction sites at line sections with two or more parallel tracks but also with single tracks, there are still a lot of incidents and accidents mostly with seriously injured persons or fatalities. These were mainly gang members that breach the railway-loading gage. By using proper warning or protection systems, the avoidance of such accidents must be achieved. The latest developments. in gang protection systems concern on the one hand fixed barriers in the middle between the construction site and the operated track and on the other hand construction vehicles equipped with automatic warning systems. The disadvantage of such protection methods is that the gang can be warned against an approaching train but a monitoring of the gang members cannot be performed. Only one part of a potential dangerous situation will be detected. If the gang members will overhear the acoustic warning signal of the security staff and the workers will not leave the danger zone in the track, the driver of the approaching train had no chance to react to the dangerous situation. An accident is often inevitable. While the detection of acoustic warning signals by the gang members working on a construction site is very difficult, the acoustical planning of an automatic warning system has to be designed for an acoustic short range level of one meter besides the construction vehicle. The decision about the use of today's technical warning system (fixed systems, automatic warning systems, etc.) must be geared to the technical feasibility and the level of safety which is needed. Criteria for decision guidance to block a track should be developed by danger estimation and economical variables. To realize the actual jurisdiction and to minimize the hazards of railway operations by the use of construction vehicles near the tracks further developments are needed. This means, that the warning systems have to be enhanced to systems for protection, which monitor the realization of the warning signal as a precondition for giving a movement authority to a train. This method can protect against accidents caused by predictable wrongdoing. The actual state of the art technique of using a collective warning combined with additional security staff is no longer acceptable. Therefore, the Institute of Transportation System of the German Aerospace Center in Braunschweig (Germany) will develop a gang warning and protection system based upon imaging methods, with optical sensors such as video in visible and invisible ranges, radar, laser, and other. The advantage of such a system based on the possibility to monitor both the gang itself and the railway-loading gauge either of the parallel track or of the same track still in use. By monitoring both situations, the system will be able to generate a warning message for the approaching train, that there are obstacles in the track, so that the train can be stopped to prevent an accident. And also the gang workers will be warned, while they breach their area.