• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.1296-1301
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• 2002

In recent years, the pathology in the colon grows up annually since people of all ages prefer to have less fiber and more fat food. Therefore, the colonoscopy is generalized in developed countries. But it requires much time to acquire a dexterous skill to perform an operation and the procedure is painful to the patient. Therefore, some studies on the development of autonomous colonoscope are carried out. In this paper, we propose a new and simple locomotive mechanism that can be propelled by elliptic motion of a leg. It has several legs that have constant phase difference each other and those legs are disposed along the upper and lower of the body. In order to evaluate the performance of locomotive mechanism, we carried out the simulations of moving characteristics and the experiments in the colon of a dead pig.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.181-185
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• 2008

In this study, we attempted to quantify the relative importance of assumptions regarding blood rheology. Three patient-specific carotid bifurcation geometries and time-varying flow rates were obtained using magnetic resonance imaging. For each subject, CFD simulations were carried out assuming two different non-Newtonian rheology models (Carreau and Ballyk models) and rescaled Newtonian viscosities based on characteristic shear rates to account for the shear-thinning property of blood. The sensitivity of WSS and oscillatory shear index (OSI) were contextualized with respect to the reproducibility of the reconstructed geometry and to assumptions regarding the inlet boundary conditions. We conclude that the assumption of Newtonian fluid is reasonable for studies aimed at quantifying the distribution of WSS-based extrema in an image-based CFD model of carotid bifurcation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.1059-1061
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• 2002

A FE model is to develop a personalized biomechanical model of the scoliotic spine that will allow the design of clinical test providing optimal estimation of the post-operation results. A flexible multi-body model of the spine including rib cage, clavicle, and scapular was developed to simulate several mobility simulations. Vertebrae, clavicle and scapular were represented using rigid bodies and ribs and sternum were modeled as flexible bodies. Kinematical Joints and spring elements were used to represent the intervertebral disc and ligaments respectively. Postero-anterior and lateral radiographics of a scoliotic spine were used to represent a 3D reconstruction. CT data for same patient were also used to verify vertebrae rotation driven from postero-anterior and lateral radiographic images. Simulated results showed good reducibility almost uniformly distributed along the spinal segments. It was also found that boundary and loading conditions, required to mimic the operation procedures, were proven to be very sensitive parameters to its results rather than its mechanical properties

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.96-102
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• 2020

Oral cancer surgery changes the morphologic characteristics of the human upper airway. These changes can affect the flow patterns. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with transient solver were performed to numerically investigate the air flows in the human upper airways depending oral cancer surgery. 3D reconstructed models were obtained from 2D CT images of one patient. For the boundary condition, the realistic breathing cycle of human was applied. The hydraulic diameters of cross-sections for post-surgical model are changed greatly along streamwise direction, so these variations can cause higher wall shear stress and flow disturbance compared to pre-surgical model. The recirculation flows observed in the protruding region result in the relatively large pressure drop. These results can be helpful to understand the flow variations after resection surgery of oral cancer.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.838-842
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• 2004

Amyloid peptide (A${\beta}$) is the major component of senile plaques found in the brain of patient of Alzheimer's disease. ${\beta}$-amyloid peptide (25-35) (A${\beta}$25-35) is biologically active fragment of A${\beta}$. The three-dimensional structure of A${\beta}$25-35 in aqueous solution with 50% (vol/vol) TFE determined by NMR spectroscopy previously adopts an ${\alpha}$-helical conformation from $Ala^{30}$ to $Met^{35}$. It has been proposed that A${\beta}$(25-35) exhibits pH- and concentration-dependent ${\alpha}-helix{\leftrightarrow}{\beta}$sheet transition. This conformational transition with concomitant peptide aggregation is a possible mechanism of plaque formation. Here, in order to gain more insight into the mechanism of ${\alpha}$-helix formation of A${\beta}$25-35 peptide by TFE, which particularly stabilizes ${\alpha}$-helical conformation, we studied the secondary-structural elements of A${\beta}$25-35 peptide by molecular dynamics simulations. Secondary structural elements determined from NMR spectroscopy in aqueous TFE solution are preserved during the MD simulation. TFE/water mixed solvent has reduced capacity for forming hydrogen bond to the peptide compared to pure water solvent. TFE allows A${\beta}$25-35 to form bifurcated hydrogen bonds to TFE as well as to residues in peptide itself. MD simulation in this study supports the notion that TFE can act as an ${\alpha}$-helical structure forming solvent.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.10-19
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• 2018

Background: Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is the most accurate for calculating radiation dose distribution and determining patient dose. In MC simulations of the therapeutic accelerator, the characteristics of the initial electron must be precisely determined in order to achieve accurate simulations. However, It has been computation-, labor-, and time-intensive to predict the beam characteristics through predominantly empirical approach. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between electron beam parameters and dose distribution, with the goal of simplifying the MC commissioning process. Materials and Methods: The Varian Clinac 2300 IX machine was modeled with the Geant4 MC-toolkit. The percent depth dose (PDD) and lateral beam profiles were assessed according to initial electron beam parameters of mean energy, radial intensity distribution, and energy distribution. Results and Discussion: The PDD values increased on average by 4.36% when the mean energy increased from 5.6 MeV to 6.4 MeV. The PDD was also increased by 2.77% when the energy spread increased from 0 MeV to 1.019 MeV. In the lateral dose profile, increasing the beam radial width from 0 mm to 4 mm at the full width at half maximum resulted in a dose decrease of 8.42% on the average. The profile also decreased by 4.81% when the mean energy was increased from 5.6 MeV to 6.4 MeV. Of all tested parameters, electron mean energy had the greatest influence on dose distribution. The PDD and profile were calculated using parameters optimized and compared with the golden beam data. The maximum dose difference was assessed as less than 2%. Conclusion: The relationship between the initial electron and treatment beam quality investigated in this study can be used in Monte Carlo commissioning of medical linear accelerator model.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.455-464
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• 2004

Total hip arthroplasty(THA) considerably depends on high-experienced doctors because of high difficulty of the operation. Selection of acetabular cup's and femoral implant's position is closely related with success or failure of THA. Nevertheless the selection has usually depended on doctor's eye measurement, which makes the position accuracy of artificial joint lower after THA, often resulting in revision of THA. The present study determined a method to select accurately the position of acetabular cup and femoral implant through surgical simulation with 3D characteristic geometrical information of patient's pelvis and femur. We examined the change of femoral anteversion angle and neck-shaft angle accompanied by the change of acetabular cup's position and the insertion position of femoral implant. As result of analyzing geometrical information through different surgical simulations, we found that it was possible to select the accurate position of acetabular cup and femoral implant. It is expected to help doctors get experienced in THA operation through repetitive surgical simulations using the method suggested in the study.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.403-412
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• 2022

Background: Most pain management techniques for challenging procedures are still performed under the guidance of the C-arm fluoroscope although it is sometimes difficult for even experienced clinicians to understand the modified three-dimensional anatomy as a two-dimensional X-ray image. To overcome these difficulties, the development of a virtual simulator may be helpful. Therefore, in this study, the authors developed a virtual simulator and presented its clinical application cases. Methods: We developed a computer program to simulate the actual environment of the procedure. Computed tomography (CT) Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) data were used for the simulations. Virtual needle placement was simulated at the most appropriate position for a successful block. Using a virtual C-arm, the authors searched for the position of the C-arm at which the needle was visualized as a point. The positional relationships between the anatomy of the patient and the needle were identified. Results: For the simulations, the CT DICOM data of patients who visited the outpatient clinic was used. When the patients revisited the clinic, images similar to the simulated images were obtained by manipulating the C-arm. Transforaminal epidural injection, which was difficult to perform due to severe spinal deformity, and the challenging procedures of the superior hypogastric plexus block and Gasserian ganglion block, were successfully performed with the help of the simulation. Conclusions: We created a pre-procedural virtual simulation and demonstrated its successful application in patients who are expected to undergo challenging procedures.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.138-145
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• 2009

Custom medical treatment is being widely adapted to lots of medical applications. A technology for 3D modeling is strongly required to fabricate medical implants for individual patient. Needs on true 3D CAD data of a patient is strongly required for tissue engineering and human body simulations. Medical imaging devices show human inner section and 3D volume rendering images of human organs. CT or MRI is one of the popular imaging devices for that use. However, those image data is not sufficient to use for medical fabrication or simulation. This paper mainly deals how to generate 3D geometry data from those medical images. A new image processing technology is introduced to reconstruct 3D geometry of a human body vacancy from the medical images. Then a surface geometry data is reconstructed by using Marching cube algorithm. Resulting CAD data is a custom 3D geometry data of human vacancy. This paper introduces a novel 3D reconstruction process and shows some typical examples with implemented software.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2019

Background: To monitor proton beam in proton therapy, prompt gamma imaging systems are being developed by several research groups, and these systems are expected to improve the quality of the treatment and the patient safety. To apply the prompt gamma imaging systems into spot scanning proton therapy, the systems should be able to monitor the proton beam range of a spot with a small number of protons ( <$10^8$ protons), which is quite often not the case due to insufficient prompt gamma statistics. Materials and Methods: In the present study, we propose to improve prompt gamma statistics by merging the prompt gamma distributions of several individual spots into a new distribution. This proposal was tested by Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations for a multi-slit prompt gamma camera which has been developed to measure the proton beam range in the patient. Results and Discussion: The results show that the proposed method clearly enhance the statistical precision of beam range measurement. The accuracy of beam range verification is improved, within ~1.4 mm error, which is not achievable before applying the developed method. Conclusion: In this study, we tried to improve the statistics of the prompt gamma statistics by merging the prompt gamma distributions of multiple spots, and it was found that the merged distribution provided sufficient prompt gamma statistics and the proton beam range was determined accurately.