• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.231-237
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• 2024

Brain injury causes persistent disability in survivors, and epidural hematoma(EDH) and subdural hematoma (SDH) resulting from cerebral hemorrhage can be considered one of the major clinical diseases. In this study, we attempted to automatically segment and hematomas due to cerebral hemorrhage in three dimensions based on computed tomography(CT) images. An improved GVF(gradient vector flow) algorithm was implemented for automatic segmentation of hematoma. After calculating and repeating the gradient vector from the image, automatic segmentation was performed and a 3D model was created using the segmentation coordinates. As a result of the experiment, accurate segmentation of the boundaries of the hematoma was successful. The results were found to be good even in border areas and thin hematoma areas, and the intensity, direction of spread, and area of the hematoma could be known in various directions through the 3D model. It is believed that the planar information and 3D model of the cerebral hemorrhage area developed in this study can be used as auxiliary diagnostic data for medical staff.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.108-116
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• 2006

Purpose : High-resolution spiral-scan imaging is performed at 3 Tesla MRI system. Since the gradient waveforms for the spiral-scan imaging have lower slopes than those for the Echo Planar Imaging (EPI), they can be implemented with the gradient systems having lower slew rates. The spiral-scan imaging also involves less eddy currents due to the smooth gradient waveforms. The spiral-scan imaging method does not suffer from high specific absorption rate (SAR), which is one of the main obstacles in high field imaging for rf echo-based fast imaging methods such as fast spin echo techniques. Thus, the spiral-scan imaging has a great potential for the high-speed imaging in high magnetic fields. In this paper, we presented various high-resolution images obtained by the spiral-scan methods at 3T MRI system for various applications. Materials and Methods : High-resolution spiral-scan imaging technique is implemented at 3T whole body MRI system. An efficient and fast higher-order shimming technique is developed to reduce the inhomogeneity, and the single-shot and interleaved spiral-scan imaging methods are developed. Spin-echo and gradient-echo based spiral-scan imaging methods are implemented, and image contrast and signal-tonoise ratio are controlled by the echo time, repetition time, and the rf flip angles. Results : Spiral-scan images having various resolutions are obtained at 3T MRI system. Since the absolute magnitude of the inhomogeneity is increasing in higher magnetic fields, higher order shimming to reduce the inhomogeneity becomes more important. A fast shimming technique in which axial, sagittal, and coronal sectional inhomogeneity maps are obtained in one scan is developed, and the shimming method based on the analysis of spherical harmonics of the inhomogeneity map is applied. For phantom and invivo head imaging, image matrix size of about $100{\times}100$ is obtained by a single-shot spiral-scan imaging, and a matrix size of $256{\times}256$ is obtained by the interleaved spiral-scan imaging with the number of interleaves of from 6 to 12. Conclusion : High field imaging becomes increasingly important due to the improved signal-to-noise ratio, larger spectral separation, and the higher BOLD-based contrast. The increasing SAR is, however, a limiting factor in high field imaging. Since the spiral-scan imaging has a very low SAR, and lower hardware requirements for the implementation of the technique compared to EPI, it is suitable for a rapid imaging in high fields. In this paper, the spiral-scan imaging with various resolutions from $100{\times}100$ to $256{\times}256$ by controlling the number of interleaves are developed for the high-speed imaging in high magnetic fields.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.1025-1033
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• 2019

Although magnetic resonance imaging without linear hardening of CT is recognized as a method of obtaining high contrast of tissue and excellent resolution image in brain disease and head and neck examination, magnetic susceptibility artifact is generated in case of metal implants in the oral cavity, which is an obstacle to image diagnosis. Therefore, an effort was made in this thesis to find a method to reduce artifacts caused by dental implants and prosthesis in MRI. Implant-induced artifacts in magnetic resonance imaging showed that the signal size increased with shorter TE in GE technique and was inconsistent with water temperature change. In SE technique as well, the signal size of water was generally higher than that of air, but the signal to noise ratio (SNR) was not different by air and temperature. In EPI technique, images with fewer artifacts were obtained quantitatively and qualitatively when there was more water than air, and the signal to noise ratio was measured the highest, especially at water temperatures of 20° and 30°. In conclusion, when examining using the EPI technique rather than the SE or the GE technique, obtaining brain diffusion using a 20° and 30° water bag reduces the magnetic susceptibility artifacts caused by implants and prosthesis, suggesting that it may provide images with high diagnostic value.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.153-164
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• 2012

The major petroglyphs of Bangudae site were composed mainly of hornfelsed shale. Surface of the rock was formed weathering layer (average porosity 25%) that discriminated mineral and chemical composition against fresh rock (average porosity 0.4%). The lost area of major petroglyphs in the past up images carved to the present was calculated about 23.8%. And occurrence area of exfoliation indicated 1.2% of the whole petroglyphs. As a result of the chromaticity analysis, color of the major petroglyphs was changed brighter and yellower than fresh rock by chemical and biological weathering factors. Average ultrasonic velocity of petroglyphs was measured 2,865m/s. This result indicated that ultrasonic velocity decreased especially bottom of petroglyphs than measured result in 2003 year. The results of the evaluation for slope stability, it identified the possibility of toppling, planar and wedge failure in host rock. The 3D image analysis and modeling data of the cavern obtained for structural reinforcement.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.490-494
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• 2009

A 2-year-old Maltese and a 5-month-old Yorkshire terrier were presented with ataxia. Tetraparesis was observed in a 9-year -old Yorkshire terrier. The localizations of the lesions suggested brain or cervical spinal cord by the neurological examination, and the following images was achieved: radiography, axial images of computed tomography (CT), reconstruction image of CT such as multi-planar reformation(MPR) and 3-dimensional(3D) reconstruction and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). On radiography, the misalignment between atlas (C1) and axis (C2), absent dens of axis, and increased space between the dorsal arch of C1 and spinous process of C2 were found. The discontinuation between dens and body of C2 was identified through axial CT images, and the fragmentation of dens separated from axis was observed through MPR and 3D image in all case. The hyperintense lesions and the spinal cord compression on T2-weighted MR images were represented in a dog with tetraparesis, the others represented only spinal cord compression. Three dogs were diagnosed as atlantoaxial instability (AAI) by dens fracture of C2. The dog with tetraparesis was euthanized due to guarded prognosis. The others were recovered completely. It is difficult to differentiate dens fracture of C2 from abnormal dens such as agenesis and hypoplasia. We thought that CT is very useful to evaluate the dens of C2 and differentiate the causes of AAI, and the reconstruction images of CT such as MPR and 3D make the translation of the fragmented dens or axis of AAI more precisely evaluate.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.99-109
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• 2018

The precision of the vibration-sensors, contact or non-contact types, is usually satisfactory for the practical measurement applications, but a sensor is confined to the measurement of a point or a direction. Although the precision and frequency span of the low-cost camera are inferior to these sensors, it has the merits in the cost and in the capability of simultaneous measurement of a large vibrating area. Furthermore, a camera can measure multi-degrees-of-freedom of a vibrating object simultaneously. In this study, the calibration method and the dynamic characteristics of the low-cost machine vision camera as a sensor are studied with a demonstrating example of the two-dimensional vibration of a cantilever beam. The planar image of the camera shot reveals two rectilinear and one rotational motion. The rectilinear vibration motion of a single point is first measured using a camera and the camera is experimentally calibrated by calculating error referencing the LDV (Laser Doppler Vibrometer) measurement. Then, by measuring the motion of multiple points at once, the rotational vibration motion and the whole vibration motion of the cantilever beam are measured. The whole vibration motion of the cantilever beam is analyzed both in time and frequency domain.

• Journal of Platform Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.24-31
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• 2023

Recently, interest in UAM (Urban Air Mobility, UAM), which can take off and land vertically in the operation of urban air transportation systems, has been increasing. Therefore, various start-up companies are developing related technologies as eco-friendly future transportation with advanced technology. However, studies on ways to increase safety in the operation of UAM are still insignificant. In particular, efforts are more urgent to improve the safety of risks generated in the process of attempting to land in the city center by UAM equipped with autonomous driving. Accordingly, this study proposes a plan to safely land by avoiding dangerous region that interfere when autonomous UAM attempts to land in the city center. To this end, first, the latitude and longitude coordinate values of dangerous objects observed by the sense of the UAM are calculated. Based on this, we proposed to convert the coordinates of the distorted planar image from the 3D image to latitude and longitude and then use the calculated latitude and longitude to compare the pre-learned feature descriptor with the HOG (Histogram of Oriented Gradients, HOG) feature descriptor to extract the dangerous Region. Although the dangerous region could not be completely extracted, generally satisfactory results were obtained. Accordingly, the proposed research method reduces the enormous cost of selecting a take-off and landing site for UAM equipped with autonomous driving technology and contribute to basic measures to reduce risk increase safety when attempting to land in complex environments such as urban areas.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.119-124
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• 1997

Purpose: To assess the utility of magnetic resonance(MR) cerebral blood volume (CBV) map in the evaluation of brain tumors. Materials and Methods: We performed perfusion MR imaing preoperatively in the consecutive IS patients with intracranial masses(3 meningiomas, 2 glioblastoma multiformes, 3 low grade gliomas, 1 lymphoma, 1 germinoma, 1 neurocytoma, 1 metastasis, 2 abscesses, 1 radionecrosis). The average age of the patients was 42 years (22yr -68yr), composed of 10 males and S females. All MR images were obtained at l.ST imager(Signa, CE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, Wisconsin). The regional CBV map was obtained on the theoretical basis of susceptibility difference induced by first pass circulation of contrast media. (contrast media: IScc of gadopentate dimeglumine, about 2ml/sec by hand, starting at 10 second after first baseline scan). For each patient, a total of 480 images (6 slices, 80 images/slice in 160 sec) were obtained by using gradient echo(CE) single shot echo-planar image(EPI) sequence (TR 2000ms, TE SOms, flip angle $90^{\circ}$, FOV $240{\times}240mm,{\;}matrix{\;}128{\times}128$, slice-thick/gap S/2.S). After data collection, the raw data were transferred to CE workstation and rCBV maps were generated from the numerical integration of ${\Delta}R2^{*} on a voxel by voxel basis, with home made software (${\Delta}R2^{*}=-ln (S/SO)/TE). For easy visual interpretation, relative RCB color coding with reference to the normal white matter was applied and color rCBV maps were obtained. The findings of perfusion MR image were retrospectively correlated with Cd-enhanced images with focus on the degree and extent of perfusion and contrast enhancement. Results: Two cases of glioblastoma multiforme with rim enhancement on Cd-enhanced Tl weighted image showed increased perfusion in the peripheral rim and decreased perfusion in the central necrosis portion. The low grade gliomas appeared as a low perfusion area with poorly defined margin. In 2 cases of brain abscess, the degree of perfusion was similar to that of the normal white matter in the peripheral enhancing rim and was low in the central portion. All meningiomas showed diffuse homogeneous increased perfusion of moderate or high degree. One each of lymphoma and germinoma showed homogenously decreased perfusion with well defined margin. The central neurocytoma showed multifocal increased perfusion areas of moderate or high degree. A few nodules of the multiple metastasis showed increased perfusion of moderate degree. One radionecrosis revealed multiple foci of increased perfusion within the area of decreased perfusion. Conclusion: The rCBV map appears to correlate well with the perfusion state of brain tumor, and may be helpful in discrimination between low grade and high grade gliomas. The further study is needed to clarify the role of perfusion MR image in the evaluation of brain tumor.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2010

Purpose: Nuclear medicine manufacturers provide various softwares which shorten imaging time using their own image processing techniques such as UlatraSPECT, ASTONISH, Flash3D, Evolution, and nSPEED. Seoul National University Hospital has introduced softwares from Siemens and Philips, but it was still hard to understand algorithm difference between those two softwares. Thus, the purpose of this study was to figure out the difference of two softwares in planar images and research the possibility of application to images produced with high energy isotopes. Materials and Methods: First, a phantom study was performed to understand the difference of softwares in static studies. Various amounts of count were acquired and the images were analyzed quantitatively after application of PIXON, Siemens and ASTONISH, Philips, respectively. Then, we applied them to some applicable static studies and searched for merits and demerits. And also, they have been applied to images produced with high energy isotopes. Finally, A blind test was conducted by nuclear medicine doctors except phantom images. Results: There was nearly no difference between pre and post processing image with PIXON for FWHM test using capillary source whereas ASTONISH was improved. But, both of standard deviation(SD) and variance were decreased for PIXON while ASTONISH was highly increased. And in background variability comparison test using IEC phantom, PIXON has been decreased over all while ASTONISH has shown to be somewhat increased. Contrast ratio in each spheres has also been increased for both methods. For image scale, window width has been increased for 4~5 times after processing with PIXON while ASTONISH showed nearly no difference. After phantom test analysis, ASTONISH seemed to be applicable for some studies which needs quantitative analysis or high contrast, and PIXON seemed to be applicable for insufficient counts studies or long time studies. Conclusion: Quantitative values used for usual analysis were generally improved after application of the two softwares, however it seems that it's hard to maintain the consistency for all of nuclear medicine studies because result images can not be the same due to the difference of algorithm characteristic rather than the difference of gamma cameras. And also, it's hard to expect high image quality with the time shortening method such as whole body scan. But it will be possible to apply to static studies considering the algorithm characteristic or we can expect a change of image quality through application to high energy isotope images.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.209-218
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• 2008

According to improved radiation therapy technology such as IMRT and proton therapy, the accuracy of patient alignment system is more emphasized and IGRT is dominated research field in radiation oncology. We proposed to study the feasibility of cone-beam CT system using simple x-ray imaging systems for image guided proton therapy at National Cancer Center. 180 projection views ($2,304{\times}3,200$, 14 bit with 127 ${\mu}m$ pixel pitch) for the geometrical calibration phantom and humanoid phantoms (skull, abdomen) were acquired with $2^{\circ}$ step angle using x-ray imaging system of proton therapy gantry room ($360^{\circ}$ for 1 rotation). The geometrical calibration was performed for misalignments between the x-ray source and the flat-panel detector, such as distances and slanted angle using available algorithm. With the geometrically calibrated projection view, Feldkamp cone-beam algorithm using Ram-Lak filter was implemented for CBCT reconstruction images for skull and abdomen phantom. The distance from x-ray source to the gantry isocenter, the distance from the flat panel to the isocenter were calculated as 1,517.5 mm, 591.12 mm and the rotated angle of flat panel detector around x-ray beam axis was considered as $0.25^{\circ}$. It was observed that the blurring artifacts, originated from the rotation of the detector, in the reconstructed toomographs were significantly reduced after the geometrical calibration. The demonstrated CBCT images for the skull and abdomen phantoms are very promising. We performed the geometrical calibration of the large gantry rotation system with simple x-ray imaging devices for CBCT reconstruction. The CBCT system for proton therapy will be used as a main patient alignment system for image guided proton therapy.