• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.73-79
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• 2020

Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be useful for the evaluation of palatal lesions, and strain elastography (performed together with intraoral ultrasonography) is a relatively new sonographic imaging modality. This report describes 2 clinical cases in which strain elastography was used to assess palatal tumors in conjunction with intraoral ultrasonography, CT, and MRI. In the first case, diagnosed as a myoepithelioma, the strain was determined to be 0.000% (strain of normal tissue, 0.556%). In the second case, diagnosed as an adenoid cystic carcinoma, the determined strain was 0.000% (strain of normal tissue, 1.077%). Therefore, we conclude that intraoral strain elastography can be useful for evaluating palatal lesions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.101-111
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• 2008

Strain imaging in a medical ultrasound imaging system can differentiate the cancer or tumor in a lesion that is stiffer than the surrounding tissue. In this paper, a strain imaging technique using quasistatic compression is implemented that estimates the displacement between pre- and postcompression ultrasound echoes and obtains strain by differentiating it in the spatial direction. Displacements are computed from the phase difference of complex baseband signals obtained using their autocorrelation, and errors associated with converting the phase difference into time or distance are compensated for by taking into the center frequency variation. Also, to reduce the effect of operator's hand motion, the displacements of all scanlines are normalized with the result that satisfactory strain image quality has been obtained. These techniques have been incorporated into implementing a medical ultrasound strain imaging system that operates in real time.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.3E
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• pp.84-94
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• 2008

Displacement estimation is a crucial step in ultrasonic strain imaging. The displacement between a pre- and postcompression signal in the current data window is estimated by first shifting the postcompression signal by the displacement obtained in the previous data window to reduce their decorrelation and then determining the remaining part of the displacement through autocorrelation and conversion of phase difference into time delay. However, since strain image quality tends to vary with the amount of compression applied, we propose two new methods for enhancing strain image quality, i.e., displacement normalization and adaptive persistence. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments are carried out to acquire ultrasound data and produce strain images in real time under the application of quasi static compression. The experimental results demonstrate that the methods are quite effective in improving strain image quality and thus can be applied to implementing an ultrasound elasticity imaging system that operates in real time.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.609-620
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• 2002

It is well known that during tensile testing, a part of the mechanical work done on the specimen is transformed into heat energy. However, the ultimate temperature rise and the rate of temperature rise is related to the nature of the material, conditions of the test and also to the deformation behaviour of the material during loading. The recent advances in infrared sensors and image/data processing techniques enable observation and quantitative analysis of the heat energy dissipated during such tensile tests. In this study, infrared imaging technique has been used to characterise the tensile deformation in AISI type 316 nuclear grade stainless steel. Apart from identifying the different stages during tensile deformation, the technique provided an accurate full-field temperature image by which the point and time of strain localization could be identified. The technique makes it possible to visualise the region of deformation and failure and also predict the exact region of fracture in advance. The effect of thermal gradients on plastic flow in the case of interrupted straining revealed that the interruption of strain and restraining at a lower strain rate not only delays the growth of the temperature gradient, but the temperature rise per unit strain decreases. The technique is a potential NDE tool that can be used for on-line detection of thermal gradients developed during extrusion and metal forming process which can be used for ensuring uniform distribution of plastic strain.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.121-127
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• 2007

Muscle force produced by muscle fibers is transmitted to bones via tendinous structures(aponeuroses and tendon), resulting in joint(s) movement. As force-transmitting elements, mechanical behavior of aponeuroses and tendon are closely related with the function of muscle-tendon complex. The purpose of this study was to determine strain characteristics of aponeuroses for in-vivo human soleus muscle during submaximal voluntary contractions using an advanced medical imaging technique, velocity-encoded phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (VE-PC MRI). VE-PC MRI of the soleus muscle-tendon complex was acquired during submaximal isometric plantarflexion contraction-relaxation cycle (n = 7), using 3.0T Trio MRI scanner(Siemens AG, Malvern, MA). From the VE-PC MRI containing the tissue velocity in superior-inferior direction, twenty regions of interest(20 ROI; 10 on the anterior aponeurosis and 10 on the posterior aponeurosis) were tracked. During the isometric plantarflexion contraction-relaxation cycle, velocity and displacement profiles were different between the anterior and posterior aponeuroses, indicating heterogeneous strain behavior along the length of the leg. The anterior aponeurosis elongated while the posterior aponeurosis shortened during the initial phase of the contraction. Moreover, strain behavior of the posterior aponeurosis was different from that of the Achilles tendon. Possible explanation for the observed variations in strain behavior of aponeuroses was investigated with morphological assessment of the soleus muscle and it was found that the intramuscular tendinous structures significantly vary among subjects. In conclusion, the heterogeneous mechanical behavior of the soleus aponeuroses and the Achilles tendon suggests that the complexity of skeletal muscle-tendon complex should be taken into consideration when modeling the complex for better understanding of its functions.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.504-508
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• 2010

In conventional diagnostic ultrasound strain imaging, when displaying strain image on a monitor, human visual characteristics are utilized such that hard regions are displayed as dark and soft regions are displayed as bright. Thus, hard regions representing tumor or cancer are displayed as dark, decreasing the contrast inside the lesion. Because the lesion area is stiff and thus displayed as dark, a method of inverting the image brightness and thereby increasing the contrast in the lesion for better diagnostic purposes is proposed wherein a postcompression signal is extended in the time domain by a factor corresponding to the reciprocal of the amount of the applied compression using a technique termed globally uniform stretching. Experiments were carried out to verify the proposed method on an ultrasound elasticity phantom with radio-frequency data acquired from a diagnostic ultrasound clinical scanner. It is found that the new method improves the contrast-to-noise ratio by a factor of up to about 1.8 compared to a conventional strain imaging method that employs a reversed gray color map without globally uniform stretching.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.880-890
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• 2010

The intrasvascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging technique is used to diagnose cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke. Recently, elasticity imaging methods have been investigated to diagnose blood clots attached to blood vessel intima. However, the IVUS imaging technique is an invasive method that requires a transducer to be inserted into blood vessel. In this paper, strain images are obtained of blood clots attached to blood vessel intima with data acquired from outside the blood vessel using a linear array transducer. In order to measure the displacement of blood vessel accurately, experimental data are acquired by steering ultrasound beams so that they can intersect the blood vessel wall at right angles. The acquired rf data are demodulated to the baseband. The resulting complex baseband signals are then processed by an autocorrelation algorithm to compute the blood vessel movement and thereby produce strain image. This proposed method is verified by experiments on a plastic blood vessel mimicking phantom. The efficacy of the proposed method was verified using a home-made blood vessel mimicking phantom. The blood vessel mimicking phantom was constructed by making a 6 mm diameter hollow cylinder inside it to simulate a blood vessel and adhering 2 mm thick soft plaque to the inner wall of the hollow cylinder. The RF data were acquired using a clinical ultrasound scanner (Accuvix XQ, Medison, Seoul. Korea) with a 7.5 MHz linear array transducer by steering ultrasound beams in steps of $1^{\circ}$ from $-40^{\circ}$ to $40^{\circ}$ for a total of 81 angles. Experimental results show that the plaque region near the blood vessel wall is softer than background tissue. Although the imaging region is restricted due to the limited range of angles for which scan lines are perpendicular to the wall, the feasibility of strain imaging is demonstrated.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.361-366
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• 2013

An imaging technique to visualize the internal defects in a plate-type nuclear fuel specimen was developed by using an active optical interferometer for a nondestructive quality inspection. A periodic thermal wave having a sinusoidal intensity pattern induced a periodical strain variation for the specimen. The varying strain image was acquired using an optical laser interferometer. The strain distribution over the internal defects will be distorted in an acquired strain image because a part of the thermal wave will be reflected from these defects during propagation. In this paper, internal defects were efficiently visualized by sequentially accumulating the extracted defect components. The experimental results confirmed that the developed visualization system can be a valuable tool to detect the internal defects in plate-type nuclear fuel.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 2018

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the quantitative strain elastography of tongue carcinoma using intraoral ultrasonography. Materials and Methods: Two patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) who underwent quantitative strain elastography for the diagnosis of tongue lesions using intraoral ultrasonography were included in this prospective study. Strain elastography was performed using a linear 14 MHz transducer (Aplio 300; Canon Medical Systems, Otawara, Japan). Manual light compression and decompression of the tongue by the transducer was performed to achieve optimal and consistent color coding. The variation in tissue strain over time caused by the compression exerted using the probe was displayed as a strain graph. The integrated strain elastography software allowed the operator to place circular regions of interest (ROIs) of various diameters within the elastography window, and automatically displayed quantitative strain (%) for each ROI. Quantitative indices of the strain (%) were measured for normal tissues and lesions in the tongue. Results: The average strain of normal tissue and tongue SCC in a 50-year-old man was 1.468% and 0.000%, respectively. The average strain of normal tissue and tongue SCC in a 59-year-old man was 1.007% and 0.000%, respectively. Conclusion: We investigated the quantitative strain elastography of tongue carcinoma using intraoral ultrasonography. Strain elastography using intraoral ultrasonography is a promising technique for characterizing and differentiating normal tissues and SCC in the tongue.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.72-79
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• 2010

Purpose: Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and impaired diastolic function may occur early in systemic hypertension. Diastolic dysfunction is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI)-derived tissue velocity and strain rate are new parameters for assessing diastolic dysfunction. The aim of this study is to determine whether TDI and strain rate imaging (SRI) would improve the ability to recognize early impaired diastolic and systolic functions compared with conventional echocardiography in hypertensive adolescents. Methods: We included 38 hypertensive patients with systolic blood pressure above 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure above 90 mmHg. Ejection fraction and myocardial performance index (MPI) were estimated by conventional echocardiography. Peak systolic myocardial velocity, early diastolic myocardial velocity (Em), and peak late diastolic myocardial velocity (Am) were obtained by using TDI and SRI. Results: In the hypertensive group, interventricular septal thickness was significantly increased on M-mode echocardiography. Em/Am was significantly decreased at the mitral valve annulus. Among hypertensive subjects, the E strain rate at basal, mid, and apex was significantly decreased. Systolic strain was significantly decreased at the septum in the hypertensive group. Conclusion: Strain rate might be a useful new parameter for the quantification of both regional and global LV functions and could be used in long-term follow up in hypertensive patients. Early identification by SRI of subjects at risk for hypertensive and ventricular dysfunction may help to stratify risk and guide therapy. Further studies, including serial assessment of LV structure and function in a larger number of adolescents with hypertension, is necessary.