• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.141-151
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• 2016

Purpose: Advances of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially that of the Ultra-High Field (UHF) MRI will be reviewed. Materials and Methods: Diffusion MRI data was obtained from a healthy adult young male of age 30 using a 7.0T research MRI scanner (Magnetom, Siemens) with 40 mT/m maximum gradient field. The specific imaging parameters used for the data acquisition were a single shot DW echo planar imaging. Results: Three areas of the imaging experiments are focused on for the study, namely the anatomy, angiography, and tractography. Conclusion: It is envisioned that, in near future, there will be more 7.0T MRIs for brain research and explosive clinical application research will also be developed, for example in the area of connectomics in neuroscience and clinical neurology and neurosurgery.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2007.04a
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• pp.61-63
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• 2007

In high field (> 3 T) MR imaging, the magnetic field inhomogeneity in the target object increases due to the nonuniform electro-magnetic characteristics and relatively high Larmor frequency. Especially in the body imaging, the effect causes more serious problems resulting in locally high SAR(Specific Absorption Ratio). In this paper, we propose an optimized parallel-transmission RF coil element structure and show the utility of the coil by FDTD simulations to overcome the unwanted effects. Three types of TX coil elements are tested to maximize the efficiency and their driving patterns(amplitude and phase) optimized to have adequate field homogeneity, proper SAR level, and sufficient field strength. For the proposed coil element of 25 cm ${\times}$ 8 cm loop structure with 12 channels for a 3.0 T body coil, the 73% field non-uniformity without optimization was reduced to about 26% after optimization of driving patterns. The experimental as well as simulation results show the utility of the proposed parallel driving scheme is clinically useful for (ultra) high field MRI.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.47-49
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• 2002

At present, the trend of magnetic field strength in MRI system is dramatically changing. In early 70, the only low field (<0.5T) was developed. It was technically difficult to develop the high field system. At that time, people believed that the fine MR imaging could not be obtained in the high field MR system due to the magnetic susceptibility effect. However, 1.5T system was evolved at the end of 80, and used for clinical usage. Thus, it was proved that the signal to noise ratio (SNR) could be greatly contribute to enhance the image quality. And, the results of functional MRI and MR spectroscopy could be improved in the higher field MR system. So, 8T system was eventually developed in Ohio State University Hospital at the end of 90. Therefore, there is no doubt that the system with the ultra high magnetic field strength will be developed near future in 21 century.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.12-12
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• 2005

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.44 no.4 s.316
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• pp.55-60
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• 2007

In high field (> 3 T) MR imaging, the magnetic field inhomogeneity in the target object increases due to the nonuniform electro-magnetic characteristics of the relatively high RF frequency. Especially in the body imaging, the effect causes more serious problems resulting in locally high SAR(Specific Absorption Ratio). In this paper, we propose an optimized parallel-transmission RF coil and show the utility of the coil by FDTD simulations to overcome the unwanted effects. Three types of TX coil elements are tested to maximize the efficiency and their driving patterns(amplitude and phase) optimized to have adequate field homogeneity, proper SAR level, and sufficient field strength. For the proposed coil element of $25cm{\times}8cm$ loop structure with 12 channels for a 3.0 T body coil, the field non-uniformity of more than 70% without optimization was reduced to about 26 % after the optimization of driving patterns. The experimental as well as simulation results show that the proposed parallel driving scheme is clinically useful for (ultra) high field MRI.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2008.10b
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• pp.486-488
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• 2008

300 MHz가 넘는 초고자장 MRI에서는 송신 또는 수신 RF Magnetic Field 의 불균일도가 심해져서 이를 개선하기 위한 많은 방법들이 제안되고 있다. 그 중 가장 대표적인 방법은 $4{\sim}32$ 채널의 Transmit Array의 각 채널에 인가되는 전압과 위상을 변화시켜 RF Magnetic Field의 불균일도를 개선하는 방법이다. 본 논문에서는 Transmit Array 내부에서 머리위치의 변화에 따라 RF Magnetic Field ($B_1$ Field) 의 불균일도가 많이 변화하며 이에 따라 RF 송신용 전압과 위상의 Pattern을 새로 최적화 해야 함을 확인하였다. 또한 RF field Mapping을 하기 위해서 Composite RF Sequence를 사용한 Rapid Sequence의 사용과 채널 전압과 위상을 최적화하기 위해서 일반적인 Iterative 방식보다 간편하고 빠른 Target Method를 제안하였다. Driving 패턴의 최적화는 Complex 행렬식을 사용했으며 RF Magnetic Field ($B_1$ Field) 분포는 FDTD 방식으로 계산하였다.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.11-11
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• 2005

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.44-48
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• 2021

In order to obtain ultra-high resolution MRI images, research and development of 11 T or higher superconducting magnets have been actively conducted in the world, recently. The high-temperature superconductor (HTS), first discovered in 1986, was very limited in industrial application until mid-2010, despite its high critical current characteristics in the high magnetic field compared to the low-temperature superconductor. This is because HTS magnets were unable to operate stably due to the thermal damage when a quench occurred. With the introduction of no-insulation (NI) HTS magnet winding technology that does not burn electrically, it could be expected that the HTS magnets are dramatically reduced in weight, volume, and cost. In this paper, a 6 T-class NI HTS magnet for basic characteristic analysis was designed, and a distributed equivalent circuit model of the NI coils was configured to analyze the charging current characteristics caused by excitation current, and the charge delay phenomenon and loss were predicted through the development of a simulation model. Additionally, the critical current of the NI HTS magnets was estimated, considering the magnetic field, its angle and temperature with a given current. The loss due to charging delay characteristics was analyzed and the result was shown. It is meaningful to obtain detailed operation technology to secure a stable operation protocol for a 6T NI HTS magnet which is actually manufactured.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.3
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• pp.88-95
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• 2020

Accurate localization of the seizure onset zone is important for better seizure outcomes and preventing deficits following epilepsy surgery. Recent advances in neuroimaging techniques have increased our understanding of the underlying etiology and improved our ability to noninvasively identify the seizure onset zone. Using epilepsy-specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols, structural MRI allows better detection of the seizure onset zone, particularly when it is interpreted by experienced neuroradiologists. Ultra-high-field imaging and postprocessing analysis with automated machine learning algorithms can detect subtle structural abnormalities in MRI-negative patients. Tractography derived from diffusion tensor imaging can delineate white matter connections associated with epilepsy or eloquent function, thus, preventing deficits after epilepsy surgery. Arterial spin-labeling perfusion MRI, simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG)-functional MRI (fMRI), and magnetoencephalography (MEG) are noinvasive imaging modalities that can be used to localize the epileptogenic foci and assist in planning epilepsy surgery with positron emission tomography, ictal single-photon emission computed tomography, and intracranial EEG monitoring. MEG and fMRI can localize and lateralize the area of the cortex that is essential for language, motor, and memory function and identify its relationship with planned surgical resection sites to reduce the risk of neurological impairments. These advanced structural and functional imaging modalities can be combined with postprocessing methods to better understand the epileptic network and obtain valuable clinical information for predicting long-term outcomes in pediatric epilepsy.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2007

Purpose: To acquire high-resolution spiral-scan images at higher magnetic field, high homogeneous magnetic field is needed. Field inhomogeneity mapping and in-vivo shimming are important for rapid imaging such as spiral-scan imaging. The rapid scanning sequences are very susceptible to inhomogeneity. In this paper, we proposed a higher-order shimming method to obtain homogeneous magnetic field. Materials and Methods: To reduce measurement time for field inhomogeneity mapping, simultaneous axial/ sagittal, and coronal acquisitions are done using multi-slice based Fast Spin echo sequence. Acquired field inhomogeneity map is analyzed using the spherical harmonic functions, and shim currents are obtained by the multiplication of the pseudo-inverse of the field pattern with the inhomogeneity map. Results: Since the field inhomogeneity is increasing in proportion to the magnetic field, higher order shimming to reduce the inhomogeneity becomes more important in high field imaging. The shimming technique in which axial, sagittal, and coronal section inhomogeneity maps are obtained in one scan is developed, and the shimming method based on the analysis of spherical harmonics of the imhomogenity map is applied. The proposed technique is applicable to a localized shimming as well. High resolution spiral-scan imaging was successfully obtained with the proposed higher order shimming. Conclusion: Proposed pulse sequence for rapid measurement of inhomogeneity map and higher order shimming based on the inhomogeneity map work very well at 3 Tesla MRI system. With the proposed higher order shimming and localized higher order shimming techniques, high resolution spiral-scan images are successfully obtained at 3 T MRI system.