• 한국게임학회 논문지
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.159-168
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• 2015

이 논문에서는 의료용 초음파 볼륨 데이터의 잡음을 효과적으로 제거하기 위한 방법을 제안한다. 초음파 영상은 잡음이 심하여 필터링이 필요하다. 기존의 2차원 필터링은 인접한 슬라이스 간 정보를 무시하고 기존의 3차원 필터링은 속도가 느리거나 잡음 제거 효과가 떨어지는 필터를 적용하였고 또한 초음파 데이터의 샘플링 특성을 고려치 않아 균등하게 필터링 하지 않았다. 이를 해결하기 위해 잡음제거에 효과적인 양방향 필터를 병렬로 빠르게 처리하고 필터 영역에 따라 윈도우 크기를 달리하는 기법을 제안한다. 공간 필터의 합산영역 테이블을 이용하여 병렬로 빠르게 필터링하고 윈도우 크기는 필터 영역에 따라 비례적으로 결정한다. 실험은 평균 필터와 양방향 필터, 양방향 적응 필터를 적용한 초음파 볼륨 렌더링 영상에서 잡음 제거와 원본 손실 정도를 비교한다. 이렇게 하여 양방향 필터링을 빠르게 수행하면서 기존 보다 균등하게 필터링하여 잡음을 효과적으로 정확하게 제거할 수 있다.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.6-13
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• 2006

Ultrasound visualization is a typical diagnosis method to examine organs, soft tissues and fetus data. It is difficult to visualize ultrasound data because the quality of the data might be degraded by artifact and speckle noise, and gathered with non-linear sampling. Rendering speed is too slow since we can not use additional data structures or procedures in rendering stage. In this paper, we use several visualization methods for fast rendering of ultrasound data. First method, denoted as adaptive ray sampling, is to reduce the number of samples by adjusting sampling interval in empty space. Secondly, we use early ray termination scheme with sufficiently wide sampling interval and low threshold value of opacity during color compositing. Lastly, we use bilinear interpolation instead of trilinear interpolation for sampling in transparent region. We conclude that our method reduces the rendering time without loss of image quality in comparison to the conventional methods.

• Journal of Information Processing Systems
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.820-832
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• 2019

Estimation of accurate blood volume flow in ultrasound Doppler blood flow spectrograms is extremely important for clinical diagnostic purposes. Blood volume flow measurements require the assessment of both the velocity distribution and the cross-sectional area of the vessel. Unfortunately, the existing volume flow estimation algorithms by ultrasound lack the velocity space distribution information in cross-sections of a vessel and have the problems of low accuracy and poor stability. In this paper, a new robust ultrasound volume flow estimation method based on multigate (RMG) is proposed and the multigate technology provides detail information on the local velocity distribution. In this method, an accurate double iterative flow velocity estimation algorithm (DIV) is used to estimate the mean velocity and it has been tested on in vivo data from carotid. The results from experiments indicate a mean standard deviation of less than 6% in flow velocities when estimated for a range of SNR levels. The RMG method is validated in a custom-designed experimental setup, Doppler phantom and imitation blood flow control system. In vitro experimental results show that the mean error of the RMG algorithm is 4.81%. Low errors in blood volume flow estimation make the prospect of using the RMG algorithm for real-time blood volume flow estimation possible.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.247-257
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• 2003

This paper proposes a three-dimensional (3D) segmentation algorithm for extracting a diagnostic object from ultrasound images by using a LoG operator In the proposed algorithm, 2D cutting planes are first obtained by the equiangular revolution of a cross sectional Plane on a reference axis for a 3D volume data. In each 2D ultrasound image. a region of interest (ROI) box that is included tightly in a diagnostic object of interest is set. Inside the ROI box, a LoG operator, where the value of $\sigma$ is adaptively selected by the distance between reference points and the variance of the 2D image, extracts edges in the 2D image. In Post processing. regions of the edge image are found out by region filling, small regions in the region filled image are removed. and the contour image of the object is obtained by morphological opening finally. a 3D volume of the diagnostic object is rendered from the set of contour images obtained by post-processing. Experimental results for a tumor and gall bladder volume data show that the proposed method yields on average two times reduction in error rate over Krivanek's method when the results obtained manually are used as a reference data.

• 한국방사선학회논문지
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.289-294
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• 2022

본 연구는 CT와 USG 스캔 데이터를 이용하여 팬텀 실험과 환자 스캔 데이터를 활용하는 임상실험으로 체적 측정의 정확도 및 유용성을 알아보았다. 그 결과 CT와 USG 스캔 데이터 모두 다양한 체적의 실제 원형 팬텀의 체적과 유의한 차이가 없었으며(p>0.05), 동일 환자의 방광 체적 측정 결과 CT 데이터는 236.9±2.1, USG 영상은 236.9±1로 측정되어 통계분석 결과 유의한 차이가 없는 것으로 분석되었다(p>0.05). 본 결과의 임상 적용은 추가 임상실험이 필요하지만, 환자 피폭, 검사자의 스캔 기술, 그리고 CT 재구성 경험 등을 고려하여 CT 또는 초음파 장치를 선택 적용한다면 의료영상을 활용한 체적 측정의 유용성 측면에서 기초자료로 적용 가치가 있을 것으로 사료된다.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제43권6호
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• pp.369-374
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• 2022

Purpose: Focused ultrasound is an emerging technology for treating the brain locally in a noninvasive manner. In this study, we have investigated the influence of skull properties on simulating transcranial pressure field. Methods: A 3D computational model of transcranial focused ultrasound was constructed using female and male CT data to solve for intracranial pressure. For heterogeneous model, the acoustic properties were calculated from CT Hounsfield units based on a porosity. The homogeneous model assigned constant acoustic properties for the single-layered skull. Results: A computational model was validated against empirical data. The homogeneous models were then compared with the heterogeneous model, resulted in 10.87% and 7.19% differences in peak pressure for female and male models respectively. For the focal volume, homogeneous model demonstrated more than 94% overlap compared with the heterogeneous model. Conclusion: Homogeneous model can be constructed using MR images that are commonly used for the segmentation of the skull. We propose the possibility of the homogeneous model for the simulating transcranial pressure field owing to comparable focal volume between homogeneous model and heterogeneous model.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.285-291
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• 2010

Recently, advance on various modalities of diagnosing, prostate volume estimation became possible not only by the existing two-dimension medical images data but also by the three-dimensional medical images data. In this study, magnetic resonance image (MRI), computer tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) were employed to evaluate prostate phantom volume measurements for estimation, comparison and analysis. For the prostate phantoms aimed at estimating the volume, total of 17 models were developed by using devils-tongue jelly and changing each of the 5ml of capacity from 20ml to 100ml. For the volume estimation through 2D US, the calculation of the diameter with C9-5Mhz transducer was conducted by ellipsoid formula. For the volume estimation through 3D US, the Qlab software (Philips Medical) was used to calculate the volume data estimated by 3D9-3Mhz transducer. Moreover, the images by 16 channels CT and 1.5 Tesla MRI were added by the method of continuous cross-section addition and each of imaginary prostate model's volume was yielded. In the statistical analysis for comparing the availability of volume estimation, the correlation coefficient (r) was more than 0.9 for all indicating that there were highly correlated, and there were not statistically significant difference between each of the correlation coefficient (p=0.001). Therefore, the estimation of prostate phantom volume using three-dimensional modalities of diagnosing was quite closed to the actual estimation.

• 한국컴퓨터정보학회논문지
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• 제13권7호
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• pp.117-126
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• 2008

최근 높은 해상도의 볼륨 데이터를 획득할 수 있게 되면서 제한된 용량의 메모리를 가진 그래픽 하드웨어에서 대용량 볼륨 데이터를 렌더링 하는 방법이 필요하게 되었다. 대용량 볼륨 데이터의 렌더링 방법 중 데이터를 적절히 분할하여 순차적으로 처리하는 블리킹 (bricking) 방법이 많이 사용된다. 그러나 일반적인 블리킹 방법은 직교 좌표계를 사용하는 CT와 MR 데이터를 위해 고안된 것으로, 원환체 (torus) 좌표계를 사용하는 부채꼴 형태의 초음파 볼륨 데이터에 적용하면, 관측광선이 블릭 (brick)의 곡면경계로 진입한 후 다시 빠져 나갈 때 동일한 블릭이 GPU메모리에 두번 적재되는 경우가 발생한다. 본 논문에서는 초음파 볼륨을 랜더링 할 때 반복적인 텍스쳐 스위칭이 발생하지 않도록 블릭의 크기를 결정하는 방법을 제안한다. 블릭의 경계는 곡면으로 되어 있으므로 이들의 곡률을 계산하여, 관측광선이 동일한 블록을 두 번 참조하는 영역을 찾는다. 이 영역에 해당하는 복셀들을 인접한 두 블릭들이 공유하도록 크기를 정하면 둘 중의 한 블릭에서만 재샘플링하게 함으로써 블릭이 중복 적재되는 것을 피할 수 있다.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제44권4호
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• pp.255-263
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• 2023

Clinical ultrasound (US) is a widely used imaging modality with various clinical applications. However, capturing a large field of view often requires specialized transducers which have limitations for specific clinical scenarios. Panoramic imaging offers an alternative approach by sequentially aligning image sections acquired from freehand sweeps using a standard transducer. To reconstruct a 3D volume from these 2D sections, an external device can be employed to track the transducer's motion accurately. However, the presence of optical or electrical interferences in a clinical setting often leads to incorrect measurements from such sensors. In this paper, we propose a deep learning (DL) framework that enables the prediction of scan trajectories using only US data, eliminating the need for an external tracking device. Our approach incorporates diverse data types, including correlation volume, optical flow, B-mode images, and rawer data (IQ data). We develop a DL network capable of effectively handling these data types and introduce an attention technique to emphasize crucial local areas for precise trajectory prediction. Through extensive experimentation, we demonstrate the superiority of our proposed method over other DL-based approaches in terms of long trajectory prediction performance. Our findings highlight the potential of employing DL techniques for trajectory estimation in clinical ultrasound, offering a promising alternative for panoramic imaging.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제62권6호
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• pp.712-722
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• 2019

Objective : Although magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) has been used as minimally invasive and effective neurosurgical treatment, it exhibits some limitations, mainly related to acoustic properties of the skull barrier. This study was undertaken to identify skull characteristics that contribute to optimal ultrasonic energy transmission for MRgFUS procedures. Methods : For ex vivo skull experiments, various acoustic fields were measured under different conditions, using five non-embalmed cadaver skulls. For clinical skull analyses, brain computed tomography data of 46 patients who underwent MRgFUS ablations (18 unilateral thalamotomy, nine unilateral pallidotomy, and 19 bilateral capsulotomy) were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' skull factors and sonication parameters were comparatively analyzed with respect to the cadaveric skulls. Results : Skull experiments identified three important factors related skull penetration of ultrasound, including skull density ratio (SDR), skull volume, and incidence angle of the acoustic rays against the skull surface. In clinical results, SDR and skull volume correlated with maximal temperature (Tmax) and energy requirement to achieve Tmax (p<0.05). In addition, considering the incidence angle determined by brain target location, less energy was required to reach Tmax in the central, rather than lateral targets particularly when compared between thalamotomy and capsulotomy (p<0.05). Conclusion : This study reconfirmed previously identified skull factors, including SDR and skull volume, for successful MRgFUS; it identified an additional factor, incidence angle of acoustic rays against the skull surface. To guarantee successful transcranial MRgFUS treatment without suffering these various skull issues, further technical improvements are required.