• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 제어로봇시스템학회 1995년도 Proceedings of the Korea Automation Control Conference, 10th (KACC); Seoul, Korea; 23-25 Oct. 1995
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• pp.248-251
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• 1995

Nowadays, the internal images of a human body can be easily provided by the ultrasound imaging, the X-ray CT, or the MRI device, among which the ultrasound imaging device has good resolution for soft tissues of a human body compared with the other devices. Furthermore, the use of ultrasound imaging devices will increase in future especially in the obstetrics, territory, since it does not give harm to the human body. Although several techniques have been investigated until now in order to extract organs from ultrasound images, very few of them have achieved satisfactory results because of low contrast and high noise nature of images. This paper proposes a technique for automatic extraction of the gall bladder area from ultrasound images. The proposed technique first extracts a small reliable area of a gall bladder from an ultrasound image employing smoothing, binarization, expanding and shrinking, and labeling, and then expands the area referring to the binarized version of the original image. The technique is examined its performance by real ultrasound images of a gall bladder and satisfactory results are obtained. Some problems to be solved are discussed finally.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.233-240
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• 2009

Using a spatial compound imaging technique in a medical ultrasound imaging system, the average speed of sound in a medium of interest is measured, and imaging of its distribution is implemented. When the brightness reaches the highest level in an ultrasonic image obtained as the speed of sound used in focusing is varied, it turns out that the focusing has been accomplished satisfactorily and that the speed of sound which has been adopted becomes the sought-after average speed of sound. Because spatial compound imaging provides many different views of the same object, the adverse effect of erroneous speed-of-sound estimation tends to be more severe in compound imaging than in plain B-mode imaging. Thus, in compound imaging, the average speed of sound even in the case of speckled images can be accurately estimated by observing the brightness change due to different speeds of sound employed. Using this new method that offers spatial diversity, we can construct an image of the speed of sound distribution in a phantom embedded with a 10-mm diameter plastic cylinder whose speed of sound is different from that of the background. The speed of sound in the cylinder is found to be different from that of the surrounding medium.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.237-245
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• 2022

Objective: Viscoelasticity is an essential feature of nerves, although little is known about their viscous properties. The discovery of shear wave dispersion (SWD) imaging has presented a new approach for the non-invasive evaluation of tissue viscosity. The present study investigated the feasibility of using SWD imaging to evaluate diabetic neuropathy using the sciatic nerve in a diabetic rat model. Materials and Methods: This study included 11 diabetic rats in the diabetic group and 12 healthy rats in the control group. Bilateral sciatic nerves were evaluated 3 months after treatment with streptozotocin. We measured the nerve cross-sectional area (CSA), nerve stiffness using shear wave elastography (SWE), and nerve viscosity using SWD imaging. The motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) was also measured. These four indicators and the histology of the sciatic nerves were then compared between the two groups. The performance of CSA, SWE, and SWD imaging in distinguishing the two groups was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: Nerve CSA, stiffness, and viscosity in the diabetic group was significantly higher than those in the control group (all p < 0.05). The results also revealed a significantly lower MNCV in the diabetic group (p = 0.005). Additionally, the density of myelinated fibers was significantly lower in the diabetic group (p = 0.004). The average thickness of the myelin sheath was also lower in the diabetic group (p = 0.012). The area under the ROC curve for distinguishing the diabetic neuropathy group from the control group was 0.876 for SWD imaging, which was significantly greater than 0.677 for CSA (p = 0.030) and 0.705 for SWE (p = 0.035). Conclusion: Sciatic nerve viscosity measured using SWD imaging was significantly higher in diabetic rats. The viscosity measured using SWD imaging performed well in distinguishing the diabetic neuropathy group from the control group. Therefore, SWD imaging may be a promising method for the evaluation of diabetic neuropathy.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.76-80
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• 2013

Purpose: The objective of this study was to offer primary clinical data examining whether change of imaging structure and quantitative evaluation of muscle activity on myofascial trigger points can lead to implementation of an analytical technique for evaluation of myofascial pain diagnoses. In addition, we examined the effect of a variety of mediation techniques, in order to examine neuromuscular physiological characteristics of myofascial trigger points muscle by comparing differences in pressure pain threshold and ultrasound imaging. Methods: Participants in the study included 30 adults in their twenties. The subjects were divided into the normal and myofascial trigger points groups. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by pressure pain threshold for pain and ultrasound imaging was performed for evaluation of the structural characteristics of muscle. Independent t-test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The two groups showed statistical significance in the change in pressure pain threshold (p<0.05). Findings of ultrasound imaging analysis showed no significant differences, increased muscle thickness was observed (p>0.05). Findings of ultrasound imaging analysis showed significant differences, increased muscle echodensity was observed (p<0.05). Findings on ultrasound imaging analysis showed significant differences, increased muscle white area index was observed (p<0.05). Conclusion: From these results, active myofascial trigger points muscle showed quality deterioration on ultrasound imaging. Thorough evaluation of imaging structure and physiological characteristics can be useful quantitative analytical techniques for diagnosis of myofascial pain syndrome and a primary factor reflected in physical therapy intervention.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.55-59
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate image quality using intensity profile, coefficient of variation (COV), and peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) with respect to noise reduction techniques in the ultrasound images. For that purpose, we compared with the median filter, Rudin-Osher-Fatemi (ROF), Anscombe and proposed patch group prior based denoising (PGPD) techniques. To evaluate image quality, the Shepp-Logan phantom and the ultrasound image were acquired using simulation and experiment, respectively. According to the results, the difference of intensity profile using PGPD technique is lowest compared with original Shepp-Logan phantom. In simulation, the measured COV was 0.249, 0.198, 0.198, 0.177, and 0.080 using noisy, median, ROF, Anscombe and PGPD technique, respectively. Also, in experimental image, the measured COV was 0.245, 0.230, 0.231, 0.242 and 0.187 using noisy, median, ROF, Anscombe and PGPD technique, respectively. Especially, when we used PGPD technique, the PSNR has highest value in both simulation and experiment. In this study, we performed simulation and experiment study to compare various denoising techniques in the ultrasound image. We can expect the PGPD technique to improve in medical diagnosis with excellent noise reduction.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.503-513
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• 1999

본 논문에서는 일반적인 합성구경기법에 대한 통합 모형을 제시하고 수학적인 해석을 통하여 합성구경 기법들에 대한 초음파 빔패턴의 단일 표현식을 유도하였다. 이 결과를 이용하여 기존의 합성구경 기법들에 대한 성능을 분석하고 비교하였으며, 선형주사 영상에 적합한 새로운 합성구경 기법을 제안하였다. 제안된 방법은 모든 영상점에서 양방향 동적 집속이 가능하며, 이를 실제 영상에 적용하여 의료용 초음파 B-모드 영상의 해상도를 획기적으로 개선할 수 있다. 제안된 방법에 의하여 집속된 초음파 빔패턴은 기존의 방식과 비교하여 주엽의 폭이 절반으로 감소하고 측엽의 크기는 유사하다. 컴퓨터 모사실험을 통하여 본 논문의 해석결과와 제안된 합성구경 기법의 타당성을 검증하였다.

• 한국음향학회지
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• 제39권1호
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• pp.16-23
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• 2020

고강도 집중 초음파(High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, HIFU) 치료에서 HIFU 초점의 효과적인 위치 파악은 안전한 치료 계획을 개발하는 데 중요하다. 자기 공명 영상 유도 HIFU(Magnetic Resonance Imaging guided HIFU, MRIgHIFU)는 HIFU 초점을 영상화하여 치료 중에 초음파 경로를 시각화 할 수 있지만 초음파 이미징 유도 HIFU(Ultrasound imaging guided HIFU, USIgHIFU)에서는 어려움이 있다. 본 연구에서는 USIgHIFU에 대해 HIFU 초점을 영상화할 수 있는 실시간 초음파 빔 시각화 기법을 제시 하였다. 제안 된 방법에서, 음향 강도(Ispta < 720 mW/㎠) 아래의 이미징 초음파 변환자의 동일한 중심 주파수를 갖는 짧은 펄스가 HIFU 변환기를 통해 전송되고, HIFU 빔 경로를 시각화하기 위해 수신 신호는 동적 수신 포커싱 및 후속 에코 처리를 거쳤다. 소 혈청 알부민 젤 팬텀을 이용한 생체외 실험으로부터, HIFU 빔 경로는 낮은 음향 강도 (Ispta = 94.8 mW/㎠)에서도 명확히 영상화 할 수 있었고 HIFU 초점은 손상이 생성되기 전에 성공적으로 시각화하였다. 이 결과는 제안 된 초음파 빔 경로 시각화 방법이 USIgHIFU 치료에서 원치 않는 조직 손상을 최소화하면서 실시간으로 HIFU 초점을 영상화하는 데 사용될 수 있음을 나타낸다.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.321-330
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• 2001

In this paper, we propose a new synthetic aperture focusing scheme for improving the lateral resolution which is one of the most important factors determining the quality of ultrasound imaging. The proposed scheme enables full round-trip dynamic focusing with approximately limited property. This properties are obtained through transmitting plane waves of which the traveling angle varies with the receive subaperture position, as opposed to stepping the spherical wave source across an array in other synthetic aperture focusing schemes, and employing dynamic focusing in receive. In this paper, the properties of the proposed scheme is analyzed in which a hypothetical infinite line source is used to transmit the plane waves and verified through computer simulation results. Also, we show that the proposed scheme is realizable with an array transducer with a finite aperture size. In summary, it is shown through comparison between the field contours of the proposed scheme and the conventional scheme that the proposed scheme can improve greatly the lateral resolution of ultrasound imaging.

• 한국산학기술학회논문지
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• 제11권3호
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• pp.880-890
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• 2010

뇌졸중 등의 혈관 질병을 진단하기 위해서 혈관 내 초음파(Intravascular Ultrasound:IVUS)영상 기법이 사용되고 있다. 최근에는 혈관 내벽에 붙은 혈전을 탄성 영상법을 이용하여 진단하는 방법들이 연구되고 있다. 그러나 혈관 내 초음파는 혈관 내에 트랜스듀서를 삽입하여야 하므로 진단 방법에 위험성이 있다. 본 논문은 선형 트랜스듀서를 이용하여 혈관 외부에서 데이터를 획득하여 혈관 내벽에 붙은 혈전의 변형률 영상을 얻었다. 혈관 벽의 움직임을 정확하게 측정하기 위하여, 혈관 벽과 수직이 되도록 주사선의 방향을 조향하면서 초음파 데이터를 획득하였다. 초음파 데이터는 기저대역의 복소수 신호로 복조한 뒤 자기상관(autocorrelation)을 이용하여 혈관 벽의 움직임을 계산하여 변형률 영상을 얻었다. 제안한 방법을 플라스틱 기반의 혈관 모사 팬텀을 제작하여 검증하였다. 혈관 모사 팬텀은 혈관에 해당하는 직경 6mm의 실린더 공간에 물을 채우고 벽을 따라 2mm 두께의 부드러운 혈전을 혈관 벽의 내부에 배치하였다. RF 데이터는 상용 초음파 진단기에서 7.5MHz 선형 트랜스듀서를 사용하여 -40도부터 40도까지 1도 간격으로 조향시킨 81개의 스캔라인 데이터를 얻었다. 실험 결과 단단한 배경 팬텀에 인접한 혈전 영역이 더 무른 것으로 관찰되었다. 제안한 방법의 탄성 영상법이 비록 주사선이 혈관 벽에 수직으로 입사하는 영역으로 제한되지만 혈관 변형률 영상법의 유용함을 실험으로 입증하였다.

• 비파괴검사학회지
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.101-111
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• 2008

의료용 초음파 영상 시스템에서 스트레인 영상 기법은 병변 주위의 조직보다 단단한 성질을 가지는 암이나 종양을 영상화할 수 있다. 준정적인 압축(quasistatic compression) 방법을 이용하여 스트레인 영상을 얻는 방법은, 조직에 변형을 가하기 전의 초음파 신호를 기준으로 하여 변형을 가한 후에 얻어진 초음파 신호 사이의 변위를 계산하고, 이를 공간 미분하여 스트레인을 구한다. 본 논문에서 변위의 계산은 복소 기저대역 신호의 자기상관(autocorrelation)을 계산하여 위상차로부터 구하고, 위상차를 시간 혹은 거리로 변환할 때 발생하는 오차를 중심주파수 편차를 보상하여 줄였다. 조작자의 손 움직임의 영향을 줄이기 위해 모든 스캔라인의 변위를 정규화시키는 알고리즘을 적용하여 균일한 스트레인 영상을 얻었다. 제안한 스트레인 영상 기법을 초음파 영상 진단기에서 실시간 동작하도록 구현하였다.