• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.175-183
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• 2005

Dose distribution of Korean radiation workers classified by occupational categories was analyzed. Statistics of the occupational radiation exposure(ORE) in 2002 of the radiation workers in diagnostic and dental radiology were obtained from the Korea Food and Drug Agency(KFDA) who maintains the database for individual radiation dose records. Corresponding statistics for the rest of radiation workers were obtained by processing the individual annual doses provided by the Korea Radioisotope Association(KRIA) after deletion of individual information. The ORE distribution was classified in term of 28 occupational categories, annual individual dose levels, age groups and gender of 52733 radiation workers as of the year of 2002. The total collective dose was 66.4 man-Sv and resulting average individual ORE was 1.26 mSv. Around 80% of the workers were exposed to minimal doses less than 1.2 mSv. However, it appeared that the recorded doses exceeded 20 mSv for 43 workers in the industrial radiography and for 147 workers in the field of radiology. Particularly, recorded doses of 23 workers in radiology exceeded the annual dose limits of 50 mSv, which is extraordinary when the working environment is considered. It is uncertain whether those doses are real or caused by careless placing of dosimeters in the imaging rooms while the X-ray units are in operation. No one in the workforce of 16 operating nuclear power plant units was exposed over 20 mSv in 2002. Number of workers was the largest in their 30's of age and the mean individual dose was the highest in their 20's. Women were around 20% of the radiation workers and their average dose was around one half of that of man workers.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.35-39
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• 1998

We analyzed image factors to determine the characteristic factors that need for intelligent replenishment system of the auto film processor. We processed the serial 300 sheets of radiographic films of chest phantom without replenishment of developing and fixation replenisher. We took the digital data by using film digitizer which scaned the films and automatically summed up the pixel values of the films. We analyzed characteristic curves, average gradients and relative speeds of individual film using densitometer and step densitometry. We also evaluated the pH of developer, fixer, and washer fluid with digital pH meter. Fixer residual rate and washing effect were measured by densitometer using the reagent methods. There was no significant reduction of the digital density numbers of the serial films without replenishment of developer and fixer. The average gradients were gradually decreased by 0.02 and relative speeds were also gradually decreased by 6.96% relative to initial standard step-densitometric measurement. The pHs of developer and fixer were reflected the inactivation of each fluid. The fixer residual rates and washing effects after processing each 25 sheets of films were in the normal range. We suggest that the digital data are not reliable due to limitation of the hardware and software of the film digitizer. We conclude that average gradient and relative speed which mean the film's contrast and sensitivity respectively are reliable factors for determining the need for the replenishment of the auto film processor. We need more study of simpler equations and programming for more intelligent replenishment system of the auto film processor.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.543-548
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• 2017

The aim of this study was to evaluate anteroposterior oblique(RPO, LPO) and posteroanterior oblique(LAO, RAO) projections of the cervical spine, at various kVp and mA s increments, in order to compare thyroid surface dose. Using Rando phantom, dosimeter was attached to the Cervical spine 4~5 to measure the surface dose in the same thyroid position. As a result, the surface dose was $595.08{\pm}215.01{\mu}Gy$ for anteroposterior oblique(RPO, LPO) projections and $64.21{\pm}33.49{\mu}Gy$ for posteroanterior oblique(LAO, RAO) projections by changing kVp increment. The surface dose was $445.20{\pm}230.90{\mu}Gy$ for anteroposterior oblique(RPO, LPO) projections and $44.51{\pm}22.77{\mu}Gy$ for posteroanterior oblique(LAO, RAO) projections by changing mAs increment. The posteroanterior oblique method could reduce about 90% the surface dose than the anteroposterior oblique method. There were statistically significant differences among the examinations(p<0.001). Change the direction of position to reduce the surface dose at oblique projection of cervical spine. Therefore, we consider posteroanterior oblique projections than anteroposterior oblique projections of cervical spine examination in other to reduce patient surface dose.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.471-480
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• 2019

L-spine 3~4, L-spine 4~5, and L-spine 5~Sacrum 1 intervertebral disc(IVD) angle according to gender, age, body mass index(BMI), lumbar lordosis angle(LLA) were compared and analyzed. The anteriorposterior incidence angle of L-spine 3 ~ 4, L-spine 4 ~ 5 and L-spine 5~Sacrum 1 in body mass index were 5.66, 13.23 and 29.13 degrees in the head direction and L-spine 3 4, L-spine 4 ~ 5, L-spine 5~Sacrum 1 had 6.32 degrees, 16.09 degrees and 35.36 degrees in the head direction. The distortion area ratio comparison was performed with the phantom image using the proposed incidence angle. There was a significant difference in L-spine 4~5 and L-spine 5~Sacrum 1 IVD angle relative to body mass index and LLA(p<0.05), IVD angle and LLA were positively correlated(p<0.05).As a result of evaluating the usefulness of the image by applying the incidence angles of the disc angles according to the phantom angle of deviation to the head direction as 11 degrees for L4 and 26 degrees for L5, the distortion ratio area decreased from 14.90% to 12.11% in L4, And from 15.25% to 13.72% in L5. In anteriorposterior image of the Lumbar spine applying the incidence angle according to the measured disc angle, it is possible to reduce the distortion to purpose L4, L5. And improved the quality and diagnostic information of the target site.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.871-877
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• 2022

This study was conducted to improve the problems of exposure dose and image reading applied to patients due to the incorrect use of AEC during chest radiography. Images were acquired by dividing the case where AEC was used as the test condition and the case where AEC was not used. As a result of the study, the dose was reduced by 1.17% in 110 kVp without AEC than with AEC, 17.2% decrease at 100 kVp, 30.19% decrease at 90 kVp, and 46.45% decrease at 80 kVp. There was a significant difference in the statistical values according to the tube voltage change in the lung, trachea, and heart SNR average values with AEC and without AEC 110 kVp, but the difference in image quality was insignificant in actual images. When AEC was not applied at the same tube voltage, the dose could be reduced by 17.2% while maintaining the image quality similar to that of with AEC at 100 kVp without AEC. Therefore, rather than relying on AE conditions during chest radiographic examination, it is considered that the conditions should be considered for the examination while lowering the dose by selecting an appropriate tube voltage.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1918-1928
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• 2021

Objective: With the recent development of various MRI-conditional cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), the accurate identification and characterization of CIEDs have become critical when performing MRI in patients with CIEDs. We aimed to develop and evaluate a deep learning-based algorithm (DLA) that performs the detection and characterization of parameters, including MRI safety, of CIEDs on chest radiograph (CR) in a single step and compare its performance with other related algorithms that were recently developed. Materials and Methods: We developed a DLA (X-ray CIED identification [XCID]) using 9912 CRs of 958 patients with 968 CIEDs comprising 26 model groups from 4 manufacturers obtained between 2014 and 2019 from one hospital. The performance of XCID was tested with an external dataset consisting of 2122 CRs obtained from a different hospital and compared with the performance of two other related algorithms recently reported, including PacemakerID (PID) and Pacemaker identification with neural networks (PPMnn). Results: The overall accuracies of XCID for the manufacturer classification, model group identification, and MRI safety characterization using the internal test dataset were 99.7% (992/995), 97.2% (967/995), and 98.9% (984/995), respectively. These were 95.8% (2033/2122), 85.4% (1813/2122), and 92.2% (1956/2122), respectively, with the external test dataset. In the comparative study, the accuracy for the manufacturer classification was 95.0% (152/160) for XCID and 91.3% for PPMnn (146/160), which was significantly higher than that for PID (80.0%,128/160; p < 0.001 for both). XCID demonstrated a higher accuracy (88.1%; 141/160) than PPMnn (80.0%; 128/160) in identifying model groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The remarkable and consistent performance of XCID suggests its applicability for detection, manufacturer and model identification, as well as MRI safety characterization of CIED on CRs. Further studies are warranted to guarantee the safe use of XCID in clinical practice.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.379-385
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• 2017

This study identifies the optimal tube voltages depending on the changes in the patient's body type for limb tests using a digital radiography (DR) system. For the upper-limp test, the dose area product (DAP) was fixed at $5.06dGy{\ast} cm^2$, and for the lower-limb test, the DAP was fixed at $5.04dGy{\ast} cm^2$. Afterwards, the tube voltage was changed to four different stages and the images were taken three times at each stage. The thickness of the limbs was increased by 10 mm to 30 mm to change in the patient's body type. For a quantitative evaluation, Image J was used to calculate the contrast to noise ratio (CNR) and signal to noise ratio (SNR) among the four groups, according to the tube voltage. For statistical testing, the statistically significant differences were analyzed through the Kruskal-Wallis test at a 95% confidence level. For the qualitative analysis of the images, the pre-determined items were evaluated based on a 5-point Likert scale. In both upper-limb and lower-limb tests, the more the tube voltage increased, the more the CNR and SNR of the images decreased. The test on the changes depending on the patient's body shape showed that the more the thickness increased, the more the CNR and SNR decreased. In the qualitative evaluation on the upper limbs, the more the tube voltage increased, the more score increased to 4.6 at the maximum of 55kV and 3.6 at 40kV, respectively. The mean score for the lower limbs was 4.4, regardless of the tube voltage. The more either the upper or lower limbs got thicker, the more the score generally decreased. The score of the upper limps sharply dropped at 40kV, whereas that of the lower limps sharply dropped at 50kV. For patients with a standard thickness, the optimized images can be obtained when taken at 45kV for the upper limbs, and at 50kV for the lower limbs. However, when the thickness of the patient's limbs increases, it is best to set the tube voltage at 50 kV for the upper limbs and at 55 kV for the lower limbs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.903-909
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the effect of changes in the patient's central position on the exposure dose and image quality of surrounding organs during a chest lateral examination using an Auto Exposure Control(AEC). The experiment was conducted on a human body phantom. A needle was attached to the lower part of the center of the coronal plane of the phantom, and a lead ruler was attached to the lower part of the detector so that the 50 cm point was located at the lower center of the AEC ion chamber. The exposure conditions were 125 kVp, 320 mA, the distance between the source and the image receptor was 180 cm, and the exposure field size was 14 × 17 inches. Only one AEC ion chamber was used at the bottom center, and the density was set to '0' and sensitivity to 'Middle', and the central X-ray was incident vertically toward the 6th thoracic vertebra. With AEC mode applied, the 50 cm point of the needle and lead ruler were aligned and the phantom was moved 5 cm toward the stomach (F5) and 5 cm toward the back (B5), and the dose factor was analyzed by measuring ESD. The ESD of the thyroid gland according to the change in patient center position was 232.60±2.20 μGy for Center, 231.22±1.53 μGy for F5, and 184.37±1.19 μGy for B5, and the ESD of the breast was 288.54±3.03 μGy for Center, F5 was 260.97±1.93 μGy, B5 was 229.80±1.62 μGy, and the ESD of the center of the lung was 337.02±3.25 μGy for Center, F5 was 336.09±2.29 μGy, and B5 was 261.76±1.68 μGy. As a result of comparing the average values of dose factors between each group, the difference in average values was statistically significant (p<0.01), and each group appeared to be independent. As a result of the study, there was no significant difference in the dose to the thyroid, breast, and center of the lung according to the change in the patient's central position, except for the breast (10%) when the patient moved forward about 5 cm. However, movement of about 5 cm posteriorly resulted in an average dose reduction of 23.7%. Additionally, when the patient's central position was moved to the rear, image quality deteriorated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.111-118
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• 2019

Chest digital tomosynthesis has become a practical imaging modality because it can solve the problem of anatomy overlapping in conventional chest radiography. However, because of both limited scan angle and finite-size detector, a portion of chest cannot be represented in some or all of the projection. These bring a discontinuity in intensity across the field of view boundaries in the reconstructed slices, which we refer to as the truncation artifacts. The purpose of this study was to reduce truncation artifacts using a weighted normalization approach and to investigate the performance of this approach for our prototype chest digital tomosynthesis system. The system source-to-image distance was 1100 mm, and the center of rotation of X-ray source was located on 100 mm above the detector surface. After obtaining 41 projection views with ${\pm}20^{\circ}$ degrees, tomosynthesis slices were reconstructed with the filtered back projection algorithm. For quantitative evaluation, peak signal to noise ratio and structure similarity index values were evaluated after reconstructing reference image using simulation, and mean value of specific direction values was evaluated using real data. Simulation results showed that the peak signal to noise ratio and structure similarity index was improved respectively. In the case of the experimental results showed that the effect of artifact in the mean value of specific direction of the reconstructed image was reduced. In conclusion, the weighted normalization method improves the quality of image by reducing truncation artifacts. These results suggested that weighted normalization method could improve the image quality of chest digital tomosynthesis.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2012

Purpose: The process of the proton treatment is done by comparing the DRR and DIPS anatomic structure to find the correction factor and use the PPS to use this factor in the treatment. For the accuracy of the patient set up, the PPS uses a 6 axis system to move. Therefore, there needs to be an evaluation for the accuracy between the PPS moving materialization and DIPS correction factor. In order to do this, we will use a self made PPS QA Phantom to measure the accuracy of the PPS. Materials and Methods: We set up a PPS QA Phantom at the center to which a lead marker is attached, which will act instead of the patient anatomic structure. We will use random values to create the 6 axis motions and move the PPS QA Phantom. Then we attain a DIPS image and compare with the DRR image in order to evaluate the accuracy of the correction factor. Results: The average correction factor, after moving the PPS QA Phantom's X, Y, Z axis coordinates together from 1~5 cm, 1 cm at a time, and coming back to the center, are 0.04 cm, 0.026 cm, 0.022 cm, $0.22^{\circ}$, $0.24^{\circ}$, $0^{\circ}$ on the PPS 6 axis. The average correction rate when moving the 6way movement coordinates all from 1 to 2 were 0.06 cm, 0.01 cm, 0.02 cm, $0.1^{\circ}$, $0.3^{\circ}$, $0^{\circ}$ when moved 1 and 0.02 cm, 0.04 cm, 0.01 cm, $0.3^{\circ}$, $0.5^{\circ}$, $0^{\circ}$ when moved 2. Conclusion: After evaluating the correction rates when they come back to the center, we could tell that the Lateral, Longitudinal, Vertical were all in the acceptable scope of 0.5 cm and Rotation, Pitch, Roll were all in the acceptable scope of $1^{\circ}$. Still, for a more accurate proton therapy treatment, we must try to further enhance the image of the DIPS matching system, and exercise regular QA on the equipment to reduce the current rate of mechanical errors.