• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.12-20
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• 2010

Purpose: Industrial punch accidents involving fingers cause segmental injuries to tendons and neurovascular bundles. Although multiple-level segmental amputations are not replanted to regain function, most patients with an amputated finger want to undergo replantation for cosmetic as much as functional reason. The authors describe four cases of digital amputation by an industrial punch that involved the reinstatement of the amputated finger involving a joint and neurovascular bundle. Amputated segments were replanted to restore amputated surfaces and distal segments. Methods: A single institution retrospective review was performed. Inclusion criteria of punch injuries requiring replantation were applied to patients of all demographic background. Injury extent (size, tissue involvement), operative intervention, pre- and postoperative hand function were recorded. Result: Four cases of amputations were treated at our institute from 2004 to 2008 from industrial punch machine injury. Average patient age was 32.5 years (25~39 years) and there were three males and one female. Sizes of amputated segments ranged from $1.0{\times}1.0{\times}1.2\;cm^3$ to $3{\times}1.5{\times}1.6\;cm^3$. Tenorrhaphy was conducted after fixing fractured bone of the amputated segments with K-wire. Proximal and distal arteries and veins were repaired using the through & through method. The average follow-up period was thirteen months (2~26 months), and all replanted cases survived. Osteomyelitis occurred in one case, skin grafting after debridement was performed in two cases. Because joints were damaged in all four cases, active ranges of motion were much limited. However, a secondary tendon graft enhanced digit function in two cases. The two-point discrimination test showed normal values for both static and dynamic tests for three cases and 9 mm and 15 mm by dynamic and static testing, respectively, in one case. Conclusion: Though amputations from industrial punch machines are technically challenging to replant, our experience has shown it to be a valid therapy. In cases involving punch machine injury, if an amputated segment is available, the authors recommend that replantation be considered for preservation of finger length, joint mobility, and overall functional recovery of the hand.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.201-211
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• 2013

In this paper, we propose a hand tracking and gesture recognition system. Our system employs a depth capture device to obtain 3D geometric information of user's bare hand. In particular, we build a flexible tracking volume and restrict the hand tracking area, so that we can avoid diverse problems caused by conventional object detection/tracking systems. The proposed system computes running average of the hand position, and tracking volume is actively adjusted according to the statistical information that is computed on the basis of uncertainty of the user's hand motion in the 3D space. Once the position of user's hand is obtained, then the system attempts to detect stretched fingers to recognize finger gesture of the user's hand. In order to test the proposed framework, we built a NUI system using the proposed technique, and verified that our system presents very stable performance even in the case that multiple objects exist simultaneously in the crowded environment, as well as in the situation that the scene is occluded temporarily. We also verified that our system ensures running speed of 24-30 frames per second throughout the experiments.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.353-359
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• 2020

In this study, the controller structure and control algorithm of medical robot bed developed for pressure ulcer prevention and healing are described. The existing pressure ulcer prevention mattress is operated manually and the remaining maximum body pressure exceeds the pressure of ulcer generation, so there is always room for pressure ulcers. However, the system developed in this study does not generate the pressure ulcers because the body pressure drops to zero when the keyboard of the bed descends using the active electric driving keyboard. In addition, even if the bed is raised and the pressure above the critical body ulcer pressure is abnormal, the device and the control algorithm are designed so that the lasting time is within the pressure ulcer generation critical time and the pressure ulcer itself is not generated. The bed key board motor is a motor designed with the BLDC servos suitable for medical use and these can communicate each other easily through CAN(Car Area Network). The system is new medical robot bed that is effective in preventing pressure ulcers and will be distributed to many patients suffering from pressure ulcers.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.332-336
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• 2008

Red ginseng is classified according to outer form and the quality of internal tissue, and red ginseng below third grade can't be sold. Also there are many differences in price according to grade. So if inferior Red ginseng is sold, economic loss and claim take place. This research is done conducted to investigate the possibility of the non-destruction internal tissue investigation of red ginseng. It is observed and compared that MR image after getting MR image agrees with real cutting side in 10-13% water content of red ginseng. The MR image can be obtained to see the internal section of red ginseng with equal condition of time, temperature and slice thickness in spin echo pulse sequence. The MR signal of red ginseng is very weak, because it contains low water density. So it takes about 30 minutes with the measurement of single point image (SPI). But the suitable time to distinguish internal tissues is about 9 seconds in TE (Echo Time) 2.23 ms, TR (Repetition Time) 150ms. The image to discriminate internal tissues in 9 seconds can be obtained when slice thickness is 10 mm with changes of 3, 5, 10 mm. The image obtained after 30 minutes' boiling of 55 degrees has clearer image than that of normal temperature. It is thought that MR signal is stronger through active motion of water particles as temperature increases. With this method MR image of red ginseng can be obtained and characteristics of internal tissues can be observed in such a short time.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.649-654
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• 2012

Background Deep burns of the elbow lead to soft tissue necrosis and infection, with exposure of deep structures. Adequate wound coverage of this area requires thin, pliable, and durable tissue, while optimal functional recovery requires early coverage and functional rehabilitation. We have found 3 types of island flaps that provide reliable coverage for the elbow. Methods A retrospective study was performed on all patients who underwent flap coverage of an elbow defect at our hospital. The patients' data including age, sex, cause of injury, wound dimensions, timing of flap coverage, postoperative elbow motion, and complications were investigated. Results Between 2001 and 2012, 16 patients were treated at our hospital. The mean age was 53.3 years. Three kinds of flaps were performed: 9 latissimus dorsi flaps, 4 lateral arm flaps, and 4 radial forearm flaps. The average defect size was 183.5 $cm^2$ (range, 28 to 670 cm2). Wound coverage was performed at mean duration of 45.9 days (range, 14 to 91 days). The mean postoperative active elbow flexion was $98^{\circ}$ (range, $85^{\circ}$ to $115^{\circ}$). Partial flap failure occurred in 1 latissimus dorsi flap. Minor complications included partial flap loss (11.8%), hematoma (23.5%), seroma (35.3%), and wound infection (5.9%). Conclusions Flap selection for elbow reconstruction is determined by the defect size and the extent of the adjacent tissue injury. Elbow reconstruction using an island flap is a single-staged, reliable, and relatively simple procedure that permits initiation of early rehabilitation, thereby improving a patient's functional outcome.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.510-519
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• 2011

Intra mode decision is a useful coding tool in Distributed Video Coding (DVC) for improving DVC coding efficiency for video sequences having fast motion. A major limitation associated with the existing intra mode decision methods, however, is that its efficiency highly depends on user-specified thresholds or modeling parameters. This paper proposes an entropy-based method to address this problem. The probabilities of intra and Wyner?Ziv (WZ) modes are determined firstly by examining correlation of pixels in spatial and temporal directions. Based on these probabilities, entropy of the intra and the WZ modes are computed. A comparison based on the entropy values decides a coding mode between intra coding and WZ coding without relying on any user-specified thresholds or modeling parameters. Experimental results show its superior rate-distortion performance of improvements of PSNR up to 2 dB against a conventional Wyner?Ziv coding without intra mode decision. Furthermore, since the proposed method does not require any thresholds or modeling parameters from users, it is very attractive for real life applications.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.105-110
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to identify and understand the complications of RTSA and to review the current methods of preventing and treating this malady. Materials and Methods: Previous constrained prostheses (ball-and-socket or reverse ball-and-socket designs) have failed because their center of rotation remained lateral to the scapula, which has limited of the motion of the prostheses and produced excessive torque on the glenoid component, and this leads to early loosening. The Grammont reverse prosthesis imposes a new biomechanical environment for the deltoid muscle to act, thus allowing it to compensate for the deficient rotator cuff muscles. Results: The clinical experience does live up to the lofty biomechanical concept and expectations: the reverse prosthesis restores active elevation above $90^{\circ}$ in patients with a cuff-deficient shoulder. However, external rotation often remains limited and particularly in patients with an absent or fat-infiltrated teres minor. Internal rotation is also rarely restored after a reverse prosthesis. Failure to restore sufficient tension in the deltoid may result in prosthetic instability. Conclusion: Finally, surgeons must be aware that the results are less predictable and the complication/revision rates are higher in revision surgery than that in the first surgery. A standardized monitoring tool that has clear definitions and assessment instructions is surely needed to document and then prevent complications after revision surgery.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.157-162
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• 2006

In this study, a high sensitive giant magnetoresistance-spin valve (GMR-SV) bio-sensing device with high linearity and very low hysteresis was fabricated by photolithography and ion beam deposition sputtering system. Detection of the Fe-hemoglobin inside in a red blood and magnetic nanoparticles using the GMR-SV bio-sensing device was investigated. Here a human's red blood includes hemoglobin, and the nanoparticles are the Co-ferrite magnetic particles coated with a shell of amorphous silica which the average size of the water-soluble bare cobalt nanoparticles was about 9 nm with total size of about 50 nm. When 1 mA sensing current was applied to the current electrode in the patterned active GMR-SV devices with areas of $5x10{\mu}m^2 $ and $2x6{\mu}m^2 $, the output signals of the GMRSV sensor were about 100 mV and 14 mV, respectively. In addition, the maximum sensitivity of the fabricated GMR-SV sensor was about $0.1{\sim}0.8%/Oe$. The magnitude of output voltage signals was obtained from four-probe magnetoresistive measured system, and the picture of real-time motion images was monitored by an optical microscope. Even one drop of human blood and nanopartices in distilled water were found to be enough for detecting and analyzing their signals clearly.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.81-87
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• 2003

It is suggested that a flying-by star in a hot accretion disk may cool the hot accretion disk by the Comptonization of the stellar emission. Such a stellar cooling can be observed in the radio frequency regime since synchrotron luminosity depends strongly on the electron temperature of the accretion flow. If a bright star orbiting around the supermassive black hole cools the hot disk, one should expect a quasi-periodic modulation in radio, or even possible an anti-correlation of luminosities in radio and X-rays. Recently, the unprecedentedly accurate infrared imaging of the Sagittarius A$\ast$ for about ten years enables us to resolve stars around it and thus determine orbital parameters of the currently closest star S2. We explore the possibility of using such kind of observation to distinguish two quite different physical models for the central engine of the Sagittarius A$\ast$, that is, a hot accretion disk model and a jet model. We have attempted to estimate the observables using the observed parameters of the star S2. The relative difference in the electron temperature is a few parts of a thousand at the epoch when the star S2 is near at the pericenter. The relative radio luminosity difference with and without the stellar cooling is also small of order $10^{-4}$, particularly even when the star S2 is near at the pericenter. On the basis of our findings we tentatively conclude that even the currently closest pass of the star S2 is insufficiently close enough to meaningfully constrain the nature of the Sagittarius A$\ast$ and distinguish two competing models. This implies that even though Bower et al. (2002)have found no periodic radio flux variations in their data set from 1981 to 1998, which is naturally expected from the presence of a hot disk, a hot disk model cannot be conclusively ruled out. This is simply because the energy bands they have studied are too high to observe the effect of the star S2 even if it indeed interacts with the hot disk. In other words, even if there is a hot accretion disk the star like S2 has imprints in the frequency range at v $\le$ 100 MHz.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.559-563
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• 2015

Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) is a Japanese X-ray all-sky surveyer mounted on the International Space Station (ISS). It has been scanning the whole sky since 2009 during every 92-minute ISS rotation. X-ray transients are quickly found by the real-time nova-search program. As a result, MAXI has issued 133 Astronomer's Telegrams and 44 Gamma-ray burst Coordinated Networks so far. MAXI has discovered six new black holes (BH) in 4.5 years. Long-term behaviors of the MAXI BHs can be classified into two types by their outbursts; a fast-rise exponential-decay type and a fast-rise flat-top one. The slit camera is suitable for accumulating data over a long time. MAXI issued a 37-month catalog containing 500 sources above a ~0.6 mCrab detection limit at 4-10 keV in the region ${\mid}{b}{\mid}$ > $10^{\circ}$. The SSC instrument utilizing an X-ray CCD has detected diffuse soft X-rays extending over a large solid angle, such as the Cygnus super bubble. MAXI/SSC has also detcted a Ne emission line from the rapid soft X-ray nova MAXI J0158-744. The overall shapes of outbursts in Be X-ray binaries (BeXRB) are precisely observed with MAXI/GSC. BeXRB have two kinds of outbursts, a normal outburst and a giant one. The peak dates of the subsequent giant outbursts of A0535+26 repeated with a different period than the orbital one. The Be stellar disk is considered to either have a precession motion or a distorted shape. The long-term behaviors of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXB) containing weakly magnetized neutron stars are investigated. Transient LMXBs (Aql X-1 and 4U 1608-52) repeated outbursts every 200-1000 days, which is understood by the limit-cycle of hydrogen ionization states in the outer accretion disk. A third state (very dim state) in Aql X-1 and 4U 1608-52 was interpreted as the propeller effect in the unified picture of LMXB. Cir X-1 is a peculiar source in the sense that its long-term behavior is not like typical LMXBs. The luminosity sometimes decreases suddenly at periastron. It might be explained by the stripping of the outer accretion disk by a clumpy stellar wind. MAXI observed 64 large flares from 22 active stars (RS CVns, dMe stars, Argol types, young stellar objects) over 4 years. The total energies are $10^{34}-10^{36}$ erg $s^{-1}$. Since MAXI can measure the spectrum (temperature and emission measure), we can estimate the size of the plasma and the magnetic fields. The size sometimes exceeds the size of the star. The magnetic field is in the range of 10-100 gauss, which is a typical value for solar flares.