• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.827-833
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• 2023

CT(Computed Tomography) contrast agents are commonly used in general hospitals and university hospitals when taking radiographic examinations. The CT contrast medium contains a mixture of a substance called "Iodine", which absorbs radiation energy and makes it appear white in the CT image, further improving the image quality. In addition, the CT contrast agent, which moves like blood in the blood vessels, clearly differentiates it from muscle and water, so CT contrast agents are widely used in hospitals. These CT contrast agents absorb X-rays, but in order to absorb X-rays, they must have a high density or a high radiation absorption coefficient. Since the CT contrast agent is injected into the blood vessels, if the density is high, the blood vessels are strained and the patient is in shock. For this reason, it is necessary to match the density similar to that of water and always pay attention to side effects. In addition, the amount of CT contrast medium is adjusted according to the patient's body shape, and the remaining contrast medium is discarded. However, This study tried to find out the idea of recycling it as a radiation shielding material. Since the CT contrast medium has a high radiation absorption coefficient at a density similar to that of water, the amount to absorb radiation is adjusted, the amount of contrast medium and the amount of water are adjusted, and the amount of radiation absorbed is determined by mixing with water. In addition, a study was conducted to find out the result of the difference in radiation absorption in various ways by comparing the radiation quality coefficient and absorption coefficient with other substances or materials in an environmentally friendly method harmless to the human body by mixing CT contrast medium and water.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.243-252
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to clarify the impacts of acquisition parameters on artifacts in four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT) images, such as the partial volume effect (PVE), partial projection effect (PPE), and mis-matching of initial motion phases between adjacent beds (MMimph) in cine mode scanning. A thoracic phantom and two cylindrical phantoms (2 cm diameter and heights of 0.5 cm for No.1 and 10 cm for No.2) were scanned using 4D CT. For the thoracic phantom, acquisition was started automatically in the first scan with 5 sec and 8 sec of gantry rotation, thereby allowing a different phase at the initial projection of each bed. In the second scan, the initial projection at each bed was manually synchronized with the inhalation phase to minimize the MMimph. The third scan was intentionally un-synchronized with the inhalation phase. In the cylindrical phantom scan, one bed (2 cm) and three beds (6 cm) were used for 2 and 6 sec motion periods. Measured target volume to true volume ratios (MsTrueV) were computed. The relationships among MMimph, MsTrueV, and velocity were investigated. In the thoracic phantom, shorter gantry rotation provided more precise volume and was highly correlated with velocity when MMimph was minimal. MMimph reduced the correlation. For moving cylinder No. 1, MsTrueV was correlated with velocity, but the larger MMimph for 2 sec of motion removed the correlation. The volume of No. 2 was similar to the static volume due to the small PVE, PPE, and MMimph. Smaller target velocity and faster gantry rotation resulted in a more accurate volume description. The MMimph was the main parameter weakening the correlation between MsTrueV and velocity. Without reducing the MMimph, controlling target velocity and gantry rotation will not guarantee accurate image presentation given current 4D CT technology.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.389-403
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• 2008

In Angle's Class III malocclusion, which has higher incidence in Korean than Western, depressed midfacial profile with protruded lower lips and mandible may give rise to many functional, esthetic, psychological, social problems. Due to the different malocclusion incidence according to racial differences, many previous studies focused on the relationship between Class II malocclusion and nasal airway obstruction. Previous studies used lateral cephalography which has limitations of 2 dimensional image with projection error and identification error. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze morphologic differences in the nasal airway between normal occlusion and Angle's Class III malocclusion patients using 3-dimensional facial computed tomography. Thirteen normal occlusion(7 men and 6 women) and sixteen skeletal Class III(7 men and 9 women) patients were selected and 3-dimensional facial computed tomography taking was performed. Comparison between two group in volume and sectional area of nasal airway were carried out. The results were followed. 1. In the comparison of absolute nasal airway volume, oropharyngeal space of experimental group were larger than control group but there are no significant difference in other. 2. In the comparison of relative nasal airway volume, oropharyngeal space of experimental group were larger than control group but there are no significant difference in other. 3. In the oropharyngeal space width on frontal and lateral view, the similar tendency was revealed between two groups. 4. In the lateral curvature of nasal airway, the similar tendency was revealed between two groups.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.693-701
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• 1999

Recently non-invasive diagnostic imaging replaced the invasive catheter angiography in the diagnosis of vascular disease. Catheter methods are now almost confined to the purpose of intervention. Coronary artery or coronary artery bypass graft still needs catheter technique because of small diameter and the cardiac motion. The last challenge for radiologists in this domain is to obtain a non-invasive imaging. Electron beam tomography(EBT) for high temporal resolution is able to obtain a coronary arteriogram or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), of which CABG imaging is quite useful for the evaluation of patency. In our experience as well as others, the accuracy of EBT angiogram in evaluating CABG patency revealed that the accuracy of patency of saphenous vein grafts(SVG) is high due to relatively wide lumen, short and straight course and less influence from cardiac motion. The sensitivity and specificity of patency of SVGs were 92%, 97% respectively in the prospective evaluat on and 100% each in the retrospective evaluation. A false positive and a false negative case are rudimentary errors in the initial learing period. In contrast the analysis of left internal mammary artery(LIMA) graft was difficult due to the inherent small size and the adjacent surgical clips provoking beam-hardening artifact; therefore, the method of combining 3 dimensional reconstruction and flow mode study was important in improving the accuracy of LIMA patency. The sensitivity and specificity of LIMA patency were 100% and 80% in both prospective and retrospective evaluation. Therefore, EBT angiography is an accurate non-invasive diagnostic modality for evaluating the patency of CABG, particularly in SVGs. The accuracy can be improved with the improvement of the EBT and the development of the image reconstruction software.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3333-3338
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• 2015

Background: This study was conducted to analyze positron emission tomography (PET) / computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performance with oropharyngeal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (ONHL).Materials and Methods: The complete image data of 30 ONHL cases were analyzed, all patients were performed PET / CT and MRI examination before the treatment, with the time interval of these two inspections not exceeding 14 days. The distribution, morphology, MRI signal characteristics, enhancement feature, standardized uptake value (SUV) max value and lymph node metastasis way of the lesions were analyzed. Results: Among the 30 cases, 23 cases were derived from the B-cell (76.7%), 5 cases were derived from the peripheral T cells (16.7%) and 2 cases were derived from the NK/T cells (6.7%). 19 cases exhibited the palatine tonsil involvement (63.3%). As for the lesion appearance, 10 cases appeared as mass, 8 cases were the diffused type and 12 cases were the mixed type. 25 cases exhibited the SUVmax value of PET / CT primary lesions as 11 or more (83.3%). MRI showed that all patients exhibited various degrees of parapharyngeal side-compressed narrowing, but MRI still exhibited the high-signal fat, and the oropharyngeal mucosa was intact. 25 cases were associated with the neck lymph node metastasis, among who 22 cases had no necrosis in the metastatic lymph nodes, while the rest 3 cases exhibited the central necrosis in the metastatic lymph nodes. Conclusions: PET / CT and MRI have important value in diagnosing and determining the lesion extent of ONHL.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.123-129
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• 2015

$^{64}Cu$-labeled diacetyl-bis($N^4$-methylthiosemicarbazone) is a promising agent for internal radiation therapy and imaging of hypoxic tissues. In the study, we confirmed hypoxia regions in VX2 tumor implanted rabbits with injection $^{64}Cu$-ATSM and $^{18}F$-FDG using positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT). PET images with $^{18}F$-FDG and $^{64}Cu$-ATSM were obtained for 40 min by dynamic scan and additional delayed PET images of $^{64}Cu$-ATSM the acquired up to 48 hours. Correlation between intratumoral $O_2$ level and $^{64}Cu$-ATSM PET image was analyzed. $^{64}Cu$-ATSM and $^{18}F$-FDG were intravenously co-injected and the tumor was dissected and cut into slices for a dual-tracer autoradiographic analysis. In the PET imaging, $^{64}Cu$-ATSM in VX2 tumors displayed a specific uptake in hypoxic region for48 h. The uptake pattern of $^{64}Cu$-ATSM in VX2 tumor at 24 and 48 h did not match to the $^{18}F$-FDG. Through ROI analysis, in the early phase (dynamic scan), $^{18}F$-FDG has positive correlation with $^{64}Cu$-ATSM but late phase (24 and 48 h) of the $^{64}Cu$-ATSM showed negative correlation with $^{18}F$-FDG. High uptake of $^{64}Cu$-ATSM in hypoxic region was responded with significant decrease of oxygen pressure, which confirmed by $^{64}Cu$-ATSM PET imaging and autoradiographic analysis. In conclusion, $^{64}Cu$-ATSM can utilize for specific targeting of hypoxic region in tumor, and discrimination between necrotic- and viable hypoxic tissue.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.425-434
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate the potential value of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT in predicting the survival of patients with primary tracheal malignant tumors. Materials and Methods: An analysis of FDG PET/CT findings in 37 primary tracheal malignant tumor patients with a median follow-up period of 43.2 months (range, 10.8-143.2 months) was performed. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to assess the associations between quantitative ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT parameters, other clinic-pathological factors, and overall survival (OS). A risk prognosis model was established according to the independent prognostic factors identified on multivariate analysis. A survival curve determined by the Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess whether the prognosis prediction model could effectively stratify patients with different risks factors. Results: The median survival time of the 37 patients with tracheal tumors was 38.0 months, with a 95% confidence interval of 10.8 to 65.2 months. The 3-year, 5-year and 10-year survival rate were 54.1%, 43.2%, and 16.2%, respectively. The metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG), maximum standardized uptake value, age, pathological type, extension categories, and lymph node stage were included in multivariate analyses. Multivariate analysis showed MTV (p = 0.011), TLG (p = 0.020), pathological type (p = 0.037), and extension categories (p = 0.038) were independent prognostic factors for OS. Additionally, assessment of the survival curve using the Kaplan-Meier method showed that our prognosis prediction model can effectively stratify patients with different risks factors (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study shows that ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT can predict the survival of patients with primary tracheal malignant tumors. Patients with an MTV > 5.19, a TLG > 16.94 on PET/CT scans, squamous cell carcinoma, and non-E1 were more likely to have a reduced OS.

• Journal of the Korea Computer Graphics Society
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.49-55
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• 2017

Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease because it shows not only the whole anatomical structure of the cardiovascular three-dimensionally but also provides information on the lesion and type of plaque. However, due to the large size of the image, there is a limitation in manually extracting coronary arteries, and related researches are performed to automatically extract coronary arteries accurately. As the coronary artery originate from the ascending aorta, the ascending aorta and ostium should be detected to extract the coronary tree accurately. In this paper, we propose an automatic segmentation for the ostium as a starting structure of coronary artery in CTA. First, the region of the ascending aorta is initially detected by using Hough circle transform based on the relative position and size of the ascending aorta. Second, the volume of interest is defined to reduce the search range based on the initial area. Third, the refined ascending aorta is segmented by using a two-dimensional geodesic active contour. Finally, the two ostia are detected within the region of the refined ascending aorta. For the evaluation of our method, we measured the Euclidean distance between the result and the ground truths annotated manually by medical experts in 20 CTA images. The experimental results showed that the ostia were accurately detected.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.7
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• pp.570-577
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• 2004

CT angiography is now available to evaluate the early graft patency after coronary bypass surgery. We investigated whether patency or occlusion of the bypass grafts can be visualized by CT angiography and what factors effect the visuality. Material and Method: Fifty patients underwent scanning with a 4-slice computed tomographic scanner (Somatom Volume ZoomTM; Siemens, Germany) before being discharged after coronary artery bypass grafting. To evaluate graft patency and relationship between the quality of graft image and the characteristics of the diseased coronary vessels, 50 internal thoracic artery grafts, 18 radial artery grafts, and 56 vein grafts were included in this study. Result: All vein grafts (24 grafts; 32 anastomoses) to left coronary artery system were well visualized, but 3 grafts (4.7%) of 30 vein grafts (35 anastomoses) to right coronary artery system were not visualized. The latter was also occluded in invasive coronary angiographic study. Thirty-nine (78%) internal thoracic artery grafts were well visualized, 8 (16%) faintly visualized, and 3 (6%) not visualized, but all the internal artery grafts were well patent in invasive coronary angiographic study. Conclusion: Unvisualized vein grafts in CT angiography means occlusion of the grafts, but unvisualized arterial grafts in CT angiography may not mean occlusion of the graft but result from competitive flow between the graft and coronary artery. To confirm patency of the unvisualized arterial grafts, invasive coronary angiography is needed.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.372-381
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between buccal bone thickness and gingival thickness by means of a noninvasive and relatively accurate digital registration method. Methods: In 20 periodontally healthy subjects, cone-beam computed tomographic images and intraoral scanned files were obtained. Measurements of buccal bone thickness and gingival thickness at the central incisors, lateral incisors, and canines were performed at points 0-5 mm from the alveolar crest on the superimposed images. The Friedman test was used to compare buccal bone and gingival thickness for each depth between the 3 tooth types. Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the correlation between buccal bone thickness and gingival thickness. Results: Of the central incisors, 77% of all sites had a buccal thickness of 0.5-1.0 mm, and 23% had a thickness of 1.0-1.5 mm. Of the lateral incisors, 71% of sites demonstrated a buccal bone thickness <1.0 mm, as did 63% of the canine sites. For gingival thickness, the proportion of sites <1.0 mm was 88%, 82%, and 91% for the central incisors, lateral incisors, and canines, respectively. Significant differences were observed in gingival thickness at the alveolar crest level (G0) between the central incisors and canines (P=0.032) and between the central incisors and lateral incisors (P=0.013). At 1 mm inferior to the alveolar crest, a difference was found between the central incisors and canines (P=0.025). The lateral incisors and canines showed a significant difference for buccal bone thickness 5 mm under the alveolar crest (P=0.025). Conclusions: The gingiva and buccal bone of the anterior maxillary teeth were found to be relatively thin (<1 mm) overall. A tendency was found for gingival thickness to increase and bone thickness to decrease toward the root apex. Differences were found between teeth at some positions, although the correlation between buccal bone thickness and soft tissue thickness was generally not significant.