• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.52-59
• /
• 2010

To examine among patients with vertebral compression fracture the extent to which signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) values at the lumbar vertebral compression fracture site vary on diffusion-weighted MR images according to varying b values on the 1.5T MR device. Diffusion-weighted MR images of 30 patients with compression fracture due to chronic osteoporosis who underwent vertebral MRI from Jan. 2008 to Nov. 2009 were respectively obtained using a 1.5-T MR scanner with the b values increased from 400, 600, 800, 1,000 to $1,200\;s/mm^2$. For diffusion-weighted MR images with different b values, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was assessed at three sites: the site of compression fracture of the lumbar vertebral body at L1 to L5, and both the upper and lower discs of the said fracture site, while for ADC map images with different b values, the SNR and ADC were respectively assessed at those three sites. As a quantitative analysis, diffusion-weighted MR images and ADC map images with b value of $400\;s/mm^2$ (the base b values) were respectively compared with the corresponding images with each different b value. As far as qualitative analysis is concerned, for both diffusion-weighted MR and ADC map images with b value of $400\;s/mm^2$, the extent to which signal intensity values obtained at the site of compression fracture of the lumbar vertebral body at L1 to L5 vary according to the increasing b values were examined. The quantitative analysis found that for both diffusion-weighted MR and ADC map images, as the b values increased, the SNR were relatively lowered at all the three sites, compared to the base b value. Also, it was found that as the b values increased, ADC valueswere relatively lowered at all the three sites on ADC map images. On the other hand, the qualitative analysis found that as the b values increased to more than $400\;s/mm^2$, the signal intensity gradually decreased at all the sites, while at the levels of more than $1,000\;s/mm^2$, severe image noises appeared at all of the three sites. In addition, higher signal intensity was found at the site of compression fracture of the lumbar vertebral body than at the discs. Findings showed that with the b value being increased, both the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) values gradually decreased at all the sites of the lumbar vertebral compression fracture and both the upper and lower discs of the fracture site, suggesting that there is a possibility of a wider range of applications to assessment of various vertebral pathologies by utilizing multi b values in the diffusion-weighted MRI examination.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.33-41
• /
• 2020

The landing gear of an aircraft is a device that absorbs and dissipates shock energy transmitted from the ground to the fuselage. Among the landing gears, the semi-active MR damper landing gear is supposed to show high-shock absorption efficiency under various landing conditions and secure the stability when out of control. In the case of the MR damper landing gear using an annular channel rather than orifice, Amesim, a commercial multi-physics program, is considered as more useful than the conventional two-degree-of-freedom model because the damping force generated by the pressure drop through the flow annular path can cause cavitation in the low-pressure chamber of the MR damper with a specific internal structure. In this paper, the main dynamic characteristics of the MR damper landing gear with an annular type flow path structure has been analyzed under the condition of cavitation. Based on the analysis results using Amesim, a design guideline for the MR damper flow path that prevents cavitation has been proposed based on the modification of the arrangement of internal components of the damper. The guideline was verified through a drop simulation.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.517-526
• /
• 2016

This study analyzed the correlation between BMD (bone mineral density) value calculated in the MDCT (multidetector computed tomography) and lifestyle, physical features and social characteristics. From July 15 2015 to June 6 2016, we converted from HU (hounsfield unit) value measured by using MDCT to T-score for BMD of 141 patients (male: 63, female: 78) in W medical center. We measured the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lumbar spine and analyzed the correlation between gender differences in BMD and lifestyle, physical features and social characteristics. Statistical significance was validated using independent sample T test with one way Anova. Gender BMD was confirmed that a statistically significant difference (p<0.05). BMD values decreased with increasing age but for the statistically men, there was no significant difference from 20s to 50s, it only showed a significant difference in 20s and 60s (p<0.001). For the statistically women, there was no significant difference from 20s to 40s. but since 50s BMD was decreased rapidly, which showed a significant difference (p<0.001). women showed significant differences for the menstruation and menopause, childbirth, alcohol, cereals and greasy food in bone mineral density (p<0.05) but there were no significant differences in men. The bone mineral density values calculated by the MDCT and lifestyle, physical features and social characteristics correlation analysis method is considered to be used as a basis for estimating the state in BMD and osteoporosis management.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.31-41
• /
• 2004

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood, especially school age children and persisting into adult. ADHD is affected 7.6% in our children, Korea. and persisting into $15{\sim}20%$ in adult. And it is characterized by hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. Brain imaging is one of way to diagnosis for ADHD. Brain imaging studies may be provide information two types - structural and functional imaging. Structural and functional images of the brain play an important role in management of neurologic and psyciatric disorders. Brain SPECT, with perfusion imaging radiopharmaceuticals is one of the appropriate test to diagnosis of neurologic and psychiatric diseases. Ther are a few studies about separated analysis between boys and girls ADHD SPECT brain images. Selection of Probability level(P-value) is very important to determind the abnormalities when analysis a data by SPM. SPM is a statistical method used for image analysis and determine statistical different between two groups-normal and ADHD. Commonly used P-value is P<0.05 in statistical analysis. The purpose of this study is to evaluation of blood flow clusters distribution, between boys and girls ADHD. The number of normal boys are 8(6-7y, average : $9.6{\pm}3.9y$) and 51(4-11y, average : $9.0{\pm}2.4$) ADHD patients, and normal girls are 4(6-12y, average : $9{\pm}2.4y$) and 13(2-13y, average $10{\pm}3.5y$) ADHD patiens. Blood flow tracer $^{99m}Tc-ethylcysteinate$ dimer(ECD) injected as rCBF agent and take blood flow images after 30 min. during sleeping by SPECT camera. The anatomical region of hyperperfusion of rCBF in boys ADHD group is posterior cingulate gyrus and hyperperfusion rate is 15.39-15.77% according to p-value. And girls ADHD group appears at posterior cerebellum, Lt. cerbral limbic lobe and Lt. Rt. cerebral temporal lobe. These areas hyperperfusion rate are 24.68-31.25%. Hypoperfusion areas in boys ADHD,s brain are Lt. cerebral insular gyrus, Lt. Rt. frontal lobe and mid-prefrontal lobe, these areas decresed blood flow as 15.21-15.64%. Girls ADHD decreased blood flow regions are Lt. cerebral insular gyrus, Lt. cerebral frontal and temporal lobe, Lt. Rt. lentiform nucleus and Lt. parietal lobe. And hypoperfusion rate is 30.57-30.85% in girls ADHD. The girls ADHD group's perfusion rate is more variable than boys. The studies about rCBF in ADHD, should be separate with boys and girls.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.87-92
• /
• 2007

A thermal neutron beam facility utilizing a typical tangential beam port for Neutron Capture Therapy was installed at the HANARO, 30 MW multi-purpose research reactor. Mixed beams with different physical characteristics and relative biological effectiveness would be emitted from the BNCT irradiation facility, so a quantitative analysis of each component of the mixed beams should be performed to determine the accurate delivered dose. Thus, various techniques were applied including the use of activation foils, TLDs and ionization chambers. All the dose measurements were perform ed with the water phantom filled with distilled water. The results of the measurement were compared with MCNP4B calculation. The thermal neutron fluxes were $1.02E9n/cm^2{\cdot}s\;and\;6.07E8n/cm^2{\cdot}s$ at 10 and 20 mm depth respectively, and the fast neutron dose rate was insignificant as 0.11 Gy/hr at 10 mm depth in water The gamma-ray dose rate was 5.10 Gy/hr at 20 mm depth in water Good agreement within 5%, has been obtained between the measured dose and the calculated dose using MCNP for neutron and gamma component and discrepancy with 14% for fast neutron flux Considering the difficulty of neutron detection, the current study support the reliability of these results and confirmed the suitability of the thermal neutron beam as a dosimetric data for BNCT clinical trials.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.141-148
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the distribution of clusters and blood flow rate in ADHD SPECT brain blood flow images of children using statistical parametric mapping (SPM99). We studied 64 ADHD children (4-15 y, $8.03{\pm}2.57$ y. male/female:52/12) and compared them with a control group of 12 children (6-l7 y, $9.42{\pm}3.37$ y, male/female:8/4). We injected blood flow tracer $^{99m}Tc$-ethylcysteinate dimer (ECD) as a rCBF agent and took blood flow images after 30 min. by SPECT camera. In the case of hyperperfusion of rCBF in the ADHD group, we found 3 clusters clearly separated at the cingulate gyrus, Rt.cerebral occipital lobe and Lt.cerebellar post. lobe, on probability level 0.05 (P<0.05). Thirty-six ADHD patients with average hyperfusion rates between 18.72-19.30% in each cluster had more increase in blood flow than the average perfusion rate at the Rt. cerebral occipital lobe. These levels were influenced by P-value. In the case of hypoperfusion in the ADHD children, 4 decreased clusters on Lt. and Rt. cerebral frontal lobe, Lt. cerebral claustrum and Rt. cerebral, sup. temporal gyrus at P<0.01 can be seen. The average hypoperfusion rates for the ADHD children were 18.41-18.69% in each cluster, which showed more hypopefusion than the average perfusion rate at the Lt. Cerebrum inf. Frontal gyrus. The perfusion rates and the number of patients were not affected by P-value. The result of this study shows significant hyperpefusion clusters at the probability level of P:0.05 and hypoperfusion clusters at P:0.01. The number of ADHD patients in each clusters and the perfusion rate were not affected by P-value.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.298-307
• /
• 2009

By using the MR T2 map technique, this study intends, first, to measure the change of T2 values of cartilage between healthy people and patients with osteoarthritis and, second, to assess the form and the damage of cartilage in the knee-joint, through which this study would consider the utility of the T2 map technique. Thirty healthy people were selected based on their clinical history and current status and another thirty patients with osteoarthritis of the knee who were screened by simple X-ray from November 2007 to December 2008 were selected. Their T2 Spin Echo (SE hereafter) images for the cartilage of the knee joint were collected by using the T2 SE sequence, one of the multi-echo methods (TR: 1,000 ms; TE values: 6.5, 13, 19.5, 26, 32.5. 40, 45.5, 52). Based on these images, the changes in the signal intensity (SI hereafter) for each section of the cartilage of the knee joint were measured, which yielded average values of T2 through the Origin 7.0 Professional (Northampton, MA 01060 USA). With these T2s, the independent samples T-test was performed by SPSS Window version 12.0 to run the quantitative analysis and to test the statistical significance between the healthy group and the patient group. Closely looking at T2 values for each anterior and lateral articular cartilage of the sagittal plane and the coronal plane, in the sagittal plane, the average T2 of the femoral cartilage in the patient group with arthritis of the knee ($42.22{\pm}2.91$) was higher than the average T2 of the healthy group ($36.26{\pm}5.01$). Also, the average T2 of the tibial cartilage in the patient group ($43.83{\pm}1.43$) was higher than the average T2 in the healthy group ($36.45{\pm}3.15$). In the case of the coronal plane, the average T2 of the medial femoral cartilage in the patient group ($45.65{\pm}7.10$) was higher than the healthy group ($36.49{\pm}8.41$) and so did the average T2 of the anterior tibial cartilage (i.e., $44.46{\pm}3.44$ for the patient group vs. $37.61{\pm}1.97$ for the healthy group). As for the lateral femoral cartilage in the coronal plane, the patient group displayed the higher T2 ($43.41{\pm}4.99$) than the healthy group did ($37.64{\pm}4.02$) and this tendency was similar in the lateral tibial cartilage (i.e., $43.78{\pm}8.08$ for the patient group vs. $36.62{\pm}7.81$ for the healthy group). Along with the morphological MR imaging technique previously used, the T2 map technique seems to help patients with cartilage problems, in particular, those with the arthritis of the knee for early diagnosis by quantitatively analyzing the structural and functional changes of the cartilage.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
• /
• v.22 no.7
• /
• pp.492-507
• /
• 2010

This article reviews the papers published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering during 2009. It is intended to understand the status of current research in the areas of heating, cooling, ventilation, sanitation, and indoor environments of buildings and plant facilities. Conclusions are as follows. (1) Research trends of thermal and fluid engineering have been surveyed as groups of general thermal and fluid flow, fluid machinery and piping, and new and renewable energy. Various topics were covered in the field of general thermal and fluid flow such as an expander, a capillary tube, the flow of micro-channel water blocks, the friction and anti-wear characteristics of nano oils with mixtures of refrigerant oils, etc. Research issues mainly focused on the design of micro-pumps and fans, the heat resistance reliability of axial smoke exhaust fans, and hood systems in the field of fluid machinery and piping. Studies on ground water sources were executed concerning two well type geothermal heat pumps and multi-heat pumps in the field of new and renewable energy. (2) Research works on heat transfer area have been reviewed in the categories of heat transfer characteristics and industrial heat exchangers. Researches on heat transfer characteristics included the heat transfer in thermoelectric cooling systems, refrigerants, evaporators, dryers, desiccant rotors. In the area of industrial heat exchangers, researches on high temperature ceramic heat exchangers, plate heat exchangers, frosting on fins of heat exchangers were performed. (3) In the field of refrigeration, papers were presented on alternative refrigerants, system improvements, and the utilization of various energy sources. Refrigeration systems with alternative refrigerants such as hydrocarbons, mixed refrigerants, and $CO_2$ were studied. Efforts to improve the performance of refrigeration systems were made applying various ideas of suction line heat exchangers, subcooling bypass lines and gas injection systems. Studies on heat pump systems using unutilized energy sources such as river water, underground water, and waste heat were also reported. (4) Research trend in the field of mechanical building facilities has been found to be mainly focused on field applications rather than performance improvements. In the area of cogeneration systems, papers on energy and economic analysis, LCC analysis and cost estimating were reported. Studies on ventilation and heat recovery systems introduced the effect on fire and smoke control, and energy reduction. Papers on district cooling and heating systems dealt with design capacity evaluation, application plan and field application. Also, the maintenance and management of building service equipments were presented for HVAC systems. (5) In the field of architectural environment, various studies were carried to improve indoor air quality and to analyze the heat load characteristics of buildings by energy simulation. These studies helped to understand the physics related to building load characteristics and to improve the quality of architectural environment where human beings reside in.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.91-102
• /
• 2009

Purpose: To compare the accuracy and efficacy of EDR2 film, a 2D ionization chamber array (MatriXX) and an amorphous silicon electronic portal imaging device (EPID) in the pre-treatment QA of IMRT. Materials and Methods: Fluence patterns, shaped as a wedge with 10 steps (segments) by a multi-leaf collimator (MLC), of reference and test IMRT fields were measured using EDR2 film, the MatriXX, and EPID. Test fields were designed to simulate leaf positioning errors. The absolute dose at a point in each step of the reference fields was measured in a water phantom with an ionization chamber and was compared to the dose obtained with the use of EDR2 film, the MatriXX and EPID. For qualitative analysis, all measured fluence patterns of both reference and test fields were compared with calculated dose maps from a radiation treatment planning system (Pinnacle, Philips, USA) using profiles and $\gamma$ evaluation with 3%/3 mm and 2%/2 mm criteria. By measurement of the time to perform QA, we compared the workload of EDR2 film, the MatriXX and EPID. Results: The percent absolute dose difference between the measured and ionization chamber dose was within 1% for the EPID, 2% for the MatriXX and 3% for EDR2 film. The percentage of pixels with $\gamma$%>1 for the 3%/3 mm and 2%/2 mm criteria was within 2% for use of both EDR2 film and the EPID. However, differences for the use of the MatriXX were seen with a maximum difference as great as 5.94% with the 2%/2 mm criteria. For the test fields, EDR2 film and EPID could detect leaf-positioning errors on the order of -3 mm and -2 mm, respectively. However it was difficult to differentiate leaf-positioning errors with the MatriXX due to its poor resolution. The approximate time to perform QA was 110 minutes for the use of EDR2 film, 80 minutes for the use of the MatriXX and approximately 55 minutes for the use of the EPID. Conclusion: This study has evaluated the accuracy and efficacy of EDR2 film, the MatriXX and EPID in the pre-treatment verification of IMRT. EDR2 film and the EPID showed better performance for accuracy, while the use of the MatriXX significantly reduced measurement and analysis times. We propose practical and useful methods to establish an effective QA system in a clinical environment.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.121-143
• /
• 2010

To investigate the effect of implant types and bone resorption on the fracture characteristics. 4 types of Osstem$^{(R)}$Implant were chosen and classified into external parallel, internal parallel, external taper, internal taper groups. Finite elements analysis was conducted with ANSYS Multi Physics software. Fatigue fracture test was performed by connecting the mold to the dynamic load fatigue testing machine with maximum load of 600N and minimum load of 60N. The entire fatigue test was performed with frequency of 14Hz and fractured specimens were observed with Hitachi S-3000 H scanning electron microscope. The results were as follows: 1. In the fatigue test of 2 mm exposed implants group, Tapered type and external connected type had higher fatigue life. 2. In the fatigue test of 4 mm exposed implants group, Parallel type and external connected types had higher fatigue life. 3. The fracture patterns of all 4 mm exposed implant system appeared transversely near the dead space of the fixture. With a exposing level of 2 mm, all internally connected implant systems were fractured transversely at the platform of fixture facing the abutment. but externally connected ones were fractured at the fillet of abutment body and hexa of fixture or near the dead space of the fixture. 4. Many fatigue striations were observed near the crack initiation and propagation sites. The cleavage with facet or dimple fractures appeared at the final fracture sites. 5. Effective stress of buccal site with compressive stress is higher than that of lingual site with tensile stress, and effective stress acting on the fixture is higher than that of the abutment screw. Also, maximum effective stress acting on the parallel type fixtures is higher. It is careful to use the internal type implant system in posterior area.