• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2002

Purpose : 3D conformal radiotherapy, the optimum dose delivered to the tumor and provided the risk of normal tissue unless marginal miss, was restricted by organ motion. For tumors in the thorax and abdomen, the planning target volume (PTV) is decided including the margin for movement of tumor volumes during treatment due to patients breathing. We designed the respiratory gating radiotherapy device (RGRD) for using during CT simulation, dose planning and beam delivery at identical breathing period conditions. Using RGRD, reducing the treatment margin for organ (thorax or abdomen) motion due to breathing and improve dose distribution for 3D conformal radiotherapy. Materials and Methods : The internal organ motion data for lung cancer patients were obtained by examining the diaphragm in the supine position to find the position dependency. We made a respiratory gating radiotherapy device (RGRD) that is composed of a strip band, drug sensor, micro switch, and a connected on-off switch in a LINAC control box. During same breathing period by RGRD, spiral CT scan, virtual simulation, and 3D dose planing for lung cancer patients were peformed, without an extended PTV margin for free breathing, and then the dose was delivered at the same positions. We calculated effective volumes and normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCP) using dose volume histograms for normal lung, and analyzed changes in doses associated with selected NTCP levels and tumor control probabilities (TCP) at these new dose levels. The effects of 3D conformal radiotherapy by RGRD were evaluated with DVH (Dose Volume Histogram), TCP, NTCP and dose statistics. Results : The average movement of a diaphragm was 1.5 cm in the supine position when patients breathed freely. Depending on the location of the tumor, the magnitude of the PTV margin needs to be extended from 1 cm to 3 cm, which can greatly increase normal tissue irradiation, and hence, results in increase of the normal tissue complications probabiliy. Simple and precise RGRD is very easy to setup on patients and is sensitive to length variation (+2 mm), it also delivers on-off information to patients and the LINAC machine. We evaluated the treatment plans of patients who had received conformal partial organ lung irradiation for the treatment of thorax malignancies. Using RGRD, the PTV margin by free breathing can be reduced about 2 cm for moving organs by breathing. TCP values are almost the same values $(4\~5\%\;increased)$ for lung cancer regardless of increasing the PTV margin to 2.0 cm but NTCP values are rapidly increased $(50\~70\%\;increased)$ for upon extending PTV margins by 2.0 cm. Conclusion : Internal organ motion due to breathing can be reduced effectively using our simple RGRD. This method can be used in clinical treatments to reduce organ motion induced margin, thereby reducing normal tissue irradiation. Using treatment planning software, the dose to normal tissues was analyzed by comparing dose statistics with and without RGRD. Potential benefits of radiotherapy derived from reduction or elimination of planning target volume (PTV) margins associated with patient breathing through the evaluation of the lung cancer patients treated with 3D conformal radiotherapy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.25-43
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• 1997

Introduction : The outcome and incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) could be variable related to the varied definitions used for ARDS by researchers. The purpose of the national survey was to define the risk factors of ARDS and investigate the prognostic indicies related to mortality of ARDS in Korea according to the definition of ARDS determined by the American-European Concensus Conference on 1992 year. Methods : A Multicenter registry of 48 University or University-affliated hospital and 18 general hospital s equipped with more than 400 patient's beds conducted over 13 months of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome using the same registry protocol. Results : 1. In the 12 months of the registry, 167 patients were enrolled at the 24 hospitals. 2. The mean age was 56.5 years (${\pm}17.2$ years) and there was a 1.9:1 ratio of males to females. 3. Sepsis was the most common risk factors (78.1%), followed by aspiration (16.6%), trauma (11.6%), and shock (8.5%). 4 The overall mortality rate was 71.9%. The mean duration was 11 days (${\pm}13.1$ days) from the diagnosis of ARDS to the death. Respiratory insufficiency appeared to be a major cause in 43.7% of the deaths followed by sepsis (36.1%), heart failure (7.6%) and hepatic failure (6.7%). 5. There were no significant differences in mortality based on sex or age. No significant difference in mortality in infectious versus noninfectious causes of ARDS was found. 6. There were significant differences in the pulse rate, platelet numbers, serum albumin and glucose levels, the amounts of 24 hour urine, arterial pH, $Pa0_2$, $PaCO_2$, $Sa0_2$, alveolar-arterial oxygen differences, $PaO_2/FIO_2$, and PEEP/$FI0_2$ between the survivors and the deaths on study days 1 through 6 of the first week after enrollment. 7. The survivors had significantly less organ failure and lower APACHE III scores at the time of diagnosis of ARDS (P<0.05). 8. The numbers of organ failure (odd ratio 1.95, 95% confidence intervals:1.05-3.61, P=0.03) and the score of APACHE III (odd ratio 1.59, 95% confidence interval:1.01-2.50, P=0.04) appeared to be independent risk factors of the mortality in the patients with ARDS. Conclusions : The mortality was 71.9% of total 167 patients in this investigation using the definition of American-European Consensus Conference on 1992 year, and the respiratory insufficiency was the leading cause of the death. In addition, the numbers of organ failure and the score of APACHE III at the time of diagnosis of ARDS appeared to be independent risk factors of the mortality in the patients with ARDS.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.90-93
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• 2002

In particle radiotherapy, a shape of the beam to conform the irradiation field is statically defined by the compensator, collimator and potal devices at the outside of the patient body. However the target such as lung or liver cancer moves along with respiration. This increases the irradiated volume of normal tissue. Prior discussions about organ motions along with respiration have been mainly focused on inferior-superior movement that was usually perpendicular to beam axis. On the other hand, the change of the target depth along the beam axis is very important especially in particle radiotherapy, because the range end of beam (Bragg peak) is so sharp as to be matched to distal edge of the target. In treatment planning, the range of the particle beam inside the body is calculated using a calibration curve relating CT number and water equivalent path length (WEL) to correct the inhomogeneities of tissues. The variation in CT number along the beam path would cause the uncertainties of range calculation at treatment planning for particle radiotherapy. To estimate the uncertainties of the range calculation associated with patient breathing, we proposed the method using sequential CT images with respiration waveform, and analyzed organ motions and WELs at patients that had lung or liver cancer. The variation of the depth along the beam path was presented in WEL rather than geometrical length. In analyzed cases, WELs around the diaphragm were remarkably changed depending on the respiration, and the magnitude of these WEL variations was almost comparable to inferior-superior movement of diaphragm. The variation of WEL around the lung was influenced by heartbeat.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.104-107
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• 2015

Purpose: Nitric oxide (NO) is a vasodilator and inhaled NO (iNO) is used in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) to improve alveolocapillary gas exchange. The mechanism to improve oxygenation is likely to redistribute blood flow from unventilated areas to ventilated areas. Though improvement of oxygenation, iNO therapy has not been shown to improve mortality and considered as only rescue therapy in severe hypoxemia. We conducted the study to investigate an efficacy of iNO in trauma patients with severe hypoxemia. Methods: We reviewed the trauma patients who underwent iNO therapy retrospectively from 2010 to 2014. Degree of hypoxemia was represented as $PaO_2/FiO_2$ ratio (PFR) and the severity of patient was represented with sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score. Patients were divided into the survivor group and non-survivor group according to the 28-day mortality. Results: A total of 20 patients were enrolled. The mortality of 28-day was 40%. There were no significant differences between survivor and non-survivor group in age, sex, severity of injury, PFR and SOFA score. There was significant difference in initiation time of iNO after injury (p=0.047). Maximum combinations of sensitivity and specificity for timing of iNO therapy were observed using cut-off of 3-day after injury with a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 75%. Conclusion: Though iNO therapy does not influence the mortality, iNO therapy may decrease the mortality caused by respiratory failure in the early phase of trauma.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.329-335
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• 2004

Background : The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score can help to assess organ failure over time and is useful to evaluate morbidity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of SOFA score as a descriptor of multiple organ failure in critically ill patients in a local unit hospital, and to compare with APACHE III scoring system. Methods : This study was carried out prospectively. A total of ninety one patients were included who admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) in Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital from May 1 through June 30, 2000. We excluded patients with a length of stay in the ICU less than 2 days following scheduled procedure, admissions for ECG monitoring, other department and patients transferred to other hospital. The SOFA score and APACHE III score were calculated on admission and then consecutively every 24 hours until ICU discharge. Results : The ICU mortality rate was 20%. The non-survivors had a higher SOFA score within 24 hours after admission. The number of organ failure was associated with increased mortality. The evaluation of a subgroup of 74 patients who stayed in the ICU for at least 48 hours showed that survivors and non-survivors followed a different course. In this subgroup, the total SOFA score increased in 81% of the non-survivors but in only 21% of the survivors. Conversely, the total SOFA score decreased in 48% of the survivors compared with 6% of the non-survivors. The non-survivors also had a higher APACHE III score within 24 hours and there was a correlation between SOFA score and APACHE III score. Conclusion : The SOFA score is a simple, but effective method to assess organ failure and to predict mortality in critically ill patients. Regular and repeated scoring enables patient's condition and clinical course to be monitored and better understood. The SOFA score well correlates with APACHE III score.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.79-88
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• 2014

The dose distributions within the real volumes of tumor targets and critical organs during internal target volume-based intensity-modulated radiation therapy (ITV-IMRT) for liver cancer were recalculated by applying the effects of actual respiratory organ motion, and the dosimetric features were analyzed through comparison with gating IMRT (Gate-IMRT) plan results. The ITV was created using MIM software, and a moving phantom was used to simulate respiratory motion. The doses were recalculated with a 3 dose-volume histogram (3DVH) program based on the per-field data measured with a MapCHECK2 2-dimensional diode detector array. Although a sufficient prescription dose covered the PTV during ITV-IMRT delivery, the dose homogeneity in the PTV was inferior to that with the Gate-IMRT plan. We confirmed that there were higher doses to the organs-at-risk (OARs) with ITV-IMRT, as expected when using an enlarged field, but the increased dose to the spinal cord was not significant and the increased doses to the liver and kidney could be considered as minor when the reinforced constraints were applied during IMRT plan optimization. Because the Gate-IMRT method also has disadvantages such as unsuspected dosimetric variations when applying the gating system and an increased treatment time, it is better to perform a prior analysis of the patient's respiratory condition and the importance and fulfillment of the IMRT plan dose constraints in order to select an optimal IMRT method with which to correct the respiratory organ motional effect.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.63-63
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• 2003

Purpose: Planning target volume (PTV) for tumors in abdomen or thorax includes enough margin for breathing-related movement of tumor volumes during treatment. We developed a simple and handy method, which can reduce PTV margins in patients with moving tumors, respiratory motion reduction device system (RMRDs). Materials and Methods: The patients clinical database was structured for moving tumor patients and patient setup error measurement and immobilization device effects were investigated. The system is composed of the respiratory motion reduction device utilized in prone position and abdominal presser (strip device) utilized in the supine position, moving phantom and the analysis program, which enables the analysis on patients setup reproducibility. It was tested for analyzing the diaphragm movement and CT volume differences from patients with RMRDs, the magnitude of PTV margin was determined and dose volume histogram (DVH) was computed using a treatment planning software. Dose to normal tissue between patients with RMRDs and without RMRDs was analyzed by comparing the fraction of the normal liver receiving to 50% of the isocenter dose(TD50). Results: In case of utilizing RMRDs, which was personally developed in our hospital, the value was reduced to $5pm1.4 mm$, and in case of which the belt immobilization device was utilized, the value was reduced to 3$pm$0.9 mm. Also in case of which the strip device was utilized, the value was proven to reduce to $4pm.3 mm$0. As a result of analyzing the TD50 is irradiated in DVH according to the radiation treatment planning, the usage of the respiratory motion reduction device can create the reduce of 30% to the maximum. Also by obtaining the digital image, the function of comparison between the standard image, automated external contour subtraction, and etc were utilized to develop patients setup reproducibility analysis program that can evaluate the change in the patients setup. Conclusion: Internal organ motion due to breathing can be reduced using RMRDs, which is simple and easy to use in clinical setting. It can reduce the organ motion-related PTV margin, thereby decrease volume of the irradiated normal tissue.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.103-109
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• 2019

Background: Four-dimensional computed tomographic (4DCT) images are increasingly used in clinic with the growing need to account for the respiratory motion of the patient during radiation treatment. One of the reason s that makes the dose evaluation using 4DCT inaccurate is a change of the patient respiration during the treatment session, i.e., intrafractional uncertainty. Especially, when the amplitude of the patient respiration is greater than the respiration range during the 4DCT acquisition, such an organ motion from the larger respiration is difficult to be represented with the 4DCT. In this paper, the method to generate images expecting the organ motion from a respiration with extended amplitude was proposed and examined. Materials and Methods: We propose a method to generate extra-phase images from a given set of the 4DCT images using deformable image registration (DIR) and linear extrapolation. Deformation vector fields (DVF) are calculated from the given set of images, then extrapolated according to respiratory surrogate. The extra-phase images are generated by applying the extrapolated DVFs to the existing 4DCT images. The proposed method was tested with the 4DCT of a physical 4D phantom. Results and Discussion: The tumor position in the generated extra-phase image was in a good agreement with that in the gold-standard image which is separately acquired, using the same 4DCT machine, with a larger range of respiration. It was also found that we can generate the best quality extra-phase image by using the maximum inhalation phase (T0) and maximum exhalation phase (T50) images for extrapolation. Conclusion: In the present study, a method to construct extra-phase images that represent expanded respiratory motion of the patient has been proposed and tested. The movement of organs from a larger respiration amplitude can be predicted by the proposed method. We believe the method may be utilized for realistic simulation of radiation therapy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.69 no.3
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• pp.201-206
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• 2010

Nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) diseases are increasing worldwide. However NTM lung disease in organ transplant recipients has been rarely reported. Here, we report 2 cases of NTM lung disease in heart transplant recipients. A 37-year-old man, who had undergone a heart transplant one year previous, was admitted to hospital due to a cough. Chest CT scan showed multiple centrilobular nodules in both lower lungs. In his sputum, M. abscessus was repeatedly identified by rpoB gene analysis. The patient improved after treatment with clarithromycin, imipenem, and amikacin. An additional patient, a 53-year-old woman who had undergone a heart transplant 4 years prior and who suffered from bronchiectasis, was admitted because of purulent sputum. The patient's chest CT scan revealed aggravated bronchiectasis; M. intracellulare was isolated repeatedly in her sputum. Treatment was successfully completed with clarithromycin, ethambutol, and ciprofloxacin. NTM lung disease should be considered as a potential opportunistic infection in organ transplant recipients.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.181-189
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• 2017

The conventional delivery quality assurance (DQA) process for RapidArc (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, USA), has the limitation that it measures and analyzes the dose in a phantom material and cannot analyze the dosimetric changes under the motional organ condition. In this study, a DQA method was designed to overcome the limitations of the conventional DQA process for internal target volume (ITV) based RapidArc. The dynamic DQA measurement device was designed with a moving phantom that can simulate variable target motions. The dose distribution in the real volume of the target and organ-at-risk (OAR)s were reconstructed using 3DVH with the ArcCHECK (SunNuclear, Melbourne, USA) measurement data under the dynamic condition. A total of 10 ITV-based RapidArc plans for liver-cancer patients were analyzed with the designed dynamic DQA process. The average pass rate of gamma evaluation was $81.55{\pm}9.48%$ when the DQA dose was measured in the respiratory moving condition of the patient. Appropriate method was applied to correct the effect of moving phantom structures in the dose calculation, and DVH data of the real volume of target and OARs were created with the recalculated dose by the 3DVH program. We confirmed the valid dose coverage of a real target volume in the ITV-based RapidArc. The variable difference of the DVH of the OARs showed that dose variation can occur differently according to the location, shape, size and motion range of the target. The DQA process devised in this study can effectively evaluate the DVH of the real volume of the target and OARs in a respiratory moving condition in addition to the simple verification of the accuracy of the treatment machine. This can be helpful to predict the prognosis of treatment by the accurate dose analysis in the real target and OARs.