Jong-In Youn

Effects of electro-acupuncture therapy on post-stroke depression in patients with different degrees of motor function impairments: a pilot study.

[Purpose] The present study examined whether electro-acupuncture therapy reduces post-stroke depression (PSD) and whether motor function impairments interact with the effects of the therapy. [Subjects] Twenty-eight PSD patients were assessed and assigned to either a good or poor motor function group depending on their motor grade. [Methods] The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Manual Muscle Test (MMT) were administered at the screening and initial phases of the study, and at the 4th, 8th, 12th and 16th week of the daily electro-acupuncture treatment. [Results] The electro-acupuncture treatment reduced PSD (as assessed by BDI and HDRS) of the patients. In particular, the depression of the good motor function group was significantly more reduced than that of the poor motor function group. The degree of motor function impairment did not change throughout the study in either group. [Conclusion] The results of the present study demonstrate that electro-acupuncture therapy can improve PSD, and that the treatment effect varies depending on the degree of motor function impairment.

A Comparison of Wavelength Dependence for Laser-assisted Lipolysis Effect Using Monte Carlo Simulation

The aim of this study is to evaluate wavelength dependence for laser-assisted lipolysis using a mathematical simulation. In this study, a Monte Carlo simulation was performed to simulate light transport in fat and dermal tissue with 3 different laser wavelengths (

Determination of effective treatment duration of interferential current therapy using electromyography

{\lambda}\;=\;1064\;nm

Development of a Smartphone-based Pupillometer

, 1320 nm, and 1444 nm) that are currently used in clinic settings for laser-assisted lipolysis. The relative rates of heat generation versus penetration depth showed that the greatest amount of heat generation was seen in the tissues at

Optical Spectroscopic Analysis of Muscle Spasticity for Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)

{\lambda}\;=\;1444\;nm

Evaluation of photothermal effects in cartilage using FT-IR spectroscopy

. This Monte Carlo simulation may help lend insight into the thermal events occurring inside the fat and dermal tissue during laser-assisted lipolysis.

Evaluation of Muscle Tension in Hemiplegia Patients with a Real-time Monitoring System during High Intensity Laser Therapy

[Purpose] This study used electromyography to measure the effective treatment duration of interferential current therapy for muscle fatigue. [Subjects and Methods] Fifteen healthy adult men volunteered to participate in the study (age: 24.2 ± 1.3 years; weight: 67.6 ± 4.92 kg; height: 176.4 ± 4.92 cm). All subjects performed 5 min of isometric back extension exercise to produce muscle fatigue, and were then treated with interferential current therapy for 15 min, with electromyography monitoring (treatment group). After sufficient rest, the exercise was repeated for 5 min and an electromyography signal was acquired for 15 min with no treatment (control group). [Results] In the treatment group, the median frequency shifted to a higher level; the root mean square decreased over time, and then maintained a minimum amplitude. However, there were few changes in the electromyography signal after exercise in the control group. [Conclusion] Electromyography signals can provide information about the effective duration for muscle fatigue treatment as well as the muscle characteristics during treatment. This study should be helpful for clinicians by demonstrating the appropriate duration of therapy for relief of muscle stiffness.

Optical and Thermal Characteristic Studies of Cartilage by Laser Irradiation

In ophthalmology, a pupillometer, a device to measure the diameter of the pupil of the eye, can provide information on the function of the autonomic nervous system. The current pupillometers on the market are either too large to be a handheld instrument, or relatively expensive. In this study, a pupillometer based on a smartphone was designed. Both white and infrared LEDs and a 3M pixel camera of a smartphone were applied for the visual stimuli to an eye and for the acquisition of the eye images, respectively. Contrary to the existing method of pupil measurement that usually observe the variation of pupil diameter, the proposed algorithm in this study was applied to calculate the constriction ratio of the pupillary area in response to pupillary light reflex. The results showed that the constriction ratio of the pupillary area were all in the normal range (above 4.0) from the sixteen healthy participants. It is believed that the approach to pupil measurement used in this study is suitable for a mobile interface, and this system can be applied to clinical research, home-use healthcare, and distributed to some areas which suffer from problems like a lack of medical support.

Ablation efficiency and relative thermal confinement measurements using wavelengths 1,064, 1,320, and 1,444 nm for laser-assisted lipolysis

Current therapeutic methods for suppressing muscle spasticity are intensive functional training, surgery, or pharmacological interventions. However, these methods have not been fully supported by confirmed efficacy due to the aggravation of the muscle spasticity in some patients. In this study, a combined system was developed to treat with a low-level laser and to monitor the region of the treatment using an optical spectroscopic probe that measures oxygen saturation and deoxygenation during low-level laser therapy (LLLT). The evaluation of the wavelength dependence for LLLT was performed using a Monte Carlo simulation and the results showed that the greatest amount of heat generation was seen in the deep tissue at λ = 830 nm. In the oxy- and deoxygenation measurements during and after the treatment, oxygen-Hb concentration was significantly increased in the laser-irradiated group when compared to the control group. These findings suggest that LLLT using λ = 830 nm may be of benefit in accelerating recovery of muscle spasticity. The combined system that we have developed can monitor the physiological condition of muscle spasticity during the laser treatment in real time and may also be applied to various myotonia conditions such as muscle fatigue, back-pain treatment/monitoring, and ulcer due to paralysis.

Evaluation of wavelength-dependent hair growth effects on low-level laser therapy: an experimental animal study

Photothermal effects after laser irradiation of cartilage are investigated using an infrared focal plane array (IR-FPA) camera and a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer. The IR-FPA camera records radiometric temperature profile, while the local laser heating is applied to the sample; whereas the FT-IR spectrometer analyzes absorption peaks of cartilage constituents. As the major effect of photothermal heating in cartilage is water evaporation, spectral changes because of dehydration between control and laser-irradiated cartilage are recorded by FT-IR spectrometer measurements. Additionally, another interest was the observation of the spectral changes from macromolecules such as collagen and proteoglycans because of phase transformation and/or conformational changes after laser irradiation. The methodology may be useful for quantitative investigation of the relationship between the clinically important phenomenon of accelerated stress relaxation and the kinetics of macromolecular denaturation.