This study aimed to investigate the difference that convolutional neural network(CNN) shows in the determining osteoporosis on panoramic radiograph by performing a paired test by inputting the original image and the limited image including the cortical bone of the posterior border of the mandible used by radiologists. On panoramic radiographs of a total of 661 subjects (mean age 66.3 years ± 11.42), the area including the cortical bone of the posterior part of the mandible was divided into the left and right sides, and the ROI was set, and the remaining area was masked in black to form the limited image. For training of VGG-16, panoramic radiographs of 243 osteoporosis subjects (mean age 72.67 years ± 7.97) and 222 normal subjects (mean age 53.21 years ± 2.46) were used, and testing 1 and testing 2 were performed on the original and limited images, respectively, using panoramic radiographs of 51 osteoporosis subjects (mean age 72.78 years ± 8.3) and 47 normal subjects (mean age 53.32 years ± 2.81). The accuracy of VGG-16 for determining osteoporosis was 97%, in the testing 1 and 100% in the testing 2. When determining osteoporosis on the original image, CNN showed sensitivity in a wide range of areas including not only the inferior cortical bone of the mandible but also the maxillary and mandibular cancellous bone, cervical spine, and zygomatic bone. When the same ROI including the lower inferior cortical border of the mandible of the osteoporosis group was applied and the sensitive region was compared between the original image and the limited image, the original image showed wider sensitive region in cancellous bone and cortical bone than on the limited image (p<.05). Since osteoporosis is a disease that affects throughout the skeletal system, this finding seems very valid.
This study aims to develop a comprehensive predictive model for Digital Quality Management (DQM) and to analyze the impact of various quality activities on different levels of DQM. By employing the Classification And Regression Tree (CART) methodology, we are able to present predictive scenarios that elucidate how varying quantitative levels of quality activities influence the five major categories of DQM. The findings reveal that the operation level of quality circles and the promotion level of suggestion systems are pivotal in enhancing DQM levels. Furthermore, the study emphasizes that an effective reward system is crucial to maximizing the effectiveness of these quality activities. Through a quantitative approach, this study demonstrates that for ventures and small-medium enterprises, expanding suggestion systems and implementing robust reward mechanisms can significantly improve DQM levels, particularly when the operation of quality circles is challenging. The research provides valuable insights, indicating that even in the absence of fully operational quality circles, other mechanisms can still drive substantial improvements in DQM. These results are particularly relevant in the context of digital transformation, offering practical guidelines for enterprises to establish and refine their quality management strategies. By focusing on suggestion systems and rewards, businesses can effectively navigate the complexities of digital transformation and achieve higher levels of quality management.
This study aimed to investigate which areas AI is sensitive when inputting panoramic radiographs with dental area masked and when inputting unmasked ones. Therefore, the null hypothesis of this study was that masking dental area would not make a difference in the sensitive areas of osteoporosis determination of AI. For this study 1165 female(average age 48.4 ± 23.9 years) from whom panoramic radiographs were taken were selected. Either osteoporosis or normal should be clearly defined by oral and maxillofacial radiologists. The panoramic radiographs from the female were classified as either osteoporosis or normal according to the mandibular inferior cortex shape. VGG-16 model was used to get training, validating, and testing to determine between osteoporosis or normal. Two experiments were performed; one using unmasked images of panoramic radiographs, and the other using panoramic radiographs with dental region masked. In two experiments, accuracy of VGG-16 was 97.9% with unmasked images and 98.6% with dental-region-masked images. In the osteoporosis group, the sensitive areas identified with unmasked images included cervical vertebrae, maxillary and mandibular cancellous bone, dental area, zygomatic bone, mandibular inferior cortex, and cranial base. The osteoporosis group shows sensitivity on mandibular cancellous bone, cervical vertebrae, and mandibular inferior cortex with masked images. In the normal group, when unmasked images were input, only dental region was sensitive, while with masked images, only mandibular cancellous bone was sensitive. It is suggestive that when dental influence of panoramic radiographs was excluded, AI determined osteoporosis on the mandibular cancellous bone more sensitively.
The purpose of this study was to verify the sensitive areas when the AI determines osteoporosis for the entire area of the panoramic radiograph. Panoramic radiographs of a total of 1,156 female patients(average age of 49.0±24.0 years) were used for this study. The panoramic radiographs were diagnosed as osteoporosis and the normal by Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology specialists. The VGG16 deep learning convolutional neural network(CNN) model was used to determine osteoporosis and the normal from testing 72 osteoporosis(average age of 73.7±8.0 years) and 93 normal(average age of 26.4±5.1 years). VGG16 conducted a gradient-weighted class activation mapping(Grad-CAM) visualization to indicate sensitive areas when determining osteoporosis. The accuracy of CNN in determining osteoporosis was 100%. Heatmap image from 72 panoamic radiographs of osteoporosis revealed that CNN was sensitive to the cervical vertebral in 70.8%(51/72), the cortical bone of the lower mandible in 72.2%(52/72), the cranial base area in 30.6%(22/72), the cancellous bone of the mandible in 33.3%(24/72), the cancellous bone of the maxilla in 20.8%(15/72), the zygoma in 8.3%(6/72), and the dental area in 5.6%(4/72). Consideration: it was found that the cervical vertebral area and the cortical bone of the lower mandible were sensitive areas when CNN determines osteoporosis in the entire area of panoramic radiographs.
The rate of industrial accident reduction is slowing down as the attention of the Ministry of Employment and Labor and related agencies on risk assessment systems decreased. this paper focuses on weakness of legal system for the risk assessment in recent years. A survey was conducted to identify the status and condition of the risk assessment system applying on small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. A set of questionnaires is designed to reflect various perspectives of the companies regarding the problems and solutions of the system. The results refer that differentiated instructions and support systems in response to the actual conditions of the companies are mandatory to reinforce the efficiency of risk assessment system.