Sungheon Kim
Yonsei University · Medicine
About the Lab
Professor Sungheon Kim's research lab specializes in advanced medical imaging techniques for cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring, with a focus on diffusion-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). The lab investigates quantitative imaging biomarkers such as apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), perfusion parameters, and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) to predict treatment response and assess tumor microenvironment. Key research directions include understanding the physiological basis of diffusion and perfusion signals, modeling transcytolemmal water exchange, and exploring noninvasive assessment of interstitial fluid pressure as a predictor of therapy efficacy. The lab integrates preclinical and clinical studies to translate imaging biomarkers into clinical decision support tools.
Research Overview
Research Output Trend
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Selected Papers
15PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for prediction and early detection of treatment response in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging studies were performed on 40 patients with newly diagnosed HNSCC before, during, and after the end of chemoradiation therapy. Analysis was done on data from 33 patients after exclusion of 7 patients that had incomplete data
These results indicate that pretreatment DCE-MR imaging can be potentially used for prediction of response to chemoradiation therapy of HNSCC.
The time dependence of the apparent diffusion tensor of ex vivo calf heart and tongue was measured for diffusion times (tau(d)) between 32 and 810 ms. The results showed evidence of restricted diffusion in the muscle tissues of both organs. In regions where the myofibers are parallel, the largest eigenvalue (lambda(1)) of the diffusion tensor remained the same for all diffusion times measured, while the other eigenvalues (lambda(2), lambda(3)) decreased by 29-36% between tau(d) = 32 ms and tau(d
PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of transcytolemmal water exchange on the dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) T(1)-weighted MRI of human squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (HNSCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nine patients with HNSCC nodal metastasis underwent pretreatment DCE-MRI with a temporal resolution of 2.5 seconds and a spatial resolution of 1 mm x 1 mm x 5 mm at 1.5T. We used two pharmacokinetic models for data analysis: generalized kinetic model (GKM) without considering transcytol
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and its metrics, such as mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA), have been used to detect the extent of brain tumors and understand tumor growth and its influence on the surrounding tissue. However, there are conflicting reports on how DTI metrics can be used for tumor diagnosis. The physiological interpretation of these metrics in terms of tumor growth is also not clear. The objective of this study was to investigate the DTI parameters in two rat bra
The effective delivery of a therapeutic drug to the core of a tumor is often impeded by physiological barriers, such as the interstitial fluid pressure (IFP). There are a number of therapies that can decrease IFP and induce tumor vascular normalization. However, a lack of a noninvasive means to measure IFP hinders the utilization of such a window of opportunity for the maximization of the treatment response. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using intravoxel i
Purpose To assess the feasibility of using diffusion‐time‐dependent diffusional kurtosis imaging (tDKI) to measure cellular‐interstitial water exchange time ( τ ex ) in tumors, both in animals and in humans. Methods Preclinical tDKI studies at 7 T were performed with the GL261 glioma model and the 4T1 mammary tumor model injected into the mouse brain. Clinical studies were performed at 3 T with women who had biopsy‐proven invasive ductal carcinoma. tDKI measurement was conducted using a diffusio
BACKGROUND: To evaluate the influence of temporal sparsity regularization and radial undersampling on compressed sensing reconstruction of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI, using the iterative Golden-angle RAdial Sparse Parallel (iGRASP) MRI technique in the setting of breast cancer evaluation. METHODS: DCE-MRI examinations of the breast (n = 7) were conducted using iGRASP at 3 Tesla. Images were reconstructed with five different radial undersampling schemes corresponding to temporal resoluti
OBJECTIVE: This article explores recent developments in PET and MRI, separately or combined, for assessing metastatic lymph nodes in patients with head and neck cancer. CONCLUSION: The synergistic role of PET and MRI for imaging metastatic lymph nodes has not been fully explored. To facilitate the understanding of the areas that need further investigation, we discuss potential mechanisms and evidence reported so far, as well as future directions and challenges for continued development and clini
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gadolinium (III) diethyltriaminepenta-acetic acid (Gd-DTPA) mixed with a fixative on the image contrast between the white and gray matter of the perfusion-fixed mouse brain. A series of microscopic MRI (microMRI) studies using different concentrations of Gd-DTPA were performed at multiple time points to determine the optimal Gd-DTPA concentration and fixation time necessary to maximize the contrast-to-noise ratio between the white and gr
Abstract In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), and dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) for detection of metastatic lymph nodes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cases. Twenty HNSCC patients scheduled for lymph node dissection underwent DCE-MRI, dynamic PET, and DWI using a PET-MR scanner within one week prior to their planned surgery. During surgery, resected n
Purpose To assess the diagnostic utility of contrast kinetic analysis for breast lesions and background parenchyma of women undergoing MRI‐guided biopsies, for whom standard clinical analysis had failed to separate benign and malignant lesions. Materials and Methods This study included 115 women who had indeterminate lesions based on routine diagnostic breast MRI exams and underwent an MRI (3 Tesla) ‐guided biopsy of one or more lesions suspicious for breast cancer. Breast dynamic contrast‐enhan
Purpose To measure the microstructural changes during skeletal muscle growth and progressive pathologies using the random permeable model with diffusion MRI, and compare findings to conventional imaging modalities such as three‐point Dixon and T 2 imaging. Methods In vivo and ex vivo DTI experiments with multiple diffusion times (20‐700 ms) were completed on wild‐type ( n = 22) and muscle‐dystrophic mdx mice ( n = 8) at various developmental time points. The DTI data were analyzed with the rando
Research Areas
Dive deeper into Sungheon Kim's research on Nubint
Open this lab's papers in the app to read with AI, summarize, and cite in your writing.