Study Design: A nationwide population-based study.Purpose: Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) is a major public health issue. This study examined the incidence and management trends of OVCF in South Korea. Overview of Literature: The incidence rates, management trends, and patterns of OVCF differ in different parts of the world. The age-standardized OVCF incidence rate in 2015 was higher in the United States and Asia than in Europe.Methods: A nationwide database (2012–2016) acquired from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service was analyzed. International disease categories in the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems codes, medical procedure codes, and examination codes were used to identify and sort OVCF patients aged >50 years.Results: There were 644,500 OVCF cases from 2012 to 2016. OVCF was most common in patients in their seventies (45%) and the number of patients increased from 117,361 in 2012 to 139,889 in 2016 (p <0.001). During 2012–2016, 8.9% of patients visited the emergency department; of those, 54.3% were hospitalized and 35% underwent magnetic resonance imaging. In OVCF treatment, bone cement augmentation rates increased from 23.4% in 2012 to 25.2% in 2016 (p <0.001), while conservative treatment rates slightly decreased from 76.5% in 2012 to 74.7% in 2016 (p <0.001). The total health insurance cost was $193,210,353.55 in 2012 and $281,968,877.65 in 2016.Conclusions: The 5-year incidence of OVCF per 100,000 persons was 852.24 cases, and 45% of OVCF in South Korea occurred in patients in their seventies. The bone cement augmentation rate and total cost of OVCF are continuously increasing.

Nondestructive test (NDT) technology is required in the gas metal arc (GMA) welding process to secure weld robustness and to monitor the welding quality in real-time. In this study, a laser vision sensor (LVS) is designed and fabricated, and an image processing algorithm is developed and implemented to extract precise laser lines on tested welds. A camera calibration method based on a gyro sensor is used to cope with the complex motion of the welding robot. Data are obtained based on GMA welding experiments at various welding conditions for the estimation of quality prediction models. Deep neural network (DNN) models are developed based on external bead shapes and welding conditions to predict the internal bead shapes and the tensile strengths of welded joints.

Stainless steel 316 (STS316)/Fe functionally graded materials were fabricated by direct energy deposition (DED) method using laser as a heat source. The feeding amount of the mixed powder was evaluated and the powder feeding condition was optimized through the section evaluation. The reliability of the powder feed was evaluated by regression analysis, and it was confirmed through the energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) analysis and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) that the graded functional material of the designed composition was manufactured. Defects and microstructures were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Study Design: A nationwide population-based study. Purpose: Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) is a major public health issue. This study examined the incidence and management trends of OVCF in South Korea. Overview of Literature; The incidence rates, management trends, and patterns of OVCF differ in different parts of the world. The age-standardized OVCF incidence rate in 2015 was higher in the United States and Asia than in Europe. Methods: A nationwide database (2012-2015) acquired from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service was analyzed. International disease categories in the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems codes, medical procedure codes, and examination codes were used to identify and sort OVCF patients aged >50 years. Results: There were 644500 OVCF cases from 2012 to 2016. OVCF was most common in patients in their seventies (45%) and the number of patients increased from 117,361 in 2012 to 139,889 in 2016 (p<0.0011. During 2012-2016, 8.9% of patients visited the emergency department; of those, 54.3% were hospitalized and 35% underwent magnetic resonance imaging. In OVCF treatment, bone cement augmentation rates increased from 23.4% in 2012 to 25.2% in 2016;,p<0.001, while conservative treatment rates slightly decreased from 76.5% in 2012 to 74.7% in 2016 (p<0.001). The total health insurance cost was $193,210,353.55 in 2012 and $281,968,877.65 in 2016. Conclusiens: The 5-year incidence of OVCF per 100,000 persons was 852.24 cases, and 45% of OVCF in South Korea occurred in patients in their seventies. The bone cement augmentation rate and total cost of OVCF are continuously increasing.