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This study presents and discusses a comprehensive work of nondestructive evaluation of a concrete bridge deck using impact echo for delamination evaluation, including data collection, processing, and presentation. Among the typical process of most nondestructive evaluation methods, this paper focuses on data visualization through augmented reality (AR). The test was conducted on the concrete bridge deck constructed by the Korea Expressway Corporation Research Institute in South Korea. The tested bridge deck was made of latex modified concrete and presented several artificial defects. A two-dimensional delamination condition map was generated and displayed along with delamination depth on a smartphone screen through AR. The entire process of the developed system was run fully automated in real time. The developed system successfully demonstrated the potential of the AR visualization approach, which is an effective and intuitive aid for human inspection for infrastructure condition monitoring with respect to the delamination of a concrete bridge deck. The intuitive interaction with the outdoor road environment by AR-based nondestructive evaluation data visualization would contribute to efficient inspection and smooth communication between participated infrastructure maintenance teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with a high prevalence across the world as well as in South Korea. Most cases of diabetes can be adequately managed at physician offices, but many diabetes patients receive outpatient care at hospitals. This study examines the relationship between supplementary private health insurance (SPHI) ownership and the use of hospitals among diabetes outpatients within the universal public health insurance scheme. Methods: Data from the 2011 Korea Health Panel, a nationally representative sample of Korean individuals, was used. For the study, 6,379 visits for diabetes care were selected while controlling for clustered errors. Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine determinants of hospital outpatient services. Results: This study demonstrated that the variables of self-rated health status, comorbidity, unmet need, and alcohol consumption significantly correlated with the choice to use a hospital services. Patients with SPHI were more likely to use medical services at hospitals by 1.71 times (95% CI 1.068–2.740, P = 0.026) compared to patients without SPHI. Conclusions: It was confirmed that diabetic patients insured by SPHI had more use of hospital services than those who were not insured. People insured by SPHI seem to be more likely to use hospital services because SPHI lightens the economic burden of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to identify key factors that determine a person’s decision to seek treatment from traditional Korean medicine (TKM) instead of conventional medicine through analysis of nationally representative data from Korea, where a dual healthcare system exists. The analysis is based on episodic data from the 2008 and 2009 Korea Health Panel. The main dependent variable is the selection between TKM and conventional medicine. We used a multiple logistic regression model to identify the determinants of TKM while controlling for clustered error. Approximately 5% of all doctor’s visits were characterized as TKM services. Urban residents were 1.441 times more likely to use TKM than rural residents P=0.001. The probability of choosing TKM over conventional medicine for a range of conditions compared to the reference condition (gastrointestinal disease) was as follows: circulatory system diseases (OR 5.267, P<0.001), nervous system diseases (OR 12.054, P<0.001), musculoskeletal system diseases (OR 20.579, P<0.001), and neoplasms (OR 0.209, P=0.004). Certain diseases are significantly more likely to be treated by TKM than by conventional medicine. This suggests that many people view TKM as being additionally effective for specific diseases, particularly musculoskeletal disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]