Low-fidelity fabrication: Speeding up design iteration of 3D objects

Low-fidelity fabrication systems speed up rapid prototyping by printing intermediate versions of a prototype as fast, low-fidelity previews. Only the final version is fabricated as a full high-fidelity 3D print. This allows designers to iterate more quickly-achieving a better design in less time. Depending on what is currently being tested, low-fidelity fabrication is implemented in different ways: (1) faBrickator allows for a modular approach by substituting sub-volumes of the 3D model with building blocks. (2) WirePrint allows for quickly testing the shape of an object, such as the ergonomic fit, by printing wireframe structures. (3) Platener preserves the technical function by substituting 3D print with laser-cut plates of the same size and thickness. At our CHI'15 interactivity booth, we give a combined live demo of all three low-fidelity fabrication systems- putting special focus on our new low-fidelity fabrication system Platener (paper at CHI'15)

Metamaterial mechanisms

Recently, researchers started to engineer not only the outer shape of objects, but also their internal microstructure. Such objects, typically based on 3D cell grids, are also known as metamaterials. Metamaterials have been used, for example, to create materials with soft and hard regions. So far, metamaterials were understood as materials-we want to think of them as machines. We demonstrate metamaterial objects that perform a mechanical function. Such metamaterial mechanisms consist of a single block of material the cells of which play together in a well-defined way in order to achieve macroscopic movement. Our metamaterial door latch, for example, transforms the rotary movement of its handle into a linear motion of the latch. Our metamaterial Jansen walker consists of a single block of cells-that can walk. The key element behind our metamaterial mechanisms is a specialized type of cell, the only ability of which is to shear. In order to allow users to create metamaterial mechanisms efficiently we implemented a specialized 3D editor. It allows users to place different types of cells, including the shear cell, thereby allowing users to add mechanical functionality to their objects. To help users verify their designs during editing, our editor allows users to apply forces and simulates how the object deforms in response

Characterization of patients admitted to specialized geriatric acute care hospital units with the German version of the Standardized Evaluation and Intervention for Seniors at Risk (SEISAR) screening-instrument: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background The Standardized Evaluation and Intervention for Seniors at Risk (SEISAR) screening tool records major geriatric problems, originally applied in the emergency department. Particularly, the distinction of compensated and uncompensated problems is an interesting and new approach. Therefore, we translated the SEISAR in German language and used it to characterize patients in specialized geriatric hospital wards in Germany and to gather initial experience regarding its usability and practicability. Methods The tool was translated by three independent specialists in geriatric medicine and backtranslated for quality-assurance by a non-medical English native speaker. In a second step, 8 acute care geriatric hospital departments used the translated version to characterize all consecutive patients admitted over a period of one month between December 2019 and May 2020 at time of admission. Results Most of the 756 patients (78%) lived in an own apartment or house prior to hospital admission. Participants had on average 4 compensated and 6 uncompensated problems, a Barthel-Index of 40 pts. on admission with a median increase of 15 points during hospital stay, and a median length of stay of 16 days in the geriatric hospital department. Conclusion SEISAR is an interesting standardized brief comprehensive geriatric assessment tool for the identification of compensated and uncompensated health problems in older persons. The data of this study highlights the number, variability, and complexity of geriatric problems in patients treated in specialized acute care geriatric hospital wards in Germany. Trial registration German Clinical trial register (DRKS-ID: DRKS00031354 on 27.02.2023)

webKnossos: efficient online 3D data annotation for connectomics

We report webKnossos, an in-browser annotation tool for 3D electron microscopic data. webKnossos provides flight mode, a single-view egocentric reconstruction method enabling trained annotator crowds to reconstruct at a speed of 1.5 ± 0.6 mm/h for axons and 2.1 ± 0.9 mm/h for dendrites in 3D electron microscopic data from mammalian cortex. webKnossos accelerates neurite reconstruction for connectomics by 4- to 13-fold compared with current state-of-the-art tools, thus extending the range of connectomes that can realistically be mapped in the futur