Custom software for the 3D printing of patient specific plate bending templates in pelvic fracture repair.

The purpose of this work is to reduce the operative time and blood loss incurred during open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of traumatic pelvic injuries through the creation of patient specific bending templates for reconstruction plates. These templates are 3D printed in a resin capable of being sterilized and taken into the operating room so that bending may be performed by the surgeon before the patient is opened or by another team member in parallel with the surgeon. A novel software extension was created in 3D modeling software to allow a surgeon to individually position screws on a pelvic model to create a virtual plate. The software constrains the locations of placed screws so that the virtual plate is dimensionally identical to common reconstruction plates. The user is then able to export a bending template that includes the section of the pelvis the virtual plate was located on as well as screw location landmarks. The user can then flash sterilize the template and use it intraoperatively to obtain a plate that is accurately bent to the patient’s anatomy and the surgeon’s specifications. We produced a bending template representative of the most complex plating location on the pelvis, the posterior wall. A surgeon then accurately bent reconstruction plate to match the bending template, proving that the software produced a dimensionally accurate output. Other work has shown that the pre-bending of plates can shorten operative time, reduce blood loss, and allow for less invasive procedures. However, methods currently available for pre-bending patient specific plates involve the lengthy process of printing the patient’s pelvis and then a lengthy sterilization process of the implant itself. Our method allows the template to be printed and processed in as little as 3 hours and sterilized by autoclave in less than 10 minutes. Further work needs to be done to evaluate how the process works when used in a patient case, to statistically prove that our method reduces operative time and blood loss, and show that plates bent using our method are similar between all members of the surgical team

Increasing Student-Teacher Interactions at an Urban Commuter Campus through Instant Messaging and Online Office Hours

Encouraging first year undergraduate students in large lecture-hall classes to seek out and actively engage their professors is a perennial problem in science education. This problem is especially acute for commuter and minority populations. Thus, because personal relationships between students and professors are well known to promote student learning and academic success, fostering new ways to connect students and faculty is essential for reducing attrition at inner-city colleges. In the current study, we demonstrate that the use of instant messaging (IM) is highly effective in fostering student-teacher interactions in the lecture-hall setting of an introductory major-level biology course at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a senior college within The City University of New York. We found that not only did the use of IM allow more students to directly contact their professors through the internet, but also formed the basis for a personal relationship, leading to increased in-person interaction during office hours. This argues that new internet-based communication technologies can help break down barriers between students and professors at the undergraduate level. We also discuss some of the further enhancements that are possible given these preliminary successes with IM. Clearly, increased use and development of Instant Messaging can play a vital role in the active engagement of students in the learning process

Prospectus, October 23, 1996

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1996/1026/thumbnail.jp

A classroom management technique: Preparing the classroom as an effective learning environment -- one means of preventive disciplines

A smooth-running classroom, free from disruption and chronic misbehavior but full of students involved in learning activities, does not just happen. Such classrooms exist because the teachers work at making it happen. These teachers give careful consideration to preparation of the classroom before the first day of the school year. Classroom management is one area the Educational Testing Service is working on to place in the teacher competency examinations they are preparing (Weber, et al., 1983). Because of this emphasis, classroom management may soon be a required class for graduation in the field of education

Prospectus, September 11, 1996

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1996/1020/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, November 13, 1996

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1996/1029/thumbnail.jp

Technical and Regulatory Factors of Adopting Electric Training Aircraft in a Collegiate Aviation Setting

Electric-powered aircraft have entered the market. The arrival of the Pipistrel Velis Electro and other developmental efforts by companies such as Bye Aerospace, Piper, and eViation, have signaled to the aviation community that more electric-powered aircraft can be expected in the coming years. But how useful are they for training pilots in a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Part 141 collegiate aviation environment? To identify candidate flight courses and lessons, the authors examine flight hour distributions of a one-year window of invoiced flights (N = 52,728), including flight hour data cut-points at 60 minutes (n = 6,050) and 90 minutes (n = 25,439). The data distribution suggests that approximately 11.5% of the candidate flights would fall within a 60-minute expected flight duration, whereas 48% of flights would fall within a 90-minute flight duration. These calculations provide realistic targets for designed minimum flight duration (plus the inclusion of required FAA reserve) in order to be determined a feasible trainer in many high-volume FAA Part 141 training environments. Detailed course-level analysis suggests the Instrument Flight Instructor (CFII) flight course as a potential launch point for electric flight due to the relatively lower flight hour per lesson. In addition to minimum flight duration, other feasibility questions are included in this analysis, such as regulatory requirements, battery duration, aircraft turnaround time, multiple charge-discharge cycles per day, environmental factors, airport charging infrastructure, and maintenance factors. Additional research will benefit this developing area of electric aircraft in flight training environments

Prospectus, September 25, 1996

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1996/1022/thumbnail.jp