Estimation of 3D shape in the Patellofemoral Joint using Statistical Shape Models and 2D Data

Disorders of the patellofemoral joint (PFJ) including PF osteoarthritis and PF pain disorder have been estimated to represent 25% of all patients presenting for knee joint treatment. The diagnosis and treatment of these disorders is curtailed by lack of understanding of the mechanical operation of the joint. A crucial aspect to be considered in understanding contact patterns and kinematics of the PFJ is the alignment of the patella in the trochlear groove. Investigation of patellar alignment necessitates accurate knowledge of the 3D articular surfaces of both patella and femur, along with underlying bone geometry. These 3D data are generally obtained for bones and cartilage plates through reconstruction of images from computed tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) respectively. This research proposes to develop a parametric model to enable the accurate estimation of the patient-specific 3D shape of a patella and distal femur from several 2D images. There are several drivers for this work: the labour and cost (and radiation exposure in the case of CT) entailed in 3D scanning mean that it would be greatly advantageous to have the ability to characterise 3D joint geometry using 2D images obtained through the economical, timely and traditionally widely used x-ray / fluoroscopy method. Statistical shape modelling (SSM) and principal component analysis (PCA) has previously been applied to analysis of the distal femur with the aim of developing more sophisticated sizing and shaping rationales for replacement components. This level of shape analysis has not previously been applied to the patellofemoral joint

Stakeholder Involvement for Programme Development

In the current Higher Educational landscape in Ireland, it is crucial for universities and institutes to identify an individual identity or ethos for each of their programmes and to act effectively to both foster this identity in its current students and to promote it to prospective students. Almost every programme in DIT’s College of Engineering and Built Environment (CEBE) is in competition with similar programmes in other institutes or universities and differentiation of DIT’s offering is an important goal. This report describes the development of a framework for the identification of guiding principles for individual undergraduate programmes across the College. In addition, a pilot study was performed on a specific programme in the CEBE, the Product Design Level 8 programme, for which the initial phases of this framework were implemented and draft mission and vision statements were generated. The process of generating these statements was described and generic recommendations were made for the implementation of this process on other programmes

Links with Canada Benefit DIT Prosthesis Research

Colm O’Kane is a lecturer in the School of Manufacturing and Design Engineering and a member of the DIT Biomedical Device and Assistive Technology Research Group. He is currently engaged in PhD research in the field of knee prosthesis development, focused on developing optimised strategies for partial and total joint replacements used in treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint. This article is an account of a research scholarship sponsored by the CHC Helicopter Corporation and awarded by the Ireland Canada University Foundation (ICUF). This foundation awards annual scholarships for research visits between Ireland and Canada with the aspiration of fostering links between the two countries’ research communities

Characterising 3D Soft Tissue Features on Joint Surfaces

A crucial aspect of orthopaedic implant design is the prediction of surgical outcomes when the shape of a bone is necessarily altered by the addition of the implant. Matching native kinematics as closely as possible is generally considered a core aim of joint replacement surgery. The overall hypothesis behind this research is that soft tissue geometry, including cartilage thickness distribution and ligament attachment sites, influences kinematics in the knee joint. In order to enable investigation of possible links between geometry and kinematics, the ability to characterise the shape variation of the soft tissue relative to the underlying bony geometry must first be developed. This is the aspect which has been addressed in this work

Characterising 3D Soft Tissue Features on Joint Surfaces

A crucial aspect of orthopaedic implant design is the prediction of surgical outcomes when the shape of a bone is necessarily altered by the addition of the implant. Matching native kinematics as closely as possible is generally considered a core aim of joint replacement surgery. The overall hypothesis behind this research is that soft tissue geometry, including cartilage thickness distribution and ligament attachment sites, influences kinematics in the knee joint. In order to enable investigation of possible links between geometry and kinematics, the ability to characterise the shape variation of the soft tissue relative to the underlying bony geometry must first be developed. This is the aspect which has been addressed in this work

Towards a Truly Interdisciplinary Approach to Product Design Education

The education of new designers and innovators who can develop new product and service interventions to meet society’s challenges in the 21st century is a complex task. Design itself lies at the intersection of technology, art and science [1]. Technological University Dublin (DIT)’s BSc (Hons) Product Design programme was developed to reflect this reality and was uniquely designed to operate across three distinct Colleges (Engineering, Creative Arts and Business) within DIT. Its key objective is to give students a firm grounding in these three areas and to produce graduates capable of understanding and executing all stages of the design process with a distinct focus on producing products and interventions which are technically feasible, consumer appropriate and commercially credible. While still a relatively new programme, it has continued to innovate in both structure [2] [3] and pedagogy [4] [5] [6] to ensure a clear focus on the needs of society and of industry. Students of the programme have repeatedly won awards in a wide variety of design areas including creative, technical and business innovation, while graduates have gone on to successful careers in a number of fields and industry sectors. The authors believe that the model employed in this programme could be fruitfully applied to the development of cross-disciplinary programmes in a variety of settings within the education of product designers and engineers

Perspectives on Designing for a Sustainable Future; Products for the Developed and Developing Worlds

The aim of a sustainable product solution is to fulfil a user need while creating a net positive sustainable impact - environmentally, socially and economically [1]. The concept of sustainability can be complex for a product design student to come to terms with, since the creation of new physical products consumes the Earth’s scarce natural resources [2]. So, should we ideally have no new products in the future? More likely, we should hope to have more sustainably aware product designers, working for companies that need to - due to regulations or consumer preferences - produce and provide more sustainable product solutions. Technological University Dublin’s BSc Product Design uses two project-based-learning classes as part of one module to guide students through the concepts of sustainability. One project focuses on design for behaviour change [3] in the developed world. Students identify a current behaviour that has a negative environmental impact and work to develop a design intervention that facilitates and encourages a “better” behaviour. A second project focuses on design for an underprivileged or marginalised population. Students engage with Engineers Without Borders and design products aiming to solve a problem for a poorly served community in a certain context. Students complete the module by reflecting on their understanding of sustainability and how it relates to their own identity as a designer. This paper shares the outcomes of the process and provides a pedagogical approach for helping students to delve deeper into the complex and contentious area where product design and sustainability intersect

Promoting Engineering To K12 Students Through Spatially Challenging Making And Outreach Activities

Outreach activities are an important and valuable approach to promoting engineering education and careers to young people. They provide an excellent way to show that engineering can be fun, challenging and rewarding. With some careful thinking, they can also be used to promote and develop spatial ability, a cognitive ability that is very important to engineering. The purpose of this workshop is to demonstrate examples of outreach activities that are the result of such careful thinking. Those who attend this workshop will be able to: Explain why and how spatial ability is so important to success in engineering education Summarise findings from research on gender and SES differences in spatial ability List some key features of hands-on outreach activities that require spatial thinking Find and explain a lesson plan or set of instructions to run a spatial outreach activity Suggest ideas for how they could adopt spatial thinking into their outreach activitie

Do Differences In Educational Culture Affect The Process And Outcome Of Undergraduate Design Practice?

Designers undertake projects in different ways, and as might be expected, these have the potential to produce a wide variety of outputs. While the designed artefact is understandably often the focus when evaluating student designers, the importance of process is paramount in design education. This is underpinned by the fact that a novice designer may produce a single successful project without a full understanding of how that artefact came about. However, a designer who can reflect upon and understand the process, is better equipped to repeat or further evolve this process in future projects. It is well understood that organisational structure and culture influences the ways designers choose to approach a project, from initial brief formation, through ideation and development, to the detail design and execution phases. An aspect not thoroughly understood is how different methods in design education specifically influence the methodologies designers employ in approaching a project, and therefore that projects outcome. Previous work has examined the influence of cultural background on the formation of a design brief, but not on the entire process. This research attempts to understand that influence, by forming links between the educational background as an input and process and artefact as outputs. This paper proposes a research framework in which both artefact and process are examined. To this end, cultural probe type tools, which actively encourage design students to reflect upon and report upon their process during a design project, are used to allow student design practitioners to self-report their design process

A Game-Based Learning Approach To Enhance Understanding Of Interface Design Principles In Design Education

The design of user interface is an important and challenging topic for student designers to understand and master. The eight principles of good User Interface (UI) design are often taught using primarily cognitive approaches, which can leave room for improvement in students’ ability to apply the principles in a variety of contexts. Game-based learning tools are recognised to be beneficial in university classrooms across a variety of discipline areas and topics due to their capacity to increase engagement. This project presents a first prototype for an instructional tool that leverages constructionism and embodied learning to enhance students’ understanding and application of these principles. This tool takes the form of a board game, thus encouraging peer learning. To test the prototype, three usability tests were carried out. Each user group was unique, the first being internal to the design team, the second having some prior exposure of the subject, and the third, having no prior experience at all. In each sessions, the participants were presented with a series of UI challenges, for which they were asked to construct suitable design solutions. Following the sessions, and where possible, the quality of these solutions were evaluated against a scoring system. This initial study suggests that instructional board games may be flexible enough to support learning outcomes at various stages of knowledge and skills acquisition among different learner groups