Cross-Dimensional Gestural Interaction Techniques for Hybrid Immersive Environments

We present a set of interaction techniques for a hybrid user interface that integrates existing 2D and 3D visualization and interaction devices. Our approach is built around one- and two-handed gestures that support the seamless transition of data between co-located 2D and 3D contexts. Our testbed environment combines a 2D multi-user, multi-touch, projection surface with 3D head-tracked, see-through, head-worn displays and 3D tracked gloves to form a multi-display augmented reality. We also address some of the ways in which we can interact with private data in a collaborative, heterogeneous workspace

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Registry in University Hospital Centre Sestre milosrdnice

Unatoč činjenici da je koronarna bolest srca (KBS) prvi uzrok smrtnosti, u Hrvatskoj ne postoji sveobuhvatni registar osoba koje boluju od KBS, a registre za perkutanu koronarnu intervenciju (PCI) imaju samo pojedini laboratoriji za kateterizaciju srca, koji se značajno razlikuju i nisu međusobno kompatibilni. Laboratorij za invazivnu i intervencijsku kardiologiju Kliničkog bolničkog centra Sestre milosrdnice 1. siječnja 2011. godine je oformio vlastiti registar za PCI. Ovaj registar dostupan je u elektroničkom obliku, s visokim stupnjem zaštite pristupa. U registar se upisuje 45 različitih podataka koji su podijeljeni u pet skupina: opći podaci, čimbenici rizika, simptomi i znakovi akutne bolesti, zahvat i utrošeni materijal te dijagnostički i terapijski nalaz. Osnovne razlike ovog registra, u odnosu na postojeće, jest model prema kojem je upis podataka za svakog bolesnika podijeljen između medicinskog tehničara, inžinjera medicinske radiologije i intervencijskog kardiologa, izrazita jednostavnost, kratko vrijeme potrebno za upis te istovremeno ispisivanje nalaza kateterizacije. Tek nakon što su ispunjeni svi traženi podaci intervencijski kardiolog upisuje dijagnozu i nalaz te se podaci zaključavaju. Na taj smo način osigurali da se u bazu podataka upisuju sve varijable vezane uz svaku pojedinačnu učinjenu intervenciju, mogu ispisati u Excel ekstenziji te implementirati u bilo koji registar. Nakon prve godine uporabe zaključili smo da je Registar značajno olakšao svakodnevni rad te da predstavlja nadopunu novih tehnologija uvedenih u liječenje KBS. Formiranje ovog Registra samo je korak prema zajedničkom cilju, formiranju nacionalnog registara PCI te sudjelovanju Republike Hrvatske u europskom registru bolesnika s akutnim koronarnim sindromom.Despite the fact that coronary heart disease (CHD) is the first cause of mortality, in Croatia there is no comprehensive registry of patiens with CHD, while the registries for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are maintained only by specific cardiac catheterization laboratories, which greatly differ from each other and are not mutually compatible. Laboratory of Invasive and Interventional Cardiology of the University Hospital Centre Sestre milosrdnice established its own PCI registry from 1st January 2011. This registry is available in electronic format, with a high access protection level. The registry includes 45 different data which are divided into 5 groups: general data, risk factors, symptoms and signs of acute disease, procedure and materials used, and diagnostic and therapeutic results. The main differences of this registry compared to the existing registries is a model according to which the entry of data for each patient are divided between the medical technician, medical radiology engineer and interventional cardiologist, its utmost simplicity, short time required for the registration and writing the findings of catheterization at the same time. Only after all the required data have been filled in, the interventional cardiologist will enter a diagnosis and findings and the data are locked. In this way we have ensured that all the variables relating to each individual intervention performed are entered in the database, they can be written in Excel extension and implemented in any registry. After the first year of use, we have reached a conclusion that the Registry has greatly facilitated the daily work and that is complements the new technologies introduced in the treatment of CHD. The establishment of this Registry is only a step towards a common goal, establishment of the national PCI registry and participation of the Republic of Croatia in the European registry of patients with acute coronary syndrome

Touchmover: Actuated 3d touchscreen with haptic feedback

ABSTRACT This paper presents the design and development of a novel visual+haptic device that co-locates 3D stereo visualization, direct touch and touch force sensing with a robotically actuated display. Our actuated immersive 3D display, called TouchMover, is capable of providing 1D movement (up to 36cm) and force feedback (up to 230N) in a single dimension, perpendicular to the screen plane. In addition to describing the details of our design, we showcase how TouchMover allows the user to: 1) interact with 3D objects by pushing them on the screen with realistic force feedback, 2) touch and feel the contour of a 3D object, 3) explore and annotate volumetric medical images (e.g., MRI brain scans) and 4) experience different activation forces and stiffness when interacting with common 2D on-screen elements (e.g., buttons). We also contribute the results of an experiment which demonstrates the effectiveness of the haptic output of our device. Our results show that people are capable of disambiguating between 10 different 3D shapes with the same 2D footprint by touching alone and without any visual feedback (85% recognition rate, 12 participants)

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Registry in University Hospital Centre Sestre milosrdnice

Unatoč činjenici da je koronarna bolest srca (KBS) prvi uzrok smrtnosti, u Hrvatskoj ne postoji sveobuhvatni registar osoba koje boluju od KBS, a registre za perkutanu koronarnu intervenciju (PCI) imaju samo pojedini laboratoriji za kateterizaciju srca, koji se značajno razlikuju i nisu međusobno kompatibilni. Laboratorij za invazivnu i intervencijsku kardiologiju Kliničkog bolničkog centra Sestre milosrdnice 1. siječnja 2011. godine je oformio vlastiti registar za PCI. Ovaj registar dostupan je u elektroničkom obliku, s visokim stupnjem zaštite pristupa. U registar se upisuje 45 različitih podataka koji su podijeljeni u pet skupina: opći podaci, čimbenici rizika, simptomi i znakovi akutne bolesti, zahvat i utrošeni materijal te dijagnostički i terapijski nalaz. Osnovne razlike ovog registra, u odnosu na postojeće, jest model prema kojem je upis podataka za svakog bolesnika podijeljen između medicinskog tehničara, inžinjera medicinske radiologije i intervencijskog kardiologa, izrazita jednostavnost, kratko vrijeme potrebno za upis te istovremeno ispisivanje nalaza kateterizacije. Tek nakon što su ispunjeni svi traženi podaci intervencijski kardiolog upisuje dijagnozu i nalaz te se podaci zaključavaju. Na taj smo način osigurali da se u bazu podataka upisuju sve varijable vezane uz svaku pojedinačnu učinjenu intervenciju, mogu ispisati u Excel ekstenziji te implementirati u bilo koji registar. Nakon prve godine uporabe zaključili smo da je Registar značajno olakšao svakodnevni rad te da predstavlja nadopunu novih tehnologija uvedenih u liječenje KBS. Formiranje ovog Registra samo je korak prema zajedničkom cilju, formiranju nacionalnog registara PCI te sudjelovanju Republike Hrvatske u europskom registru bolesnika s akutnim koronarnim sindromom.Despite the fact that coronary heart disease (CHD) is the first cause of mortality, in Croatia there is no comprehensive registry of patiens with CHD, while the registries for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are maintained only by specific cardiac catheterization laboratories, which greatly differ from each other and are not mutually compatible. Laboratory of Invasive and Interventional Cardiology of the University Hospital Centre Sestre milosrdnice established its own PCI registry from 1st January 2011. This registry is available in electronic format, with a high access protection level. The registry includes 45 different data which are divided into 5 groups: general data, risk factors, symptoms and signs of acute disease, procedure and materials used, and diagnostic and therapeutic results. The main differences of this registry compared to the existing registries is a model according to which the entry of data for each patient are divided between the medical technician, medical radiology engineer and interventional cardiologist, its utmost simplicity, short time required for the registration and writing the findings of catheterization at the same time. Only after all the required data have been filled in, the interventional cardiologist will enter a diagnosis and findings and the data are locked. In this way we have ensured that all the variables relating to each individual intervention performed are entered in the database, they can be written in Excel extension and implemented in any registry. After the first year of use, we have reached a conclusion that the Registry has greatly facilitated the daily work and that is complements the new technologies introduced in the treatment of CHD. The establishment of this Registry is only a step towards a common goal, establishment of the national PCI registry and participation of the Republic of Croatia in the European registry of patients with acute coronary syndrome

Displays take new shape: An agenda for future interactive surfaces

This workshop provides a forum for discussing emerging trends in interactive surfaces that leverage alternative display types and form factors to enable more expressive interaction with information. The goal of the workshop is to push the current discussion forward towards a synthesis of emerging visualization and interaction concepts in the area of improvised, minimal, curved and malleable interactive surfaces. By doing so, we aim to generate an agenda for future research and development in interactive surfaces

Forest biomass and sequestered carbon estimation according to main tree components on the forest stand scale

Background and Purpose: The estimation of forest woody biomass has a significant role in forestry due to several reasons. One of the reasons is that good woody biomass estimation is important for the planning of forest woody assortments production, for main commercial roundwood assortment and for assortments like »waste wood« or »recovered wood« as a potential for electricity (heat) generation (firewood, wood bricks, wood pellets etc.). Economic and political meaning of woody biomass estimation is important to know forest biomass resources in the country and present these facts to international institutions or in treaties as needed. The estimation is also important for strategic planning of the use of renewable energy sources from woody biomass. On the other hand, estimation of the carbon content in forest woody biomass has importance in global climatemitigation policy and processes (Kyoto- and post-Kyoto period). The purpose of this paper is to present methodology applied for estimation of forest woody biomass and its carbon content according to main tree components, on the forest stand scale. Material and Methods: As research area, two representative Croatian forest communities/stands were selected. The one represents flooded lowland pedunculate oak forest of Pokupski Basin, and the other represents mountain fir-beech forest of the Gorski Kotar region. Emphasis in the paper is on themethodology which was developed for the purpose of research. The methods applied in this study consist of: a) dendrometrical measurements on selected forest stands (research sites), b) sampling of main tree components and sample analyses in laboratory, and c) calculation of forest woody biomass and its carbon content according to main tree components. Results: General result of the laboratory analyses of the samples of main tree componets is that the carbon content in biomass was around 50,0% of the dry matter of a component. In line with volume allocation of main tree components are the biomass of tree components and the content of carbon sequestered in these components. Stem had the largest share in total tree biomass while foliage or needle biomass had the smallest share. The shares of main tree components in total biomass of the tree depend on morphology each of tree species. Conclusion: This research was a pilot and pioneering research of forest biomass in Croatian forestry, and it should be continued to acquire better knowledge of relations in forest woody biomass in main forest communities in Croatia

Estimation of the stands’ arithmetic mean diameter using manual method of digital photogrammetry

Background and Purpose: The development of digital photogrammetry during the last twenty years has reopened the question of the possibility of its application in forest inventory. The focus of this paper is to research the potential of the manual method of digital photogrammetry for the estimation of diameter at breast height (DBH) at stand level. Material and Methods: The results (stands\u27 arithmetic mean diameter) obtained by classical terrestrial measurement and photogrammetric measurement were compared for the selected part of the \u27Donja Kup~ina – Pisarovina\u27 management unit. Photogrammetric measurements of tree variables (height, crown diameter), necessary for DBH estimation, were carried out in the stereomodels of colour infrared digital images of 30 cmand 10 cm spatial resolution, i.e. ground sample distance (GSD) using digital photogrammetric workstation. Results: The repeated measures ANOVA testing determined statistically significant differences between the results obtained by terrestrial and photogrammetric measurements (GSD 10 cm and GSD 30 cm) of the arithmetic mean DBH of subcompartments. Furthermore, the testing determined no statistically significant differences between the \u27trends\u27 of estimating DBH by different methods. In other words, a \u27pattern of constant overestimation\u27 of DBH, taken by the photogrammetric measurement in relation to terrestrial measurement, was noted for all subcompartments. The value of overestimation was lesser in case of aerial images of GSD 10 cm(1.45–3.90 cm) and greater in case of images of GSD 30 cm (2.55–5.29 cm). Conclusions: Considering the obtained results, it can be concluded that the method used in this research may find its practical application primarily in forests of less intensive management (protective forests, forests with special purposes, privately-owned forests), where a compromise between the data collection costs and utilization value is necessary

Preporuke za perioperacijski postupak kod bolesnika koji imaju ugrađene kardiovaskularne implantabilne elektroničke uređaje

Four thousand cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) are implanted yearly in Croatia with constant increase. General anesthesia and surgery carry some specific risk for the patients with implanted CIEDs. Since most of the surgical procedures are performed in institutions without reprogramming devices available, or in the periods when they are unavailable, these guidelines aim to standardize the protocol for perioperative management of these patients. With this protocol, most of the procedures can be performed easily and, more importantly, safely in the majority of surgical patients.U Republici Hrvatskoj na godinu se implantira oko 4000 kardiovaskularnih implantabilnih uređaja i taj broj je u stalnom porastu. Anestezija i kirurški zahvati kod bolesnika s ugrađenim implantabilnim uređajima nose određene rizike. Ove smjernice su nastale zato što se većina zahvata izvodi u ustanovama bez mogućnosti testiranja i reprogramiranja navedenih uređaja ili u vrijeme kada to nije dostupno. Cilj je standardizirati perioperacijsku skrb ovih bolesnika te učiniti kirurške zahvate dostupnima i sigurnima za veliku većinu ovih kirurških bolesnika u svim ustanovama u Hrvatskoj

Digital Photogrammetry – State of the Art and Potential for Application in Forest Management in Croatia

Background and purpose: The main goal of this paper is to inform forestry community about the latest developments in digital photogrammetry, as well as to present its possible application in forest management. For this purpose, the current state of technological development of the main tools of digital photogrammetry (digital aerophotogrammetric cameras and digital photogrammetric workstations) has been presented. Furthermore, two adjusted methods of manual digital photogrammetry for application in forest management, namely: method for strata delineation (i.e. creation of forest management division), and method for measuring stand structure elements have been developed and presented here. Material and methods: Research was carried out on the selected part of multi-aged, privately owned forest of \u27\u27Donja Kupčina - Pisarovina\u27\u27 management unit which includes 6 compartments and 24 subcompartments and covers total area of 480 ha. After conducted aerial survey of research area, acquired digital images were processed, and digital terrain model and digital elevation model were derived. Digital aerial images of ground sample distance of 10 cm, topographical maps, digital terrain model and digital elevation model, as well as the digital photogrammetric workstations with appropriate software (PHOTOMOD, Global Mapper) were used for developing methods for strata delineation and stand structure elements estimation. Developments of both methods were carried out in the stereomodel of colour infrared digital aerial images in PHOTOMOD StereoDraw module. Additional data processing was conducted in ArcGIS 9.1 (for strata delineation) and in Global Mapper (for stand structure elements estimation) software. Discussion and conclusions: This research has showed that PHOTOMOD Lite and Global Mapper software packages in combination with the used materials (digital aerial images, digital elevation model) and digital photogrammetric workstation completely satisfy the needs for strata delineation and stand structure measurements. The PHOTOMOD software enables simple creation of projects of digital images, easy manipulation of multiple digital images, and many other features that facilitate photogrammetric measurement and photo-interpretation, but its free version PHOTOMOD Lite has limited capabilities in terms of number of images and quantity of vector data that can be processed. If digital images of high spatial resolution are used (e.g. 30 cm or better), as was the case in this research, stereo-effect experienced by the operator and the quality of photo-interpretation are very good. That enables clear determination of vegetation types and as well as single tree species, more accurate pinpointing of tree tops and more accurate delineation of tree crowns. As long as automatic procedures are not available, digital photogrammetry has to rely on manual methods. Allometric relation between variables measured with photogrammetric method and desired variables need to be developed. An attempt to address this issue, at least in part, is made within the ongoing project \u27Application of digital photogrammetry in practical forest management\u27

MULTIDISCIPLINARY MANAGEMENT AND NEUROREHABILITATION OF PATIENTS WITH AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS

Bolesnici s amiotrofi čnom lateralnom sklerozom zahtijevaju kompleksnu skrb i multidisciplinarni pristup, koji je individualno prilagođen potrebama bolesnika. Ciljevi neurorehabilitacije moraju biti prilagođeni stadiju bolesti. U ranom stadiju bolesti potrebno je započeti s fi zikalnom terapijom radi očuvanja i optimiziranja motoričke i respiratorne funkcije. Već u ovom stadiju potrebno je angažirati obitelj bolesnika u provođenju određenih aktivnosti i upoznati ih s prirodom bolesti. U kasnijem tijeku bolesti potrebno je provoditi fi zikalnu terapiju kako bi se spriječile respiratorne komplikacije i kontrakture, te se primijenila adekvatna ortopedska pomagala. Nastupom dizartrije nastaje potreba za evaluacijom akta gutanja i respiratorne funkcije. U početku se primjenjuju određeni manevri a potom nazogastrična sonda i perkutana gastrostoma. Primjenom neinvazivne mehaničke ventilacije i respiratorne fizioterapije može se odgoditi potrebu za traheostomom i invazivnom mehaničkom ventilacijom. Uloga multidisciplinarnog pristupa je pružiti optimalnu medicinsku skrb, olakšati komunikaciju a time poboljšati kvalitetu skrbi i života.Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis require comprehensive care with a multidisciplinary approach, which is individually adjusted to each patient. The goals of neurorehabilitation should be adjusted to the stage of disease. In early stages, physical therapy is focused on preserving and optimizing motor and respiratory function. At this stage, family should be involved to partake in desired activities and be informed regarding the natural course of the disease. In late stages, physical therapy is focused on preventing respiratory complications and contractures, and orthotics may also be recommended. The onset of dysarthria should trigger swallowing and pulmonary function testing. Swallowing maneuvers should be tried at the onset of symptoms, later feeding tubes or percutaneous gastrostomy tube is necessary. Noninvasive mechanical ventilation may delay the need of tracheostomy and invasive mechanical ventilation. The key objectives of multidisciplinary teams are to optimize medical care, facilitate communication, and thus to improve the quality of care and quality of life