2 research outputs found
Size and Shape Differences Between Male and Female Foot Bones
This study introduces a new technique to measure bone size and
shape. A three-dimensional laser scan was taken of the talus, navicular,
medial cuneiform, and first metatarsal from 107 skeletons of known age
and sex. The bones were analyzed for differences in bone morphology
between the sexes and the ability of each bone to contribute to the adducted
position of the first metatarsal. Linear measurements showed
that male bones were larger than female bones. Measurements of articular
surfaces suggested that female bones had the potential for more
movement to occur in the direction of adduction, possibly resulting in
the female first metatarsal being more adducted than that in the male
skeleton. Such differences may underlie the predisposition of the female
foot to develop hallux valgus deformity
Developing a virtual reality environment for petrous bone surgery: a state-of-the-art review
The increasing power of computers has led to the development of sophisticated systems that aim to immerse the user in a virtual environment. The benefits of this type of approach to the training of physicians and surgeons are immediately apparent. Unfortunately the implementation of “virtual reality” (VR) surgical simulators has been restricted by both cost and technical limitations. The few successful systems use standardized scenarios, often derived from typical clinical data, to allow the rehearsal of procedures. In reality we would choose a system that allows us not only to practice typical cases but also to enter our own patient data and use it to define the virtual environment. In effect we want to re-write the scenario every time we use the
environment and to ensure that its behavior exactly duplicates the behavior of the real tissue. If this can be achieved then VR systems can be used not only to train surgeons but also to rehearse individual procedures where variations in anatomy or pathology present specific surgical problems. The European Union has recently funded a multinational 3-year project (IERAPSI, Integrated
Environment for Rehearsal and Planning of Surgical Interventions) to produce a virtual reality
system for surgical training and for rehearsing individual procedures. Building the IERAPSI system will bring together a wide range of experts and combine the latest technologies to produce a true, patient specific virtual reality surgical simulator for petrous/temporal bone
procedures. This article presents a review of the “state of the art” technologies currently available to construct a system of this type and an overview of the functionality and specifications such a system requires