Computer-aided position planning of miniplates to treat facial bone defects

In this contribution, a software system for computer-aided position planning of miniplates to treat facial bone defects is proposed. The intra-operatively used bone plates have to be passively adapted on the underlying bone contours for adequate bone fragment stabilization. However, this procedure can lead to frequent intra-operatively performed material readjustments especially in complex surgical cases. Our approach is able to fit a selection of common implant models on the surgeon's desired position in a 3D computer model. This happens with respect to the surrounding anatomical structures, always including the possibility of adjusting both the direction and the position of the used osteosynthesis material. By using the proposed software, surgeons are able to pre-plan the out coming implant in its form and morphology with the aid of a computer-visualized model within a few minutes. Further, the resulting model can be stored in STL file format, the commonly used format for 3D printing. Using this technology, surgeons are able to print the virtual generated implant, or create an individually designed bending tool. This method leads to adapted osteosynthesis materials according to the surrounding anatomy and requires further a minimum amount of money and time.Comment: 19 pages, 13 Figures, 2 Table

Exploit fully automatic low-level segmented PET data for training high-level deep learning algorithms for the corresponding CT data

We present an approach for fully automatic urinary bladder segmentation in CT images with artificial neural networks in this study. Automatic medical image analysis has become an invaluable tool in the different treatment stages of diseases. Especially medical image segmentation plays a vital role, since segmentation is often the initial step in an image analysis pipeline. Since deep neural networks have made a large impact on the field of image processing in the past years, we use two different deep learning architectures to segment the urinary bladder. Both of these architectures are based on pre-trained classification networks that are adapted to perform semantic segmentation. Since deep neural networks require a large amount of training data, specifically images and corresponding ground truth labels, we furthermore propose a method to generate such a suitable training data set from Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography image data. This is done by applying thresholding to the Positron Emission Tomography data for obtaining a ground truth and by utilizing data augmentation to enlarge the dataset. In this study, we discuss the influence of data augmentation on the segmentation results, and compare and evaluate the proposed architectures in terms of qualitative and quantitative segmentation performance. The results presented in this study allow concluding that deep neural networks can be considered a promising approach to segment the urinary bladder in CT images.Comment: 20 page

Movable Thin Glass Elements in Façades

Façades play an important role in the control of energy flow and energy consumption in buildings as they represent the interface between the outdoor environment and the indoor occupied space. The option of regulating internal and external conditions acquires great relevance in new approaches to sustainable building solutions. Studies on climate adaptive façades show a very high potential for improved indoor environmental quality conditions and energy savings by moveable façades. A number of movable façades were realized in the past, but the use of thin glass with a thickness of 0.5 mm to 3 mm opens a brand-new field, that allows for playing with the geometry of the outer skin and the opportunity to make it adaptive by movement. Thin glass requires for curved surfaces in order to gain structural stiffness in static use. In kinetic façades the high flexibility of thin glass allows for new options for changes in size and position by bending of elements rather than implementing hinges in a system of foldable rigid panels. The geometry is based on the known theory of developable surfaces for keeping a low stress-level during movement. This allows for façades created from cold bent thin glass or curved laminated safety glasses produced by laminating of thin glass plies which provide better sealing, greater simplicity in construction and robustness and durability of moveable components which may be actuated autonomously. Some concepts based on the before mentioned theories were created to explain some principles and discuss their principles and applicability

The more, the merrier? A multi-methodological survey at the Roman town of Carnuntum

We have newly discovered the garrison of the governor’s guard, the castra singularium, in the Roman Town of Carnuntum. For a more detailed research we decided to apply a multi-method research approach on this importent archaeological site. The analysis of the different geophysical prospection methods was carried out prior to an archaeological excavation. By excavating a small area, the interpretations of the non-destructive methods could be evaluated

Protected by shooting at it - the Öde Kloster and an associated Roman settlement within the military training area Bruckneudorf, Austria

The archaeological prospection focused on a multiphase fortified settlement. It was conducted as an integrated survey using airborne laserscanning (ALS) data, aerial photography, magnetics and GPR. The results show among other things that restricted military areas provide outstanding conditions for the preservation of archaeological sites

Mandibular CT Dataset Collection

Mandibular CT Datasets. Please use the following citations if you use them in your work:<br><br>J. Wallner, J. Egger. Mandibular CT Dataset Collection. Figshare, 2018<br><br>and<br><br><div>J. Wallner, K. Hochegger, X. Chen, I. Mischak, K. Reinbacher, M. Pau, T. Zrnc, K. Schwenzer-Zimmerer, W. Zemann, D. Schmalstieg, J. Egger. Clinical evaluation of semi-automatic open-source algorithmic software segmentation of the mandibular bone: Practical feasibility and assessment of a new course of action. PLOS One, 2018.</div><div><br></div><div>Usage notes:<br>The data files attached with this manuscript can be opened in ImageJ with good results and can be displayed at full quality. The files can also be opened in Irfanview, but then the data do not display at full quality.<br></div><br

3D Printable Patient Face and corresponding PET-CT Data for image-guided Therapy

<p>The patient’s face (Face.stl) can be 3D Printed and then used for a marker-less face detection and registration with the CT scan. This is of particular interest for researchers/developers who work in the field of image-guided therapy in the facial area.</p> <div><br></div><div>Please use the following citations if you use them in your work:</div><div><br></div>J. Egger, J. Wallner. 3D Printable Patient Face and corresponding PET-CT Data for image-guided Therapy. Figshare, 2018