Evaluation of the Fitting Accuracy of CAD/CAM-Manufactured Patient-Specific Implants for the Reconstruction of Cranial Defects—A Retrospective Study

Cranioplasties show overall high complication rates of up to 45.3%. Risk factors potentially associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications are frequently discussed in existing research. The present study examines the positioning of 39 patient-specific implants (PSI) made from polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and retrospectively investigates the relationship between the fitting accuracy and incidence of postoperative complications. To analyze the fitting accuracy of the implants pre- and post-operatively, STL files were created and superimposed in a 3D coordinate system, and the deviations were graphically displayed and evaluated along with the postoperative complications. On average, 95.17% (SD = 9.42) of the measurements between planned and surgically achieved implant position were within the defined tolerance range. In cases with lower accordance, an increased occurrence of complications could not be demonstrated. The overall postoperative complication rate was 64.1%. The fitting of the PEEK-PSI was highly satisfactory. There were predominantly minor deviations of the achieved compared to the planned implant positions; however, estimations were within the defined tolerance range. Despite the overall high accuracy of fitting, a considerable complication rate was found. To optimize the surgical outcome, the focus should instead be directed towards the investigation of other risk factors

Whole Earth Telescope observations of the pulsating subdwarf B star PG 0014+067

PG 0014+067 is one of the most promising pulsating subdwarf B stars for seismic analysis, as it has a rich pulsation spectrum. The richness of its pulsations, however, poses a fundamental challenge to understanding the pulsations of these stars, as the mode density is too complex to be explained only with radial and nonradial low-degree (l< 3) p-modes without rotational splittings. One proposed solution, suggested by Brassard et al. in 2001 for the case of PG 0014+067 in particular, assigns some modes with high degree (l=3). On the other hand, theoretical models of sdB stars suggest that they may retain rapidly rotating cores, and so the high mode density may result from the presence of a few rotationally split triplet (l = 1) and quintuplet (l = 2) modes, along with radial (l = 0) p-modes. To examine alternative theoretical models for these stars, we need better frequency resolution and denser longitude coverage. Therefore, we observed this star with the Whole Earth Telescope for two weeks in 2004 October. In this paper we report the results of Whole Earth Telescope observations of the pulsating subdwarf B star PG 0014+067.We find that the frequencies seen in PG 0014+067 do not appear to fit any theoretical model currently available; however, we find a simple empirical relation that is able to match all of the well-determined frequencies in this star

Whole Earth Telescope observations of the pulsating subdwarf B star PG 0014+067

PG 0014+067 is one of the most promising pulsating subdwarf B stars for seismic analysis, as it has a rich pulsation spectrum. The richness of its pulsations, however, poses a fundamental challenge to understanding the pulsations of these stars, as the mode density is too complex to be explained only with radial and nonradial low-degree (l< 3) p-modes without rotational splittings. One proposed solution, suggested by Brassard et al. in 2001 for the case of PG 0014+067 in particular, assigns some modes with high degree (l=3). On the other hand, theoretical models of sdB stars suggest that they may retain rapidly rotating cores, and so the high mode density may result from the presence of a few rotationally split triplet (l = 1) and quintuplet (l = 2) modes, along with radial (l = 0) p-modes. To examine alternative theoretical models for these stars, we need better frequency resolution and denser longitude coverage. Therefore, we observed this star with the Whole Earth Telescope for two weeks in 2004 October. In this paper we report the results of Whole Earth Telescope observations of the pulsating subdwarf B star PG 0014+067.We find that the frequencies seen in PG 0014+067 do not appear to fit any theoretical model currently available; however, we find a simple empirical relation that is able to match all of the well-determined frequencies in this star