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scale, materialization, architecture, urban design, research by design, Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, NA9000-9428, City planning, and HT165.5-169.9

This article addresses the problems related to the student lacking of the comprehension of the space and proportions scale in architectural and urban design education. The research is based on carefully selected case studies taken from our recent architectural-urban design workshops, which have presented a methodological framework process within the design ideas have been tested by the complex process of physical materialization. Our goal have been to develop the adequate methodological model which would enhance the scale-related sensitivity of students through field-work prototyping and materialization »in one to one scale«. The discussion covers some potentials and limitations of the model proposed and focuses to the potentials of the scientific research level in the implementation of the practice-based research in architecture and urban design.

Medicine

Background: Pedicle screw placement using free hand technique has high incidence of pedicle perforation. The said risk can be reduced with intra-operative fluoroscopy or navigation, which have some disadvantages. A promising principle for solving most of the issues is the rapid prototyping technology. By this technique it is possible to manufacture patient specific drill guide templates that enable optimal pedicle screw placement. In the last decade, many studies have featured relatively successful implantations of pedicle screws through the use of drill guide templates, though mostly on cadavers. We performed a similar clinical study involving the manufacture of templates for the lumbar and sacral regions that enable simultaneous multiple- level screw implanting. Methods: A randomized clinical trial was performed in 15 patients. In the lumbar and sacral spine 30 screws were implanted using drill guide template and 36 screws using free hand technique under fluoroscopy supervision. Preoperative CT-scans were taken for drill guide template design and manufacture using selective laser sintering method. According to postoperative CTscan analysis, pedicle perforation incidence was estimated. Results: The incidence of cortex perforation was significantly reduced in the drill guide template group. Conclusions: Drill guide templates have turned out to be a reliable solution that importantly reduces pedicle perforation incidence and complications related to it. However, there are shortcomings: a relatively lengthy manufacturing process, possible manufacturing faults and incorrect positioning during the operation. Owing to mentioned disadvantages, templates have not replaced free hand and navigation technique yet, but could represent a useful tool in some selected cases.

New product development, Management, Product management, Rapid prototyping, Commercial products, and Manufacturing processes

The business environment is changing. Successful businesses analyze changes and respond to them as opportunities for success. Therefore, companies must understand changes and adjust not only products, but also the processes which lead to these products. The most important factors from the environment which affect new product development include: market, technological, political and law, and socio-cultural influences. Changes in the environment and their influences on the process are shown. Instead of a rigid new product development process in the company, the dynamic new product development process is necessary, and processes in various business functions are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicine

Background: Orientation in space is of cardinal importance in surgery. In presurgical preparation surgeons make use of various virtual three-dimensional simulations, and since the beginning of 1990’s physical 3-d models made by a rapid prototyping technique have been employed. Conclusions: At the Clinical Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the University Medical Centre in Ljubljana physical threedimensional models have been used since the beginning of 2007. We have done 120 virtual and 45 physical models, for the most demanding traumatological and oncological reconstructions. In this article, two cases of their usage are introduced.

CT scan of the jaw, scan prosthesis, drill guides, stereolithography, computer-aided design, and Medicine

Background: Implants in dentistry are, besides fixed, removable and maxillofacial prosthodontics, one of the reliable possibility to make functional and aesthetic rehabilitation of the edentulism. Surgical and prosthodontic implant complications are often an inattentive consequence of wrong diagnosis, planning, and placement. In this article we present a technique using a highly advanced software program along with a rapid prototyping technology named stereolithography. A planning software for implant placement needs basically the high quality computed tomographic scan of one or both jaws for making accurate preoperative diagnostics and 3D preoperative plan. Later individual drill guide is designed and generated based on both the CT images and the preoperative planning. The patient specific drill guide transfers the virtual planning to the patient’s mouth at time of surgery.Conclusions: The advantages of computer guided implantology are the better prepared surgery with visualisation of critical anatomic structures, assessment of available bone and data about bone quality, increased confidence for the surgeon, deceased operative time, less frequent use of bone grafts, higher quality of collaboration between specialists and prosthetic lab and better communication with patients. Radiographic examination of the operation field for computer guided planning for implant placement is due to high costs justified as the most important information source on the areas to be implanted.