Augmented Reality Solution Supports Surgical Trauma Care

A set of smart surgical glasses with functionality based on augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) technologies brings a higher level of support to surgical trauma cases.

The Taiwan Main Orthopaedics Biotechnology Co. (Surglasses; Taichung, Taiwan) Foresee-X is a set of smart AR surgical glasses is designed to enhance intra-operative fluoroscopy image synchronization, primarily during orthopedic trauma procedures. Features include image enhancement functions, such as the ability to zoom in and out, allowing surgeons to concentrate on the operational field instead of monitors; reduced radiation exposure for the staff and patient; and improved accuracy by tracking the movements of surgical tools such as puncture needles, trocars, etc.

Image: The Foresee-X augment reality glasses (Photo courtesy of Surglasses)

 

The virtual and actual images are superimposed, and patient bone structure and tissues are fully visible through the smart glasses. In addition to improving overall surgical efficiency, the Foresee-X glasses can reduce OR staff radiation exposure by more than 60% compared to a mobile C-arm used for fluoroscopy. Foresee-X also allows outside observers to view procedures up close through tablet computers, as the device is equipped with an integrated camera with an 80 degree field of view that records video at 30 fps. The device can also collect data for academic purposes.

“The key to smart glasses is the algorithm. Since each person’s eyes have a different focal length, and with the addition of camera lens focus, synchronization would require the aid of high-performance computing,” said Min-Liang Wang, PhD, founder of Surglasses. “Furthermore, if the surgeon changes position during surgery, the image must be adjusted immediately for the new position. All of this can only be achieved by the development of cutting-edge technologies such as 5G and AR/MR.”

“Surglasses has been collaborating with hospitals in Taiwan and Malaysia to set up a specialized trauma center that includes Foresee-X as part of the equipment lineup. The smart surgical glasses are used for numerous kinds of orthopedic procedures including interlocking of nails, pelvic cases, wrists, shoulders, tibia, and many more,” said the company in a press statement. “With accuracy and efficiency as its main advantages, Foresee-X is the first of its kind on the market to provide cutting-edge assistance to surgeons and doctors dealing with trauma cases.”

AR is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input. It is related to a general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified–possibly even diminished rather than augmented–by a computer. As a result, the technology can enhance the perception of reality.

source: https://www.hospimedica.com/surgical-techniques/articles/294780520/augmented-reality-solution-supports-surgical-trauma-care.html

Apple Brings Augmented Reality Outdoors with New Public Art Initiative

Teaming up with the New Museum and six leading visual artists.

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Apple’s customer community program, Today at Apple, is launching a new public art initiative entitled [AR]T. The creative effort aims to expand the capabilities of augmented reality using AR tools found within the tech giant’s devices (ex: iPod Touch). The company teamed up New York City’s New Museum to enlist seven diverse creators to make digitally-enhanced works — all of whom have little-to-no experience of using AR tools.

Participants include Chicago-based artist Nick Cave, Swedish animator Nathalie Djurberg and composer Hans Berg, multimedia artist Cao Fei, as well as conceptual artist Carsten Höller. A bulk of the AR artworks “live as a visual layer on the cityscape and are experienced via a walk with an iPhone in six major cities,” as described by Apple in an official announcement.

Accompanying the public art project is a new program called [AR]T Lab: AR Experiences with digital artist and teacher Sarah Rothberg who is offering free lessons on augmented reality software to beginners in all Apple Stores worldwide. “In this Lab, attendees get hands-on with whimsical objects and sounds created by Rothberg to learn how to code their own AR experiences using Swift Playgrounds,” said Apple.

Learn more about Today art Apple’s [AR]T program here. Elsewhere in art, NYC gallery owner Selenas Mountain recently launched a series of limited edition artist-designed beach towels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

credit: https://hypebeast.com/2019/7/apple-augmented-reality-art-walk-new-museum

FORM’s Premium Goggles Introduce AR To The Swimming Pool

Since the introduction of devices such as the Fitbit back in 2009 and the Apple Watch in 2014, the smart wearables market has gone from fantasy to reality, offering consumers a brand new, more convenient method for connecting with their digital lives. In 2019, a majority of smartphone users find themselves utilizing some form of wearable technology, such as bluetooth headsets and smartwatches.

 

Sport and fitness, in particular, have benefited greatly from the introduction of wearable smart devices, allowing athletes and fitness enthusiasts the ability to monitor everything from their heartbeat and sleep schedule, to the number of calories they’ve burned. As previously stated, however, many of these devices tend to manifest in the form of smartwatches or bracelets; which is an acceptable format when participating in activities like running, biking, and lifting, but inconvenient when it comes to water-based sports, such as swimming. That’s where the FORM Swim Goggles come in.

Announced earlier today by sports technology company FORM, these premium swim goggles monitor the wearer’s performance while in the pool, keeping track of various metrics in real-time and displaying the information over the real world via an AR overlay. Powered by a miniature onboard computer, the FORM Swim Goggles feature an AI system that can monitor key information for swimmers, including their split times, distance, stroke rate, and stroke count, for 16 continuous hours. This data is then layered over the goggle’s lenses, offering users unobtrusive access to data before, during, and after their sessions.

Image Credit: FORM

“I swam competitively for 14 years and really felt the pain of not being able to access my metrics in real time,” said FORM founder and CEO Dan Eisenhardt, in an official release. “The idea for FORM came about many years ago, but we are only now entering a time when technology lets us deliver this experience seamlessly in a premium pair of swim goggles. We’re proud that, through a team of top industry talent, we’ve been able to solve a fundamental problem in swimming.”

Users will also be able to download the official FORM Swim app on iOS and Android which they can use to track and share their progress, view other swimmers’ metrics, and customize their in-goggle experience.

Image Credit: FORM

“I competed in two Olympic Games: 2004 and 2012,” added Scott Dickens, Director of Strategic Partnerships at FORM. “At the elite level, everything is measured down to the hundredth of a second. Having access to real-time metrics in your goggles is an absolute game-changer. FORM enables both swimmers and coaches to be more in tune with what’s happening in the moment. Even if you’re not a high-level swimmer, FORM makes swimming much more engaging and just plain fun. You always know exactly what you’re doing, and you’re able to compete with yourself while you swim.”

The FORM Swim Goggles will begin shipping internationally August 7th starting at $199; the official FORM Swim app will be available to download that same day via the App Store and Google Play.

Featured Image Credit: FORM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credit: https://vrscout.com/news/form-ar-swim-goggles/

Augmented Reality (AR) In Healthcare Market – Forecasts from 2019 to 2024

AR in the healthcare market is witnessing a big boost with a high expected CAGR of 33.36% and market value expected to rise from US$621.727 million in 2018 to US$3,497.315 million in 2024

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies are gaining significant traction among healthcare experts owing to their numerous applications that range from assessment of surgical preparation to minimally invasive surgery and rehabilitation. Other applications of augmented reality in healthcare include medical training and pharmacy benefits management. As the population increases, the growing demand for surgical treatment as well as healthcare expenditure among people is boosting the application of augmented reality and virtual reality technologies in the healthcare sector by a significant degree.

 

Technological advancement in augmented reality and artificial intelligence technologies along with the increasing workload of healthcare professionals and stringent regulatory compliances in laboratory testing are expected to bolster the market forecasts in the upcoming years. Higher adoption of mobile augmented reality technology helps in bridging the gap in the patient-healthcare provider relationship and also helps patients to make better decisions about their health by educating and proving information to them.

 

 

 

credits: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190724005697/en/Global-Augmented-Reality-AR-Healthcare-Market-Estimated

Performative Millwork at Alliance Theatre, Realized Through Handcraft and Augmented Reality

Trahan Architects transforms a historic venue into an interactive destination made possible through the combination of artistry, design, and lasers.

Greg MooneyAlliance Theatre, in Atlanta

The sculptural furniture and objects Brooklyn artist Matthias Pliessnig handcrafted from steam-bent wood had long captured the eye of Trey Trahan, FAIA. In 2015, when his firm, New Orleans–based Trahan Architects, was commissioned to renovate Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, he seized the opportunity to bring Pliessnig’s sinuous designs into an architectural context.

Courtesy Trahan ArchitectsThe design aimed to transform the previously separated balcony and orchestra levels into integrated seating and performance spaces.

Not only would the custom-shaped and -positioned slats provide outstanding acoustics inside the theater, but steam-bending the wood would be more efficient than milling it on a lathe, which Trahan knew could be wasteful based on previous work with precision-milled wood. “I was fascinated with how one could go about the process of creating complicated shapes in a more ecological way,” he says.

The challenge here was how to scale the artist’s handcrafted quality to outfit a 650-seat theater. After some iterating, Pliessnig and Trahan’s team derived a technique to use steam to soften hundreds of reclaimed white oak slats, each ½-inch square in section, and then bend them into place around the theater to create a serpentine surface along the theater’s balcony railing and side terraces.

Greg Mooney

Greg Mooney

To achieve Pliessnig’s vision, Trahan collaborated with Plaistow, N.H.–based wood fabricator CW Keller Associates. Working in Rhino, the team devised a model that called for approximately 100,000 linear feet of wood slats placed around the theater. In locations where the acoustics needed a reflective surface, the slats were spaced close together; where absorption was desired, the slats were set further apart. Thanks to the model’s accuracy and precision, CW Keller could specify the placement of each strand to a 1⁄32-inch tolerance.

CW KellerFabricating the steam-bent oak panels required a combination of traditional craftsmanship with laser scanning and projection. The augmented reality construction process placed Trahan Architects’ scripted layouts into the real world, ensuring the accuracy of the millwork form and placement.

CW Keller

CW Keller

CW Keller’s engineers then went to the shop and used the model to laser-project the exact location of each strand onto a wooden jig framework, which in turn was attached to a steel armature. The fabricators used a similar augmented-reality environment to install the completed framework panel in the theater itself. The wood strips are stained a rich, dark brown, enhancing the warmth and ambiance of the interior. “Over time, as audience members touch the surface, it will take on a beautiful patina,” Trahan says.

CW Keller

CW Keller

CW Keller

The result is human-scale, handcrafted millwork made possible with the latest 3D technology, which merges design, sustainable construction, and acoustical performance to challenge the relationship between a theater and its audience. “I want to just hug this thing and touch it,” says juror James Garrett Jr., AIA.

Alliance Theatre’s leadership could not agree more. “The design,” says the Jennings Hertz artistic director Susan V. Booth, “inherently unites each performance’s audience into a fostered and connected community, and provides not [simply] a frame for the work we do, [but moreover] a graceful conduit for the work to land in the heads and hearts of those folks.”

courtesy Trahan Architects

credits: https://www.architectmagazine.com/awards/r-d-awards/award-performative-millwork-at-alliance-theatre-realized-through-handcraft-and-augmented-reality_o

Apollo 11 Moon Landing Augmented Reality Experience

The Science Behind TIME’s New Apollo 11 Moon Landing Augmented Reality Experience

TIME this week launched TIME Immersive, a new iPhone and Android app that we’ll use to deliver groundbreaking augmented reality and virtual reality experiences. First up: the TIME Moon Landing experience, the world’s most accurate 3D re-creation of the Apollo 11 mission, which took place 50 years ago this month. Users can watch an approximately five-minute AR simulation of the Apollo 11 landing, narrated by TIME’s Jeffrey Kluger and featuring original NASA audio from the mission, then explore the surface of the moon on their own.

What makes the TIME Moon Landing hyper-accurate? At the experience’s core lies incredibly precise data meticulously collected over the last 20 years by John Knoll, the chief creative officer and visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic, a top Hollywood special effects company founded by George Lucas.

“I’m old enough to remember seeing the Apollo 11 landing live as a kid,” says Knoll, who gave his data to TIME. “That really left a big impression on me. In the years that followed, I was always fascinated with the space program.”

Knoll began collecting Apollo 11 landing data after stumbling upon a transcript of radio calls between the spacecraft and mission control. Those transcripts, he says, underscored the harrowing few minutes just before the “Eagle” lander touched down on the lunar surface, when it was running dangerously low on fuel. That moment, says Knoll, was largely glossed over in the Apollo 11 documentaries of his youth. “In reading the timestamped transcripts, this is white-knuckle time,” he says.

Knoll’s commitment to accuracy came in part from his disappointment with some Hollywood directors who pay lip service to scientific precision but abandon it in favor of what they or the studios believe is better storytelling. “I was very committed to making the re-creation as technically accurate as I could make it, in getting everything right about the motion of the spacecraft, the lighting conditions, the lunar terrain, where individual rocks and craters were,” says Knoll. “And to figure out if there were clever or sneaky ways to extract data from unlikely sources.”

To that end, Knoll relied on a handful of data sources, including NASA telemetry graphs, footage from a descent camera on the lunar module (LEM), and data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a probe orbiting the moon that was launched in 2009. He made up for shortcomings in the data with advanced computer vision techniques, including one process whereby the altitude of moon surface features can be estimated based on how bright or dark they appear in photographs.

“When you look at a photograph of the moon, and you see all that light and shadow, what you’re seeing is the orientation of the surface relative to the sun,” says Knoll. “If a surface is brighter, it’s because it’s inclined more towards the illuminance, and if it’s darker, it’s because it’s inclined more away. If you start on one end of an image, and if a surface is lighter than the average then it’s inclined up, so you accumulate the altitude, and if it’s darker, it’s declined, and so you decrement the altitude. By doing that, you can integrate an approximation of the terrain.”

Knoll hopes that the experience helps people better understand and take pride in the complexity of the Apollo project.

“I’m a big champion of science education, and people really understanding what we achieved,” says Knoll. “Those Apollo missions were great and amazing, and especially in these very divisive times, everyone regardless of their political affiliation can look back with some pride and look back at the accomplishment.”

The TIME Moon Landing experience was co-produced by TIME, John Knoll, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and Smithsonian’s Digitization Program Office, Trigger, RYOT, and the Yahoo News XR Program. It is available within the TIME Immersive app, which you can download for iPhone in Apple’s App Store, or for Android in the Google Play Store. Look out for more TIME Immersive projects in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

credits: https://time.com/5626529/apollo-11-time-app/

VR, AR, MR: Which one is Better?

These days, new and evolving technology has introduced the world to 3 very fascinating realities, Virtual Reality or VR, Augmented Reality or AR, and Mixed Reality or MR. in this article, you will see what makes them different from each other and how they are contributing in different areas of work. Let’s have a brief look at what is VR, AR, and MR

● VR — With VR app development, it engages users in a completely artificial digital setting.

● AR — It covers virtual objects on the real-world setting.

● MR — It covers and keeps the virtual objects anchored to the real world.

Virtual Reality or VR

Virtual Reality (VR) is also called a computer-simulated reality which delivers an immersive experience. In this, computer technologies are used with the real headsets to create an imaginary world with the lifelike sounds, imageries and other feelings that are the imitation of a real environment. An accurate VR app development setting will immerse all the five senses in the human body including taste, smell, sight, sound, and touch, but in reality, it is not always possible. Nowadays, it can be said that VR has established itself in some very practical areas, especially after the years of popularity in the gaming industry. VR uses two types of main headsets:

1. PC-connected

These headsets are connected to a computer or gaming console that provides with top-quality visual experience. They can also be used with special controllers and users can interact with the virtual world.

2. Standalone

These headsets are not needed to be connected to a computer or a gaming console. Most of the standalone headsets use a smartphone screen for interacting with virtual reality. They are quite affordable and easy to use

Augmented Reality or AR

Augmented Reality (AR) is live and direct or indirect viewing of a real-world environment where its elements are amplified or augmented using audio, video, graphics, or GPS data. It gives you a lot more freedom than what you get in the real world. Smartphones and tablets are two of the most widespread means of AR as of now. Two types of main devices are:

1. Portable devices

AR is perhaps the most reachable and handy reality technology, as people can get access to it using portable devices like smartphones and tablets in order to use applications based on augmented reality. AR apps simply use a smartphone camera in order to seize the real world. Then the virtual items are overlaid, and users can easily see them on their portable device.

2. AR glasses and headsets

Another way to enjoy augmented reality is by using smart glasses or AR headsets. As compared to VR headsets, these AR glasses and headsets don’t engage the users into a completely virtual environment. Instead, they just add virtual objects in the real world.

Mixed Reality or MR

Mixed Reality is also called as hybrid reality. It is the merger of real and virtual environments in order to create new environments and visuals. In that new environment, both physical and digital entities exist together, interacting in real time. It means a new imagery is placed inside a real space in such a manner that the new imagery can interact to a degree, with the real world as you know it. The distinguishing factor of MR is that the artificial content and the real or physical world content can interact with one another in real time.

There can also be a different form of mixed reality. In this new form of mixed reality, users watch and interact with a fully virtual environment which is overlapped on the real world surrounding the users. If you are finding it a bit confusing, look at it from a different perspective. Just imagine that you are fully engaged and interacting into a completely virtual environment. However, you are still walking around in your room at your place. What do you think will happen if you trip over an object lying on the floor? To prevent any such incidence, your headset must be able to keep track of the real world while you are immersed in the virtual world and adjust the virtual setting accordingly. This type of MR is a lot closer to VR as compared to AR.

There are different types of devices that can be used for mixed reality:

1. Holographic devices

These headsets comprise transparent glasses through which you will be able to keep track of your surroundings easily and avoid any kinds of unfortunate incidents while using MR. in this; Virtual experiences are generated using holograms.

2. Immersive devices

These headsets comprise of non-translucent spectacles that totally block out the real world just like VR headsets. They use cameras for tracking the real world.

Conclusion

It can be difficult to point out one choice from all three realities. While VR is being used for years in the gaming industry, AR and MR are also not far behind. However, while AR just overlays the virtual objects on the real environment, in MR, the digital parts of the environment are more conscious of what is happening in the real surroundings around you and thus represent a more realistic interaction.

 

 

 

 

 

fonte: https://hackernoon.com/vr-ar-mr-which-one-is-better-8d7d6e2ce795

Air NZ unveils Magic Leap One augmented reality board game

Players can be virtually splashed by a whale and chat with a hobbit. Credits: Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand is taking tourism promotion to the tabletop with a new augmented reality board game.

The Air New Zealand Fact or Fantasy Game of New Zealand sees players wear Magic Leap One headsets to view and interact with a 3D map of Aotearoa.

Using Magic Leap technology, users can virtually watch the growth of a kauri tree, interact with a rather grumpy hobbit and get splashed by a breaching whale.

The game was on display at the first L.E.A.P conference in Los Angeles this week.

Magic Leap’s technology works by layering digital objects onto the real world so that light enters the eye as it would with a real object. This means users can see detail both up close and from afar.

Air NZ has been working with the creative team at Framestore for the last 18 months to create its board game.

The airline’s Jodi Williams says it’s important Air NZ continues to discover new technologies to improve the customer experience.

“By getting in early and being both a developer and creator, we have been able to test and learn, creating an incredible platform,” she says.

Ms Williams also says the Magic Eye technology may be used to “reframe customers’ perceptions of the physical cabin environment”.

The Air New Zealand Fact or Fantasy Game of New Zealand can be played by four people and is aimed at educating and promoting New Zealand as a destination.

 

 

 

fonte: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/travel/2018/10/air-nz-unveils-magic-leap-one-augmented-reality-board-game.html

Divulgazione e realtà virtuale per diffondere la rianimazione cardiopolmonare

Ogni anno 400.000 persone in Europa, 60.000 in Italia, muoiono per arresto cardiaco improvviso; molte di loro potrebbero avere maggiori possibilità di salvezza se soccorse tempestivamente e adeguatamente. Se le persone che si imbattono in una vittima di arresto cardiaco iniziassero la rianimazione cardiopolmonare prima dell’arrivo dell’ambulanza, le possibilità di sopravvivenza aumenterebbero di 2-3 volte.

Oggi solo nel 15% dei casi viene eseguita la rianimazione prima dell’arrivo dei soccorsi. Se la percentuale aumentasse al 50/60% si potrebbero salvare 100.000 ogni anno.

 

È per questo che, per la prima volta, da quest’anno il 16 ottobre si celebrerà il “World Restart A Heart Day” cioè il giorno mondiale di sensibilizzazione sul tema dell’arresto cardiaco che vedrà iniziative in tutto il mondo con il patrocinio dell’Organizzazione Mondiale della Salute.

In questa occasione, i ricercatori e i volontari di IRC, Italian Resuscitation Council, saranno all’interno del Parco Archeologico del Colosseo a Roma, dalle 10 alle 17 per informare sulle manovre salvavita con dimostrazioni pratiche e con la novità della realtà virtuale: sarà possibile simulare in 3D e in modo realistico una corretta procedura di rianimazione.

I ricercatori e i volontari di IRC saranno accompagnati dai volontari della Fondazione “Giorgio Castelli”, che ha formato alla rianimazione cardiopolmonare gli addetti del Parco Archeologico del Colosseo a Roma e donato 11 defibrillatori all’intera area. È prevista anche la partecipazione di volontari dell’ANPAS, della Croce Rossa Italiana, di Conacuore e di altre associazioni.

Quello del 16 ottobre, però, è solo uno degli eventi della campagna  “VIVA! la settimana per la rianimazione cardiopolmonare”. Durante la settimana che quest’anno è dal 15 al 21 ottobre, saranno organizzati incontri e dimostrazioni pratiche in tutta Italia.

«Vogliamo anche quest’anno attrarre l’attenzione per spiegare come alcune semplici azioni, eseguibili da chiunque, possono salvare la vita di chi è colpito da arresto cardiaco. Per questo la nostra associazione è molto impegnata nella formazione e nella divulgazione: solo nell’ultimo anno abbiamo realizzato oltre 10.000 corsi di formazione rivolti a quasi 130.000 partecipanti tra operatori sanitari e persone comuni con particolare attenzione al mondo della scuola», dice Andrea Scapigliati, presidente di Italian Resuscitation Council e dirigente medico dell’Unità operativa di cardioanestesia e terapia intensiva cardiochirurgica della Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli.

«VIVA! rappresenta un’ottima occasione di sensibilizzazione per la popolazione nei confronti della cultura del primo soccorso e delle buone pratiche di rianimazione, cultura di vita e di attenzione ai bisogni primari del prossimo», aggiunge Vincenzo Castelli, presidente della Fondazione Giorgio Castelli onlus e dirigente medico della Unità di Medicina interna dell’Ospedale Vannini di Roma.

Per favorire la diffusione delle manovre salvavita, cioè il massaggio cardiaco, le ventilazioni di soccorso e la defibrillazione precoce, IRC ha creato un nuovo strumento che utilizza la realtà virtuale indirizzato non solo agli operatori sanitari ma anche alla gente comune e agli alunni delle scuole. Indossando il caschetto della realtà virtuale è possibile infatti simulare un primo soccorso su una vittima di arresto cardiaco.

Per favorire l’insegnamento nella scuola, IRC, ha inoltre ormai consolidato l’applicazione per cellulari “Un picnic mozzafiato” dedicato ai bambini della scuola primaria.

L’elenco delle iniziative della settimana VIVA! è disponibile sul sito dedicato all’iniziativa.

 

 

 

fonte: http://www.healthdesk.it/cronache/divulgazione-realt-virtuale-diffondere-rianimazione-cardiopolmonare

La potenza rivoluzionaria della realtà aumentata

Printlovers, n. 69, Ottobre 2017

 

 

Per sperimentare tutta la potenza rivoluzionaria della realtà aumentata bisogna capire che siamo di fronte a un nuovo oggetto comunicativo. E’ una nuova sintassi che sta nascendo, destinata a condizionare la comunicazione e il marketing.