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The Future of 3D Printing and Healthcare

When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as  airplane  and  automobile parts  to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in  the 1980s  as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and  patient-specific models  to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
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New Imager Makes Device Screens ‘Touch-Free’

What if you could control your TV without using a remote or use your computer without ever touching it? Innovative imaging technology is on the horizon and it’s bringing new meaning to the term “hands-free.”
An Austrian research team has developed a versatile device that can capture images on a flexible, polymer sheet. The image is a rectangle of clear, plastic film and uses fluorescent particles to capture incoming light. The light is channeled to sensors, then to a computer that combines the light signals and creates an image on the device’s surface.
“To our knowledge, we are the first to present an image sensor that is fully transparent- no integrated microstructures, such as circuits- and is flexible and scalable at the same time,” Oliver Bimber of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, said in a statement.
The new invention could have many practical applications, Bimber and his fellow researchers said. They envision the image being applied on top of transparent user interfaces, such as the screens of TVs and computers. This would enable users to control their devices without having to touch them.
Researchers said that the image would allow gamers and computer operators to control their devices using simple gestures and without the use of external cameras or motion sensors. Because the image is housed in a flexible polymer sheet, it can also be wrapped around objects to give them sensor capabilities.
Bimber said that his team is not yet aware of all the possible applications for their device, but he believes that the inexpensiveness of the polymer sheet used to create the images means it’s disposable and therefore more suitable for a range of different functions.

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