The plaster-casting method to create a scoliosis brace consists of mould generation and rectification to obtain the desired orthosis geometry. Alternative methods entail the use of 3D scanning and CAD/CAM. However, both manual and digital design entirely rely on the orthotist expertise. Characterisation of the rectification process is needed to ensure that digital designs are as efficient as plaster-cast designs. Three-dimensional scans of five patients, pre-, and post-rectification plaster moulds were obtained using a Structure Mark II scanner. Anatomical landmark positions, transverse section centroids, and 3D surface deviation analyses were performed to characterise the rectification process. The rectification process was characterised using two parameters. First, trends in the external contours of the rectified moulds were found, resulting in lateral tilt angles of 81 ± 3.8° and 83.3 ± 2.6° on the convex and concave side, respectively. Second, a rectification ratio at the iliac crest (0.23 ± 0.04 and 0.11 ± 0.02 on the convex and concave side, respectively) was devised, based on the pelvis width to estimate the volume to be removed. This study demonstrates that steps of the manual rectification process can be characterised. Results from this study can be fed into software to perform automatic digital rectification.

Rainforests are continuously threatened by various anthropogenic activities. In addition, the ever-changing climate severely impacts the world’s rainforest cover. The consequences of these are paid back to human at a higher cost. Nevertheless, little or no significant attention was broadly given to this critical environmental issue. The World Heritage Sinharaja Rainforest in Sri Lanka is originating news on its forest cover due to human activities and changing climates. The scientific analysis is yet to be presented on the related issues. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive study on the possible impact on the Sinharaja Rainforest due to changing climate. Landsat images with measured rainfall data for 30 years were assessed and the relationships are presented. Results showcased that the built-up areas have drastically been increased over the last decade in the vicinity and the declared forest area. The authorities found the issues are serious and a sensitive task to negotiate in conserving the forest. The rainfall around the forest area has not shown significant trends over the years. Therefore, the health of forest cover was not severely impacted. Nevertheless, six cleared-up areas were found inside the Singaraja Rainforest under no human interactions. This can be due to a possible influence from the changing climate. This was justified by the temporal variation of Land Surface Temperature (LST) assessments over these six cleared-up areas. Therefore, the World Heritage rainforest is threatened due to human activities and under the changing climate change. Hence, the conservation of the Sinharaja Rainforest would be challenging in the future.

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Objective: Obtaining patient geometry is crucial in scoliosis brace design for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Advances in 3D scanning technologies provide the opportunity to obtain patient geometries quickly with fewer resources during the design process compared with the plaster-cast method. This study assesses the accuracy and repeatability of such technologies for this application. Methods: The accuracy and repeatability of three different handheld scanners and phone-photogrammetry was assessed using different mesh generation software. Twenty-four scans of a single subject's torso were analyzed for accuracy and repeatability based on anatomical landmark distances and surface deviation maps. Results: Mark II and Structure ST01 scanners showed maximum mean surface deviations of 1.74 6 3.63 mm and 1.64 6 3.06 mm, respectively. Deviations were lower for the Peel 1 scanner (maximum of 20.35 6 2.8 mm) but higher with the use of phonephotogrammetry (maximum of 25.1 6 4.8 mm). The mean absolute errors of anatomical landmark distance measurements from torso meshes obtained with the Peel 1, Mark II, and ST01 scanners were all within 9.3 mm (3.6%), whereas phone-photogrammetry errors were as high as 18 mm (7%). Conclusions: Low-cost Mark II and ST01 scanners are recommended for obtaining torso geometries because of their accuracy and repeatability. Subject's breathing/movement affects the resultant geometry around the abdominal and anterolateral regions.