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Wilkinson has developed, evaluated and applied techniques, standards and datasets for facial depiction and identification of the dead. The impacts include:
Virtual Worlds are challenging to develop and deploy in small community settings. Our research into their measurement, design, and usability has allowed us to radically reduce the cost and footprint of a platform needed to support the collaborative creation of content, letting communities share their histories with both local and global audiences. Integrating this platform with an approach to virtual fieldwork lets communities explore authentic recreations of historical scenes, giving new perspectives on cultural heritage that stimulate reflection and understanding across the generations and enhancing the visitor experience by making new modes of interaction available for museums. This has enabled educational and cultural heritage bodies in Scotland to connect with new audiences and increase public participation in local heritage.
Research at the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng) has enabled accurate positioning to be added to 2D freehand ultrasound probes to enable the acquisition of large coherent blocks of high-resolution 3D ultrasound image data. The software code base developed in the DoEng was licensed to two separate companies, Schallware and MedaPhor, to enable them each to develop an ultrasound training product. Both companies have sold to more than 30 customers worldwide during the REF impact period; the Cambridge software had a key role in contributing to the innovation and quality of the products developed by both companies, and significantly increased the speed at which they were able to bring these products to market.
UCL's pioneering use of 3D body surface scanning and national anthropometric surveys has had impact in the fashion industry and healthcare. In 2008, a UCL spinout, Sizemic, was founded to sell clothing size charts and fit mannequins based on the UK survey data, helping manufacturers and retailers improve the fit of their clothing, and reduce their product development times and costs. Sizemic now has 10 employees and a turnover of £1m. The research also led to other national sizing surveys, including in Germany (2008/9), Thailand (2009/10) and Mexico (2010), with results used for product development. In 2009, UCL built a prototype 3D-healthcare system for GPs and established a company, ShapeDynamics, to support the platform. The software is being tested at a private healthcare practice in London. Another UCL spinout, Bodymetrics, has commercialised body scanners for use as a clothes-fitting aid in stores.
The East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit (EMFPU) and Academic Imaging, both based at the University of Leicester, have led the development of post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) — CT scanning — as an alternative or adjunct to conventional autopsy since 2002. The team has the largest experience in the UK in terms of number of cases investigated and publications, covering natural, traumatic, mass fatality and homicide deaths. It has also contributed directly to national and international guidelines, recommendations, protocols and operational systems. Since 2008, this research has had an impact on public authorities, (contributing to guidelines ranging from natural death to national disaster planning), and on the community.
We demonstrate the impact of deploying real time 3D computer graphics and haptics technologies in the context of training minimally invasive procedures. It is widely accepted in medical specialties that a reform in teaching methods must be made to meet today's high volume training requirements. Receiving instruction in a core set of skills and procedures before novice practitioners are exposed to the traditional, patient based, apprenticeship model has been shown will reduce the time needed to acquire skills, maintain competence, and reduce the initial errors made on patients. The case study centres on three simulators developed at Bangor (Figure 1).
Over the last 15 years the Medical Applications Group (MAG) has engaged in applied research into the use of product design techniques and technologies in medical procedures. Their work has directly led to better, safer, faster, more accurate and less intrusive surgical procedures. The group has worked with surgeons at NHS hospitals all over the UK to deliver well over 2,000 medical models for surgical use during the period. A number of hospitals have adopted MAG's techniques, meaning that the Group's research has improved the dignity, comfort and quality of life of around two and a half thousand people since 2008 whilst saving the UK tax payer many thousands of pounds.
[Throughout this template, references to underpinning research are numbered 1-6; sources to corroborate are numbered 7-15]
Impact: Commerce and professional services; the development of Optical Projection Tomography (OPT) — a technique for three-dimensional (3D) optical microscopy.
Significance: A step-change in scientific imaging; novel equipment and training services for imaging laboratories, offering a new standard in 3D microscopy. Over £2M in sales for the MRC.
Beneficiaries: Scientific institutions and imaging facilities, commerce.
Attribution: OPT was developed, by Sharpe, Baldock and Davidson, and commercialised at the MRC Human Genetics Unit, UoE.
Reach: World-wide: OPT instruments are used in Europe, America, Asia and Australia; chapters on OPT can be found in major microscopy textbooks.
danceroom Spectroscopy (dS) is a cutting-edge, interactive public engagement project that allows people to literally step into an interactive molecular dynamics simulation. It has its origins in fundamental research carried out to understand ultrafast chemical dynamics in liquids. On a large scale, dS impact has arisen from its deployment in premier cultural settings in the UK and internationally, eg the London 2012 Olympics, London's Barbican Arts Centre, Ars Electronica (Austria), ZKM (Germany), and the World Science Festival (New York City). Statistics indicate well over 60,000 people have so far experienced dS, with audiences spanning ages from 3 to 73, and attracting those with a variety of interests including science, technology, art and education. Within the cultural and media sectors, dS has received several awards and substantial press attention, all of which has proven beneficial to several non-academic collaborators and partner institutions. The substantial momentum and opportunities available from dS are also being commercially exploited through a spin-out company called Interactive Scientific Ltd.