Continue reading]]> One of our clients from 2012/2013 contacted us with a private testing request: he fell with his mountain bike hitting his head very hard on a rock, causing serious whiplash. He wanted us to inspect possible damage to his helmet in the impact location. We performed two scans for this, one full-helmet scan and one zoom-scan of the impact area. The impact area was marked by sticky tape and prestik. Images and videos below show the internal structure in various visualizations, and absolutely no damage was observed under-surface in this case. Damage is usually visible in the form of cracks (black lines in greyscale images) or even sometimes worse – delaminations or material permanent deformation. All credit to the helmet manufacturer and the impact-absorbing material used.

Here a video of the full helmet scan: Helmet Video 1-1(1)

Here images of the zoom-scan of region of suspected impact damage:

And a video of the impact region showing no change to underlying material: Helmet Zoom-1

If you want to do this for your sports equipment, book a scan at the link above, the estimated job time is 2 hrs for basic scan and check for damage (one scan).

If you want to use these images or videos in any form please cite our facility as the source

Continue reading]]> As a world leading 3D data analysis services provider, we offer segmentation services for all types of 3D data including biomedical research and clinical CT scans, MRI scans and more. Rates start at the the equivalent of 1 hr of processing cost per hour (see “rates” tab). As affiliated member of the Stellenbosch Institute for Biomedical Engineering, we are happy to work on any medical data for private or research projects.

Here is an example of a human femur segmented and analyzed in some detail for local trabecular thickness distribution, with a video below the images. Of course we also work on images with soft tissue and not limited to segmentation of bone structures.

VIDEO: Bone Video V3-1

Continue reading]]> Often it is necessary to understand the 3D porous structure of materials, but the analysis can be complicated in 3D due to the high interconnectivity of pores. A relatively simple analysis is the foam structure analysis which separates connected pore spaces making the analysis more realistic and comparable between samples, to understand the real pore sizes even though they are connected. This video shows the workflow for students to do it themselves. Students must book our PCs to make the analysis. It works on all samples with porosity > 10% and not limited to concrete.

Foam Structure Of Concrete-1

Continue reading]]> This video shows the 3D morphology of a crack in steel. This is used for failure analysis in various industries and for all kinds of products and materials. Such information (as crack morphology in 3D) is useful for safety investigations, lifetime prediction, failure root cause analysis for future prevention, and also for legal disputes.

Video link click here: Crack in steel

Continue reading]]> Any medical CT data can be processed, visualized and analyzed in detail at our facility. Got a medical CT data set and need something MORE? No problem, we do it. All we need is the DICOM or image stack with XYZ slice and pixel spacing. We also handle 3D data from serial block face imaging, FIB-SEM, synchrotrons, 3D handheld scanners and CMMs and many more.

This example shows some of the advanced analysis that is made possible, and highlights the potential for microCT applications in biomedical engineering studies as well, this microCT scan of a human femur was taken at 50 um. Enjoy the video and get in touch to make videos and analysis like this for your research or industrial application

If embedded player does not work, click here: Bone Video V3-1 or here Bone Video V3-1

Continue reading]]> CT data is big. Sometimes you need to share data quickly, like using file transfer services, but 10 GB just doesn’t work. Here is a video showing how to select a region of interest and export it to a new volume of less than 2GB, with a VGL file associated with it so the alignment and voxel size is maintained. Happy sharing and send us your cropped data for processing!

crop volume smaller

Continue reading]]> Great news – we have opened under strict level 3 conditions from 1 June 2020. We are open for work under the following rules:

• From June 1st, clients are advised to use the drop-off booking option to submit samples for scanning or data for analysis https://www.supersaas.com/schedule/CAF_Booking_systems/CT_Facility
• Samples and data drives will be delivered at scheduled times only, to our facility gate and left on the floor after ringing the bell. No walk-ins allowed, times for delivery must be arranged beforehand. Sample packaging will be sprayed with alcohol spray and the package left for one day unopened. The same procedure in reverse for data and sample pickup. National and international clients are requested to use courier services, adding our phone number.
• Students who require analysis time will be required to conduct a daily health assessment (self –evaluation) to determine if they are fit for work.
• Only trained students to use facilities, no training or one on one assistance will be provided.
• To adhere to social distancing, only one student will be allowed to analyse in a day on a PC. BOOKING in advance is essential.
• Trained students with sufficient internet bandwidth may make use of the remote analysis on another PC – same booking slots necessary, arrange with us before for the login details. No support after hours is possible, if you are kicked off or make a mistake.