Regensburg 2019 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 3: Bioimaging and biospectroscopy I

BP 3.10: Vortrag

Montag, 1. April 2019, 12:30–12:45, H11

A multisensory interface for exploring nanomechanical tissue properties with human senses — •Robert Magerle¹, Stephen Barrass², Andreas Otto¹, Mónica Tamara Heredia Muñoz¹, Martin Dehnert¹, Thomas Baumann¹, and Alexandra Bendixen¹ — ¹TU Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany — ²sonification.com, Canberra, Australia

With an atomic force microscope (AFM), the shape of a surface and its local mechanical properties can be measured in great detail on the nanometer scale. Understanding this complex and multidimensional data, however, is still in its infancy. Biological tissues in particular display a very complex spatial structure, and their mechanical properties remain largely unexplored on the nanometer scale. In the case of such complex data, analytical methods based on statistical data reduction have reached their limits. Here we present a new approach that fundamentally changes data analysis by making this complex data accessible to human perception and cognition. With a haptic interface, the force fields measured with an AFM are translated into forces perceivable to humans. Simultaneously, the surface shape and its local mechanical properties are visually and acoustically presented. This allows human users to interactively explore the forces measured on the nanometer scale, while simultaneously employing multiple senses. Humans are remarkably adept at discovering patterns within complex structures as well as deviations from these patterns. If we succeed in using this human ability for exploring nanomechanical tissue properties, this would offer the opportunity to discover new biomechanical phenomena.