Numerous experimental studies, including experiments performed by the authors, have shown that the part orientation during layer deposition has a very strong influence on final strength of a product manufactured by additive Fused Deposition Technology. The paper presents the results of tensile, bending and impact strength tests performed on samples of various orientations, made out of ABS material using FDM technology. The results of these tests allowed discovering a unique phenomenon -with the changing orientation, not only the values of strength indexes change, but macroscopic material behavior under load as well. The transition between a "yield point" and "brittle" material usually happens in a certain range of orientation values, named a critical orientation by the authors. The paper indicates supposed ranges of critical orientation for various types of loads.

Effective medical and biomedical engineering education is an important problem. Traditional methods are difficult and costly. That is why Virtual Reality is often used for that purpose. Educational medical VR is a well-developed IT field, with many available hardware and software solutions. Current solutions are prepared without methodological approach. As a result, each VR system used for medical purposes is unique -there is no standardization, which leads to increased development time and costs. The paper presents an original methodology that can be used for building immersive virtual reality (VR) applications dedicated to training medical skills. The methodology is named "knowledgeoriented medical virtual reality" (KOMVR), as it uses basic knowledge-engineering tools during processes of planning, building and verification of interactive educational solutions. The paper shows successive stages of the methodology and the tools used for its execution. Effectiveness of the proposed methodology is illustrated with a simple example -a human body atlas. Major time reduction can be achieved while using the methodology -time reduction in the presented case was from 50 to 14 working days. The proposed innovative approach can increase effectiveness of preparation of educational VR solutions in medicine, but also in other branches of engineering.

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Modern techniques such as virtual-reality (VR) tasks might offer a unique method for eliciting state-variable fluctuations in body satisfaction and associated behaviors. The study aim was to develop the application of biometric avatars in VR as a useful tool to investigate changes within body representation in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). All the avatars were created on the basis of 3D scans of bodies of real female patients with thoracic scoliosis, of 12–18 years of age, consecutively selected for brace treatment or posterior correction and fusion. A 3D, white-light LED scanner was used. The models were rigged using 3DS Max software, to enable the possibility of human-type interaction and animation. The “Avatar Scoliosis 3D” is an innovative 3D, interactive-XR application, loosely based on the virtual-mirror concept, and contains a number of predefined avatars, each with a different Cobb angle. It is possible to change a selected avatar to one with a different Cobb angle (lower or higher), should the patient decide the visualization of the original is incompatible with their own perception. In conclusion, the possible application of biometric avatars in VR as a useful tool to investigate changes within body image in AIS was proposed.

Virtual reality (VR) may be used as an innovative educational tool. However, in order to fully exploit its potential, it is essential to achieve the effect of immersion. To more completely submerge the user in a virtual environment, it is necessary to ensure that the user's actions are directly translated into the image generated by the application, which can be achieved by means of various devices, such as tracking systems and VR headsets, as well as haptic devices. Recently, VR has become the focus of e-entertainment, which has resulted in the appearance on the market of numerous, low-cost peripheral devices. The paper discusses the examples of potential applications and steps necessary to adapt low-cost devices to immersive educational applications.