In a previous post I shared my interest in the shop bot - a highly specialized computerized router that can create virtually any figure or object. On my first visit to the campus of Lorain Community college and their fablab, I tried various types of fish designs in wood - the intent was a fish plaque for the river mailbox.
With a little experimentation I made some interesting (but not very useful) pieces). The learning curve to go from concept to production is not too bad. It helps to take a course in shop bot training in nearby Durham, NC. The fish on the right 
is "in production" - I have the fish cut but trying to decide how best to finish it so that it will hold up the UV light and elements of outdoor hanging at the river is another challenge.
On the visit to Nova Scotia last year, I walked the outdoor labyrinth at a B&B 
The Inn at Glyndyer and was impressed with the calming effect - that sparked a more useful idea for the shop bot. Patients in the hospital have a bunch of stress not only with their illness, but with the health care system and personnel - no matter how caring a nurse or doctor is, it's still someone new. Many health care facilities across the country have placed walking labyrinths on their campuses and the studies show that use by staff and patients is about equal - for the same reasons - stress relief, calming. I did some research and found that there are finger labyrinths - smaller versions of classical labyrinths used in private meditation. I thought this would be a perfect possibility for patient care. Although there have been some publications on use of labyrinths in diseases states (mainly cancer), there have been no applications in general patient care.
Back to the shop bot with designs for the classical Chartres labyrinth in a 24x24 inch size and contact with the acute Recreational Therapy department at my hospital for their interest. I needed to do it in acrylic for patient cleanliness and with some tweaks got two units for the Rec Therapists to try. The units are pretty good, but using them in acute patients suggested several modifications that are in process. It's been really fascinating to watch patients of all walks of life use this tool. Awaiting surveys of patient results on the unit's we have in process now.
One of the most common patient questions - what are those etchings around the outside edge? Answer: they are lunations - used in the original Chartres labyrinth as a lunar cycle calculator - 28/quarter the timing of the lunar cycle. Not much use in our application and they are gone in the next designs.
Going to the Lorain shopbot is nice, but there are others closer such as the one offered by Techshop RDU, but for now the Lorain unit seems to work best for me.
More to follow on labyrinths in patient care. Headed off to a Maine Windjammer Cruise and hope to post after return with some great scenery.
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