Learning about tooth removal with robot technology

Deze PhD-thesis richt zich op een fundamenteel onderzoek van de extractieleer en maakt daarbij gebruik van robottechnologie. Het onderzoek omvat zes inhoudelijke hoofdstukken, waarin verschillende aspecten van dit onderwerp worden behandeld. Het tweede hoofdstuk analyseert de literatuur over robottechnologie in de tandheelkunde en wijst op de matige kwaliteit van beschikbare literatuur, zeker als het op klinische toepassingen aankomt. Hoofdstuk 3 biedt een overzicht van robotsystemen in alle deelgebieden van de tandheelkunde sinds 1985. Hoofdstuk 4 introduceert een meetopstelling om krachten en bewegingen bij tandextracties nauwkeurig vast te leggen, terwijl hoofdstuk 5 de resultaten van een serie experimenten voor wat betreft krachten en momenten weergeeft. Hoofdstuk 6 beschrijft het bewegingsbereik en de snelheden tijdens tandheelkundige extracties, zoals gemeten met een robotarm. Hoofdstuk 7 beschrijft de ontwikkeling en eigenschappen van een classificatiemodel voor extracties op basis van kracht- en bewegingsgegevens. De conclusie benadrukt de toenemende interesse in robotinitiatieven in de tandheelkunde, de behoefte aan wetenschappelijke validatie van de toegevoegde waarde daarvan en het potentieel van robottechnologie om ons fundamentele begrip van de extractieleer te vergroten. De studies benadrukken het belang van gegevensverzameling, analyse en samenwerking tussen verschillende disciplines om ons fundamentele begrip van extracties te verbeteren, met een focus op tandheelkundig onderwijs en uiteindelijk de patiëntenzorg

Robotics in Dentistry : A Narrative Review

Background: Robotics is progressing rapidly. The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the basic and applied research status of robotics in dentistry and discusses its development and application prospects in several major professional fields of dentistry. Methods: A literature search was conducted on databases: MEDLINE, IEEE and Cochrane Library, using MeSH terms: [“robotics” and “dentistry”]. Result: Forty-nine articles were eventually selected according to certain inclusion criteria. There were 12 studies on prosthodontics, reaching 24%; 11 studies were on dental implantology, accounting for 23%. Scholars from China published the most articles, followed by Japan and the United States. The number of articles published between 2011 and 2015 was the largest. Conclusions: With the advancement of science and technology, the applications of robots in dental medicine has promoted the development of intelligent, precise, and minimally invasive dental treatments. Currently, robots are used in basic and applied research in various specialized fields of dentistry. Automatic tooth-crown-preparation robots, tooth-arrangement robots, drilling robots, and orthodontic archwire-bending robots that meet clinical requirements have been developed. We believe that in the near future, robots will change the existing dental treatment model and guide new directions for further development

Investigating the Design and Manufacture of PneuNet Actuators as a Prosthetic Tongue for Mimicking Human Deglutition

The number of Total Glossectomy cases in the United States is seeing an increasing trend as per the Nationwide Inpatient Sample Database. Patients, who have undergone such aggressive surgical procedures, have extensive limitations performing basic oral functions such as swallowing (deglutition), eating and speaking. Current rehabilitation prostheses do little in restoring the functionality of the original tongue. This is true especially in deglutition, which is necessary to transfer a bolus to the esophagus. Such patients need advanced prosthetic devices and through this research, investigations into potential solutions for prosthetic tongues to aid in deglutition were carried out. The process began with an extensive literature review that provided tongue position, motion, and pressure data during the swallowing stages. Several potential designs were considered such as using linkages and pneumatic networks (PneuNets). Based on a decision matrix, PneuNets were adopted as the foundational basis for generating prosthetic designs. Several prototypes were fabricated using Fused Filament Disposition for mold development and silicone Eco-flex 00-30 for actuator development. Each iteration involved tackling several design and manufacturing challenges especially when scaling these actuators from an initial experiment to an anatomical shape and size of a human tongue. A tongue of dimensions 1.8 inches wide, 2.4 inches long and 0.24 inches thick was developed. The PneuNet actuator was powered by a pneumatic system and kinematic data was collected using a tracking software. The data gathered provided validation comparisons between position trends exhibited in the literature. Theoretical deflection models were generated for analyzing the deflection of the front, middle and back sections of the tongue prototype. Details from literature review, design iterations, simulations, validation processes, research challenges and conclusions will be discussed in depth

Force field adaptation in speech production

Although audition may appear to be the dominant sensory modality in speech production, the capacity for intelligible speech following severe hearing loss suggests that other sensory information - for example, somatosensory feedback - may also contribute to the achievement of speech targets. The aim of this thesis is to explore the role of somatosensory feedback in speech produced by healthy adults.The first study aimed at providing a test of whether somatosensory feedback plays a role in speech production beyond the language acquisition period in early childhood. In order to achieve this goal, we designed a pattern of forces that affects jaw movements during speech production, but at the same time has no measurable acoustic effect. We found that subjects compensated for such a distortion in speech movement trajectories, even though it had no impact on the sounds. In contrast, no adaptation was observed in matched non-speech jaw movements, indicating that this was not an inevitable consequence of exposing the orofacial apparatus to this pattern of forces. This is the first demonstration that somatosensory information on its own drives the achievement of articulator positions in speech.In study one, it was observed that subjects only adapted to the loads in the opening phase of the jaw movement. In order to elucidate this somewhat unexpected finding, we carried out experiments in which we manipulated the linguistic content of the training utterance. We found that subjects compensated for the perturbations only in portions of the movement that contained a vowel-to-vowel transition. It was suggested that the required kinematic precision during a transition between two vocal tract shapes associated with vowels is higher than during transitions between a consonant and a vowel. It also points to the speech-like nature of the observed adaptation.The third study aimed at investigating the extent to which speech motor learning generalizes across acoustic contexts. We trained subjects to produce utterances while exposed to a velocity dependent force field. After learning, the subjects were tested with new utterances, matched on dynamics to the ones used in training. Note that even if the acoustic contents of the test and the training utterances were different, the loads had a similar effect on both speech movements. We showed that learning did not transfer to the test utterances; therefore adaptation was restricted to the specific training context. These results point to the specificity of speech motor learning

User Based Development and Test of the EXOTIC Exoskeleton:Empowering Individuals with Tetraplegia Using a Compact, Versatile, 5-DoF Upper Limb Exoskeleton Controlled through Intelligent Semi-Automated Shared Tongue Control

This paper presents the EXOTIC- a novel assistive upper limb exoskeleton for individuals with complete functional tetraplegia that provides an unprecedented level of versatility and control. The current literature on exoskeletons mainly focuses on the basic technical aspects of exoskeleton design and control while the context in which these exoskeletons should function is less or not prioritized even though it poses important technical requirements. We considered all sources of design requirements, from the basic technical functions to the real-world practical application. The EXOTIC features: (1) a compact, safe, wheelchair-mountable, easy to don and doff exoskeleton capable of facilitating multiple highly desired activities of daily living for individuals with tetraplegia; (2) a semi-automated computer vision guidance system that can be enabled by the user when relevant; (3) a tongue control interface allowing for full, volitional, and continuous control over all possible motions of the exoskeleton. The EXOTIC was tested on ten able-bodied individuals and three users with tetraplegia caused by spinal cord injury. During the tests the EXOTIC succeeded in fully assisting tasks such as drinking and picking up snacks, even for users with complete functional tetraplegia and the need for a ventilator. The users confirmed the usability of the EXOTIC