STTR Phase I: A Diagnostic Device to Measure Dental Implant Stability

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This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I aims to develop a novel method for monitoring dental implant stability. The system aims to provide a low cost temporary method for dentists to quantitatively assess the 27 million dental implants globally placed per year. These implants currently have a 10-15% failure rate. The proposed system provides mechanical feedback on the bond stability between the implant and the surrounding bone that serves as a foundation for the crown and receives bite loads. This bond stability provides direct, actionable information that may be superior to current subjective evaluations used by dentists including feel with their hands, X-Ray, or torqueing.This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to complete a proof of concept demonstration of a reliable and accurate device to measure the stability of dental implants using vibrational technology. The proposed system seeks to provide controlled forces to the implant in order to sense the degree of motion and stability. This new technology has two critical concepts: the first is to quantify implant stability via angular stiffness at the gum line of the implant bone (i.e., the ability against rotation), and the second is the development of a clip-on sensor unit and a mechanics-based model to calculate implant stability. This project seeks to develop a prototype with a design validated on in vitro mandible models.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.