I-Corps: Anti-Fogging Dental Mirror

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是改进牙镜的发展。这些镜子是牙科工业中使用的关键工具，用于从常规清洁到诊断到手术准备的一系列目的。保持口腔内良好的能见度对于这些目的至关重要。喷嘴和镜面之间的温差导致起雾。该技术通过防雾牙镜提高患者对蛀牙的可见性，从而改善口腔健康。这个项目有可能通过让学生接触各种各样的以病人为导向的研究来提高他们的临床研究技能。这个项目可以提供各种各样的教学学习机会和内部案例报告，这些都与以患者为导向的研究有关。这个I-Corps项目是基于一种牙镜设计的开发，该设计带有加热元件来加热牙镜表面，以及一种在高压灭菌器灭菌后保持可操作性的装置，这对口腔内应用至关重要。加热元件由带有镍铬加热元件的镜面和热敏电阻组成。空气流动清洗机构使用空气调节器和空气压缩机来产生受控的空气流量和压力，将水分从镜面吹走。旋转诱导清洁使用高速旋转机制将冷凝物推向镜子边缘。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of modified dental mirrors. These mirrors are a critical tool used in the dental industry and are used for a range of purposes from routine cleaning to diagnosis to surgical preparation. Maintaining good visibility within the mouth is critical for these purposes. The temperature difference between the mouth and the mirror surface leads to fogging. This technology improves the visibility of tooth decay in patients to improve oral health through an anti-fogging dental mirror. This project has the potential to enhance student clinical research skills by exposing them to a wide variety of patient-oriented research. This project could offer a variety of didactic learning opportunities and in-house case presentations that are relevant to patient-oriented research.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a dental mirror design with a heating element to heat the surface of the dental mirror and a device to maintain operability after autoclave sterilization, critical for an intraoral application. The heating element consists of a mirror with the nichrome heating element, and a thermistor. The air flow cleansing mechanism uses an air regulator and air compressor to create controlled air flow and pressure to blow moisture away from the mirror surface. Rotation-induced cleansing uses a high-speed rotating mechanism to push condensation towards the edges of the mirror.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.