GOALI: Multi-Materials Laser Densification for Dental Restorations

这个赠款机会与行业学术联络（GOALI）赠款的目的是开发一个固体自由成型制造工艺，称为多材料激光致密化（MMLD），用于牙科治疗。目前，美国有10，000至15，000家牙科实验室，其中大多数实验室使用烤瓷熔附金属（PFM）修复体进行永久固定修复。烤瓷修复是一项非常耗时和劳动密集型的工作。人工成本约占患者最终成本的90%，而牙科材料仅占最终成本的不到50%。预计使用MMLD技术，可以在大约一个小时内从计算机模型构建牙科修复体，而无需特定部件的工具和人工干预。因此，牙科修复的人工成本将大大降低，同时可以为牙科患者提供更好和更快的服务。最终的目标是提供MMLD设施作为远程制造的在线站。在这个为期三年的项目结束时，将使用工业合作伙伴提供的MMLD机器和人牙的STL文件来演示固定的单个单元口腔修复。为了实现上述目标，已经定义了明确的策略：（i）研究逐线和逐点的粉末输送和多种材料的局部激光致密化，（ii）解决复杂的激光-材料相互作用、多种材料的不匹配以及由于牙齿修复体的性质而导致的小特征尺寸所带来的各种工程挑战，以及（iii）进行建模和模拟，以便牙齿修复体具有足够的机械性能、所需的美学外观，可以以精确、经济和可再现的方式产生良好的尺寸精度和精细的表面光洁度。 PI计划继续鼓励妇女和代表性不足的少数民族大学生参加这一GOALI项目。 在整合材料激光加工和固体自由成型制造的生物医学应用的研究经验为学生提供了一个强大的动力，采取在这个新兴领域的研究生教育。

The objective of this Grant Opportunity for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) grant is to develop a solid freeform fabrication process, termed as Multi-Materials Laser Densification (MMLD), for dental restorations. There are currently between 10,000 and 15,000 dental laboratories in the US and a majority of these laboratories use porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) restoration for permanent fixed prosthodontics. PFM restoration is a very time consuming and labor intensive work. Labor costs account for about 90percent of the final cost to the patient, while dental materials only account for less than 5percent of the final cost. It is anticipated that with MMLD technology a dental restoration can be built in about one hour from a computer model without part-specific tooling and human intervention. As such, the labor cost of the dental restoration will be substantially reduced, while a better and faster service can be provided to dental patients. The eventual goal is to provide MMLD facilities as on-line stations for remote fabrication. At the end of this three-year project fixed single unit prosthodontic restorations will be demonstrated using the MMLD machine and the STL file of human tooth provided by the industrial partner.To achieve the goal set forth above, clear strategies have been defined to (i) investigate line-by-line and point-by-point powder delivery and localized laser densification of multiple materials, (ii) address various engineering challenges arising from complex laser-material interactions, mismatches of multiple materials, and small feature sizes due to the nature of dental restoration, and (iii) perform modeling and simulation so that dental restorations with adequate mechanical properties, desired aesthetic appearance, good dimensional accuracy and fine surface finish can be produced in a precise, economical and reproducible fashion. The PI plans to continue to encourage women and underrepresented minority undergraduate students to participate in this GOALI project. The research experiences in integrating materials laser processing, and solid freeform fabrication for biomedical applications provides students with a strong incentive to take on graduate education in this emerging area.