Page 49 - Demo

3Robot Technology in dentistry, an overview of initiatives47robot, after adjustments, was later used for the practice of medical emergencies [84]. In both studies a questionnaire was used to evaluate the student’s opinion about education using a robot patient. In another article of a parallel group, a robot (Simroid, Morita Group, Japan) with similar functions was compared to a mannequin phantom model with jaw movement reproducibility [85]. Dental students performed preparations for restorative treatments and were given questionnaires to evaluate the use of robot patients for educational purposes. One article looked at a haptic robotic drilling system for training of implant surgery [86]. The goal was to simulate realistic cutting-force responses during implant procedures for dental students. An experiment was conducted on pinewood to test the force response in relation to the actual forces. General practiceFive recent articles by the same research group from Hong Kong describe the development a compact robotic manipulator specially designed for dentistry [87-91]. By using a tendon-driven mechanism, the dimension of the manipulator was kept within limits. Motion scaling is an additional feature of the system. Experiments in a laboratory setting and under different circumstances where performed to validate the system. Two other groups designed systems supporting the dentist in its movements. One group designed a system in which a handpiece is both guided by dentist and robot to actively support its movements. Limited experiments were performed showing results in terms of accuracy and tremor reduction [92]. Another group designed a master-slave system in which the robot copies movement made by the dentists and haptic feedback is given to the dentist. Laboratory experiments were performed to validate the setup [93]. Other projects include a system to identify and position dental instruments automatically [94] and a basic ‘service robot’ to be used for delivering messages between patients in a waiting room and their dentist [95]. Limited experiments were performed.Education of patientsFour out of the five included articles concerning the education of patients described technology tested in its relevant environment, leading to technology readiness levels higher than five [96-98]. Robots in this field could interact with humans whilst avoiding necessity for physical contact. Two articles derived from the same research group described the effect of ‘The Smiling Robot’ in a Brazilian population of schoolchildren. [96, 97]. ‘The Smiling Robot’ is a humanoid android, whose movements and sound are remotely controlled by an operator. It emits previously recorded messages with Tom van Riet.indd 47 26-10-2023 11:59