A novel vending machine for supplying root canal tools during surgery

Abstract

A root canal surgery involves the successive use of several tools one after another. Typically dozens of tools are laid out for possible use, and the process of tool selection is done manually. This is a rather inefficient process and uses up a large area on the mobile cart or cabinet of the dental chair due to the large number of tools. In this article, a novel ‘tool vending machine’ is introduced which will be capable of solving those problems and at the same time move a step closer to robot-assisted dental surgery. The tool vending machine was designed considering the needs of the dentists and also from the perspective of the entire product life cycle. For these reasons the design process was implemented using a rigorous analysis of effective manufacturing processes and product quality. To show the feasibility of using such a machine in improving work efficiency during operations, a study of the associated motion patterns and the required time increments were demonstrated.

Keywords::

• Root canal surgery
• Root canal tools
• Vending machine
• Modular instrument
• Design for manufacturing
• Product quality

Declaration of interest: Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Appendix

Figure A1.  Functional requirements for the root canal tool vending product.

Table A1.  Morphological chart for the root canal tool vending product.

Table A2.  Design candidates for root canal tools vending product.

Table A3.  Basic Pugh decision matrix for root canal tools vending product.

Table A4.  Weighted Pugh decision matrix for root canal tools vending product.

Table A5.  QFD analysis of root canal vending machine

Table A6.  DFA analysis of the final device assembly

Table A7.  FMEA analysis of the device.

Table A8.  Tool pick-up time analysis.

Table A9.  Tool return analysis.

Table A10.  Time analysis for tool preparation.

Table A11.  Time analysis for sterilization.