Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition

Daniel Zimmermann DTI NEW YORK, USA: Design and Engineering students from Pur- due University in West Lafayette in the US have developed a new kind of portable medical chair that can also be used for dental treatment. The device, named the Mantis owing to its ability to transform into various shapes, does not have any gears or mo- tors and can be folded into a dolly tosuitdifferentmedicaluses.Itis intended to help carry out treat- ment in underdeveloped coun- tries, where operating tradi- tional surgical equipment can be difficult. The idea came from Indus- trial Design student Leha Kent- tämaa-Squires following several visits to a dental office. In order to realise her concept, she teamed up with Mechani- cal Engineering graduate Kyle Amick, who helped to build the first prototype. According to Kenttämaa- Squires, the Mantis is ex- tremely lightweight for carrying by commercial airliners and can store ad- ditional medical and den- tal equipment. The students are currently seeking to license and commer- cialise the chair through the Purdue Research Foundations Office of Technology Commer- cialization, an office that pro- tects and promotes the univer- sity’s intellectual property. Kenttämaa-Squires said that once patented the chair could be available to dental profes- sionals worldwide within two years. DT From news report LONDON, UK: Sixty per cent of European doctors use the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia for professional purposes, a report has revealed. Furthermore, 69% use social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. For the survey, 300 general practitioners across Eu- rope were interviewed. The findings show that it is not only young doctors who use the Internet for this purpose. Across all markets, 75% of doc- tors in the 51 to 60 age groups stated that they regularly con- sultedWikipediaforprofessional use. According to the London- based Insight Research Group, who carried out the survey, the new statistic surprised many in theindustry.Notonlydidthedoc- tors surveyed use the Internet as a source for their research, but half of them also recommended specific websites for their pa- tients to visit following their con- sultations. Eighty-seven per cent advised certain sites for further background or education on their condition, 70% for addi- tional support and advice, and 69% for more information re- garding treatment and medica- tion. According to the Insight Re- search Group, the findings rein- force the popular view that we arenowlivingintheeraofthe“e- patient”, for whom the web has become a trusted tool for health- related matters, as well as daily tasks. “The e-patient is here to stay. But we have to investigate whether patients are accessing the right type of websites when it comes to health issues they or theirlovedonesarefacing,”con- tinued Damian Eade, Director of Insight Research Group. “Whether it’s researching ill- nesses, sharing experiences, making recommendations or providing moral support for other patients around the world, the social web has reinvented health advice.” DT European doctors use Wikipedia and Co. InventorsKyleAmick(left)andLeahKenttämaa-SquiresdemonstratetheMantis reclining chair they developed. (DTI/Photo courtesy of Purdue University, USA) New portable chair could aid dental treatment DENTALTRIBUNE Middle East & Africa Edition News & Opinions 5