science & practice @ CCTV Screenshot First-ever robot-led dental surgery performed in China (cid:132) For the first time ever, a robot has independently placed two 3-D- printed implants into a patient’s mouth without human involvement. The successful procedure raises hopes of lessening Asia’s dentist shortage, especially prevalent in metropolises such as Hong Kong and Singapore, and of avoiding risks posed by poor-quality surgeries per- formed by unqualified dentists. After taking a CT scan to ac- quire data on the female patient’s skull and jaw, the medical staff fit- ted position orientation equipment to the woman and determined the movements, angle and depth needed to fit the implants in her mouth so that the robot could be programmed to move into the correct position to carry out the operation. According AD (cid:58)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:78)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:80)(cid:83)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:74)(cid:92) (cid:48)(cid:39)(cid:3)(cid:22)(cid:19)(cid:3) for Implantology and Oral Surgery (cid:48)(cid:39)(cid:3)(cid:20)(cid:20)(cid:3) for Implantology (cid:521)(cid:3)(cid:40)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:92)(cid:3) | Simple device setup (cid:521)(cid:3)Strong | Powerful and smooth motor (cid:521)(cid:3)(cid:53)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:68)(cid:69)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:3)| High quality finish Scan me to be linked to the Nouvag contact form. (cid:102) NOUVAG AG · Switzerland info@nouvag.com · www.nouvag.com 14 26th EAO Annual Scientific Meeting to Prof. Zhao Yimin, a surgeon from the Fourth Military Medical Univer- sity (FMMU) in Xi’an, the procedure went very smoothly and the im- plants were placed with high preci- sion. Although human staff were present at all times during the 1-hour surgery, they did not play an active role. The robot, which was jointly developed by the Beihang University in Beijing in China and FMMU’s Stomatological Hospital over the last four years, is designed to follow a set of preprogrammed commands, but is able to make ad- justments during surgery, the South China Morning Post reported. According to a recent survey, about 400 million patients are in need of dental implants in China. @ CCTV Screenshot However, the number of qualified dentists in the country is insuffi- cient to meet the increasing de- mand. Through a continuing imple- mentation of robot technology, this shortage may be eased. In the future, robot-assisted and -led technology could increasingly facilitate dental surgeons’ work, ex- perts have predicted. Robotic tech- nology has already been introduced in recent years to assist in dental procedures such as root canal ther- apy, orthodontic operations and im- plant placement. In March this year, a pioneering robotic guidance sys- tem, Yomi, received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administra- tion. The computerised navigational system delivers physical guidance through the use of haptic robotic technology, which provides sensory feedback and constrains the drill in position, orientation and depth, the device’s manufacturer, Neocis, stated. (cid:26)