Affordable Dent-In Device That Prevents Dentists From COVID-19 Virus Exposure
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id—The biomechanics team from the Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (FTMD) ITB has successfully created a device that protects and assists dentists during the pandemic. This device called Dent-In has been filed for patent.
Dent-In is abbreviated from Dental Indonesia, inspired by the dental anatomy dentin. This device is a product of a multidisciplinary project that involves numerous FTMD professors and alumni from various scientific fields. The head of its research team is Satrio Wicaksono, S.T., M.Eng., Ph.D., along with other FTMD lecturers Pramudita Satria Palar, S.T., M.T, Ph.D. and Luqman Fathurohim, S.T., M.T. from the Flight Physics Research Group who help with the fluid flow issues. The team also includes Ferryanto, S.T., M.T. dan Arif Sugiharto, S.T., M.T. from the Mechanical Design Expertise Group that takes care of its design and production.
Several instructors from other FTMD ITB’s research groups participated in overseeing the project, such as Prof. Dr. Djoko Suharto, Prof. Dr. Andi Isra Mahyuddin, Prof Dr. Tatacipta Dirgantara, dan Dr.Eng. Sandro Mihrardi. This research project also involves young alumni of FTMD ITB’s Mechanical Engineering major who are Nandy Achmad Fauzy, S.T., Fikri Sobari Tahmidi, S.T., dan Ricky Indra Gunawan, S.T., assisting in the design and construction of the device. This collaboration is backed by the ideas and advice of dentists based on their necessities during practices. Thus, multidisciplinary approaches are crucial in problem-solving to generate accurate solutions.
The design process of Dent-It has started since May 2020 in which drg. Harry Huiz Peeters was worried about dentists’ fate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on studies, the virus can potentially be transmitted via aerosols. Due to this, Dent-In was developed as the key to help dentists in their work.
“If it is categorized, Dent-In is an extraoral aerosol suction type that reduces dentists’ risk of infection by isolating and filtrating aerosols from patients during the procedural dental care,” Satrio Wicaksono, Ph.D. explained.
Dent-In possesses several advantages compared to the usual extraoral aerosol suction tools. It is equipped with additional transparent shields resembling personal negative chambers/screens that minimizes aerosol sprays from patients. Moreover, the shields make the arrangement settings of the nozzle cup easier to handle.
“The nozzle cup is commonly placed near the patient’s mouth. Now, they can be set far from the mouth which do not disturb the dentist’s line of sight. This can be achieved because of the shield that dispels the incoming aerosols,” Dr. Satrio continued while describing the device his team developed.
Based on his statement, the mechanism of Dent-In involves the suction of aerosols coming out from the patient’s mouth through the nozzle cup. The collected aerosols flow into a box filled with filtered HEPA through the attached hose to capture the particles. Then, the filtered air enters the vacuum blower and passes through the UV light to be sterilized before exiting the exhaust as clean air.
The Dent-In device can be viewed here.
A unique feature of Dent-In is its usage of the HEPA H14 filter that is more advanced than other extraoral aerosol suction devices on the market. It is capable of filtrating airborne particles up to the size of 0.3 micron with maximum 99.99?fectiveness. Furthermore, Dent-In is a user-friendly device that can be operated directly and remotely with three speed settings, using the device’s buttons and a remote control respectively.
During the project’s development, the funding is provided by LPDP and RISTEK-BRIN via research consortium and COVID-19 innovation category. There have been three working prototypes successfully produced, in which one is used for further improvement, one is being examined by BPFK that releases the recommendation letter for medical appliances, while the latter will be handed to FKG Unpad.
Despite the pandemic’s situation that causes difficult laboratorial access in ITB, it does not hinder the team to continually develop the Dent-In device. The team’s next target is to mass-produce Dent-In and trade them at an affordable price. Due to this, the team is currently searching for suitable industrial partners to facilitate the production of Dent-In so that it can be sold well in the market.
On Friday (4/6/2021), FTMD ITB had sent the Dent-In device to the Faculty of Dentistry in Padjadjaran University at its campus hall, in hopes of assisting the dentists with their work during the pandemic.
Reporter: Anastasia Meliana (Sains dan Teknologi Farmasi, 2019)
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Teknik Lingkungan, 2019)
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