For an updated project description, click on the following link for the Project Readiness Package.

Periodontal disease affects over 50% of adults worldwide and is the leading cause of tooth loss. Currently, the presence and extent of periodontal disease are measured using an invasive, metal probe as seen in the figure on the home page. This process is time consuming, inconsistent and painful. Therefore, Perio Alert is in the development stages as an attempt to make the sulcus measurement process more reliable, less painful and simpler. This idea uses an ultrasonic probe to perform the sulcus depth measurement required to determine the presence and extent of periodontal disease.

This project encompasses developing a method for testing an ultrasonic probe while performing the sulcus depth measurement. A test fixture must be developed to hold and maneuver the probe. The probe must be maneuvered accurately and repeatably to ensure the measurements are representative of the sulcus. A "phantom" tooth must also be developed to perform sulcus depth measurements on. This requires that a fixture be designed to hold and possibly maneuver the tooth being measured. This fixture should also move accurately and repeatably for the same reasoning of that associated with the probe fixture. Lastly, a system/program must be developed to serve as a user interface for the measurement technique. This system should be simple yet effective, leaving little room for user error. It should also provide meaningful feedback so the sulcus depth measurement can be easily interpreted and explained.

The importance of the phantom tooth lies in its ability to behave as a human tooth. The ultrasonic properties of materials used must be similar to those of a human tooth to facilitate meaningful results and prove out the process being tested; herein lies the difficulty of the project.

Project Name

Periodontal Measurement Test System

Project Number

P13061

Project Family

Assistive Devices

Start Term

2012-2

End Term

2012-3

Faculty Guide

Neal Eckhaus, neckhaus@gmail.com

Primary Customer

Sponsor (financial support)

Team Members

Front (left to right): Ryan Shaw, Kristi Weaver Back (left to right): Samuel Remp, Raymond Boronczyk, Evan Lammertse, Yokai Ro