Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a key component of diverse optical and electronic applications that exploit its exceptional material properties. In particular, the use of TiO2 in its single-crystalline phase can offer substantial advantages over its amorphous and polycrystalline phases for existing and yet-to-be-developed applications. However, the implementation of single-crystal TiO2 has been hamp...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the bacterial seal at the implant-abutment interface using two morse taper implant models, by means of an in vitro microbiological analysis. For that were used 15 implants with mini-abutments tightened by friction, no screws (Group 1); and 30 implants with screw-tightened abutments, of which 15 received 20 N.cm of closing torque (Group 2) and the othe...

PURPOSE This in vitro study aimed to evaluate the effect of implant connection design (external vs. internal) on the fit discrepancy and torque loss of zirconia and titanium abutments. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two regular platform dental implants, one with external connection (Brånemark, Nobel Biocare AB) and the other with internal connection (Noble Replace, Nobel Biocare AB), were selected. Se...

A T-handle has been designed to be used for minimally invasive implantation of a dynamic hip screw to repair fractures of the proximal femur. It is capable of being used in two actions: (i) push and hold (while using an angle guide) and (ii) application of torque when using the insertion wrench and lag screw tap. The T-handle can be held in a power or precision grip. It is suitable for either s...

We present details of the design, construction, and testing of a single-beam optical tweezers apparatus capable of measuring and exerting torque, as well as force, on microfabricated, optically anisotropic particles (an "optical torque wrench"). The control of angular orientation is achieved by rotating the linear polarization of a trapping laser with an electro-optic modulator (EOM), which aff...

We investigated the effects of hydroxyapatite (HA) coating on the purchase of pedicle screws. A total of 23 consecutive patients undergoing lumbar fusion was randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. The first received uncoated stainless-steel screws, the second screws which were partly coated with HA, and the third screws which were fully coated. The insertion torque was recorded. Af...

This study evaluated the loss of the torque applied after use of new screws and after successive tightening. Four infrastructures (IE), using UCLA castable abutment type, were cast in cobalt-chromium alloy and new abutment screws (G1) were used in a first moment. Subsequently, the same abutment screws were used a second time (G2) and more than two times (G3). The values of the torques applied a...

This paper presents a new geometry-based method to determine if a cable-driven robot operating in a d-degree-of-freedom workspace (2 ≤ d ≤ 6) with n ≥ d cables can generate a given set of wrenches in a given pose, considering acceptable minimum and maximum tensions in the cables. To this end, the fundamental nature of the Available Wrench Set is studied. The latter concept, defined here, is clo...