A novel vending machine for supplying root canal tools during surgery

A root canal surgery involves the successive use of several tools one after another. Typically dozens of tools are laid out for possible use, and the process of tool selection is done manually. This is a rather inefficient process and uses up a large area on the mobile cart or cabinet of the dental chair due to the large number of tools. In this article, a novel 'tool vending machine' is introduced which will be capable of solving those problems and at the same time move a step closer to robot-assisted dental surgery. The tool vending machine was designed considering the needs of the dentists and also from the perspective of the entire product life cycle. For these reasons the design process was implemented using a rigorous analysis of effective manufacturing processes and product quality. To show the feasibility of using such a machine in improving work efficiency during operations, a study of the associated motion patterns and the required time increments were demonstrated.