Dental News - New portable chair could aid dental treatment

Daniel Zimmermann, DTI

Tue. 21 June 2011

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NEW YORK, NY, USA/LEIPZIG, Germany: Design and Engineering students from Purdue University in West Lafayette in the US have developed a new kind of portable medical chair that can also be used for dental treatment. The device, named the Mantis owing to its ability to transform into various shapes, does not have any gears or motors and can be folded into a dolly to suit different medical uses. It is intended to help carry out treatment in underdeveloped countries, where operating traditional surgical equipment can be difficult.

The idea came from Industrial Design student Leha Kenttämaa-Squires following several visits to a dental office. In order to realise her concept, she teamed up with Mechanical Engineering graduate Kyle Amick, who helped to build the first prototype. According to Kenttämaa-Squires, the Mantis is extremely lightweight for carrying by commercial airliners and can store additional medical and dental equipment.

“We wanted to create something as mobile as possible knowing there wouldn’t be portable power sources,” she said.

The students are currently seeking to license and commercialise the chair through the Purdue Research Foundations Office of Technology Commercialization, an office that protects and promotes the university’s intellectual property. Kenttämaa-Squires said that once patented the chair could be available to dental professionals worldwide within two years.

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