Novel instrumented tooth with tenfold increase in force resolution

This paper reports on the progress in the development of the instrumented tooth (IT). The IT is an orthodontic research tool to measure the six components of the force and moment vectors active in artificial dentitions. The new 17-mm-long, 5.2-mm-diameter force/moment (FM) sensor module utilized in the IT shows a significant improvement over previous designs. It consists of two mechanical stress mapping CMOS chips in a back-to-back configuration axially mounted between two metal pins. The resulting resolutions for measuring the force components F_x, F_y, and F_z are 178.mN, 67.mN, and 384.mN, respectively, improving on the state of the art by factors of 2, 11 and 8. With values below 2.15.Nmm, resolutions of the moment components M_x, M_y, and M_z are comparable to the previous state of the art. However M_y is better distinguished from F_z than before. Force and moment ranges are at least ±15.N and ±30.Nmm, respectively.