Dental equipment test during zero-gravity flight
- Author:
- Gosbee, John
- Published:
- Sep 1, 1991.
- Physical Description:
- 1 electronic document
- Additional Creators:
- Billica, Roger
Young, John - Access Online:
- hdl.handle.net
- Restrictions on Access:
- Unclassified, Unlimited, Publicly available.
- Summary:
- The overall objectives of this program were to establish performance criteria and develop prototype equipment for use in the Health Maintenance Facility (HMF) in meeting the needs of dental emergencies during space missions. The primary efforts during this flight test were to test patient-operator relationships, patent (manikin) restraint and positioning, task lighting systems, use and operation of dental rotary instruments, suction and particle containment system, dental hand instrument delivery and control procedures, and the use of dental treatment materials. The initial efforts during the flight focused on verification of the efficiency of the particle containment system. An absorptive barrier was also tested in lieu of the suction collector. To test the instrument delivery system, teeth in the manikin were prepared with the dental drill to receive restorations, some with temporary filling materials and another with definitive filling material (composite resin). The best particle containment came from the combination use of the laminar-air/suction collector in concert with immediate area suction from a surgical high-volume suction tip. Lighting in the treatment area was provided by a flexible fiberoptic probe. This system is quite effective for small areas, but for general tasks ambient illumination is required. The instrument containment system (elastic cord network) was extremely effective and easy to use. The most serious problem with instrument delivey and actual treatment was lack of time during the microgravity sequences. The restorative materials handled and finished well.
- Collection:
- NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) Collection.
- Note:
- Document ID: 19910023464.
Accession ID: 91N32778.
NASA. Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Medical Evaluations on the KC-135 1990 Flight Report Summary; p 5-19. - Terms of Use and Reproduction:
- No Copyright.
- Access Online:
- hdl.handle.net
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