Robots Help Dentist Focus on Pain

At a recent robot convention held in Tokyo, Japan, a humanoid robot has her teeth checked by a dentist. Simroid looks like a petite Japanese woman dressed in a pink sweater and red high heels, until you get up front and really personal.

Her mouth is fitted with replicas of real teeth that are fitted with sensors, and they are a playing field for dentists in training. When something goes wrong, Simroid cries out in pain.

Her name comes from “simulator humanoid” and she alone could be responsible for making trips to the dentist a lot less painful and more pleasant by alerting future dentists that their current action is causing some discomfort.

“Our aim is to train dentists to worry about whether patients are comfortable, and not just focus on technical expertise,” said Dr. Naotake Shibui of the Nippon Dental University in Tokyo who developed the robot along with help of technicians from Kokoro Company.

Improvements for Simroid are in the works, and they include a way to allow dental students to actually inject the robot’s gums with anesthetic.

Can the robot be trained to pay the dental bill also?

Who knows what the future may hold?

(Link)

By MDeeDubroff on 17-03-2009