Overview
- Researchers at the University of Basel developed the Miniature Intraoral Robot (MIR), a roughly 43×26×28 mm device designed to sit on a custom dental tray while heavy motors and controllers remain outside the mouth.
- Laboratory tests on resin and enamel-like ceramic models showed positional errors below 0.2 millimetres and milling forces under five newtons, results reported across recent coverage that validate key performance metrics.
- The current prototype uses mechanical drive shafts, cables and tubes for power and control and cannot yet measure or correct its own position because it lacks internal sensors and a camera.
- The team plans to add tiny cameras and position sensors to create closed-loop control for real-time position correction, interrupted-treatment recovery and safety monitoring before any patient trials can begin.
- Development is a multi-institutional effort with the University of Zurich’s dental center, the University of Bern and Camlog Biotechnologies and funding from Innosuisse, and the group says clinical testing and regulatory validation will be required before the device could change crown workflows.