Design of Transducers for Resonance Frequency Measurement to assess the Dental Implant Stability in vitro

The objective of the present study is to assess the performance of various designs of a transducer for determining the Dental Implant stability using Resonance Frequency Analysis (RFA) technique. Three different designs of the transducer have been presented in this article. The resonance frequency response of each transducer design was measured and analyzed in vitro. For this purpose, the transducer was attached to the implant with the help of a screw and this was placed in the dental plaster mixture. The dental plaster mixture gradually hardens with time resulting in a change in the resonance frequency of the system. Analysis of the results helps in identification of the transducer design showing more consistent results as compared to the other two designs. The proposed transducer initially shows a slight increase in RF, followed by a fall of the RF as the dental plaster hardens. Subsequently, the RF slightly increases to a nearby high value, finally becoming steady.