Generation I T-Scan recording sensors were an epoxy-based, electronically charged matrix that contained conductive ink columns and rows. When occluded into, the electronic resistance at the contact point would change proportional to the degree of the applied occlusal force. Larger forces resulted in greater resistance changes, and lighter forces resulted in small resistance changes. Generation 2 T-Scan recording sensors were redesigned T-Scan I sensors using Mylar casing instead of an epoxy matrix. The Generation 2 sensors were more flexible, more resistant to cracking, and had better shelf life. Generation 3 T-Scan sensors used a new pressure sensitive ink within the rows and columns, and demonstrated improved Hysteresis, Drift, and Temperature Stability. They had similar shelf life and flexibility compared to the earlier G2 sensors, but had reduced overall thickness of 82.82 microns. Generation 4 T-Scan sensors were configured into a High Definition (HD) design, where the active recording area was increased by 33%, and the inactive (non-recording area) area was decreased 50% compared to the Generation 3 design. This design packed the recording sensels much closer together than in all previous sensor designs.
Published in Chapter:
History of the T-Scan System Development from 1984 to the Present Day
Robert B. Kerstein, DMD (Former Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, USA & Private Dental Practice Limited to Prosthodontics and Computerized Occlusal Analysis, USA)
Copyright: © 2015
|Pages: 35
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6587-3.ch001
Abstract
Since its inception in 1984, Computerized Occlusal Analysis technology has revolutionized both dental Occlusal Science and daily clinical practice, by bringing objective precision measurement to the largely subjectively analyzed Dental Medicine discipline of Occlusion. The evolution of this technology has required much iteration over the past 30 years beginning with T-Scan I, then T-Scan II for Windows®, to T-Scan III with Turbo recording, to the present day version known as T-Scan 8. Numerous authors since the mid-1980s have studied the various T-Scan versions, which inspired the manufacturer to improve the hardware and its recording sensors to be more accurate, repeatable, and precise. The software has also evolved such that the present day T-Scan 8 includes many high-tech measurement tools that aid the clinician in diagnosing and treating a wide range of occlusal abnormalities. This chapter's specific aims are to detail the evolution of the differing T-Scan system versions while describing the many scientific studies that inspired important system improvements to the T-Scan's accuracy and repeatability from version to version.