Testing of Surgical Instruments

Today’s bone drills are faced with demanding requirements with regard to cutting edge characteristics, the contact force required, chemical resistance, and the prevention of bone heating. This test device is used to determine contact force, penetration force, and torque required for a bone drill. Depending on the area of use and the quality of the bone, dental drills, cortical drills, and oral surgery drills, etc. are used to drill into the appropriate material—dentine, bone, or their substitutes—using a specified push force and torque. The test allows overlaid measurement of torque and compression force to evaluate the geometry of the surgical drill. The drilling behavior of a self-powered drill can be examined even without a torsion drive by using the force or travel control of the testing machine. ZwickRoell’s comprehensive testing machine solution also provides flexure fatigue resistance testing via a 3-point flexure device plus hardness testing of the basic material.

The cutting precision and flexural strength of sagittal saw blades have a significant influence on operation outcomes. Function testing of these saw blades involves the simulation of manipulation by the surgeon. The complete sagittal saw with blade is clamped in the testing machine; the saw is started and the blade is run against the bone substitute material. Pressing force and depth of cut are measured to provide tolerance values for correct use. Calculated characteristic values, such as stiffness, provide information regarding load influences that can bend or damage the saw blade. Another test to determine saw blade flexure strength uses ZwickRoell's 3-point flexure test kit for fast and straightforward testing. It tests the cutting characteristics and precision of different saw tooth geometries.