The dV-Trainer(®) simulator proves to be a valid tool to assess basic skills of robotic surgery.

Background. The teaching of implant surgery, as in other medical disciplines, is currently undergoing a particular evolution. Aim of the Study. To assess the usefulness of haptic device, a simulator for learning and training to accomplish basic acts in implant surgery. Materials and Methods. A total of 60 people including 40 third-year dental students without knowledge in implantology (divided into 2 groups: 20 beginners and 20 experiencing a simulator training course) and 20 experienced practitioners (experience in implantology >15 implants) participated in this study. A basic exercise drill was proposed to the three groups to assess their gestural abilities. Results. The results of the group training with the simulator tended to be significantly close to those of the experienced operators. Conclusion. Haptic simulator brings a real benefit in training for implant surgery. Long-term benefit and more complex exercises should be evaluated.

Chitin is a structural polysaccharide of the cell walls of fungi and exoskeletons of insects and crustaceans. In this study, chitin was extracted, for the first time in our knowledge, from the Cicada orni sloughs of the south-eastern French Mediterranean basin by treatment with 1 M HCl for demineralization, 1 M NaOH for deproteinization, and 1% NaClO for decolorization. The different steps of extraction were investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Results demonstrated that the extraction process was efficiently performed and that Cicada orni sloughs of the south-eastern French Mediterranean basin have a high content of chitin (42.8%) in the α-form with a high degree of acetylation of 96% ± 3.4%. These results make Cicada orni of the south-eastern French Mediterranean basin a new and promising source of chitin. Furthermore, we showed that each step of the extraction present specific characteristics (for example FTIR and XRD spectra and, consequently, distinct absorbance peaks and values of crystallinity as well as defined values of maximum degradation temperatures identifiable by TGA analysis) that could be used to verify the effectiveness of the treatments, and could be favorably compared with other natural chitin sources.

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Background: A new model of 3D-printed temporal bone with an innovative distinction between soft and hard tissues is described and presented in the present study. An original method is reported to quantify the model's ability to reproduce the complex anatomy of this region.Methods: A CT-scan of temporal bone was segmented and prepared to obtain 3D files adapted to multimaterial printing technique. A final product was obtained with two different resins differentiating hard from soft tissues. The reliability of the anatomy was evaluated by comparing the original CT-scan and the preprocessed files sent to the printer in a first step, and by quantifying the printing technique in a second step.Firstly, we evaluated the segmentation and mesh correction steps by segmenting each anatomical region in the CT-scan by two different other operators without mesh corrections, and by computing distances between the obtained geometries and the pre-processed ones. Secondly, we evaluated the printing technique by comparing the printed geometry imaged using µCT with the pre-processed one.Results: The evaluation of the segmentation and mesh correction steps revealed that the distance between both geometries was globally less that one millimeter for each anatomical region and close to zero for regions such as temporal bone, semicircular canals or facial nerve. The evaluation of the printing technique revealed mismatches of 0.045±0.424 mm for soft and −0.093±0.240 mm for hard tissues between the initial prepared geometry and the actual printed model. Conclusions:While other reported models for temporal bone are simpler and have only been validated subjectively, we objectively demonstrated in the present study that our novel artificial bi-material temporal bone is consistent with the anatomy and thus could be considered into ENT surgical education programs.The methodology used in this study is quantitative, inspired by engineer sciences, making it the first of its kind.The validity of the manufacturing process has also been verified and could, therefore, be extended to other specialties, emphasizing the importance of cross-disciplinary collaborations concerning new technologies.

Chitin and its derivative chitosan are among the most used polysaccharides for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Most of the commercially available chitin is obtained from seafood wastes. However, the interest in alternative renewable sources of chitin and chitosan, such as insects, is growing. When new sources are identified, their stability over time has to be evaluated to allow for their commercialization. The aim of this study is to compare the physicochemical properties of chitin extracted from Cicada orni sloughs harvested in three different years (2017, 2019 and 2020) in order to assess the stability of the source and the repeatability of the extraction process. Chitin and its derivative chitosan were characterized by simple techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results suggest that the physicochemical properties of the extracted chitin varied from year to year, and that these differences are not due to the extraction process, but rather to intrinsic differences within the source. We showed that these differences could already be detected by analyzing the raw material (i.e., cicada sloughs) using the above-mentioned simple methods. The chitosan obtained from deacetylation of chitin had a low degree of deacetylation (66.2±1.6%). This low degree of deacetylation can be attributed to the deacetylation process, which is probably not appropriate for this source of chitin.

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