Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Medical Center, 35-2 Sakae-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan.
Sumitomo Riko Co., Ltd., 3-1 Higashi, Komaki-shi 485-0041, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 24;19(3):1273. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031273.
Bite force is an important indicator of masticatory performance. However, existing methods for measuring bite force are either ineffective or expensive. Hence, we developed a novel capacitive-type pressure-mapping sensor that converts mechanical forces into changes in capacitance and calculates bite force. A portable device was fabricated based on this sensor sheet, and the accuracy of the bite-force measurements provided by the device was evaluated. The sensor has a thickness of 1.6 mm and has 63 measurement points. It was inserted into a dental model, where the output value was measured and compared with that of a universal testing machine (AG-IS 100 kN). A regression equation to estimate the bite force was obtained based on the relationship between the output of the capacitive-type pressure-mapping sensor and that of the load cell of the universal testing machine. The estimated bite force from the sensor and the quadratic regression equation closely resembled the known load applied by the compression tester (R = 0.992). We therefore conclude that the developed sensor can measure bite force accurately and effectively. A device with a built-in capacitive-type pressure-mapping sensor can potentially be a user-friendly tool for bite-force measurements in both clinical and epidemiological settings.
咬合力是咀嚼性能的一个重要指标。然而，现有的咬合力测量方法要么无效，要么昂贵。因此，我们开发了一种新型的电容式压力映射传感器，它可以将机械力转换为电容的变化，并计算咬合力。基于该传感器片，制作了一种便携式设备，并评估了该设备提供的咬合力测量的准确性。该传感器的厚度为 1.6 毫米，有 63 个测量点。它被插入到一个牙科模型中，测量输出值并将其与万能试验机（AG-IS 100 kN）的输出值进行比较。根据电容式压力映射传感器的输出值和万能试验机的称重传感器之间的关系，获得了一个用于估计咬合力的回归方程。从传感器获得的估计咬合力和二次回归方程与压缩试验机施加的已知载荷非常吻合（R = 0.992）。因此，我们得出结论，开发的传感器可以准确有效地测量咬合力。内置电容式压力映射传感器的设备有可能成为临床和流行病学中进行咬合力测量的用户友好工具。
