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Currently, aesthetic alternatives for orthodontic treatment are not applicable to all degrees of crooked teeth. In many instances, they lack the necessary mechanical properties to straighten teeth effectively. But BioMers' almost invisible braces aim to to be aesthetic as well as effective. |
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Aesthetic braces for a winning smile
A new fabrication process for fibre-reinforced polymer composites (FRPC) has led to the invention of new-generation braces for straightening teeth. For this project, the NUS team led by Dr Mervyn Fathianathan, an NUS PhD graduate in Mechanical Engineering and Ms Renuga Gopal, a Bioengineering PhD candidate, have won the Special Prize for the Best Technology Impact Plan at the inaugural Intel-UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge 2005 held at UC Berkeley (17-18 Nov 2005).
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| BIOMERS: From left: Dr Mervyn Fathianathan, CEO; Ms Renuga Gopal, Head, Research & Development; Ms Karen Teo, Chief Technology Officer; and Mr George Aliphtiras, Chief Marketing Officer. |
The team with Professor Chew Chong Lin, Director, Graduate School of Dental Studies and Professor Seeram Ramakrishna, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, as advisors, was also winner of the General Category of the 2005 Start-Up@Singapore as well as runner-up at the 12P International Competition (Idea to Product) at the University of Texas at Austin.
The team which established BioMers Pte Ltd with Dr Fathianathan as its CEO, has developed an aesthetic alternative to unsightly metallic braces for straightening crooked teeth. BioMer's braces which are translucent are hence nearly invisible. BioMers explained that their technology behind the new braces involving FRPC allows for even distribution of reinforcing fibres within a component, significantly improving its mechanical properties. Traditional FRPC, when used to manufacture small-scaled components, does not allow the fibres to be evenly distributed − resulting in weak mechanical properties.
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| ALMOST INVISIBLE: BioMers’ new invention. |
According to BioMers, current aesthetic alternatives for orthodontic treatment may lack the necessary mechanical properties to straighten teeth effectively. But Dr Fathianathan, who was awarded a nine-month fellowship in UK to specialise in technology commercialisation, is confident that their new product will do well in the market. BioMers aims to capture a significant portion of the 1 million orthodontic patents in the US who are currently seeking aesthetic treatment for their teeth.
NUS has two patents pending (US, EU, Canada and Singapore) for the design of the braces and the new FRPC fabrication process. BioMers has exclusive worldwide rights for unrestricted use of the technology. Clinical trials will begin in 2006. So far, mechanical tests have been conducted and they have proven that the braces possess similar mechanical properties to metal ones.
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