The goal of this Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity project (NSF Award: 1631146) is to reduce the size and complexity of using new optical imaging and diagnostic devices so that trained individuals (but not necessarily dentists) can use such devices successfully in clinics to reduce tooth decay, such as in remote areas of rural Alaska. The University of Washington prototype optical device shown is being a used by the Dean of the University of Washington Dental School, Dr. Joel Berg, at the Center for Pediatric Dentistry, a facility operated jointly by University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital

Credit: Photo taken by Eric Seibel, University of Washington, and originally appeared in conference paper “Timoshchuk, et al., (2014) Guided fluorescence diagnosis of childhood caries: preliminary measures correlate with depth of carious decay, in Lasers in Dentistry XX, Proc. SPIE vol. 8929, paper# 892904,” with clinical instrument described in "Zhang, L., Ridge, J.S., Kim, A.S., Nelson, L.Y., Berg, J.H., and Seibel, E.J. (2013) Tri-modal detection of early childhood caries using laser light scanning and fluorescence spectroscopy – clinical prototype, Journal of Biomedical Optics, 18(11): 111412-1-8."

This image shows implementation of a novel voxel-based manufacturing approach for making complex parts using fully automated path planning as part of the advanced manufacturing project through Georgia Tech. This particular image shows the manufacture of a two-part assembly, a ball joint, on a multi-axis Okuma Multus lathe. (NSF Award 1631803)

Credit: Roby Lynn, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech