Comparative study on three kinds of microtube extraction devices in vitro

Abstract

This study aims to compare the efficiency of three kinds of microtube extraction devices, namely, instrument removal system (IRS), micro-retrieve and repair (MR&R) system, and MR&R system using modified microtube in removing separated instruments with different exposure lengths. After a cross-section platform model was established, the IRS, MR&R, and MR&R modified microtube system with sidewall window reduced to 0.20 mm were used to retrieve various separated instrument models, and the differences in extraction effects were statistically analyzed by Chi-square test. The separated instrument models were divided into two groups: stainless steel and nickel-titanium instrument groups. In total, 23 instruments were tested for three times each. When the exposed length of separated instrument was 0.50 mm, the removal efficiency of the modified MR&R system group was significantly higher than those of the IRS and MR&R system groups (P<0.001). When the broken end of the fracture instrument was up to 1.00 mm, the success rates of the MR&R system and modified MR&R groups were significantly higher than that of the IRS group (P<0.01). No difference was observed among these three devices when the exposure length of separated instruments was 1.50 mm or higher. The MR&R and modified MR&R systems have good removal effect when the exposed length of separated instrument is small.