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US 10,639,134 B2Granted
Biosensor performance indicator for intraoral appliances
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsYaser Shanjani, Bruce Cam, John Y. Morton, Jun Sato
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and apparatuses for monitoring either or both the performance of an orthodontic appliance for repositioning a patient's teeth and/or the user compliance in wearing the appliance using a biosensor. The apparatuses described herein may include one or more sensors, including biosensors, electrical sensors, or both, configured to generate sensor data related to user compliance and/or repositioning of the patient's teeth by an orthodontic appliance.
Claims26
A removable orthodontic device comprising:
- a plurality of tooth receiving cavities configured to receive a plurality of teeth and to exert one or more orthodontic repositioning forces on the plurality of teeth;
- and
- at least one biosensor system comprising:
- a bioreceptor configured to cause a first interaction with one or more tooth motion biomarkers in a fluid in the oral cavity, the first interaction being related to a first biomarker expression change of the one or more tooth motion biomarkers, and the first biomarker expression change being associated with a specific phase of tooth movement of the plurality of teeth, wherein the bioreceptor is configured to cause a second interaction with one or more compliance biomarkers, the second interaction being related to a second biomarker expression change associated with compliance by the patient;
- a biotransducer coupled to the bioreceptor, the biotransducer configured to transduce the first interaction into a first interaction signal representative of the first interaction, wherein the biotransducer is configured to transduce the second interaction into a second interaction signal representative of the second interaction;
- and
- a processor configured to process the first and second interaction signals by:
- determining the patient's compliance of wearing the removable orthodontic device using the second interaction signal, and determining whether a signal strength of the first interaction signal is above or below a threshold signal strength for the specific phase of tooth movement, wherein the processor is configured to provide one or more recommendations for changing the removable orthodontic device based on the patient's compliance and whether the signal strength is above or below the threshold signal strength.
5 more elements
A removable orthodontic device comprising:
- a plurality of tooth receiving cavities configured to receive a plurality of teeth and to exert one or more orthodontic repositioning forces on the plurality of teeth;
- and
- at least one biosensor system comprising:
- a bioreceptor configured to cause a first interaction with one or more tooth motion biomarkers in fluid in the oral cavity, the first interaction being related to a first biomarker expression change of the one or more tooth motion biomarkers, and the first biomarker expression change being associated with a specific phase of tooth movement of the plurality of teeth;
- a biotransducer coupled to the bioreceptor, the biotransducer configured to transduce the first interaction into a first interaction signal representative of the first interaction, wherein the specific phase of tooth movement corresponds to velocity of root movement of roots of the plurality of teeth;
- and
- a processor configured to determine whether a signal strength of the first interaction signal is above or below a threshold signal strength for the specific phase of tooth movement and to provide an indication for changing the removable orthodontic device based on whether the signal strength is above or below the threshold signal strength.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.