Three dimensional imaging of the motion of teeth and jaws
OwnerShane Mattinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Pre-calibrated position sensors, and a computer or cloud based service are used to show motion in real time of the teeth and jaws depicting six degrees of freedom. The computer receives anatomically correct 3D images of any portion of the craniomandibular system with a position sensor(s) attached. The position sensor data is then transferred with wireless attachments to the patient to generate true to life motion of the digital 3D models of the teeth and jaws. The 3D models are then employed to provide various techniques for treating bite disorders.
Claims30
A method adapted for enabling visualizing function of a jaw structure of a patient, comprising:
- acquiring, by one or more processors of a computing system, 3-dimensional (3D) images of a jaw structure, wherein the jaw structure comprises an upper jaw and a lower jaw and wherein each of the 3D images depicting a respective position of the lower jaw relative to the upper jaw;
- acquiring, by the one or more processors of the computing system, jaw position information characterizing positions of the lower jaw and the upper jaw, wherein the jaw position information is generated by a position sensor as a function of a reference signal emitted by a reference signal emitting device, wherein the position sensor is affixed to a first pair of adjacent teeth of the lower jaw, wherein the reference signal emitting device is affixed to a second pair of adjacent teeth of the upper jaw and wherein the position sensor and the reference signal emitting device are each affixed to a surface of the respective pairs of adjacent teeth for enabling teeth of the lower jaw and teeth of an upper jaw to be brought into direct contact with each other in an habitual bite configuration in a manner that is unaffected by the position sensor being affixed to the first pair of adjacent teeth of the lower jaw and the reference signal emitting device being affixed to the second pair of adjacent teeth of the upper jaw;
- and
- correlating, by the one or more processors of the computing system, the 3D images and the jaw position information to generate a 3D jaw motion model enabling visualization of the function of the jaw structure at least partially defined by motion of the lower jaw relative to the upper jaw between the habitual bite configuration and one or more open configurations.
An apparatus adapted for generating jaw motion information relating to an upper and lower jaw of a patient, comprising:
- a reference signal emitting device affixed to a surface of a first pair of adjacent teeth of an upper jaw of a patient to permit the teeth of a lower jaw of the patient and the teeth of the upper jaw to be brought into direct contact with each other in a habitual bite configuration in a manner that is unaffected by the reference signal emitting device being affixed to the first pair of adjacent teeth;
- a position sensor affixed to surface of a respective second pair of adjacent teeth of the lower jaw to permit the teeth of the lower jaw and the teeth of the upper jaw to be brought into direct contact with each other in the habitual bite configuration in a manner that is unaffected by each of the position sensor being affixed to the second pair of adjacent teeth of the lower jaw, wherein the position sensor is adapted to sense a reference signal emitted by the reference signal emitting device, to generate respective information characterizing position of the lower jaw relative to the upper jaw as a function of the reference signal and to transmit the jaw position characterizing information for reception by a remotely-located computing system.
A sensor adapted to enable position information characterizing jaw function to be generated,
- a magnetometer outputting a position-determining information characterized by proximity to a source of a magnetic field;
- a signal transmitter that outputs a signal generated as a function of the position-determining information;
- and
- wherein the magnetometer and the signal transmitter are in the form of a unitary article enabling the sensor to be affixed to a first and second pairs of adjacent teeth, permitting teeth of the opposing jaws to be brought into direct contact with each other in a habitual bite configuration in a manner that is unaffected by the sensor being affixed to the first and second pairs of adjacent teeth.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.