Dental imaging instrument having air stream auxiliary
AssigneeCadent Ltd.
InventorsNoam Babayoff, Eldad Taub, Avi Kopelman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dental instrument and method for imaging the three-dimensional topography of one or more teeth in the oral cavity of an individual is provided. The instrument includes a probe insertable into the oral cavity to receive the image of these surfaces which can then be processed. Combined with the probe is an auxiliary which projects an air stream toward the surface to be imaged by the probe and acts to evaporate and remove from these surfaces a liquid film coating formed by saliva and other fluids present in the oral cavity, to render these surfaces dry and enhance their reflectivity and in doing so, provide clearer images.
Claims16
A dental instrument for determining three dimensional (3D) topography of a teeth segment comprising one or more teeth, said instrument including a handheld probe comprising
- a probe head having at a distal end thereof an external optical sensing surface adapted for being placed proximal to said teeth segment when in use and through which a beam of light is directed toward said teeth segment and through which light reflected from said teeth segment is received enabling 3D topography to be determined and
- an auxiliary that directs a stream of gas to said external optical surface of said probe and directs a further stream of gas toward said teeth segment, wherein said auxiliary is directly coupled to said handheld probe.
A dental instrument for determining three dimensional (3D) topography of a teeth segment comprising one or more teeth, said instrument including a handheld probe comprising
- a probe head having at a distal end thereof an external optical sensing surface adapted for being placed proximal to said teeth segment when in use and through which a beam of light is directed toward said teeth segment and through which light reflected from said teeth segment is received enabling 3D topography to be determined and
- an auxiliary that directs a stream of gas to said external optical surface of said probe and directs a further stream of gas that is under negative-pressure directed toward said teeth segment, wherein said auxiliary is directly coupled to said handheld probe.
A dental instrument for determining the topography of a teeth segment comprising one or more teeth, said instrument including
- a probe for directing a beam of light toward surfaces of said teeth segment and for picking up light reflected from said surfaces, said probe being suitable for enabling said 3D topography to be determined,
- an external optical surface on said probe through which said beam of light is directed toward said surfaces of said teeth segment and through which a light reflected from said surfaces is detected and
- an auxiliary which is directly coupled to said probe and includes a pair of nozzles mounted on laterally opposing sides of the probe, wherein the nozzles are oriented so that one nozzle produces a gas stream with respect to said surfaces of the teeth segment, and the other nozzle produces a gas stream over said external optical surface of the probe.
A method for determining a three-dimensional surface topography of a teeth segment comprising one or more teeth, comprising
- inserting a probe into an oral cavity bringing an external optical sensing surface of the probe into proximity of said teeth segment and directing a beam of light through said external optical surface toward surfaces of said teeth segment and picking up light reflected from said surfaces via said optical surface of said probe,
- providing streams of gas, wherein one said stream flows with respect to a surface of said teeth segment while picking up said light, and wherein another said stream flows with respect to an said external optical surface of said probe;
- and
- processing said picked up light to provide digital data associated with said 3D topography.
A dental instrument for imaging the topography of a teeth segment comprising one or more teeth to be imaged, said instrument including
- a probe for capturing an image of surfaces of the teeth segment,
- an external optical surface on said probe through which a beam of light is directed toward said surfaces of said teeth segment and through which a light reflected from said surfaces is detected, and
- an auxiliary which directs a stream of gas with respect to these surfaces, wherein said auxiliary is directly coupled to said probe and includes a pair of nozzles mounted on laterally opposed sides of the probe, and wherein the nozzles are oriented so that one nozzle produces a gas stream with respect to said surfaces of said teeth segment, and the other nozzle produces a gas stream over said external optical surface of the probe, and wherein said pair of nozzles are operatively connected to a manifold arrangement adapted for connection to a source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.