Method for determining the set relative position of a patient in dental panorama X-ray apparatus

A method for determining the set path on which a dental panorama X-ray apparatus is moved with respect to a patient, the method comprising:

• establishing the curvature of a front region of a patient's dental arch
• fixing the patient's dental arch at a location in the panorama X-ray apparatus located within the space scanned by an X-ray source and a detector unit connected rigidly thereto,
• establishing, the curvature of a central region and/or rear region of the patient's dental arch;
• and,
• based on the measured curvatures of the front and central and/or rear region of the dental arch, calculating a set path curve for a diagnostic unit including the X-ray source and detector unit, the calculated set path curve being dependent on the measured curvatures of the front, central, and/or rear region of the dental arch.

A device for determining the set relative position of a patient in a dental panorama X-ray apparatus or the set path of a diagnostic unit with respect to the patient's jaw fixed in the panorama X-ray apparatus, the device comprising:

• a sensor unit which cooperates with the patient's teeth in the front region of the jaw and with the patient's teeth in the central and/or rear region of the jaw and which generates a jaw form signal characteristic of the position of the patient's teeth relative to one another;
• a projection arch surface which is defined by the path of an X-ray source and a detector unit of the panorama X-ray apparatus;
• and
• a computing unit that receives the jaw form signal from the sensor unit and which calculates the set position coordinates for the patient's jaw based upon the jaw form signal and the projection arch surface.