# US 9,775,504 B1 · Controlling an intraoral mirror with an integrated camera, and applications thereof

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- Number: US 9,775,504 B1
- Document ID: US9775504B1
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B1
- Application number: 15/603,884
- Filed: 2017-05-24
- Granted: 2017-10-03
- Earliest claimed: 2016-05-26
- Assignees: Dental SmartMirror, Inc.
- Applicants: Dental SmartMirror, Inc.
- Inventors: Gidon Oded Elazar; Dan Zidkiahu Harkabi; Joshua Israel Wachspress
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9775504B1

## CPC

- A61B 1/247: with means for viewing areas outside the direct line of sight, e.g. dentists' mirrors
- A61B 1/00006: {of control signals}
- A61B 1/00009: {of image signals during a use of endoscope}
- A61B 1/000095: {for image enhancement}
- A61B 1/00016: {using wireless means}
- A61B 1/00032: {internally powered}
- A61B 1/00034: {rechargeable}
- A61B 1/0004: {for electronic operation}
- A61B 1/00045: {Display arrangement}
- A61B 1/00087: {Tools (A61B17/00234 takes precedence)}
- A61B 1/00105: {characterised by modular construction}
- A61B 1/00195: {with eyepieces}
- A61B 1/045: Control thereof
- A61B 1/05: characterised by the image sensor, e.g. camera, being in the distal end portion
- A61B 1/06: with illuminating arrangements
- A61B 1/0607: {for annular illumination}
- A61B 1/063: {for monochromatic or narrow-band illumination}
- A61B 1/0655: {Control therefor}
- A61B 1/0676: {at distal tip of an endoscope}
- A61B 1/24: for the mouth, i.e. stomatoscopes, e.g. with tongue depressors; Instruments for opening or keeping open the mouth
- A61B 5/002: {Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building (A61B5/0017 takes precedence)}
- A61B 5/0022: {Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet}
- A61B 5/0077: {Devices for viewing the surface of the body, e.g. camera, magnifying lens}
- A61B 5/0079: {using mirrors, i.e. for self-examination}
- A61B 5/0086: {using infrared radiation}
- A61B 5/0088: {for oral or dental tissue}
- A61B 5/061: {Determining position of a probe within the body employing means separate from the probe, e.g. sensing internal probe position employing impedance electrodes on the surface of the body (A61B1/00158 takes precedence)}
- A61B 5/065: {Determining position of the probe employing exclusively positioning means located on or in the probe, e.g. using position sensors arranged on the probe}
- A61B 5/067: {using accelerometers or gyroscopes}
- A61B 5/1176: {Recognition of faces}
- A61B 6/51: for dentistry
- A61C 3/00: Dental tools or instruments (implanting tools A61C8/00; tools for fastening artificial teeth A61C13/12; visual inspection devices, e.g. dental mirrors, A61B1/24)
- A61C 9/0073: {Interferometric means or methods, e.g. creation of a hologram}
- A61C 13/0004: {Computer-assisted sizing or machining of dental prostheses}
- A61C 13/34: Making or working of models, e.g. preliminary castings, trial dentures; Dowel pins [4]
- A61C 19/004: {Hand-held apparatus, e.g. guns}
- A61C 19/04: Measuring instruments specially adapted for dentistry ({A61C5/44 takes precedence; testing vitality of teeth A61B5/0534;} radiation diagnosis specially adapted for dentistry A61B6/51)
- F21V 33/0068: {Medical equipment}
- G02B 27/144: {using partially transparent surfaces without spectral selectivity (G02B27/147 takes precedence)}
- G06F 3/023: Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
- G06F 3/0334: {Foot operated pointing devices}
- G06T 3/40: Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting
- G06T 3/4038: Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
- G06T 3/60: Rotation of whole images or parts thereof
- G06T 5/92: based on global image properties
- G06T 7/0012: {Biomedical image inspection}
- G06T 7/0016: {involving temporal comparison}
- G06T 7/11: Region-based segmentation
- G06T 17/20: Finite element generation, e.g. wire-frame surface description, {tesselation}
- G06V 40/166: {using acquisition arrangements}
- G16H 20/40: relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture
- G16H 30/20: for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
- H04L 67/01: Protocols
- H04L 67/02: based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
- H04L 67/025: for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
- H04L 67/12: specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
- H04L 67/125: involving control of end-device applications over a network
- H04N 7/183: {for receiving images from a single remote source}
- H04N 23/51: Housings
- H04N 23/54: Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
- H04N 23/55: Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
- H04N 23/56: provided with illuminating means
- H04N 23/57: Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices
- H04N 23/60: Control of cameras or camera modules
- H04N 23/65: Control of camera operation in relation to power supply
- H04N 23/698: for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
- H04N 23/74: by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means
- H04W 12/73: Access point logical identity
- H05B 45/00: Circuit arrangements for operating light-emitting diodes [LED]
- H05B 45/22: using optical feedback
- H05B 47/00: Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
- H05B 47/105: in response to determined parameters
- A61B 1/0684: {using light emitting diodes [LED]}
- A61B 2560/0456: Apparatus provided with a docking unit
- A61B 2576/02: specially adapted for a particular organ or body part
- A61C 2204/005: using chip tag or any electronic identification mean, e.g. RFID
- F21W 2131/202: for dentistry
- G06T 7/337: {involving reference images or patches}
- G06T 2200/32: involving image mosaicing
- G06T 2207/10048: Infrared image
- G06T 2207/10116: X-ray image
- G06T 2207/20208: High dynamic range [HDR] image processing
- G06T 2207/20212: Image combination
- G06T 2207/30036: Dental; Teeth
- G06T 2210/22: Cropping
- G06T 2210/41: Medical
- G10L 15/26: Speech to text systems (G10L15/08 takes precedence)
- G16H 30/40: for processing medical images, e.g. editing
- G16H 40/63: for local operation
- H04N 23/555: {for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes}
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- A61C: DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE (non-driven toothbrushes A46B; {tongue scrapers A61B17/24;} preparations for dentistry A61K6/00; preparations for cleaning the teeth or mouth A61K8/00, A61Q11/00)
- F21V: FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
- F21W: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
- G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING

## Abstract

Disclosed embodiments integrate a camera into an intraoral mirror. Integrating a camera into an intraoral mirror provides an efficient way to record and display what is visible to the healthcare provider in the mirror.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for capturing photographs in a patient's mouth, comprising:
(a) receiving an image captured from an image sensor affixed to a dental mirror, the dental mirror having a plurality of light sources;
(b) determining a portion of the image to be darker than another portion of the image;
(c) selecting, based on which portion was determined in (b) to be darker, a light source from the plurality of light sources such that the light source is selected to illuminate the determined portion more brightly than the other portion; and
(d) increasing a brightness of the light source selected in (c).

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
(e) determining whether a user has overridden automated illumination;
(f) when the user is determined not to have overridden automated illumination, performing steps (a)-(d); and
(g) when the user is determined to have overridden automated illumination, setting a brightness of the plurality of light sources according to a user setting.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
(e) determining whether a software module has overridden automated illumination;
(f) when the software module is determined not to have overridden automated illumination, performing steps (a)-(d); and
(g) when the software module is determined to have overridden automated illumination, setting a brightness of the plurality of light sources according to output of the software module.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
(e) monitoring the dental mirror to determining when it is not in use; and
(f) when the dental mirror is determined not to be in use, entering into a standby mode that consumes a reduced amount of power.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein the monitoring (e) comprises monitoring an orientation measuring device on the dental mirror to determine when a time period has elapsed without substantial movement.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein the monitoring (e) comprises monitoring the image sensor on the dental mirror to determine when a time period has elapsed without substantial movement.

### Claim 7

A program storage device tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by at least one machine to perform a method for capturing photographs in a patient's mouth, comprising:
(a) receiving an image captured from an image sensor affixed to a dental mirror, the dental mirror having a plurality of light sources;
(b) determining a portion of the image to be darker than another portion of the image;
(c) selecting, based on which portion was determined in (b) to be darker, a light source from the plurality of light sources such that the light source is selected to illuminate the determined portion more brightly than the other portion; and
(d) increasing a brightness of the light source selected in (c).

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The program storage device of claim 7, the method further comprising:
(e) determining whether a user has overridden automated illumination;
(f) when the user is determined not to have overridden automated illumination, performing steps (a)-(d); and
(g) when the user is determined to have overridden automated illumination, setting a brightness of the plurality of light sources according to a user setting.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The program storage device of claim 7, the method further comprising:
(e) determining whether a software module has overridden automated illumination;
(f) when the software module is determined not to have overridden automated illumination, performing steps (a)-(d); and
(g) when the software module is determined to have overridden automated illumination, setting a brightness of the plurality of light sources according to output of the software module.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The program storage device of claim 7, further comprising:
(e) monitoring the dental mirror to determine when the dental mirror is not in use; and
(f) when the dental mirror is determined not to be in use, entering into a standby mode that consumes a reduced amount of power.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The program storage device of claim 10, wherein the monitoring (e) comprises monitoring an orientation measuring device on the dental mirror to determine when a time period has elapsed without substantial movement.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The program storage device of claim 10, wherein the monitoring (e) comprises monitoring the image sensor on the dental mirror to determine when a time period has elapsed without substantial movement.

### Claim 13

A device for capturing photographs in a patient's mouth, comprising:
a dental mirror having a plurality of light sources;
an image sensor, affixed to the dental mirror, that captures an image; and
an illumination control module that (i) determines a portion of the image to be brighter than another portion of the image, (ii) selects, based on which portion was determined in (i) to be brighter, a light source from the plurality of light sources such that the light source is selected to illuminate the determined portion less brightly than the other portion, and (iii) decreases a brightness of the light source selected in (ii).

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The device of claim 13, wherein the illumination control module (iv) determines whether a user has overridden automated illumination, (v) when the user is determined not to have overridden automated illumination, performs steps (i)-(iii), and (vi) when the user is determined to have overridden automated illumination, sets a brightness of the plurality of light sources according to a user setting.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The device of claim 13, wherein the illumination control module (iv) determines whether a software module has overridden automated illumination, (v) when the software module is determined not to have overridden automated illumination, performs steps (i)-(iii), and (vi) when the software module is determined to have overridden automated illumination, sets a brightness of the plurality of light sources according to output of the software module.

### Claim 16 (depends on 13)

The device of claim 13, further comprising a power monitor module that monitors the dental mirror to determining when it is not in use, and when the dental mirror is determined not to be in use, enters into a standby mode that consumes a reduced amount of power.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The device of claim 16, wherein the power monitor module monitors an orientation measuring device on the dental mirror to determine when a time period has elapsed without substantial movement.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The device of claim 16, wherein the power monitor module monitors the image sensor on the dental mirror to determine when a time period has elapsed without substantial movement.