Temporomandibular joint health state monitoring system and method based on joint vibration information

Abstract

The invention provides a temporomandibular joint health state monitoring system and method based on joint vibration information, the system comprises a pasting touch type sound sensor, a microcontroller and an interactive display terminal, the pasting touch type sound sensor is used for pasting on a temporomandibular joint, obtaining a three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal, and sending the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal to the microcontroller; the microcontroller carries out signal amplification, filtering processing and noise elimination, converts the signals into digital signals which can be identified and stored by the display terminal, and sends the digital signals to the interactive display terminal; the interactive display terminal is used for realizing real-time visual output of a three-dimensional joint vibration oscillogram and realizing an interaction function, and judging the health state of the temporomandibular joint based on an input maximum mandibular movement range, existence or absence of pain and joint noise parameters; on the basis of more comprehensive joint vibration information, real-time quantitative monitoring of the health state of the temporomandibular joint can be more accurately achieved, and a doctor can effectively and preliminarily screen the health state of the joint and a user can conduct self-monitoring at home conveniently.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and method for monitoring the health status of a temporomandibular joint based mainly on joint vibration information, and belongs to the technical field of joint health status monitoring. Background Art

[0002] Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are one of the common symptoms of the oral and maxillofacial region. It is a general term for a class of multifactorial symptoms that affect the masticatory muscles, temporomandibular joints and other related structures. The main clinical symptoms are joint area murmurs, maxillofacial pain and limited mandibular movement, which seriously affect the patient's quality of life and physical and mental health.

[0003] Under the action of biomechanics, friction and vibration will be generated inside the human joints. The joint sounds produced by vibration are an objective reflection of the physiological and pathological state of the human joints. The incidence of joint sounds is very high in both normal people and TMDs patients, but the manifestation characteristics and generation mechanism of joint sounds in TMDs patients are very different from those of asymptomatic normal joint sounds. Disordered joints in different pathological stages will also produce relatively specific joint sound characteristics. At present, clinical descriptions of joint sounds are mainly based on the patient's feelings and the doctor's auscultation and palpation. However, due to the limitations of the human ear's perception of sound frequency and the subjectivity of individual physicians' judgments, the diagnostic results are highly biased, and it is difficult to distinguish between normal joint sounds and abnormal joint sounds. It is even more difficult to record and store joint sound information as an effective diagnosis and treatment record, making it difficult to achieve long-term dynamic monitoring of joint health status. At present, the joint vibration information of the monitoring system is not comprehensive, and the accuracy of monitoring the health status of the temporomandibular joint is low.

[0004] In recent years, due to the progress of sensing technology and signal analysis methods, people have invented electronic devices that can quantify and record tiny vibrations in joints. However, existing detection systems usually detect joint vibration information and motion information separately using different equipment. This has problems such as high cost, cumbersome operation, and poor portability, making it difficult to achieve widespread promotion.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a real-time monitoring system for the temporomandibular joint that is non-invasive, objective, rapid, portable, and provides permanent records and dynamic evaluations. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a system and method for monitoring the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on joint vibration information to solve the problems in the prior art that the comprehensiveness of joint vibration information is insufficient and the accuracy of monitoring the health status of the temporomandibular joint needs to be improved.

[0007] The technical solution of the present invention is:

[0008] A temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information includes a touch-type sound sensor, a microcontroller and an interactive display terminal.

[0009] Touch-type sound sensor: used to touch the temporomandibular joint and obtain the three-dimensional joint vibration simulation signal of the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis, and send it to the microcontroller;

[0010] Microcontroller: Receives the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal sent by the touch-type sound sensor, amplifies the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal through the built-in operational amplifier, performs signal filtering and noise elimination through the built-in filter noise reducer, and then converts the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal into a three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal that can be recognized and stored by the display terminal through the data converter, and sends it to the interactive display terminal;

[0011] Interactive display terminal: The three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal is used to realize the real-time visualization output of the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform and realize the interactive function, perform time-frequency domain conversion analysis, calculate joint noise parameters, and generate joint noise audio. It also determines the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on the input maximum mandibular motion range, the presence or absence of pain, and the joint noise parameters.

[0012] Furthermore, the contact type sound sensor adopts a head-mounted contact type sound sensor, which includes a listening part that contacts the left and right temporomandibular joint areas and a supporting part with two ends respectively connected to the listening part.

[0013] Furthermore, the listening part includes a joint cover and a MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor, the joint cover includes an outer shell, an annular pad and a patch, the annular pad and the patch are arranged on the inner side of the outer shell, the outer side of the outer shell is provided with a front-to-back y-axis positioning reference line, one side of the patch is provided with a contact surface for contacting the temporomandibular joint area, and the other side of the patch is provided with a MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor, and the front-to-back y-axis positioning reference line is consistent with the y-axis direction of the MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor.

[0014] Furthermore, the supporting part adopts a U-shaped adjustable elastic headband.

[0015] Furthermore, the interactive display terminal includes a setting module, a motion guidance module, a waveform output module, an analysis and calculation module, an audio output module and a state determination module.

[0016] Setting module: used to set the start and stop of signal acquisition, signal filtering mode and signal acquisition frequency in the microcontroller;

[0017] Movement guidance module: using a metronome to guide the rhythm of mandibular movement;

[0018] Waveform output module: presents the three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal processed by the microcontroller in the form of data and graphics, and realizes the real-time visualization output of the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform of the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis;

[0019] Analysis and calculation module: perform time-frequency domain conversion analysis and joint murmur parameter calculation;

[0020] Audio output module: generates joint sound audio from three-dimensional joint vibration digital signals and outputs them;

[0021] Status determination module: Determines the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on the input maximum range of mandibular motion, the presence or absence of pain, and joint noise parameters.

[0022] Furthermore, the metronome adopts a dynamic rhythmic cosine graph with adjustable parameters, and the dynamic rhythmic cosine graph changes synchronously with the period of the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform graph.

[0023] Furthermore, in the interactive display terminal, the joint noise parameters include the number of occurrences of joint noise, vibration acceleration peak, duration, frequency distribution range, vibration direction, total energy, high frequency energy, ratio of high frequency energy / low frequency energy, and noise category.

[0024] Furthermore, in the state determination module, the health state of the temporomandibular joint is determined based on the input maximum range of mandibular motion, the presence or absence of pain, and the joint noise parameters, specifically,

[0025] Obtain the parameters of complete mandibular opening and closing, maximum range of mandibular motion in the three motion cycles of front-back and side-to-side, presence or absence of pain, and joint noise, and set the scores according to the rules;

[0026] The scores of the left and right temporomandibular joints in the three movement cycles of mandibular opening and closing, front and back, and lateral movement were calculated respectively, and then the total score of the temporomandibular joints was obtained by summing them up.

[0027] When the total score of the temporomandibular joint is greater than the set value, the temporomandibular joint is judged to be abnormal; otherwise, the temporomandibular joint is normal.

[0028] A method for monitoring the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on joint vibration information using any of the systems described above comprises the following steps:

[0029] Step 1: Obtain the maximum range of mandibular motion and the presence or absence of pain in the three motion cycles of the temporomandibular joint in opening and closing, front and back, and lateral directions through clinical examination, and input them into the state determination module in the system;

[0030] Step 2: Set the joint vibration sampling parameters including the frequency of signal acquisition and the signal filtering mode;

[0031] Step 3: align the anteroposterior y-axis positioning reference line of the joint cover of the touch sensor to be parallel to the orbital-ear plane of the user, and fit the contact surface of the patch of the touch sensor to the anterior tragus skin area corresponding to the temporomandibular joint, so as to complete the wearing of the touch sensor on both sides;

[0032] Step 3: When the user performs temporomandibular joint movement, the touch sensor collects three-dimensional joint vibration simulation signals and sends them to the microcontroller;

[0033] Step 4: The microcontroller receives the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal sent by the touch-type sound sensor, amplifies the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal through the built-in operational amplifier, performs signal filtering and noise elimination through the built-in filter noise reducer, and then converts the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal into a three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal that can be recognized and stored by the display terminal through the data converter, and sends it to the interactive display terminal;

[0034] Step 5. The interactive display terminal outputs real-time three-dimensional joint vibration waveforms, joint noise parameters and joint noise audio of the left and right x, y and z axes, and determines the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on the input maximum range of mandibular motion, the presence or absence of pain and the joint noise parameters.

[0035] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0036] 1. This system and method for monitoring the health status of the temporomandibular joint based mainly on joint vibration information can collect the joint vibration information of the temporomandibular joint in different dimensions of the x, y, and z axes in real time, and can objectively reflect the vibration characteristics in the temporomandibular joint in a digital and visual form on an interactive display terminal. Based on more comprehensive joint vibration information, it can more accurately realize real-time monitoring of the health status of the temporomandibular joint, which is convenient for users to self-monitor at home and for doctors to effectively conduct preliminary screening of the joint health status.

[0037] 2. This system and method for monitoring the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on joint vibration information can objectively reflect the mandibular movement information by synchronizing the periodic changes of the dynamic rhythm cosine graph and the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform graph, and can preliminarily determine the mandibular movement position when joint noise occurs, providing auxiliary basis for analyzing the cause of joint noise.

[0038] 3. This temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system and method based on joint vibration information, through a temporomandibular joint health status scoring method based on joint noise parameters and combined with the maximum range of mandibular motion and pain parameters, achieves an objective quantitative assessment of the temporomandibular joint health status and improves the accuracy of the judgment of the joint health status. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for monitoring the health status of a temporomandibular joint based on joint vibration information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a touch-type sound sensor, a microcontroller and an interactive display terminal in an embodiment;

[0041] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a touch-type sound sensor in an embodiment;

[0042] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the three-axis space of joint vibration detection of left and right bilateral temporomandibular joints in an embodiment;

[0043] Figure 5 3D joint z vibration waveforms and dynamic rhythmic cosine diagrams of the opening and closing mouth movements of the subjects with clicking joints on both sides in the embodiment, wherein (a) is the 3D joint vibration waveform diagram on the left, (b) is the dynamic rhythmic cosine diagram, and (c) is the 3D joint vibration waveform diagram on the right;

[0044] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the setting score of the temporomandibular joint in the embodiment;

[0045] Among them: 1-touch-type sound sensor, 2-microcontroller, 3-interactive display terminal;

[0046] 11 – listening part, 12 – supporting part;

[0047] 111 - housing, 112 - annular pad, 113 - patch, 114 - MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor, 115 - front and rear y-axis positioning reference line. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0049] The embodiment provides a temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 , including a touch-type sound sensor 1, a microcontroller 2 and an interactive display terminal 3.

[0050] The contact sound sensor 1 is used to contact the temporomandibular joint and obtain the three-dimensional joint vibration simulation signal of the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis, and then send it to the microcontroller.

[0051] The contact type sound sensor 1 is a head-mounted contact type sound sensor, which includes a listening part 11 contacting the left and right temporomandibular joint areas and a supporting part 12 with two ends respectively connected to the listening part.

[0052] like Figure 3 The listening part includes a joint cover and a MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor (in a preferred embodiment, the model of the MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor is a low-noise, high-bandwidth three-axis accelerometer LIS25BA). The joint cover includes a shell 111, an annular pad 112 and a patch 113. The annular pad 112 and the patch 113 are arranged on the inner side of the shell 111. The outer side of the shell 111 is provided with a front-to-back y-axis positioning reference line 115. One side of the patch is provided with a contact surface for contacting the temporomandibular joint area, and the other side of the patch is provided with a MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor 114. Specifically, the model of the MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor can be a low-noise, high-bandwidth three-axis accelerometer LIS25BA. The front-to-back y-axis positioning reference line 115 is consistent with the y-axis direction of the MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor 114, which is convenient for ensuring the consistency of direction when measuring different individuals and realizing the comparability of parameters. The joint cover is stably fitted to the skin area in front of the tragus corresponding to the human temporomandibular joint. The MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor 114 can efficiently collect the joint vibration signals of the x-axis (horizontal), y-axis (front-back), and z-axis (vertical) when the bilateral temporomandibular joints move. Figure 4 , and converted into electrical signals that can be transmitted by the circuit. The support part adopts a U-shaped adjustable elastic headband. The support part has the function of stabilizing the bilateral listening parts, and the length can be freely adjusted through the central adjustment part, which can better fit the user's head shape and achieve accurate fit between the listening part and the monitoring part.

[0053] The joint cover can be made of lightweight, corrosion-resistant PVC plastic material. The outer shell of the joint cover is circular, and its outer surface is designed with a y-axis positioning reference line passing through the center of the circle. The outer diameter of the annular pad is generally 40mm to 45mm, the inner diameter of the annular pad is generally 30mm to 35mm, and the depth of the annular pad is 2mm to 4mm, which is conducive to light pressure on the contact surface and the skin area. The contact surface of the patch is flat, and the thickness is generally 1 to 3mm, which can achieve full coverage and stable fit within the outer 2mm to 6mm range of the body surface area corresponding to the temporomandibular joint. The MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor uses a 3mm×3mm×0.5mm chip card, which has the advantages of small size, light weight, low noise, high bandwidth, and strong anti-interference, and measures the acceleration on the x-axis (horizontal), y-axis (front and back), and z-axis (vertical).

[0054] Microcontroller: Receives the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal sent by the touch-type sound sensor, amplifies the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal through the built-in operational amplifier, performs signal filtering and noise elimination through the built-in filter noise reducer, and then converts the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal into a three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal that can be recognized and stored by the display terminal through the data converter, and sends it to the interactive display terminal.

[0055] The microcontroller is used to amplify, filter and convert the received signal. The microcontroller includes an operational amplifier, a filter noise reducer and a data converter. The microcontroller can adopt a high-performance 32-bit chip STM32F401VE.

[0056] Interactive display terminal: The three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal is used to realize the real-time visualization output of the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform and realize the interactive function, perform time-frequency domain conversion analysis, calculate joint noise parameters, and generate joint noise audio. It also determines the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on the input maximum mandibular motion range, the presence or absence of pain, and the joint noise parameters.

[0057] The interactive display terminal comprises a setting module, a motion guiding module, a waveform output module, an analysis and calculation module, an audio output module and a state determination module.

[0058] Setting module: used to set the start and stop of signal acquisition, signal filtering mode and signal acquisition frequency in the microcontroller;

[0059] Movement guidance module: A metronome is used to guide the mandibular movement rhythm. The metronome can guide the mandibular movement rhythm of the user and stabilize the mandibular movement speed. It can not only effectively avoid the joint vibration caused by the sudden change of the mandibular movement speed, but also eliminate the change of the relative position of the internal structure of the joint caused by the difference in the mandibular movement speed of individuals, and improve the repeatability between cycles. Among them, the metronome uses a dynamic rhythm cosine graph with adjustable parameters, and the dynamic rhythm cosine graph changes synchronously with the cycle of the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform graph, such as Figure 5 , Figure 5 (a) is the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform on the left. Figure 5 (b) is a dynamic rhythm cosine graph. Figure 5 (c) in the figure is the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform on the right.

[0060] The dynamic rhythm cosine graph and the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform graph realize the synchronous change of the wave track, that is, the longitudinal track, which is conducive to the preliminary acquisition of the relative position of the mandible corresponding to the occurrence of joint noise, and then by combining the anatomical structure relationship inside the temporomandibular joint, it assists in analyzing the possible causes of joint noise. Taking the opening and closing movement as an example, the occurrence position of joint noise is combined with Figure 5 The explanation is as follows: During the mouth opening and closing movements, the locations where joint noises occur include the early opening stage, middle opening stage, late opening stage, early closing stage, middle closing stage, and late closing stage. Figure 5In (b), the ordinate of the dynamic rhythm cosine graph is 1 when it is in the closed position, -1 when it is in the maximum open position, and 0 when it is in the middle position. Let the ordinate 1→-1 be the opening period, where 1~0.5 is the early opening period, 0.5~-0.5 is the middle opening period, and -0.5~-1 is the late opening period; let the ordinate -1→1 be the closed period, where -1~-0.5 is the early closing period, -0.5~0.5 is the middle closing period, and 0.5~1 is the late closing period. Figure 5 The first abnormal vibration signal in (a), namely the joint noise, corresponds to the late stage of mandibular opening.

[0061] Waveform output module: presents the three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal processed by the microcontroller in the form of data and graphics, and realizes the real-time visualization output of the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform of the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis. Figure 5 (a) and Figure 5 (c) The interactive display terminal can objectively and real-time output the time domain waveform of the joint vibration of the three axes of x, y, and z on both sides of the user's mouth opening and closing movement. The horizontal axis of the time domain waveform is time (s) and the vertical axis is vibration acceleration (mg), which shows the change of vibration acceleration over time. Figure 5 (a) and Figure 5 In (c), the abnormal peaks and peak shapes of the x, y, and z axes indicate the characteristics of joint murmurs caused by joint abnormalities.

[0062] Analysis and calculation module: perform time-frequency domain conversion analysis and joint murmur parameter calculation. Specifically:

[0063] The analysis and calculation module realizes the selective amplification and time-frequency transformation of the target segment signal. After the fast Fourier transform, the frequency domain diagrams of the x, y, and z axis signals are visualized respectively, with the frequency (Hz) as the horizontal axis and the vibration acceleration (mg) as the vertical axis, describing the frequency structure of the signal and the relationship between the frequency and the vibration acceleration. Furthermore, through the wavelet transform, the three-dimensional diagram of the time-frequency-acceleration value of the x, y, and z axis signals is visualized respectively, that is, the three-dimensional time-frequency-amplitude diagram, with the frequency (Hz) as the horizontal axis in the horizontal plane, the time (s) as the vertical axis in the horizontal plane, and the vibration acceleration (mg) as the vertical axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane, which comprehensively visualizes the relationship between the frequency and acceleration of the joint vibration and time, which is conducive to in-depth analysis of the component differences of the joint sound.

[0064] The joint noise parameters of the bilateral temporomandibular joint triaxial signals specifically include the number of joint noise occurrences (Number of Occurrences, NO), peak vibration acceleration (Peak Vibration Acceleration, PVA), duration (Duration, D), frequency distribution range (FDR), vibration direction (Direction of Vibration, DV), total energy (Total Integral, Tl), high frequency energy (High Frequency Integral, HFI), the ratio of high frequency energy / low frequency energy (Ratio, R), and noise category (Classification, C). Among them, the number of joint noise occurrences and vibration direction are obtained through the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform diagram. For example, if two obvious peaks of joint signals appear intermittently in a movement cycle, it means two times of noise. For example, if two axes of the x, y, and z axes have abnormal vibration signals, it represents two vibration directions. The peak value of vibration acceleration is the maximum acceleration value in the abnormal joint vibration, in mg. The duration of joint noise is the duration of the abnormal vibration signal, in s. The total energy of joint murmurs is the total energy in different frequency ranges, that is, the total area under the curve in the frequency domain diagram, and the unit is mgHz. The total energy can reflect information such as the chronicity and degree of adaptation in the disordered joint. High-frequency energy is the sum of the energy in the high-frequency range greater than 300Hz, that is, the total area under the curve in the high-frequency range greater than 300Hz in the frequency domain diagram, and the unit is mgHz. It is mainly related to the relative roughness of the sliding surface in the joint. The ratio of high-frequency energy / low-frequency energy is the ratio of the total energy in the high-frequency range to the total energy in the low-frequency range. The category of joint murmurs is specifically classified based on the duration, vibration acceleration peak and frequency distribution range of the joint murmurs in the three-dimensional time-frequency-amplitude diagram. There are 4 specific categories of murmurs, from light to heavy:

[0065] 1) Level 1 noise (C1): A single-peak waveform with a duration less than the first set time threshold and a vibration acceleration peak value higher than the first set peak threshold appears in the three-dimensional time-frequency-amplitude diagram, and the frequency distribution is concentrated within the first set frequency threshold range, that is, a single-peak waveform with an extremely short duration, a high vibration acceleration peak value, and a narrow frequency distribution range appears. 2) Level 2 noise (C2): A multi-peak waveform with a duration not less than the second set time threshold and a vibration acceleration peak value not higher than the second set peak threshold appears in the three-dimensional time-frequency-amplitude diagram, and the frequency distribution is greater than the first set frequency threshold range, that is, a multi-peak waveform with a longer duration, a lower vibration acceleration peak value, and a wider frequency distribution range.

[0066] 3) Level 3 noise (C3): A multi-peak waveform with a duration not less than the first set time threshold and less than the second set time threshold, a vibration acceleration peak not higher than the first set peak threshold and higher than the second set peak threshold, and a frequency distribution greater than the first set frequency threshold range appears in the three-dimensional time-frequency-amplitude diagram, that is, a multi-peak waveform with a medium duration, a medium vibration acceleration peak, and a wide frequency distribution range;

[0067] 4) Level 4 noise (C4): In the three-dimensional time-frequency-amplitude diagram, a single-peak waveform with a duration not less than the first set time threshold and less than the second set time threshold appears, and the vibration acceleration peak value is higher than the first set peak threshold. A multi-peak waveform with multiple vibration acceleration peak values ​​not higher than the second set peak threshold appears afterwards, and the frequency distribution is greater than the first set frequency threshold range, that is, a single peak with a short duration and a high vibration acceleration peak value appears, followed by multiple low vibration acceleration peak values ​​and a waveform with a wide frequency distribution range.

[0068] Specifically, the first set time threshold is 15-20ms, the second set time threshold is 140-160ms; the first set peak threshold is 630-680mg; the second set peak threshold is 300-350mg; the first set frequency threshold range is 40-700Hz.

[0069] Audio output module: generates joint sound audio from three-dimensional joint vibration digital signals and outputs it.

[0070] Status determination module: determines the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on the input maximum range of mandibular motion, the presence or absence of pain, and joint noise parameters. Specifically:

[0071] Obtain the complete mandibular opening and closing, the range of mandibular motion in the three movement cycles of front and back and lateral movement, the presence or absence of pain, and the parameters of joint noise, and set the cumulative scores respectively;

[0072] The scores of the left and right temporomandibular joints in the three movement cycles of mandibular opening and closing, front and back, and lateral movement were calculated respectively, and then the total score of the temporomandibular joints was obtained by summing them up.

[0073] When the total score of the temporomandibular joint is greater than the set value, the temporomandibular joint is judged to be abnormal; otherwise, the temporomandibular joint is normal.

[0074] The status determination module can score the left and right temporomandibular joints based on the input maximum range of mandibular motion, the presence or absence of pain, and the joint noise parameters, and can quantitatively evaluate the health status of the temporomandibular joints. Under physiological and pathological conditions and different pathological conditions, the temporomandibular joints can produce joint vibrations with different characteristics due to changes in joint lubricity, anatomical morphology, intracavitary pressure, and movement forms. Correlating the joint-induced vibration pattern with the corresponding joint space movement pattern can provide an objective and quantitative judgment of the joint status. In one embodiment, the following method is used to cumulatively set the score, such as Figure 6 : 1) Scoring of the maximum range of mandibular movement: 0 points for the normal range of movement, 1 point for <normal range of movement, 1 point for >normal range of movement. Specifically, the normal range of the maximum opening and closing movement of the mandible is 40-50 mm, the normal range of the maximum anterior-posterior movement of the mandible is 8-12 mm, and the normal range of the maximum lateral movement of the mandible is 7-10 mm; 2) Scoring of the presence or absence of pain: 0 points for no history of joint pain or no pain symptoms in the maxillofacial area during mandibular movement, 1 point for a history of joint pain or pain symptoms in the maxillofacial area during mandibular movement; 3) Scoring of the number of joint murmurs: 0 points for 0 times, 1 point for 1 time, 2 points for 2 times, and 3 points for >2 times; 4) Scoring of the vibration direction: 0 points for 0 directions, 1 point for 1 direction, 2 points for 2 directions, and 3 points for 3 directions; 5) Scoring of the total energy: 1 point for ≤ the first set threshold, >the first set threshold and ≤the second set threshold, 2 points; >the second set threshold, 3 points; specifically, the first set threshold of total energy is 2500~3000mgHz, and the second set threshold is 17000~20000mgHz; 6) Score the high-frequency energy: ≤the first set threshold, 1 point; >the first set threshold, 2 points; specifically, the first set threshold of high-frequency energy is 700~1000mgHz; 7) Score the ratio of high-frequency energy / low-frequency energy: ≤the first set threshold, 1 point; >the first set threshold and ≤the second set threshold, 2 points; >the second set threshold, 3 points; specifically, the first set threshold of the ratio of high-frequency energy / low-frequency energy is 0.3~0.4, and the second set threshold is 0.7~0.8; 8) According to the grading of first-level murmur to fourth-level murmur in the murmur category, 1 to 4 points are scored in sequence, and 0 point is scored if there is no abnormal joint murmur. Each item takes the average value in the movement cycle. For example, 4 to 8 opening and closing cycles need to be repeated during measurement, and the average value of each score is taken. The higher the total score of the temporomandibular joint, the more serious the temporomandibular joint disorder tendency of the subject. Specifically, when the total score of the temporomandibular joint is ≤3, the joint is in a healthy state; when the total score is >3 and ≤6, the joint is in a sub-healthy state; when the total score is >6 and ≤15, the joint is in a primary disorder state; when the total score is >15 and ≤18, the joint is in an intermediate disorder state; when the total score is >18 and ≤21, the joint is in a severe disorder state.

[0075] The interactive display terminal is used to display a visualized three-channel waveform diagram. The interactive display terminal can realize the enlargement of the target waveform diagram, which is conducive to viewing the waveform characteristics of the target segment more clearly. The target waveform can be transformed into the frequency domain, and the frequency domain diagram and the three-dimensional time-frequency-amplitude diagram can be output. The joint noise parameters can be calculated, and the key characteristics of the x, y, and z axis signals can be comprehensively analyzed, which is conducive to objectively and quantitatively evaluating the presence or absence of abnormal joint sounds, the mandibular movement position when the joint noise is generated, and the characteristics of the joint noise.

[0076] This temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information can collect the joint vibration information of the temporomandibular joint in different dimensions of x, y, and z in real time, and can objectively reflect the vibration characteristics in the temporomandibular joint in a digital and visual form on an interactive display terminal. Based on more comprehensive joint vibration information, it can more accurately realize real-time monitoring of the health status of the temporomandibular joint, which is convenient for users to self-monitor at home and for doctors to effectively conduct preliminary screening of the joint health status.

[0077] This temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information can objectively reflect the mandibular movement information by synchronizing the periodic changes of the dynamic rhythm cosine graph and the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform graph, and can preliminarily determine the mandibular movement position when joint murmur occurs, providing auxiliary basis for analyzing the cause of joint murmur.

[0078] In this temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information, the touch-type sound sensor, microcontroller and interactive display terminal can be connected by USB data cables. The computer hardware device in the interactive display terminal receives the digital signal processed by the microcontroller through the USB interface at the end of the transmission line. The interactive software platform realizes the management and visual analysis of the signals in the microcontroller.

[0079] This temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information has an interactive display terminal that can receive and present the three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal processed by the microcontroller in the form of data and graphics, realize real-time visualization output of three-dimensional joint vibration waveform, time-frequency domain conversion analysis, joint noise parameter calculation and joint sound audio generation, which is conducive to a more comprehensive analysis of joint sound characteristics and joint movement information, and can score the temporomandibular joint based on the input maximum mandibular movement range, the presence or absence of pain and joint noise parameters, and quantitatively evaluate the health status of the joint.

[0080] A method for monitoring the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on joint vibration information using any of the systems described above comprises the following steps:

[0081] Step 1. Through clinical examination, the maximum range of mandibular movement and the presence or absence of pain in the three movement cycles of opening and closing, front and back, and lateral movement are obtained respectively, and input into the state judgment module in the system; specifically, a vernier caliper is used to measure the vertical straight-line distance between the mesial points of the upper and lower central incisors when the mandible of the subject is open to the maximum; the anterior-posterior straight-line distance between the mesial points of the upper and lower central incisors during the maximum protrusive movement; and the horizontal straight-line distance between the mesial points of the upper and lower central incisors during the maximum lateral movement.

[0082] Step 2: Set the joint vibration sampling parameters including the frequency of signal acquisition and the signal filtering mode;

[0083] In step 2, the port sampling frequency is at least twice that of the analog signal, generally 4000 Hz to 9000 Hz, and a signal filtering mode of a high-pass filter with a cutoff frequency of 20 to 55 Hz and a low-pass filter with a cutoff frequency of 2000 to 4500 Hz is used to suppress artifacts caused by head movement, gravity and soft tissue interference.

[0084] Step 3: Align the anteroposterior y-axis positioning reference line of the outer surface of the joint cover of the touch sensor with the user's orbital ear plane, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 The contact surface of the patch of the touch sensor is fitted to the skin area on the anterior surface of the tragus corresponding to the temporomandibular joint to complete the wearing of the touch sensor on both sides.

[0085] When wearing the touch-type sound sensor, first locate the center of the bilateral joint cover by combining the projection mark of the temporomandibular joint surface (about 1 cm in front of the tragus and below the root of the zygomatic arch) and palpating the most concave part in front of the tragus when the user opens and closes the mouth in a small range. This detection part has the advantages of easy equipment placement, little influence of mandibular movement on the collection, and relatively small soft tissue thickness, which improves the anti-interference and sensitivity of joint vibration collection. Secondly, the anterior-posterior y-axis positioning reference line of the outer surface of the bilateral joint cover is compared with the user's orbito-auricular plane (the plane connected from the lowest point of the lower orbital margin to the upper edge of the external auditory foramen is called the orbito-auricular plane. When the person is sitting, this plane is parallel to the ground plane).

[0086] Step 4: When the user performs temporomandibular joint movement, the touch sensor collects three-dimensional joint vibration simulation signals and sends them to the microcontroller.

[0087] In step five, the patient is trained to move synchronously with the metronome in the motion guidance module in the display terminal, and then the joint vibration signal during the movement is synchronously collected. The user performs temporomandibular joint movement, specifically, according to the metronome in the interactive display terminal, the user performs unassisted mandibular movement consistent with the rate of the dynamic cosine rhythm waveform: when training the mandibular opening and closing movement, the highest point of the waveform of the dynamic cosine rhythm waveform corresponds to the closed mouth position with staggered cusps, and the lowest point corresponds to the maximum open position. A cycle from the closed mouth position to the maximum open position and then closed back to the closed mouth position is a complete cycle. When training the lateral movement of the mandible, the highest point of the waveform of the dynamic cosine rhythm waveform corresponds to the closed mouth position with staggered cusps, and the lowest point corresponds to the relative position of the buccal cusps of the upper and lower posterior teeth on the working side. Starting from the staggered cusp position, always maintaining inter-tooth contact, moving to the working side to the relative position of the buccal cusps of the upper and lower posterior teeth on this side and then returning to the staggered cusp position is a complete cycle. When training the mandibular forward and backward movement, the highest point of the dynamic cosine rhythm waveform corresponds to the closed position of the intercuspate, and the lowest point corresponds to the maximum protrusion position. Starting from the intercuspate position, the upper incisor moves forward and downward along the lingual surface and always maintains inter-tooth contact to the maximum protrusion position and then returns to the intercuspate position. One cycle is a complete cycle. The stable cycle can generally be customized to 2.8s / cycle to 3.6s / cycle. The mandibular can be opened and closed without assistance, and the lateral or forward and backward movements can be performed for 4 to 8 cycles, and the signal can be collected.

[0088] Step 6. The microcontroller receives the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal sent by the touch-type sound sensor, amplifies the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal through the built-in operational amplifier, performs signal filtering and noise elimination through the built-in filter noise reducer, and then converts the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal into a three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal that can be recognized and stored by the display terminal through the data converter, and sends it to the interactive display terminal.

[0089] Step 7. The interactive display terminal outputs real-time three-dimensional joint vibration waveforms, joint noise parameters and joint noise audio of the left and right x, y and z axes, and determines the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on the input maximum mandibular motion range, the presence or absence of pain and the joint noise parameters.

[0090] This temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system and method based on joint vibration information can collect spatial vibration information through a MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor, and can obtain joint vibration information in different dimensions of x, y, and z axes, which is conducive to a more comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of joint sounds, and enhances comparability and diagnostic specificity. Compared with existing detection equipment that can only obtain single-axis opening and closing mouth movement joint sound information, the present invention can obtain joint vibration information in the process of opening and closing mouth, lateral and front-to-back multi-directional three-dimensional mandibular movement through a MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor, which is conducive to a more comprehensive analysis of joint health status.

[0091] This temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system and method based on joint vibration information can initially obtain characteristic information such as joint movement direction and acceleration by analyzing triaxial vibration information, and the synchronized dynamic rhythm cosine diagram can clarify the relative position of the mandible when joint noise occurs, reducing the use of mandibular motion track recorder, reducing costs, improving portability, and having great application prospects for clinical preliminary screening. At the same time, the cost is low, which is conducive to the wide application of hospitals and home monitoring.

[0092] This temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system and method based on joint vibration information can objectively, accurately and quantitatively visualize the dynamic three-axis vibration diagram and motion characteristics of the temporomandibular joint in real time through an interactive display terminal, and proposes a temporomandibular joint scoring method based on the maximum range of mandibular motion, the presence or absence of pain, and joint noise parameters, further promoting the diagnosis and treatment of the temporomandibular joint to quickly enter the precise and intelligent stage, and enabling patients to monitor their joint health status at home without the guidance of a physician.

[0093] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information, characterized in that: It includes a touch sensor, a microcontroller and an interactive display terminal. Touch-type sound sensor: used to touch the temporomandibular joint and obtain the three-dimensional joint vibration simulation signal of the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis, and send it to the microcontroller; Microcontroller: receives the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal sent by the touch-type sound sensor, converts it into a three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal that can be recognized and stored by the display terminal after signal processing, and sends it to the interactive display terminal; Interactive display terminal: The three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal is used to realize the real-time visualization output of the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform and realize the interactive function, perform time-frequency domain conversion analysis, calculate joint noise parameters, and generate joint noise audio. It also determines the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on the input maximum mandibular motion range, the presence or absence of pain, and the joint noise parameters.

2. The temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The contact-type sound sensor adopts a head-mounted contact-type sound sensor, which includes a listening part that contacts the left and right temporomandibular joint areas and a supporting part connected to the listening part at both ends.

3. The temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: The listening part includes a joint cover and a MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor. The joint cover includes an outer shell, an annular pad and a patch. The annular pad and the patch are arranged on the inner side of the outer shell. The outer side of the outer shell is provided with a front-to-back y-axis positioning reference line. One side of the patch is provided with a contact surface for contacting the temporomandibular joint area. The other side of the patch is provided with a MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor, and the front-to-back y-axis positioning reference line is consistent with the y-axis direction of the MEMS three-axis acceleration sensor.

4. The temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: The support part adopts U-shaped adjustable elastic headband.

5. The temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The interactive display terminal includes a setting module, a motion guidance module, a waveform output module, an analysis and calculation module, an audio output module and a state determination module. Setting module: used to set the start and stop of signal acquisition, signal filtering mode and signal acquisition frequency in the microcontroller; Movement guidance module: using a metronome to guide the rhythm of mandibular movement; Waveform output module: presents the three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal processed by the microcontroller in the form of data and graphics, and realizes the real-time visualization output of the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform of the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis; Analysis and calculation module: perform time-frequency domain conversion analysis and joint murmur parameter calculation; Audio output module: generates joint sound audio from three-dimensional joint vibration digital signals and outputs them; Status determination module: determines the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on the input maximum range of mandibular motion, the presence or absence of pain, and joint noise parameters.

6. The temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: The metronome adopts a dynamic rhythmic cosine graph with adjustable parameters, and the dynamic rhythmic cosine graph changes synchronously with the period of the three-dimensional joint vibration waveform graph.

7. The temporomandibular joint health status monitoring system based on joint vibration information as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: In the interactive display terminal, the joint noise parameters include the number of joint noise occurrences, vibration acceleration peak, duration, frequency distribution range, vibration direction, total energy, high-frequency energy, ratio of high-frequency energy / low-frequency energy, and noise category.

8. The method for monitoring the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on joint vibration information as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that: In the status determination module, the health status of the temporomandibular joint is determined based on the input maximum range of mandibular motion, the presence or absence of pain, and the joint noise parameters. Specifically, Obtain the complete mandibular opening and closing, the maximum range of mandibular motion in the three motion cycles of front and back and lateral movement, the presence or absence of pain, and the parameters of joint noise, and set the cumulative scores respectively; The scores of the left and right temporomandibular joints in the three movement cycles of mandibular opening and closing, front and back, and lateral movement were calculated respectively, and then the total score of the temporomandibular joints was obtained by summing them up. When the total score of the temporomandibular joint is greater than the set value, the temporomandibular joint is judged to be abnormal; otherwise, the temporomandibular joint is normal.

9. A method for monitoring the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on joint vibration information using the system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The following steps are included: Step 1: Obtain the maximum range of mandibular motion and the presence or absence of pain in the three motion cycles of opening and closing the mouth, front and back, and lateral motion through clinical examination, and input them into the state determination module in the system; Step 2: Set the joint vibration sampling parameters including the frequency of signal acquisition and the signal filtering mode; Step 3: align the anteroposterior y-axis positioning reference line of the joint cover of the touch sensor to be parallel to the orbital-ear plane of the user, and fit the contact surface of the patch of the touch sensor to the anterior tragus skin area corresponding to the temporomandibular joint, so as to complete the wearing of the touch sensor on both sides; Step 4: When the user performs temporomandibular joint movement, the touch-type sound sensor collects three-dimensional joint vibration simulation signals and sends them to the microcontroller; Step 5: The microcontroller receives the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal sent by the touch-type sound sensor, converts the three-dimensional joint vibration analog signal into a three-dimensional joint vibration digital signal that can be recognized and stored by the display terminal, and sends it to the interactive display terminal; Step 6. The interactive display terminal outputs real-time three-dimensional joint vibration waveforms, joint noise parameters and joint noise audio of the left and right x, y and z axes, and determines the health status of the temporomandibular joint based on the input maximum mandibular motion range, the presence or absence of pain and the joint noise parameters.

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