AR Overlay for Dental Attachment Placement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Dental practitioners face inefficiencies and inaccuracies in performing procedures due to the need to frequently switch between interacting with patients and using computing devices for medical scans, lacking real-time feedback, and the inability to manipulate medical images during intraoral scans.
Innovation Solution
An augmented reality (AR) system that provides real-time information and feedback to dental practitioners through an AR display, allowing them to analyze and interact with patient data directly while performing procedures, including identifying areas of interest, tracking treatment progress, and facilitating intraoral scanning without needing to disengage from the patient.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If dental practitioners use computing devices for medical scans and image analysis, then measurement precision and information accuracy are improved, but productivity and ease of operation deteriorate due to frequent switching between devices and loss of time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the computing device with the dental practitioner's field of view by projecting images and information onto a transparent display overlay. This merging allows practitioners to access diagnostic images, treatment plans, and patient information without physically moving to separate computing devices, thereby maintaining diagnostic accuracy while improving procedure efficiency and reducing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The transparent display overlay acts as an intermediary between the dental practitioner and the computing device. It mediates the interaction by presenting digital information in the practitioner's direct line of sight, eliminating the need to switch between devices while preserving access to high-resolution medical images and diagnostic data.
2Ease of operation
If dental practitioners focus on patient interaction, then ease of operation and patient care quality are improved, but access to medical information and real-time feedback is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a new dimension to the practitioner's workspace by overlaying digital information in the visual field. This spatial dimension allows simultaneous patient interaction and information access without requiring the practitioner to shift attention between separate physical locations or devices, thus maintaining patient care quality while preventing information loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The transparent display overlay uses visual differentiation through color and brightness variations to present various types of information (diagnostic images, treatment plans, annotations) in distinct visual channels. This allows practitioners to quickly distinguish and access different information types while maintaining focus on the patient, preventing information loss without compromising interaction quality.
3Manufacturing precision
If dental practitioners manipulate medical images during intraoral scans, then measurement precision and treatment accuracy are improved, but device complexity and difficulty of operation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the image manipulation functionality from complex dedicated computing software and presents essential manipulation tools directly on the transparent overlay in the practitioner's field of view. This extraction allows practitioners to perform necessary image adjustments and measurements without navigating complex device interfaces, thereby maintaining placement accuracy while reducing operational complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprises an image capture device, an augmented reality (AR) display to display, and a processing device. The processing deice receives image data of a dental arch from the image capture device and processes the image data using a plurality of detection rules, where each detection rule detects one or more dental conditions. The processing device determines a dental condition for the dental arch based on the processing, determines a position of an area of interest on the dental arch, wherein the area of interest is associated with the dental condition, generates a visual overlay comprising an indication of the dental condition at the position of the area of interest, and outputs the visual overlay to the AR display, wherein the visual overlay is superimposed over a view of the dental arch on the AR display at the position of the area of interest.