Augmented Visualization for Dental Implant Drill Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dental implant surgery processes are complex and costly due to the need for precise surgical guides, and practitioners face challenges in simultaneously viewing implant plans during drilling, leading to potential misalignment and errors.
Innovation Solution
A method using augmented visualization with a head-mounted device to display stereoscopic 3D implant plans directly on the practitioner's field of view, allowing real-time registration and tracking of the drill position, potentially reducing or eliminating the need for surgical guides.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If surgical guides are used to guide drill placement, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical surgical guide system with an optical/augmented reality visualization system. The head-mounted display presents stereoscopic 3D images of the implant plan directly in the practitioner's field of view, allowing visual guidance of drill placement without physical guides. This substitution maintains precision while eliminating the complexity of custom guide fabrication and positioning.
2Loss of information
If practitioners view implant plans on external displays, then information visibility is improved, but operational ease deteriorates due to inability to simultaneously view patient anatomy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the implant plan visualization with the practitioner's direct view of the patient's mouth by using a head-mounted display that presents stereoscopic 3D images overlaid in the field of view. This allows the practitioner to simultaneously see both the anatomical structures and the planned drill hole position without switching between separate displays, maintaining operational ease while improving information visibility.
3Manufacturing precision
If custom surgical guides are manufactured for each patient, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity decreases due to complex fabrication process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses digital 3D imaging data from CBCT scans to create virtual models and implant plans that are displayed through augmented reality. Instead of physically manufacturing custom guides for each patient, the system creates digital copies of the patient's anatomy and overlays the implant plan, eliminating time-consuming fabrication while maintaining precision through accurate digital modeling and registration.
4Device complexity
If practitioners rely on 2D images for implant planning, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates in three-dimensional spatial relationships
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from 2D imaging to stereoscopic 3D visualization by using head-mounted displays that present depth-encoded images to each eye separately. This dimensional enhancement allows practitioners to perceive true three-dimensional spatial relationships, drill angles, and depths, significantly improving measurement precision while the underlying CBCT technology maintains manageable system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for guiding the position of a dental drill for implant treatment of a patient, the method acquiring a volume image of patient anatomy; superimposing an image of a planned drill hole on a display of the acquired volume image according to observer instructions to form an implant plan; displaying at least a portion of the implant plan in stereoscopic form on a head-mounted device worn by an observer and tracking patient position so that the displayed portion of the implant plan is registered to the patient anatomy that lies in the observer's field of view; and highlighting the location of the planned drill hole on the head-mounted device display.