Dental Aligner Fabrication via Distributed Remote Planning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dental orthodontic treatment for tooth misalignment is costly and burdensome, requiring multiple visits to a dentist, with varying costs geographically and inefficiencies in treatment planning and aligner fabrication processes.
Innovation Solution
A distributed system with a central processing system that enables intraoral scanning, remote treatment planning, and aligner fabrication, allowing for the generation and approval of treatment plans without physical presence, and the direct shipment of aligners to patients, while managing patient files and providing status updates through a portal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a distributed system with remote treatment planning and approval is implemented, then patient accessibility and convenience are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the orthodontic treatment workflow into distinct segments: intraoral scanning at the patient's location, remote treatment plan generation by one dentist, approval by a different dentist, and fabricator processing. Each segment is handled by different computing devices and professionals, allowing parallel processing and eliminating the need for patients to travel between appointments.
Solution Approach 2:
A centralized server acts as an intermediary that receives intraoral scan data, distributes it to multiple dentists for treatment planning and approval, coordinates with fabricators, and manages the overall workflow. This intermediary handles the complexity of coordinating multiple parties, shielding patients from system complexity while enabling remote access.
2Reliability
If multiple dentists are involved in treatment planning and approval remotely, then treatment quality and oversight are improved, but communication overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges treatment plan generation and approval functions into a single integrated digital workflow on the server. Multiple dentists access and interact with the same treatment plan data structure, allowing them to add comments, suggestions, and approvals without creating separate communication channels. This consolidation reduces information loss compared to traditional email or phone-based coordination.
3Productivity
If aligners are fabricated and shipped directly to patients, then treatment efficiency is improved, but coordination complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by having dentists complete treatment planning and approval before fabricator processing begins. The centralized server prepares and validates all necessary treatment data, treatment plans, and approvals in advance, ensuring that fabricators receive complete and accurate information ready for immediate processing once approved, reducing delays and coordination complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A distributed system includes one or more servers configured to provide computing devices access to portals hosted by the one or more servers, where the portals include a patient intake portal accessible by a first computing device located at an office of an intake dentist or orthodontist, and an approving portal accessible by a second computing device remote from the first computing device. The distributed system includes a dental aligner fabrication system including a fabrication computing device and dental aligner fabrication equipment. The patient intake portal is configured to provide a plurality of status updates to the intake dentist or orthodontist regarding a status of the patient, where the plurality of status updates include an indication that the dental aligners have been sent to the patient.