Dentine-Enamel Boundary Detection with Dual-Filter Fluorescence
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional oral inspection systems struggle to accurately identify interdental gaps due to obscuration mediums like water, saliva, and toothpaste, often requiring physical probing, which is undesirable.
Innovation Solution
A dentine-enamel boundary detection system using two optical filters with different passbands to filter fluorescence from oral structures, combined with a sensor module and processor, identifies the dentine-enamel boundary through fluorescence spectra analysis, enabling gap detection without physical interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional imaging systems are used for oral inspection, then the system structure is simple, but the measurement precision deteriorates due to obscuration mediums like water, saliva, and toothpaste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical/optical imaging systems with a fluorescence-based detection system. Instead of using standard cameras that rely on reflected light, the invention uses fluorophores that emit fluorescence when excited by specific wavelengths. This substitution allows the system to penetrate obscuration mediums like water and saliva that block conventional optical imaging, thereby improving interdental gap detection accuracy without requiring complex mechanical probing mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the detection parameter from reflected light intensity to fluorescence emission intensity. By using fluorophores that emit light at different wavelengths when excited, the system can distinguish between tooth structures and obscuration mediums. The processor analyzes fluorescence intensity ratios at different wavelengths to identify interdental gaps, transforming the detection approach from direct optical imaging to spectroscopic analysis that is insensitive to the presence of water, saliva, and toothpaste
2Measurement precision
If physical probing is used to identify interdental gaps, then the measurement precision improves, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to required physical interaction with teeth
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical probing with optical/fluorescence-based detection. Instead of physically inserting probes into interdental spaces to detect gaps through contact, the system uses fluorophores applied to tooth surfaces that emit fluorescence patterns detectable by a sensor. This eliminates the need for manual probing operations while maintaining high detection accuracy, as the fluorescence emission naturally reveals gap locations through intensity variations
3Reliability
If conventional imaging is used in oral environment, then the device complexity is low, but the reliability deteriorates due to presence of obscuration mediums
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional optical imaging with fluorescence detection that is inherently more reliable in the presence of obscuration mediums. Water, saliva, and toothpaste do not fluoresce at the same wavelengths as the applied fluorophores, allowing the system to distinguish between oral fluids and tooth structures. This substitution provides reliable detection accuracy even when the oral cavity is wet or contains cleaning agents
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces fluorophores as an intermediary substance applied to tooth surfaces. These fluorophores serve as mediators between the light source and the detector, emitting characteristic fluorescence that reveals tooth structure information independent of obscuration mediums. The fluorophore layer allows the system to penetrate through water, saliva, and toothpaste to reliably detect interdental gaps and tooth boundaries
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system accurately identifies dentine-enamel boundaries and interdental gaps even in the presence of obscuration mediums, allowing for improved oral health assessment and treatment application.
Implementation Method 1
two optical filters having different respective passbands, each of the two filters arranged to filter a portion of fluorescence emitted from oral structures
Data Source
AI summary
A dentine-enamel boundary detection system for an oral inspection device is provided. The dentine-enamel boundary detection system includes a light emission module configured to emit light to irradiate an oral region of interest and two optical filters having different respective passbands. Each of the two optical filters are arranged to filter a portion of fluorescence emitted from oral structures in the oral region of interest to pass filtered fluorescence. The system further includes a sensor module and a processor module. The sensor module is configured to detect the filtered fluorescence and output corresponding sensor data. The processor module configured to identify the presence of a dentine-enamel boundary in the oral region of interest by processing the sensor data output by the sensor module.