Intraoral Tomographic Scanning for Alveolar Bone Formation Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods lack practical techniques to accurately assess alveolar bone formation and determine the optimal timing for dental implant placement, leading to prolonged waiting periods and empirical decision-making.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing an intraoral scanner with tomographic function to obtain surface and internal cross-sectional images of the alveolar bone, allowing for precise monitoring of bone grafting material ossification and determining the appropriate timing for implant placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If empirical methods (age, amount of bone grafting) are used to determine implant placement timing, then decision-making can be performed without advanced equipment, but the waiting period is prolonged and precision is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces empirical mechanical assessment methods with optical imaging technology. The intraoral scanner with tomographic function uses light to capture surface and internal cross-sectional images of the alveolar bone, enabling precise measurement of bone formation without relying on time-based empirical rules. This substitution of optical measurement for empirical estimation directly resolves the contradiction by providing accurate bone formation assessment that eliminates prolonged waiting periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces tomographic imaging as an intermediary tool between the bone grafting material and the implant placement decision. By capturing internal cross-sectional images of the bone formation process, the imaging system serves as a mediator that provides objective data about bone maturation, replacing the need for prolonged empirical waiting periods and enabling precise timing determination.
2Loss of information
If CBCT imaging is used to estimate bone density, then bone formation can be visualized, but no practical clinical technique for analyzing bone density at target location is available
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the intraoral scanner multi-functional by equipping it with both surface scanning capability and tomographic imaging function. This allows the same device to perform routine surface documentation and specialized bone density analysis, making the advanced technique universally available in standard dental practices without requiring separate specialized equipment, thereby resolving the contradiction between information availability and operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates detailed internal cross-sectional images that serve as copies of the actual bone structure at the implant target location. These image copies provide comprehensive bone density information that can be analyzed offline, transforming complex imaging data into actionable clinical information that is easy to interpret and use in routine practice.
3Reliability
If implant placement timing is determined empirically, then equipment complexity is low, but reliability of implant placement is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the surface scanning function and tomographic imaging function into a single intraoral scanner system. By combining these capabilities in one integrated device, the patent reduces the overall system complexity compared to using separate specialized equipment, while simultaneously providing the reliable, precise bone formation assessment data needed to determine optimal implant placement timing and improve success rates.
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
Enhances the success rate of implant placement by enabling early and timely intervention based on accurate bone formation assessment, minimizing patient discomfort and uncertainty.
Implementation Method 1
an intraoral scanner having a tomographic function, wherein the intraoral scanner includes a surface shape acquisition optical system 12 and 14 for obtaining a surface shape image of an oral structure S and an internal cross-section acquisition optical system 22 and 24 for obtaining an internal cross-sectional image of the oral structure S
Data Source
AI summary
A method for examining alveolar bone formation includes filling an alveolar bone with a bone grafting material, suturing gums so as to cover the bone grafting material, and then obtaining a surface shape image using a surface shape acquisition optical system; obtaining an internal cross-sectional image showing a state of the alveolar bone and the bone grafting material at a predetermined location of the obtained surface shape image; obtaining an internal cross-sectional image showing the state of the alveolar bone and the bone grafting material at a corresponding location when a gum surface shape at the location where the internal cross-sectional image was previously obtained is detected while obtaining gum surface shapes by moving the intraoral scanner after a predetermined period has elapsed; and comparing the internal cross-sectional images obtained at a predetermined time interval.