Motion-Based Tooth Setup for Collision Avoidance in Dental Appliances
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dental appliance setups, such as dentures, often fail to accurately account for the dynamic movements of a patient's jaw, leading to inefficiencies, inaccuracies, and potential failures in fit and function.
Innovation Solution
A system that combines motion capture technology with 3D modeling to analyze and adjust the positioning of teeth in a patient's mouth, using a computing system to automatically avoid interferences and optimize the setup of dental appliances based on actual jaw movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional dental appliance setup methods are used, then the process is simple and quick, but the accuracy of accounting for jaw movements is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital replica (virtual model) of the patient's dentition and jaw movements. Motion capture data is used to generate a virtual representation of jaw movement that can be analyzed and adjusted in a digital environment before physical appliance fabrication, allowing high measurement precision without increasing physical device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical articulators and physical trial appliances with a computer-based virtual setup system. The computing system uses motion capture data to simulate and analyze jaw movements digitally, substituting complex mechanical measurement devices with software-based solutions that achieve higher accuracy
2Productivity
If traditional dental appliance setup methods are used, then the equipment and process are simple, but chair time and material waste increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the tooth setup and appliance design in a virtual environment before physical fabrication. All adjustments and optimizations are completed digitally using motion capture data, allowing the physical appliance to be fabricated correctly the first time without requiring multiple trial fittings, thereby reducing chair time and material waste
Solution Approach 2:
By creating and refining the appliance design in a digital copy/virtual model, the system eliminates the need for multiple physical trial appliances. The virtual setup allows complete optimization before single-stage physical fabrication, preventing material waste associated with traditional trial-and-error fitting processes
3Reliability
If motion capture technology is integrated with 3D modeling, then appliance fit and function accuracy improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges motion capture technology with 3D dental modeling within a unified computing system. The system integrates motion capture data acquisition, 3D model generation, and virtual tooth setup into a single automated workflow, achieving high reliability through data fusion while managing complexity through integrated software architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The computing system performs multiple functions: capturing motion data, generating 3D models, analyzing jaw movements, and performing virtual tooth setup. This multi-functional system reduces the need for separate specialized devices and simplifies the overall system architecture while maintaining high accuracy through comprehensive data analysis
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed technology provides for setting up teeth, such as dentures and dental appliances, based on motion data. A method can include receiving, by a computing system, a digital representation of the patient's jaw movement, receiving a digital model of at least a portion of the patient's upper and lower teeth, receiving user input indicating selection of at least a first tooth in the digital model as moveable, at least a second tooth as fixed, and at least a third tooth as ignored, moving the at least portion of the upper teeth and the lower teeth along movement pathways indicated by the digital representation of jaw movement, and automatically adjusting a position of the selected first tooth based on detecting the position of the selected at least first tooth as colliding or interfering with one or more other teeth represented by the digital model along one of the movement pathways.