Optical Coherence Tomography Color Mapping for Sparse-Scan Dental Imaging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems in dentistry face limitations such as limited penetration depth, small field of view, long capture time causing motion distortion, and complex registration requirements, which hinder their use in automated tooth preparation and patient-friendly imaging.
Innovation Solution
An OCT system that rapidly traverses a two-dimensional scanning pattern with sparse A-scans, combining multiple partially overlapping frames to generate a dense image, and simultaneously captures visible light images to color the OCT data, using a handheld device or robotic arm for efficient scanning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional OCT systems perform dense scanning to achieve high image quality, then measurement precision is improved, but capture time increases causing motion distortion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by performing sparse scanning (taking only a subset of required measurements) rather than dense scanning. The system captures only essential data points along the scan path, which reduces capture time and minimizes motion distortion while still achieving sufficient image quality through intelligent data reconstruction algorithms that fill in missing information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic action through rapid repeated scanning of the same region multiple times. By performing multiple fast scans and combining the data, the system achieves high image quality without requiring any single scan to be slow or dense. This periodic sampling approach allows the system to overcome motion distortion by capturing multiple snapshots at different time points.
2Measurement precision
If OCT systems scan slowly to reduce motion distortion, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs partial scanning by acquiring only the necessary minimum data points required for reconstruction, rather than scanning every possible location. This selective sampling approach enables faster scanning speeds while maintaining sufficient image accuracy through computational algorithms that reconstruct the complete image from the sparse data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of slow scanning with a computational approach. Instead of physically scanning slowly to reduce motion distortion, the system uses rapid scanning combined with sophisticated image reconstruction algorithms that mathematically compensate for the speed, substituting mechanical precision with computational intelligence.
3Manufacturing precision
If OCT systems use traditional scanning methods to maintain surface trueness, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach by using a separate visible light camera to capture reference images of the tooth surface. These camera images serve as a mediator that simplifies the registration process between OCT scans and the actual tooth geometry. Instead of directly complex registration algorithms, the system uses the camera reference to establish correspondences, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining surface trueness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the imaging function into separate components: the OCT system handles internal structural imaging while the visible light camera handles surface reference capture. This segmentation allows each subsystem to be simpler and more optimized for its specific function, with the combination achieving the overall precision requirement without requiring any single system to be overly complex.
4Measurement precision
If OCT systems perform multiple scans to generate dense image, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic action by performing multiple rapid scans of the same region and combining the data to generate a dense image. Each individual scan is fast and sparse, but the repeated periodic sampling accumulates sufficient data to reconstruct a high-density image, achieving the desired precision without requiring any single scan to be time-consuming.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses partial action by taking only the essential minimum number of scans and data points needed, rather than performing exhaustive dense scanning. The intelligent data fusion algorithms then reconstruct the complete dense image from this minimal partial data, reducing total scan time while maintaining the required image density and precision.
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 provides fast, accurate, and easily interpretable 3D dental imaging, reducing treatment costs and appointment times by enabling early and accurate diagnosis, improving case acceptance, and facilitating automated tooth preparation.
Implementation Method 1
the interferometry system is configured to cause interference between the returned light and light from a light source that produces the sample beam, and to analyze said interference
Data Source
AI summary
An optical coherence tomography scanning system traverses its respective scan pattern quickly, typically completing an entire two-dimensional frame faster than a conventional raster scanner completes one raster line segment. To traverse the scan pattern quickly, the system takes fewer A-scans per length of scan pattern than a conventional OCT scanner. To compensate for the sparsity of the sample points along the respective scan line segments, and for gaps between respective line segments of the trajectory, the system acquires and combines several partially overlapping frames for each study to generate a dense OCT image. A visible light camera captures an image for each traversal of the scan pattern, but only a predetermined subset of pixels in the visible light image, which correspond to locations on the anatomical item interrogated by a sample arm of the OCT, are used to color corresponding pixels in the dense OCT image.