Optical Dental Instrument Tracking System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dental procedures face challenges in accurately guiding medical instruments due to limited space in the oral cavity, difficulty in reaching or seeing the operating site, and the presence of nerves, blood vessels, and cortical plates, which can lead to injuries and suboptimal implant placement.
Innovation Solution
A CT-based dental 3D imaging system combined with an optical-based tracking system, where a patient's anatomical image is rendered in planning software, and an optical sensor coupled with dental instruments provides real-time feedback on the instrument's position and orientation relative to the virtual plan.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If hand-held and hand-guided instruments are used in dental procedures, then the practitioner can perform procedures with flexibility, but the precision and control of instrument placement are reduced due to limited space and difficulty in aligning or moving the tool
Solution Approach 1:
A guide instrument is introduced as an intermediary device between the practitioner's hand-held instrument and the patient's anatomy. The guide instrument includes a guide body with a guide bore that defines a trajectory, serving as a mediator to ensure precise instrument placement while allowing the practitioner to operate with flexibility. The guide instrument translates the practitioner's manual control into precise, predetermined trajectories for implant placement or osteotomy preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide instrument is designed with a pre-determined trajectory defined by the guide bore before the actual surgical procedure. This preliminary action of establishing the correct path in advance allows the practitioner to simply follow the predetermined trajectory during surgery, ensuring precision without requiring complex real-time adjustments or advanced skill in spatial orientation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the practitioner attempts to align or move the tool during the procedure, then adaptability to anatomical variations is improved, but the time required for precise alignment increases and patient movement can affect precision
Solution Approach 1:
The guide instrument incorporates a guide bore with a pre-determined trajectory that has been planned to accommodate specific anatomical variations of the patient. This preliminary customization of the guide instrument allows it to adapt to the patient's unique anatomy while eliminating the need for time-consuming real-time alignment adjustments during surgery. The trajectory is established before the procedure, so the practitioner can proceed directly along the predetermined path.
3Measurement precision
If real-time tracking and feedback systems are implemented, then precision and safety are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex mechanical tracking mechanisms with optical detection. An optical detector captures images of the guide instrument, and a computer processes these images to determine the instrument's position and orientation relative to the patient's anatomy. This substitution of optical and computational methods for mechanical systems achieves high precision while avoiding the complexity of mechanical sensors and actuators embedded in the instrument.
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
This system enhances the precision and safety of dental procedures by allowing real-time tracking and feedback, reducing the risk of injuries to surrounding tissues and improving the accuracy of implant placement.
Implementation Method 1
an optical sensor coupled with dental instruments provides real-time feedback on the instrument's position and orientation
Data Source
AI summary
A system is disclosed. The system contains an instrument configured to fit in a patient's anatomy, an optical sensor associated with the instrument, a processing unit receiving data from the optical sensor, and a display displaying position of the instrument in the patient's anatomy based on the data from the optical sensor.