Intraoral Scanner Field-of-View Adjustment for Smaller Tips
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Intraoral scanners face a tradeoff between tip size and the ability to register full mouth 3D data, with smaller tips providing patient comfort but potentially compromising data collection efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An image processing-based method and device for adjusting the field of view by detecting and adjusting the overlap between the sensor's and tip's fields of view using machine learning and mechanical adjustments to maximize the effective field of view, allowing for reduced tip size without compromising data collection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the tip size is reduced to improve patient comfort, then patient comfort is improved, but the ability to register full mouth 3D data deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic adjustment of the sensor's field of view through software control, allowing the scanning system to adapt the effective scanning area based on the physical tip size. This enables smaller tips to achieve the data collection capability of larger tips by dynamically expanding the sensor's field of view beyond the physical tip constraints
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of field of view coverage by adjusting sensor positioning and scanning parameters. By modifying the sensor's field of view parameters through software, the system can compensate for the reduced physical tip size and maintain adequate data collection coverage for full mouth registration
2Productivity
If the tip size is increased to improve data collection capability, then data collection efficiency is improved, but patient comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the sensor's field of view parameters to optimize the balance between tip size and data collection capability. By making the field of view adjustable rather than fixed, the system can use smaller tips while maintaining effective scanning through software-controlled parameter changes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical solutions (physical tip size) with software-based field of view adjustment. Instead of relying on larger physical tips to achieve better data collection, the system uses software control to expand the sensor's effective field of view, substituting mechanical constraints with digital parameter adjustment
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided. The method includes collecting surface information of teeth through a sensor and a tip of an intraoral scanner. The method also includes detecting an overlap between a first area and a second area based on the surface information. The first area indicates a field of view of the sensor through the tip for collecting the surface information. The second area indicates a field of view of the tip for collecting the surface information. The method further includes adjusting the first area relative to the second area. A device implementing the method is also disclosed.