Temporomandibular joint movement measurement for precise dental products fabrication

牙科实验室产品的制造，如冠、桥、可移动假牙或种植体，需要牙科技术人员从牙医拍摄的患者印模或咬合注册开始，以高精度手工制作复杂的部件。目前获得患者假牙的方法不测量个体的下颌运动，只提供静态咬合注册。因此，在牙科实验室生产的植入物通常不是完美匹配的，因为每个人的下颌综合运动变化很大，并且牙科技术人员无法获得制造过程。一个直接的后果是牙医经常花费大量的时间来调整病人口中的矫治器。该项目解决了在牙科诊所的操作限制下获得个体颞下颌关节运动的具体问题，以便牙医准确有效地测量患者的下颌运动，以及他的牙印。有了这些测量，牙齿咬合可以在牙科实验室中广泛地再现，以便在制造过程中对牙科器械进行精细调整。现有的下颌运动采集解决方案依赖于安装在患者身上的机械或电磁传感器，仍然笨重、昂贵且难以在临床环境中使用。我们的目标是开发一种可访问的替代品，以满足牙科实验室制造过程的要求。该研究将包括基于视觉的下颌运动采集系统的开发，包括各种下颌运动的相机校准和3D运动估计，必要的信号处理，以及适合应用的用户界面设计。通过一种与牙科诊所兼容的技术，获得对个人下颌运动的具体测量将是牙科实验室行业的一项重大成就。在这项资助下开发的技术将应用于牙科诊所和化验室，改善牙科护理服务的质素，并确保更有效地控制牙科器具的生产成本。

The fabrication of dental laboratory products, such as crowns, bridges, removable dentures, or implants, requires that dental technicians manually create complex pieces with high precision, starting from a patient's impression or bite registration taken by a dentist. Current methods to acquire a patient's denture do not measure the individual's jaw movement and provide only a static bite registration. As a result, insertions produced in the dental lab are often not a perfect fit because the comprehensive movement of the jaw varies greatly in between individuals, and remains unavailable to the dental technician for the fabrication process. An immediate consequence is that dentists often spend a significant amount of time to adjust the appliance in the mouth of the patient. This project addresses the specific issue of acquiring the temporomandibular joint movement of an individual within the operational constraints of a dental clinic for a dentist to accurately and efficiently measure a patient's mandibular movement, along with his dental impression. With these measurements, teeth occlusions can be extensively reproduced in the dental lab for the dental appliance to be finely adjusted during the fabrication process. Existing jaw movement acquisition solutions that rely on mechanical or electromagnetic sensors mounted on the patient remain cumbersome, expensive and difficult to use in a clinical context. Our goal is to develop an accessible alternative that addresses the requirements of dental labs fabrication processes. The research will comprehend the development of a vision-based jaw movement acquisition system, including the calibration of cameras and 3D motion estimation for a variety of jaw movements, the necessary signal processing, as well as the design of a user interface to suit the application. Earning access to specific measurements of an individual's jaw movement via a technology compatible with dental clinics will represent a major achievement in the dental labs industry. The technology developed under this grant will find adoption in dental clinics and labs, improving the quality of dental care services, and ensuring a better control of dental appliances production costs.