Temporomandibular joint movement measurement for precise dental products fabrication

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

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.