SBIR Phase I: Point-of-Care Periodontal Imaging

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是改善牙科数字成像。我们的目标是创建一个成像设备，以帮助牙医评估牙龈健康。该项目使用超声波与通常用于牙科成像的X射线形成对比。该项目的影响将是降低患者和口腔健康专业人员的总体辐射剂量，以及软组织（牙龈）的高分辨率成像细节。牙龈的细节通常很难或不可能通过X射线成像获得。商业化的影响将包括提高患者满意度以及更快和更好的治疗结果。口腔卫生专业人员将能够在单位时间内治疗更多的患者。这种基于超声波的方法还将提供牙周炎的早期检测，以降低与晚期牙周病相关的高昂治疗费用。 该装置将降低晚期牙周炎和牙齿脱落的风险，从而提高患者的生活质量。其他更广泛的影响包括对成像设备和处理成像数据的新见解：这些见解将改善口腔以外区域的声学成像。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目提供了创造性的想法，以改善口腔保健。牙科的黄金标准是物理检查和X射线成像。该项目将利用超声波的进步，并将其整合到口腔健康中。超声波非常适合对牙龈疾病所在的牙龈进行成像，并导致牙齿脱落。该项目的第一个目标将使用创造性的策略来实现成像设备的尺寸。这种小型化对于进入口腔中的所有牙齿是很重要的，传统的超声成像设备只能进入门牙和犬齿。第二个目标是开发新的算法来自动化图像收集和图像分析。该项目产生的软件将记录牙齿健康并随时间推移进行跟踪。该软件将为临床医生提供有关牙齿和牙龈的详细信息，用于诊断，预后，风险评估和治疗计划。最终的技术成果将是一个集成的设备，用于整个口腔的声学成像，自动处理成像数据。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve digital imaging in dentistry. The goal is to create an imaging device to assist dentists when they assess gingival health. This project uses ultrasound in contrast to the X-rays typically used in dental imaging. The project impact will be a decreased overall radiation dose to both patients and oral health professionals as well as high-resolution imaging details on the soft tissue (gums). Details on the gingiva is often difficult or impossible to obtain with X-ray imaging. The impact of commercialization will include improved patient satisfaction as well as faster and better treatment outcomes. Oral health professionals will be able to treat more patients per unit time. This ultrasound-based approach will also offer early detection of periodontitis to reduce the high cost of treatment associated with advanced periodontal disease.  This device will reduce the risk of advanced periodontitis and tooth loss and thus improve patient quality of life. Other broader impacts include new insights into miniaturizing imaging equipment and processing imaging data: These insights will improve acoustic imaging in areas well beyond the mouth. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project offers creative ideas to improve oral healthcare. The gold standard in dentistry is physical inspection and X-ray imaging. This project will take advances in ultrasound and integrate them into oral health. Ultrasound is ideally suited to image the gingiva where gum disease resides and leads to tooth loss. The first objective of the project will use creative strategies to miniaturize the size of the imaging equipment. This miniaturization is important in order to access all teeth in the mouth—conventional ultrasound imaging equipment can only access the incisors and canines. The second objective is the development of novel algorithms to automate image collection and image analysis. The software resulting from this project will document dental health and track it over time. The software will give clinicians detailed information about teeth and gums for diagnosis, prognosis, risk assessment, and treatment planning. The ultimate technical result will be an integrated device for acoustic imaging of the entire mouth that automatically processes the imaging data.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.