Investigating applications of machine learning in observing, mapping, and modelling movements of vocal organs for applications within dental healthcar

目前，牙科设备和修复体的使用要求个人调整他们的口腔行为，使说话和进食等活动感觉尽可能自然。然而，这样的调整最终往往会产生不自然的语音模式和/或不寻常的口腔运动，导致并发症，如咬合不规律。随着人们对健康老龄化和良好口腔健康的兴趣日益浓厚，需要新的方法来有效地开发定制的牙科设备和粘合剂配方，只需最小的调整，同时实现自然的口腔运动。这项研究的主要目的是开发技术和方法，使我们能够实现这一目标。为了实现这一点，我们将开发口腔和相关的面部/口腔结构的详细模型，以帮助我们了解戴假牙的人在语音和食物处理方面的变化。实时磁共振成像(RtMRI)和电磁冠状动脉造影术(EMA)目前被用作此类开发的主要工具。然而，这样的机器昂贵，侵入性强，劳动密集型；在牙科实践中资源稀缺。这导致了两个主要的研究问题。首先，有没有可能只用360度摄像机记录下头部和颈部，就能对语言和食物处理过程中舌头的运动进行3D建模？其次，如何将这项技术应用于可视化牙齿修复对口腔运动的影响？这项研究计划利用人工智能和计算机视觉来创建一种系统，能够量化语音和食物处理过程中的这些变化，而不需要单独的rtMRI和EMA记录，即记录外部面部的可能性，并能够成功预测负责语音的内部结构(舌头、牙齿等)的运动。然后，这些结果将被用来识别假牙使用中常见的异常情况，并允许采取适当的解决方案。由于它的多学科性质，这项研究将引起不同学术领域的极大兴趣。这将需要开发计算机视觉跟踪算法，通过使用数码相机，优化以捕捉口腔行为。这将提供增强的捕捉嘴巴运动的能力。它在现实世界中也有重要的应用。在牙科领域，这可能导致一种在财务和技术上可行的系统，该系统可以真正允许生产个性化的牙齿假体，而不必经历几次昂贵的rtMRI和EMA扫描的相关成本。这项技术不仅限于面部，任何在内部和外部运动模式上都有相似之处的生物结构都可以用这种技术来建模，例如髋关节。在不需要核磁共振的情况下，诊断此类问题是可能的。这项技术不会在任何严重的情况下消除对核磁共振的需求，而是在目前无法进行核磁共振扫描的情况下作为替代或补充。这包括由于财务和专业人员要求而无法提供MRI和EMA机器的情况。

Currently, the use of dental devices and prosthetics requires individuals to adjust their oral behaviour so that activities such as speech and eating feel as natural as possible. However, such adjustments often end up producing unnatural speech patterns and/or unusual oral movements leading to complications, like an irregular bite.With the growing interest in healthy ageing and good oral health, new approaches are needed that allow the effective development of customised dental devices and adhesive formulation that will require minimal adjustments, whilst achieving natural oral movement. The primary aim of this research is to develop technologies and approaches that will allow us to realise this goal. To achieve this, detailed models of the mouth and relevant facial/ oral structures will be developed, to help us understand the changes in speech and food processing that occur in a denture-wearing individual. Real time MRI (rtMRI) and Electromagnetic Articulography (EMA) are currently being used as the primary tools for such developments. However, such machinery is expensive, invasive, and labour-intensive; resources that are scarce in dental practices.This leads to two main research questions. Firstly, is it possible to 3D-model the movements of the tongue during speech and food-processing, by recording only the head and neck with a 360-degree camera? Secondly, how can this technology be applied in visualising the effect of dental prosthetics on one's oral motion?The research plans to employ Artificial Intelligence and computer vision in creating a system capable of quantifying these changes in speech and food processing, without the need of individual rtMRI and EMA recordings i.e., the possibility of recording the external face and being able to successfully predict the movements of the internal structures responsible for speech (tongue, teeth etc.). The results would then be used to identify common abnormalities occurring from denture use and allow for an appropriate solution. Owing to its multidisciplinary nature, the research would be of great interest to various academic domains. It will entail the development of computer vision tracking algorithms optimised to capture oral behaviour, with the use of a digital camera. These will provide the enhanced capability of capturing movements of the mouth.It also has significant real-world applications. In the dental field, this may result in a financially and technologically feasible system that can truly allow to produce personalised dental prosthetics, without the associated cost of having to undergo several expensive rtMRI and EMA scans. The technology is not limited to just the face, rather any biological structure that shares a similarity in its internal and external movement patterns could be modelled with such a technology, for example hip joints. It would be possible to diagnose such problems without the need of an MRI. This technology would not eliminate the need of an MRI in any serious scenario but will rather serve as an alternative or supplementary in situations where such scans are currently not feasible. This includes where MRI and EMA machines are not available due to financial and specialist staff requirements.