Multispectral near-infrared imaging of dental caries in children

 描述(申请人提供)：龋齿是世界上最常见的慢性传染病之一。在美国，咬合(咬合面)和近中(牙齿之间)区域需要定量成像牙齿腐烂和裂隙深度。此外，美国的大部分龋齿负荷是由不同的群体携带的，例如阿拉斯加原住民，他们的龋齿比率是全国的许多倍。这些人口中的卫生保健差距因农村偏远而加剧。阿拉斯加原住民平均每人补牙的数量是城市居民的两倍。为了在这些偏远地区提供安全、高质量的牙齿护理，需要一种x射线替代品，它可以提供牙齿深处裂缝和腐烂的高分辨率光学图像，而不需要电离x射线辐射。目前的问题是，可以用来观察牙齿腐烂的最佳红外光波长(1310和1460 nm)并没有用于儿科临床的小型高分辨率相机。因此，将开发和测试另一种形成红外图像的方法，该方法产生病变的最高对比度，这是以直角配置扫描激光(例如，扫描咬合面并检测牙周线上方)。华盛顿大学(UW)开发了最小的基于激光的成像设备，其直径相当于一根圆形牙签(1.2毫米)，同时可以产生多个波长的高质量视频图像。扫描纤维内窥镜(SFE)技术已由Joel Berg博士与华盛顿州西雅图的UW儿科牙科和儿童医院共享管理，在儿科牙科中心的儿童身上进行了测试。虽然该设备使用可见光来测试牙釉质的健康状况，但向红外的变化很简单，可以使用高对比度透射率和反射率成像的最佳激光波长对裂缝和龋齿病变进行更深层次的成像。扫描仪的小尺寸允许在需要时同时运行两种成像模式，以确定裂缝的范围、最大龋齿深度，甚至是使用非手术药物治疗监测的龋齿总体积。该手机将比目前儿童使用的任何咬合式放射传感器更小，同时在恢复性工作中提供新的成像功能，可能是在远程医疗条件下。超临界流体萃取技术的成本基本上很低，因为它使用了电信行业中完全开发的激光和探测器。低功率扫描激光成像可以使其便携，并且不会带来重大风险。该项目将制造一个原型装置，确定其最佳成像模式(波长和配置)，开发新的3D成像算法，用拔掉的牙齿进行测试，并通过对6至12岁儿童的初步研究进行验证。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Dental caries is one of the most common chronic infectious diseases in the world. The occlusal (biting surface) and interproximal (between teeth) areas are where there need for quantitative imaging of tooth decay and depth of cracks in the USA. In addition a majority of the caries load in USA is carried by different groups, such as Alaska Native people who have many times the national rate of tooth decay. Health care disparities in this population are exacerbated by rural remoteness. The average number of dental fillings per Alaskan Native person is double that of urban dwellers. To provide safe, high-quality dental care in these remote areas, an x- ray replacement is desired which provides high-resolution optical images of cracks and decay deep within teeth that does not require ionizing x-ray radiation. The current problem is that the optimal wavelengths of infrared light (1310 and 1460 nm) that can be used to see decay in teeth, do not have small high-resolution cameras for pediatric clinical use. Thus, an alternative method of forming infrared images will be developed and tested that produces the highest contrast of the lesion, which is scanning laser light either i transmission, reflection, and in a right-angle configuration (for example, scan the occlusal surface and detect above the gum line). The smallest laser-based imaging device has been developed at the University of Washington (UW), being the diameter of a round toothpick (1.2-mm) while producing high-quality video images at multiple wavelengths. The scanning fiber endoscope (SFE) technology has been tested by Dr. Joel Berg in children at The Center for Pediatric Dentistry with shared administration from UW Pediatric Dentistry and Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA. Although this device used visible light for testing the health of the enamel the change to infrared is straightforward, allowing much deeper imaging of cracks and carious lesions using optimal laser wavelengths for high-contrast transmittance and reflectance imaging. The small size of the scanner allows the two imaging modes to run concurrently if needed to find the extent of a crack, maximum depth of caries, and even total volume of caries under surveillance with non-surgical medicinal therapies. The hand piece will be smaller than any bitewing radiographic sensor used in children now, while providing new features of imaging during restorative work, possibly under tele-medicine conditions. The SFE technology is fundamentally low in cost because it uses laser and detectors that are fully developed in the telecommunications industry. The low- power scanned laser light imaging can be made portable and carries no significant risks. This project will fabricate a prototype device, determine its optimal imaging modes (wavelength &configuration), develop new 3D imaging algorithms, test with extracted teeth and verify with a pilot study with children 6 to 12 years of age.