Motion-assisted dental treatment method and apparatus
First Claim
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1. A method to reduce fatigue on a clinician comprising:
- engaging a mounting end of a dental scaling tip into a receiving end of a handpiece, wherein the mounting end of the tip is releasably engaged in the receiving end of the handpiece, wherein a working end of the tip is spaced away from and fixed in position relative to the mounting end generally along a central longitudinal axis of the bandpiece;
manipulating the handpiece in reciprocation adjacent a working surface; and
automatically reciprocating the mounting end of the tip with respect to the handpiece in phase with the reciprocation of the handpiece to amplify movement of the working end of the tip with respect to the working surface, wherein the reciprocation of the mounting end of the tip with respect to the handpiece is advanced proportionally in response to a magnitude of the reciprocation of the handpiece relative to the working surface.
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Abstract
Motion-assisted dental treatment method and apparatus. Manual back-and-forth manipulation of a handpiece with respect to a working surface automatically reciprocates a tip with respect to the handpiece in phase with the operator manipulation to amplify the movement of the tip adjacent the working surface and thereby attenuate the extent of hand motion required, which can help to alleviate repetitive motion fatigue. Also disclosed are motion-assisted dental treatment tools and systems for implementing the method.
8 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method to reduce fatigue on a clinician comprising:
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engaging a mounting end of a dental scaling tip into a receiving end of a handpiece, wherein the mounting end of the tip is releasably engaged in the receiving end of the handpiece, wherein a working end of the tip is spaced away from and fixed in position relative to the mounting end generally along a central longitudinal axis of the bandpiece; manipulating the handpiece in reciprocation adjacent a working surface; and automatically reciprocating the mounting end of the tip with respect to the handpiece in phase with the reciprocation of the handpiece to amplify movement of the working end of the tip with respect to the working surface, wherein the reciprocation of the mounting end of the tip with respect to the handpiece is advanced proportionally in response to a magnitude of the reciprocation of the handpiece relative to the working surface.
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2. A dental treatment method, comprising:
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manipulating a handpiece receiving a mounting end of a dental scaling tip to move a working end of the tip adjacent to a working surface, wherein the working end of the tip is spaced away from and fixed in position relative to the mounting end generally along a central longitudinal axis of the handpiece; detecting movement of the handpiece with respect to the working surface; and in response to the detected movement of the handpiece, automatically moving the mounting end of the tip with respect to the handpiece in a direction of the detected movement, thereby amplifying the movement of the of the working end of the tip adjacent to the working surface relative to the movement of the handpiece wherein the movement of the mounting end of the tip relative to the handpiece is proportional to a magnitude of the detected movement of the handpiece; wherein movement of the of the working end of the tip adjacent to the working surface removes scale from the working surface. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A motion-assisted dental scaling tool, comprising:
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a handpiece; a dental tip comprising a working end spaced away from and fixed in position relative to a mounting end generally along a central axis, the mounting end dimensioned and arranged to releasably engage a corresponding receiving end of the handpiece; a positioning element to move the engaged mounting end of the tip relative to the handpiece; a motion sensor to detect movement of the handpiece relative to a working surface; and a control system to operate the positioning element to move the mounting end of the tip relative to the handpiece in a direction to amplify movement of the working end proportional to the detected movement of the handpiece relative to the working surface. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification