Inspection of teeth using stress wave time non-destructive methods

• US 20020012897A1
• Filed: 07/18/2001
• Published: 01/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BARBARA A. AND ALTON D. RUSH JTWROS, Carrie Magnuson Ira, Cecelia Barry Ira, Clay C. Higgins, Deborah Moon, Deborah Moon Ira, Dolores B O'Hara, Janice W. Daniels, John Byrne, Kenneth Johnson, Kronosmd Incorporated, Lenhart Gienger Trust, Lisa K. Daniels, Lou Macovsky, Lou Macovsky Ira, Michael L. Cirillo Trust, Neil Bastian, Patricia A. Sturr Ira, Peter L. Miller Ira, Ron Adams, RONALD V. AND AVIS CRIBBINS JTWROS, Sandra Shotwell Ira, Steve Baird, Steven Wick Ira, Sunwest Trust, RBC Capital Markets Corporation (The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.), THOMAS F. AND LISA A. DANIELS JTWROS, Thomas F. Daniels Ira, TRACI LEE AND JEFFREY ALLEN GAGNER JTWROS, Trust, Lory D. Cirillo
• Original Assignee: JohnTing, LLC
• Inventors: Johnson, Kenneth, Tingley, Daniel A.
• Granted Patent: US 6,589,054 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 433/215
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4547 Evaluating teeth
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/682 Mouth, e.g., oral cavity; tongue; Lips; Teeth
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7239 using differentiation including higher order derivatives
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0875 for diagnosis of bone A61B5/4504 takes precedence

Abstract

A method and device using stress waves for dental examination. According to the method, the dental structure (such as a tooth) under examination is subjected to a stress (acoustic) wave. The stress wave propagates through the dental structure and is received on the other side. From the analysis of the transmission time and/or the resulting waveform, diagnostic information results as to the presence of dental disease such as dental caries that may be present on the tooth surface under dental restorations such as fillings or metal crowns. According to the invention, the stress wave is generated by a suitable transducer, coupled to the dental structure through a transmission medium, propagates through the dental structure, coupled through another transmission medium, received by a acousto-electric transducer, and analyzed by suitable electronic means.

Claims

1. A stress wave method for the location of primary dental caries, said method comprising of the steps of generating a stress wave by means of a stress wave source, transmitting said stress wave to the tooth under examination, converting the stress signals passing through the tooth into electrical signals, measuring the transmission time of said stress wave, interpreting the transmission times to determine the location of primary dental caries.

2. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 1. The system is comprised of a pair of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. Each transducer could have handling device attached to help position it.

3. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 2. The system is comprised of a pair of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. Each transducer would have handling device attached to help position it.

4. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 3. The system is comprised of a pair of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

5. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 4. The system is comprised of a pair of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

6. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 5. The system is comprised of a horizontal array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

7. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 6. The system is comprised of a horizontal array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

8. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 7. The system is comprised of a vertical array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same vertical plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

9. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 8. The system is comprised of a vertical array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same vertical plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

10. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 9. The system is comprised of a horizontal and vertical array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal and vertical planes across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

11. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 10. The system is comprised of a horizontal and vertical array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal and vertical planes across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

12. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold detector.

13. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a peak detector.

14. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold or peak detector on the first derivative of the envelope of the stress wave.

15. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold or peak detector on the correlation signal produced by the correlation of the received stress wave with the transmitted stress signal.

16. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the location of the primary dental caries is determined by an anomalous change in transmission time.

17. A stress wave method for the extent of primary dental caries, said method comprising of the steps of generating a stress wave by means of a stress wave source, transmitting said stress wave to the tooth under examination, converting the stress signals passing through the tooth into electrical signals, measuring the transmission time of said stress wave, interpreting the transmission times to determine the extent of primary dental caries.

18. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 1. The system is comprised of a pair of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. Each transducer would have handling device attached to help position it.

19. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 2. The system is comprised of a pair of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. Each transducer would have handling device attached to help position it.

20. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 3. The system is comprised of a pair of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

21. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 4. The system is comprised of a pair of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

22. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 5. The system is comprised of a horizontal array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

23. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 6. The system is comprised of a horizontal array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

24. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 7. The system is comprised of a vertical array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same vertical plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

25. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 8. The system is comprised of a vertical array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same vertical plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

26. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 9 The system is comprised of a horizontal and vertical array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal and vertical planes across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

27. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 10. The system is comprised of a horizontal and vertical array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal and vertical planes across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

28. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold detector.

29. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a peak detector.

30. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold or peak detector on the first derivative of the envelope of the stress wave.

31. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold or peak detector on the correlation signal produced by the correlation of the received stress wave with the transmitted stress signal.

32. A method as described in claim 17 wherein the location of the primary dental caries is determined by an anomalous change in transmission time.

33. A stress wave method for the location of secondary dental caries, said method comprising of the steps of generating a stress wave by means of a stress wave source, transmitting said stress wave to the tooth under examination, converting the stress signals passing through the tooth into electrical signals, measuring the transmission time of said stress wave, interpreting the transmission times to determine the location of secondary dental caries.

34. A method as described in claim 33 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 1. The system is comprised of a pair of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. Each transducer would have handling device attached to help position it.

35. A method as described in claim 33 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 2. The system is comprised of a pair of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. Each transducer would have handling device attached to help position it.

36. A method as described in claim 33 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 3. The system is comprised of a pair of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

37. A method as described in claim 33 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 4. The system is comprised of a pair of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

38. A method as described in claim 33 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 5. The system is comprised of a horizontal array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

39. A method as described in claim 33 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 6. The system is comprised of a horizontal array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

40. A method as described in claim 33 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 7. The system is comprised of a vertical array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same vertical plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

41. A method as described in claim 34 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. ?. The system is comprised of a vertical array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same vertical plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

42. A method as described in claim 34 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 9 The system is comprised of a horizontal and vertical array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal and vertical planes across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

43. A method as described in claim 34 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 10. The system is comprised of a horizontal and vertical array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal and vertical planes across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

44. A method as described in claim 34 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold detector.

45. A method as described in claim 34 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a peak detector.

46. A method as described in claim 34 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold or peak detector on the first derivative of the envelope of the stress wave.

47. A method as described in claim 34 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold or peak detector on the correlation signal produced by the correlation of the received stress wave with the transmitted stress signal.

48. A method as described in claim 34 wherein the location of the primary dental caries is determined by an anomalous change in transmission time.

49. A stress wave method for the extent of secondary dental caries, said method comprising of the steps of generating a stress wave by means of a stress wave source, transmitting said stress wave to the tooth under examination, converting the stress signals passing through the tooth into electrical signals, measuring the transmission time of said stress wave, interpreting the transmission times to determine the extent of secondary dental caries.

51. A method as described in claim 49 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 2. The system is comprised of a pair of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. Each transducer would have handling device attached to help position it.

52. A method as described in claim 49 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 3. The system is comprised of a pair of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

53. A method as described in claim 49 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 4. The system is comprised of a pair of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

50. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 1. The system is comprised of a pair of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. Each transducer would have handling device attached to help position it.

54. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 5. The system is comprised of a horizontal array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

55. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 6. The system is comprised of a horizontal array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

56. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 7. The system is comprised of a vertical array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same vertical plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

57. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. ?. The system is comprised of a vertical array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same vertical plane across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

58. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 9. The system is comprised of a horizontal and vertical array of transducers placed opposite each other and in approximation to the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal and vertical planes across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

59. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the generation, transmitting, and converting of stress waves is a transducer system shown in FIG. 10. The system is comprised of a horizontal and vertical array of focused transducers collinearly placed opposite each other and spaced apart such that their focal points coincide or are near to each other. They will be placed on the opposite sides of the tooth to be examined. The arrays can be planar or curvilinear. If they are planar they should be opposite across the tooth. If they are curvilinear they should be on the same horizontal and vertical planes across the tooth. These transducers would have a connecting bridge between the transducers to maintain their alignment. There could be handling device attached to the arrangement of transducer system and/or connecting bridge for help in positioning.

60. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold detector.

61. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a peak detector.

62. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold or peak detector on the first derivative of the envelope of the stress wave.

63. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the measurement of transmission time is made using a threshold or peak detector on the correlation signal produced by the correlation of the received stress wave with the transmitted stress signal.

64. A method as described in claim 50 wherein the location of the primary dental caries is determined by an anomalous change in transmission time.