Radiographically readable information carrier and method of using same
First Claim
1. An identification apparatus comprising:
- a permanent, personal information carrier of a size insertable into a radiolucent, man-made cavity within a tooth of an individual and having information carrying radiopaque shapes which are radiographically discernable; and
means for sealing an concealing the carrier within said cavity and permitting utilizing a radiopaque sensing, noninvasive, visualizing technique to convey information concerning the individual, said means including a visually opaque radiolucent dental filler.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A personal information carrier (10) having a radiographically readable code (12) uniquely identifying a person which is installed in a cavity (34) in the side (30) of the person'"'"'s tooth (32) which is then filled with a radiolucent composite filler (50) to protectively seal the carrier (10) within the cavity (40). Detecting the location of a missing child is achieved by using a filler (50) which matches the color of the surrounding tooth surface (30) to conceal the presence of the personal information carrier (10) from a potential kidnapper and distributing the code (12) of the missing child to the authorities and professional dental community. Amnesics and corpses are also identified by radiographically reading the carrier (10) and comparing the code (12) to a list of codes (12) of missing persons which are listed in alphanumeric order.
98 Citations
56 Claims
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1. An identification apparatus comprising:
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a permanent, personal information carrier of a size insertable into a radiolucent, man-made cavity within a tooth of an individual and having information carrying radiopaque shapes which are radiographically discernable; and means for sealing an concealing the carrier within said cavity and permitting utilizing a radiopaque sensing, noninvasive, visualizing technique to convey information concerning the individual, said means including a visually opaque radiolucent dental filler. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of radiographically marking a person with individual information, comprising the steps of:
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providing a personal information carrier with radiopaque shapes of information carrying characters associated with the person which are radiographically readable by conventional dental X-ray technique; attaching the personal information carrier to a cavity within a mineralized part of the body like the teeth of the person to whom the information relates; and filling said cavity with a visually opaque radiolucent dental sealing material securing the information carrier with the cavity and hiding the presence of the information carrier from visual inspection. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method of detection of the location of a missing person comprising the steps of:
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recording a code uniquely identifying the missing person apart from others of a group of persons before the person is missing; producing a personal identification carrier which has the code outlined in radiopaque material; inserting the carrier into a cavity of a tooth of the person identified by the code; filling the cavity with a radiolucent material to seal and hold the carrier within the cavity at a position from which it can be read from an X-ray radiograph of the tooth, said radiolucent material having a color selected to match that of the tooth to conceal the presence of the personal information carrier; and informing at least one of the (a) police authorities, (b) hospitals, (c) morgues, (d) coroners and (e) the professional dental community of the code of the person after they are missing and how to report the discovered code to the appropriate parties. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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37. A method of installing a radiopaque personal information carrier carrying a readable radiopaque code, comprising the step of:
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making a cavity in the side of a selected tooth of a person to be identified for receipt of the personal information carrier; inserting the personal information carrier in the cavity to enable reading the code carried thereby from a conventional periapical, bitewing X-ray of the tooth; and protectively sealing the personal information carrier within the cavity with a visually opaque radiolucent composite filler. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A method of identifying a missing person comprising the steps of:
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permanently attaching a personal carrier within a cavity in a person'"'"'s tooth and visually concealing the carrier with visually opaque radiolucent filler and having a radiopaque code readable from a radiograph thereof before the person is missing; making a radiograph of the cavity of the person'"'"'s tooth to read the code when the person is found and before the person is identified; and comparing the radiographically read code with the code of the missing person to identify the person. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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Specification