Transparency film digitizer peripheral and transparency film image management and communication system for internet
First Claim
1. A dental-office computer-automation health care system, comprising:
- a personal computer system with software in the form of a disk operating system (DOS) and a hardware interface for a dental radiograph digitizer and a computer network;
an applications program for loading and execution under said DOS and providing for the conversion of dental radiographs for particular patients to graphic image computer files, and including a database management system to manipulate and organize dental health information;
a dental radiograph digitizer connected as a peripheral to the personal computer system;
a film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism having upper and lower fulcrums;
a push-pull solenoid connected to pivot the film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism on said lower fulcrum to allow a film to be dropped in from above and to pivot on said upper fulcrum to drop out said film by gravity; and
an electronic-imaging camera focused to image and digitize said film held in the film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A computer-automation tool for dentists and insurance companies to communicate dental patient information is provided. Such system has a specialized PC-peripheral that produces digital images from transparency films and dental intra-oral intra-oral radiographs, e.g., x-ray films, for storage, retrieval, viewing, transmission, and processing on computer networks. For example, dental intra-oral radiograph images can be captured at a local dentist'"'"'s office and transmitted over the internet to support quick insurance claim processing. The digitizer peripheral is automatic enough that no special skills beyond that of an office clerk are required. To digitize an x-ray film frame, the film is simply dropped into a slot on the digitizer peripheral. No menu items or key needs to be selected on the computer. The sensing of the film insertion, its positioning, and releasing it after digitization are all automatic. On-screen, the individual x-rays and intra-oral photographs are organized into patient panels and associated in a database together with patient background and administrative information.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A dental-office computer-automation health care system, comprising:
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a personal computer system with software in the form of a disk operating system (DOS) and a hardware interface for a dental radiograph digitizer and a computer network; an applications program for loading and execution under said DOS and providing for the conversion of dental radiographs for particular patients to graphic image computer files, and including a database management system to manipulate and organize dental health information; a dental radiograph digitizer connected as a peripheral to the personal computer system; a film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism having upper and lower fulcrums; a push-pull solenoid connected to pivot the film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism on said lower fulcrum to allow a film to be dropped in from above and to pivot on said upper fulcrum to drop out said film by gravity; and an electronic-imaging camera focused to image and digitize said film held in the film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A digitizer system, comprising:
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a film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism having a pair of first and second fulcrums and providing for the mechanical acceptance of photographic images previously recorded externally on transparency slide film, the holding of said transparency slide film for electronic imaging, and the mechanical release of said transparency slide film after imaging; a push-pull solenoid connected to sequence the film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism by first pivoting said first fulcrum to allow said transparency slide film to be dropped in from above and by subsequently pivoting on said second fulcrum to drop out said transparency slide film by gravity; an electronic-imaging camera with a solid state image sensor optically focused to image and digitize said transparency slide film when being held in the film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism; a light source positioned to backlight said transparency slide film when being held by the film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism; a diffuser positioned between the light source and the film acceptance-positioning-and-releasing mechanism and providing for a softer more diffused light behind said transparency slide film while being imaged; a reflector positioned relative to the light source and for increasing backlighting directed to the diffuser; a controller connected to operate the push-pull solenoid such that said transparency slide film is mechanically shuttled in and then out and connected to operate the camera at particular times to obtain an electronic image from a photographic image recorded on said transparency slide film, and further providing for automatic detection, coordinated acceptance, positioning, image digitizing and releasing of said transparency slide film; a computer system with a disk operating system and a display monitor; and an interface board and cable for connection to the controller and providing for digitized image transfer between the camera and the computer system. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification