Intraoral appliances with sensing
First Claim
1. A near field communication (NFC) signal coupler device for relaying monitoring data from an orthodontic monitoring apparatus (MA) to a handheld processor, the device comprising:
- a housing;
a first antenna configured for NFC within the housing;
a second antenna within the housing;
a holder on or in the housing that is configured to hold a dental aligner to which the monitoring apparatus is coupled, so that the monitoring apparatus is in a fixed alignment with the first antenna; and
NFC coupling transmission circuitry configured to receive the monitoring data from the first antenna and to transmit the monitoring data from the second antenna.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Detection of placement of dental aligners in patient mouth on teeth for indication of wearing compliance. Described herein are apparatuses and methods for detecting wearing, including compliance, and for reliably transferring data, by wired or wireless direct or indirect communication of electronic compliance information to a smartphone. Also described herein are dental appliances that can detect physiological parameters related to respiration and sleep. Also described herein are aligner cases that enable NFC communication with electronic compliance indicator (ECI) devices and Bluetooth communication with smartphones.
1069 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A near field communication (NFC) signal coupler device for relaying monitoring data from an orthodontic monitoring apparatus (MA) to a handheld processor, the device comprising:
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a housing; a first antenna configured for NFC within the housing; a second antenna within the housing; a holder on or in the housing that is configured to hold a dental aligner to which the monitoring apparatus is coupled, so that the monitoring apparatus is in a fixed alignment with the first antenna; and NFC coupling transmission circuitry configured to receive the monitoring data from the first antenna and to transmit the monitoring data from the second antenna. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A near field communication (NFC) to Bluetooth communication (BLE) signal coupler device for relaying monitoring data from an orthodontic electronic compliance indicator (ECI) apparatus to a handheld processor, the device comprising:
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a housing; a first antenna configured for NFC within the housing; a second antenna configured for BLE within the housing; a holder on or in the housing configured to hold a dental aligner to which the ECI apparatus is coupled, so that the ECI apparatus is in a fixed alignment with the first antenna; and NFC to BLE transmission circuitry configured to receive the monitoring data from the first antenna and to transmit the monitoring data from the second antenna. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of relaying monitoring data from an orthodontic electronic compliance indicator (ECI) apparatus to a handheld processor, the method comprising:
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aligning the ECI apparatus with a first antenna within a housing of a near field communication (NFC) signal coupler device, wherein the ECI apparatus is coupled to a dental aligner and the dental aligner is held by a holder on or in the housing so that the ECI apparatus is held in a fixed alignment; transmitting the monitoring data from the ECI apparatus to the NFC signal coupler device by NFC; and retransmitting the monitoring data from the NFC signal coupler device to a handheld electronics device. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification