阅读说明：本技术 分辨牙菌斑和牙结石的方法及装置 (Method and device for distinguishing dental plaque from dental calculus ) 是由 郑楷儒 谢昕伦 丁敬原 吕宗鑫 吴焕堂 陈少昂 陈毓训 王佳琪 宋志伟 沈焕斌 于 2019-09-16 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开提出一种分辨牙菌斑和牙结石的方法,适用于装置,上述方法包括：通过蓝光二极管发射蓝光以照射口腔中的牙齿,其中上述蓝光用以产生位于上述牙齿上牙菌斑和牙结石的自体荧光；通过图像传感器图像感测上述牙菌斑和上述牙结石的上述自体荧光；以及通过处理器根据上述自体荧光分辨位于上述牙齿的牙菌斑部位和牙结石部位。(The present disclosure provides a method of distinguishing between plaque and calculus, suitable for use in an apparatus, the method comprising: emitting blue light through a blue light diode to illuminate teeth in an oral cavity, wherein said blue light is configured to produce autofluorescence of plaque and calculus located on said teeth; sensing the autofluorescence of the plaque and the calculus by an image sensor; and distinguishing the dental plaque part and the dental calculus part of the tooth according to the autofluorescence by a processor.)

1. A method of differentiating between plaque and calculus, suitable for use in a device, said method comprising:

emitting blue light through a blue light diode to illuminate teeth in an oral cavity, wherein said blue light is configured to produce autofluorescence of plaque and calculus located on said teeth;

sensing the autofluorescence of the plaque and the calculus by an image sensor; and

and distinguishing the dental plaque part and the dental calculus part of the tooth according to the autofluorescence by a processor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said blue light emitting diode emits said blue light having the same wavelength band for a period of time, and said blue light emitting diode emits said blue light with a waveform modulated light source output power during said period of time.

3. The method of distinguishing between plaque and calculus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the step of distinguishing between plaque and calculus sites located on said tooth based on said autofluorescence further comprises:

distinguishing the dental plaque part and the dental calculus part according to the first autofluorescence luminescence period of the dental calculus and the second autofluorescence luminescence period of the dental plaque in the time period by the processor.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said modulation waveform is a triangular waveform.

5. The method of distinguishing between plaque and calculus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the blue light diode system emits blue light comprising a wavelength band in the range of 370 nanometers (nm) to 430 nm.

6. A device for differentiating between plaque and calculus comprising:

a blue light diode that emits blue light to illuminate teeth in an oral cavity, wherein said blue light is configured to produce autofluorescence from plaque and calculus on said teeth;

an image sensor for image-sensing the autofluorescence of the dental plaque and the dental calculus; and

a processor coupled to the image sensor for distinguishing between a plaque site and a calculus site on the tooth based on the autofluorescence.

7. The device for distinguishing dental plaque from dental calculus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said blue light emitting diode emits said blue light having the same wavelength band for a time period, and said blue light emitting diode emits said blue light at a light source output power of a modulated waveform for said time period.

8. The apparatus for distinguishing between plaque and calculus as claimed in claim 7 wherein said processor distinguishing between plaque and calculus sites on said teeth based on said autofluorescence further comprises:

and distinguishing the dental plaque part from the dental calculus part according to the first autofluorescence luminescence period of the dental calculus and the second autofluorescence luminescence period of the dental plaque in the time period.

9. The plaque and calculus distinguishing apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said modulated waveform has a triangular waveform.

10. The plaque and calculus distinguishing device of claim 7, wherein the blue light diode system emits blue light comprising a wavelength band in the range of 370 nanometers (nm) to 430 nm.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to a method and apparatus for distinguishing dental plaque from dental calculus, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for distinguishing dental plaque from dental calculus using autofluorescence of dental plaque and dental calculus on teeth.

Background

Dental caries or periodontal disease is considered to be an infectious disease caused by bacteria present in dental plaque and dental calculus. The removal of plaque and calculus is very important for oral health.

However, in oral care, plaque and calculus are not easily recognized by the naked eye. Conventionally, a dental plaque disclosing agent is used to distinguish dental plaque from dental calculus, but the process is trivial and the stained part needs to be cleaned in time after detection, so that how to enable dentists and the general public to timely, conveniently and quickly grasp the dental plaque and dental calculus part becomes the problem to be solved at present. Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus for distinguishing between plaque and calculus that facilitates detection of plaque and/or calculus.

Disclosure of Invention

The following disclosure is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features, other aspects, embodiments, and features will be apparent from consideration of the drawings and from the detailed description below. That is, the following disclosure is provided to introduce concepts, points, benefits and novel and non-obvious technical advantages described herein. Selected, but not all, embodiments are described in further detail below. Accordingly, the following disclosure is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for distinguishing between plaque and calculus to aid in the detection of plaque and/or calculus.

The present disclosure provides a method of distinguishing between plaque and calculus, suitable for use in an apparatus, the method comprising: emitting blue light through a blue light diode to illuminate teeth in an oral cavity, wherein said blue light is configured to produce autofluorescence of plaque and calculus located on said teeth; sensing the autofluorescence of the plaque and the calculus by an image sensor; and distinguishing the dental plaque part and the dental calculus part of the tooth according to the autofluorescence by a processor.

In some embodiments, the blue light diode emits the blue light having the same wavelength band in a time period, and the blue light diode emits the blue light in the time period with a modulated waveform of the light source output power.

In some embodiments, the step of distinguishing plaque sites from calculus sites located on the teeth based on the autofluorescence further comprises: distinguishing the dental plaque part and the dental calculus part according to the first autofluorescence luminescence period of the dental calculus and the second autofluorescence luminescence period of the dental plaque in the time period by the processor.

In some embodiments, the modulation waveform is a triangular waveform.

In some embodiments, the blue light diode emits blue light including a wavelength band in a range of 370 nanometers (nm) to 430 nm.

The present disclosure provides a device for distinguishing dental plaque from dental calculus, comprising: a blue light diode that emits blue light to illuminate teeth in an oral cavity, wherein said blue light is configured to produce autofluorescence from plaque and calculus on said teeth; an image sensor for image-sensing the autofluorescence of the dental plaque and the dental calculus; and a processor, coupled to the image sensor, for distinguishing a dental plaque site and a dental calculus site on the tooth according to the autofluorescence.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of a detection device for detecting teeth according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a simplified functional block diagram of a detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method of dynamically adjusting fluorescence imaging according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of wattage modulation of output power of a blue diode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a graphical representation of the intensity of plaque and calculus autofluorescence according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a graphical representation of the intensity of plaque and calculus autofluorescence according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7A-7B are schematic views of plaque and calculus sites according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein one skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to encompass any aspect disclosed herein, whether alone or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure to achieve any aspect disclosed herein. For example, it may be implemented using any number of the apparatus or performing methods set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is more intended to cover apparatuses or methods implemented using other structures, functions, or structures and functions in addition to the aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more components of the claimed subject matter.

The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect of the present disclosure or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of the present disclosure or design. Moreover, like numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views, and the articles "a" and "an" and "the" include plural references unless otherwise specified in the description.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between components should be interpreted in a similar manner (e.g., "between …" versus "directly between …," "adjacent" versus "directly adjacent," etc.).

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of detecting a tooth 110 with a detection device 120 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In fig. 1, the detecting device 120 may include at least a blue diode 122, an image sensor 124, and a processor (not shown) that may be integrated into the detecting device 120.

In some embodiments, the blue diode 122 may emit blue light including a wavelength band in the range of 370 to 430 nanometers (nm) when energized to illuminate the tooth 110 in the oral cavity. To describe in more detail, when the tooth 110 is irradiated with incident blue light of the above wavelength band range, plaque and calculus on the tooth 110 emit autofluorescence (autofluorescence) light.

The image sensor 124 is used for image sensing of autofluorescence emitted by the dental plaque and the dental calculus. In one embodiment, the image sensor 124 may be a single-point photodetector (or a matrix-type photosensitive Device) (e.g., a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) or a Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS)), the single-point photodetector may directly analyze a single pixel, and the matrix-type photosensitive Device may analyze pixels in the same region in each frame through an image processing method.

The processor may be coupled to the image sensor 124 for receiving autofluorescence results from the plaque and calculus sensed by the image sensor 124, and distinguishing the plaque site and the calculus site on the tooth 110 according to the autofluorescence results.

The detection device 120 may be connected to the electronic device 130 using the network 150 to transmit the processor-resolved image including the plaque site and the calculus site to the electronic device 130. Exemplary electronic devices may include desktop computers, notebook computers, smart phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, or any other device having a display screen. The user can observe the plaque and calculus on the tooth 110 through the electronic device 130. The network 150 may provide a wired and/or wireless network. The Network 150 may also include a Local Area Network (LAN) (e.g., an intranet), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) or a Wi-Fi Network, a third generation (3G) or fourth generation (4G) mobile telecommunications Network, a Wide Area Network (WAN), the Internet (Internet), bluetooth, or any suitable combination thereof.

In the illustrated embodiment, the detection device 120 and the light emitting diode 122 are integrated into a single device. The detection device 120 may be separate from the detection device 120 integrated into a single device. It should be noted that the detecting device 120 may be a general electronic device, such as a dental mirror. Although the inspection device 120 of FIG. 1 is shown as a dental mirror, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 2 is a simplified functional block diagram of a detection apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the detection device 200 may be the detection device 120 of fig. 1.

In FIG. 2, the detection device 200 may include an input device 202, an output device 204, a blue diode 206, an image sensor 208, a control circuit 212, and a transceiver 220. The control circuit 212 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 214 and a memory 216.

The detection device 200 may receive a user input signal using an input device 202 (e.g., a button); the output device 204 may also output images. And blue diode 206 may emit light when energized including a wavelength band in the range of 370 to 430 nanometers (nm). In another embodiment, blue diode 206 may emit blue light having a wavelength of 405 nanometers (nm). Wherein blue light having a wavelength of 405 nanometers (nm) is effective to produce autofluorescence emissions detectable between normal tooth tissue and abnormal tooth tissue.

The image sensor 208 is used for image sensing of the oral cavity, and transmitting the sensed image of the oral cavity to the central processor 214, so that the central processor 214 can distinguish the dental plaque part and the dental calculus part of the teeth in the oral cavity according to the autofluorescence in the sensed image.

The memory 216 may store program code 218. The control circuit 212 executes the program code 218 in the memory 216 via the CPU 214, and thereby controls the operations performed in the detection apparatus 200. The transceiver 220 is used for receiving and transmitting wireless signals, sending the received signals to the control circuit 212, and outputting signals generated by the control circuit 212 in a wireless/wired manner.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method 300 of dynamically adjusting fluorescence imaging according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method may be implemented in a processor of the detection apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 1.

In step S305, a blue light diode of the detection device emits blue light to illuminate teeth in the oral cavity, wherein the blue light is used to generate autofluorescence of dental plaque and calculus located on the teeth. In one embodiment, the blue diode emits blue light comprising a wavelength band in the range of 370 nanometers (nm) to 430 nm. In another embodiment, the blue light diode emits blue light having the same wavelength band in a time period, and the blue light diode emits the blue light in the time period with a modulated waveform of the output power of the light source.

Next, in step S310, an image sensor of the detecting device image-senses the autofluorescence of the dental plaque and the dental calculus. In step S315, a processor of the detecting device distinguishes between a plaque site and a calculus site located on the tooth based on the autofluorescence.

How the processor discriminates the plaque site and the calculus site located in the above-mentioned tooth based on the autofluorescence of plaque and calculus in step S315 will be described in detail below.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the blue diode emission emits blue light having a wavelength of 395 nanometers (nm). The processor can adjust the output power of the blue light diode to determine the brightness of the blue light emitted by the blue light diode. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of wattage modulation of output power of a blue diode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the processor controls the blue light diode to increase/decrease the wattage of the output power of the blue light diode at a fixed modulation time interval in a time period. In an embodiment, the lower limit of the modulation time interval length is larger than the exposure time of the image sensor, and the upper limit is not particularly limited, and may be adjusted according to the requirement and the actual output effect, so the disclosure is not limited thereto. In another embodiment, the modulation time interval is approximately an integer multiple of the exposure time of the image sensor.

In this embodiment, the output power of the blue diode is set to 41.8 milliwatts (mW) as a starting value. The processor will increase the output power by about 15.5mW for a fixed modulation time interval until 151.1 mW. The processor then reduces by about 15.5mW at regular intervals until 41.8 mW. The output power of the blue light diode can be cyclically output in the next time period. In addition, fig. 4 illustrates a modulation interval of 100 milliseconds (ms) and an image sensor exposure time of 33 ms. Thus, over a period of time (e.g., 1.4 seconds), the light source output power assumes a triangular waveform.

In some embodiments, the light source output power may have a trapezoidal waveform, a sawtooth waveform, or a sinusoidal waveform, and thus the invention is not limited to the embodiment shown in fig. 4.

The processor may then analyze the intensity of the autofluorescence of the image sensor image sensed to dental plaque and calculus. Since the concentration of bacteria (e.g., gram-negative bacteria) that fluoresce red autofluorescence increases as plaque progresses to calculus, the intensity of the autofluorescence of plaque and calculus will change as shown in fig. 5.

More specifically, the processor may set the luminous intensity 35 to zero to obtain fig. 6. It is noted that although the light intensity 35 is taken as the zero point in fig. 6 as an example, in some embodiments, the processor may select any value from the light intensities 25-45 as the zero point, and thus the invention is not limited to the embodiment shown in fig. 6. As shown in fig. 6, significantly different luminescence cycle changes were observed for plaque and calculus. The processor can distinguish the dental plaque part from the dental calculus part according to the first autofluorescence luminescence period 610 of dental calculus and the second autofluorescence luminescence period 620 of dental plaque in the time period.

For example, since the autofluorescence of dental calculus can be detected within 0-0.35 seconds, the processor can determine the location of dental calculus within the above time. As shown in FIG. 7A, the processor can determine the location as the tartar location 710 according to the autofluorescence location within 0-0.35 seconds. And from time 0.35 seconds (i.e., when the intensity of blue light is above a threshold), the autofluorescence of plaque begins to be detected. As shown in FIG. 7B, the processor determines that the tooth plaque area 720 is the area where autofluorescence appears on the tooth within 0.35-1.05 seconds.

It is noted that although the wavelength of the blue light diode is 395 nanometers (nm) as an example in fig. 4, the present invention should not be limited thereto. Similarly, the intensity of the plaque and calculus autofluorescence in FIGS. 5 and 6 may vary depending on the settings of the different components (blue diode, image sensor), and thus the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5-6.

As described above, the method and apparatus for distinguishing dental plaque and dental calculus according to the present disclosure distinguish dental plaque and dental calculus according to the autofluorescence cycle of dental plaque and dental calculus, so as to achieve the purpose of helping to detect dental plaque and/or dental calculus area.

Further, in the above-described exemplary apparatus, although the above-described method has been described on the basis of a flowchart using a series of steps or blocks, the present invention is not limited to the order of the steps, and some steps may be performed in an order different from that of the rest of the steps or the rest of the steps may be performed simultaneously.

Further, the CPU 214 may execute the program code 218 to present the actions and steps described in the above embodiments, or other descriptions in the specification.

The above embodiments are described using various angles. It should be apparent that the teachings herein may be presented in a variety of forms and that any specific architecture or functionality disclosed in the examples is merely representative. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, in light of the teachings herein, that various other aspects of the disclosure may be presented in varying ways, either individually or in various combinations. By way of example, this may be accomplished by an apparatus or a method in accordance with any of the manners set forth above. An implementation of a device or performance of a mode may be implemented in any other architecture or functionality or both that implement one or more of the above-discussed modes.

Those of skill in the art would understand that messages and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, messages, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware (e.g., a digital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two, in source code or other technical design), various forms of program or design code directed to a link (referred to herein, for convenience, as "software" or a "software module"), or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is presented as hardware or software, will depend upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

Moreover, various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits may be implemented in Integrated Circuits (ICs), access terminals, access points, and the like; or by an integrated circuit, an access terminal, an access point. The Integrated Circuit may be designed by a general purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other Programmable logic device, discrete Gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, electronic components, optical components, mechanical components, or any combination thereof to perform the functions described herein; and may execute execution code or instructions that reside within the integrated circuit, external to the integrated circuit, or both. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may be comprised of a combination of computer devices, such as: a combination of a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and a microcomputer, a plurality of microcomputers, one to a plurality of microcomputers and a digital signal processor core, or any other similar arrangement.

Any particular order or hierarchy of steps in the processes disclosed herein is purely exemplary. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged within the scope of the disclosure. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are therefore not to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

[ notation ] to show

110 teeth

120 detection device

122 light emitting diode

124 image sensor

130 electronic device

150 network

200 detection device

202 input device

204 output device

206 blue light diode

208 image sensor

212 control circuit

214 central processing unit

216 memory

218 program code

220 transceiver

300 method

S305, S310, S315

610 first autofluorescence luminescence cycle

620 second autofluorescence emission cycle

710 calculus of dental caries

720 dental plaque part