| CLAIMS: A SIMULATOR SYSTEM FOR THE DIAGNOSIS, PRE-SURGICAL PLANNING AND THE ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL MONITORING TREATMENT characterized by comprising: 1. an acquisition module and processing of medical images related to the temporomandibular joint (10) by MRI or CT in muscles, joints and teeth; 2. a module of three-dimensional reconstruction of the model (20) through segmentation methods, geometric and topological modeling of basic elements (bones, muscles, teeth, etc.); 3. a module for simulating the movement and deformation of tissues (30) TMJ by conventional algorithms for the simulation of human bodies based on anatomical concepts; 4. a module of statistical results (40) where data are extracted from the number of collisions and number of teeth where the collisions · occurred, the magnitude of muscle forces to carry out the motion of curves and comparison of motion before and after treatment; 5. a module for viewing results related to real data taken from the jaw movement simulator (50) from the set of images obtained in stage acquisition and' processing of medical images (10), under the three-dimensional form, with the mandibular movement in time true during the simulation and the curves of movement and collisions between bones and teeth. 6. A SIMULATOR SYSTEM FOR THE DIAGNOSIS, PRE- SURGICAL PLANNING AND THE ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL MONITORING TREATMENT, according to claim 1 , characterized · by the fact that the three-dimensional representation of the acquisition module and processing of medical images related to the temporomandibular joint (10) is based on pixels or three- dimensional matrices. A SIMULATOR SYSTEM FOR THE DIAGNOSIS, PRE- SURGICAL PLANNING AND THE ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL MONITORING TREATMENT, according to claim 1 , characterized by the fact that the module for simulating the movement and deformation of tissues (30) allow the simulation of jaw opening, jaw closing or chewing. |
The present invention relates to a simulator for aid diagnosis, planning pre-surgical and monitoring the oral and maxillofacial treatment. More specifically, it comprises a modeling and simulation system of the masticatory system in order to provide a virtual jaw articulator.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) is a bilateral double joint. It is through it, the jaw (the only mobile bone of the skull) is connected to * the cranial base.
There are a large number of TMJ-related diseases, and this is due not only to its regular use, but also to the large forces applied by the muscles and to the variety of moves that each TMJ is capable of producing.
Some symptoms of this disorder are headache, TMJ pain during the mandidular motion, sensation of locking of the jaw, pops while chewing, limitation of mouth opening, pain in certain areas of the face and ear and difficulty in occlusion (closure) of the teeth. The causes of these disorders can be accidents involving the jaw, head and neck or diseases such as arthritis.
To diagnose the disorders, one of the essential devices are the articulators. The mechanical articulators used in dentistry aim reproducing the static and dynamic maxillo-mandibular positions, in order to study the occlusion and its pathologies to aid diagnosis and making interocclusal appliances and prostheses. Its use is quite complicated and difficult for medical professionals.
The mechanical articulators are not fully interchangeable, which means that a plaster model mounted on one not have the same accuracy in the positions when are transferred to another. This is due to errors in assembly and calibration, besides changes of used materials and the different brands and models of articulators (Hatz, P.; Millstein, P., Maya, A. Determining the accuracy of articulator , interchangeability and hinge axis reproducibility . The Journal of prosthetic dentistry, [SI: sn] "v.83, n.3, p.236-245, 2001 ).
Despite the latest models already provide a greater number of the TMJ motion direction, the joint model used in these mechanical devices is not yet sufficiently realistic, and they do not has the visualization of collisions between structures and the joint of the top and bottom arches. They cannot also simulate different chewing patterns that vary from person to person and patterns that depend on the type of food (hard food, soft, sticky, etc). There are two factors even more problematic in the simulation of mandible movement through mechanical articulators: the first is that they all simulate the . movement from the maxilla instead of the jaw, the bottom of the model that represents the jaw remains static while the top of the model that represents the maxilla, moves. The second factor is related to the inability to visualize the movement inside the joint, very useful for preoperative planning of this joint (the molded parts to be placed in the articulator are just the dental arches, not all the bones of the jaw and skull).
The medical simulators have aided in therapeutic procedures teaching and in the diagnostic, as well as the representation of medical concepts and decision making of health professionals. The simulators have been developed for basic procedures from the extraction of blood to laparoscopic surgery and trauma. They are also important on helping for prototyping new tools of biomedical engineering. They are applied to research and development of useful tools for new therapies, treatments and early diagnosis in medicine. The greatest merit of using simulators is to reduce the high frequency that patients suffer from clinical adversities arising from the hands of inexperienced physicians.
In most simulators computer-based applied to medical purposes, the visual components of the procedure are reproduced by computer graphics techniques, while touch-based components are reproduced by haptic-feedback devices, combined with physical simulations in response to user actions. Medical simulations of this nature often use real data from CT and MRI of the patient to increase the realism.
On the human figure modeling, the biggest challenge has been the representation of its features with the highest possible degree of realism. The main investigations in this area lie in the modeling of human movement, muscles and skin deformation, simulations of eyes and hair, rendering of realistic skin and the modeling of human emotions and behavior. Through these investigations one reaches to simulations for analysis of many situations involving humans, including medical analysis. These simulations allow one to derive information from models aiming to reproduce or predict behaviors that would be observed in real situations.
In this sense, the masticatory system propitiates many ways to research because the physical events that occur in this system, during the function and possible dysfunction are difficult of conceptualization. The simulation of structural and functional elements that work together is especially useful when cause and effect are related. The contractions from several muscles, from different shapes and sizes, guided by two joints, make's it, furthermore, the kinematics and physics of the system, not fully known (LEMOINE, JJ; XIA, JJ; GATENO, J.; Liebschner, MAK Radiographic Analysis for Jaw Motion Normalization . Journal of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, [SI], v.63, p.961-967, 2005).
The use of jaw motion simulators in dentistry, in orthodontic adjustment of occlusions, or in preoperative planning of craniofacial surgery can be extremely helpful, improving diagnosis and · postoperative treatment.
The relation between muscle actions and the mandibular motion is probably the least understood aspect of the mandibular biomechanics, despite its important significance. The jaw is a moving object according to dynamic laws. It has attributes such as mass, center of mass and inertial properties that are not usually described.
Occlusion is defined as any contact between the surfaces of the incision and / or chewing of the upper and lower teeth (ZWEMER, TJ Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 3rd ed St. Louis: Mosby, 1993). However, the occlusion has been best defined as the dynamic relation between morphological and functional of all components of the · masticatory system (McNEILL C. Science and Practice of Occlusion. 1st ed, Ed Quintessence, Sao Paulo, 2000).
There is no a mathematical study to examine the frequency and force of collisions and that enables the modeling of this complex system. A complete model of the masticatory system includes also some investigations with regard to muscle strength, deformation tissues, ways of treating collisions between teeth and foods and the use of haptic-feedback devices for occlusal adjustment. Thus, providing a tool to simulate and reproduce the movements of the temporomandibular joint in a realistic way, allowing a complete analysis of the case in treatment, increasing the task until then done by the mechanical articulators, TMJ-sim will allow to professionals to understand the mandible biomechanics, as a simulator system that aid in diagnosis, preoperative planning and in the monitoring of maxillofacial treatment which is being described and claimed in this application.
ABSTRACT
In general, the present invention relates to a simulator system for the diagnosis, pre-surgical planning and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring treatment.
It is characteristic of the invention a simulator system for the diagnosis, pre-surgical planning and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring treatment, which provides a tool for simulation and reproduction of joint and muscle movements and collisions between food and teeth.
It is characteristic of the invention a simulator system for the diagnosis, pre-surgical planning and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring treatment. It allows a full analysis of the case in a phase of diagnostics or allow us to foresee the outcome of procedures, including surgical.
It is characteristic of the invention a simulator system for the diagnosis, pre-surgical planning and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring treatment, that comes to replace and enhance from an innovative way the work is done by mechanical articulators.
It is characteristic of the invention a simulator system for the diagnosis, pre-surgical planning and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring treatment, that provides a realistic visualization (with total freedom) of the shape of the structure and also of the movements of the joint through computer animation, enabling one to obtain strategic angles for the assessment of dental occlusion for example.
It is characteristic of the invention a simulator system for the diagnosis, pre-surgical planning and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring treatment, that allows the modification of parameters to include different patterns of chewing on the type from food, for example.
It is characteristic of the invention a simulator system for the diagnosis, pre-surgical planning and the oral and maxillofacial * monitoring treatment, that allows the extraction of statistics relating to the movement.
It is characteristic of the invention a simulator system for the diagnosis, pre-surgical planning and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring treatment, that allows the graphical comparison of motion paths to verify the progress of treatment.
It is characteristic of the invention a simulator system for the diagnosis, pre-surgical planning and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring treatment, which provides the simplification of the model parameterization by numerical data extracted from cephalometry, and not from mechanical adjustments or from the manufacturing of plaster' molds as in traditional articulators, reducing errors and medical work.
It is characteristic of the invention a simulator system for the diagnosis, pre-surgical planning and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring treatment, which provides a teaching tool for training of occlusal adjustment (correct adjustment of the dynamics of all components of the masticatory system) and better understanding of the details of the TMJ.
SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure number 1 shows representative diagram of the system modules.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The simulator system for the diagnosis planning, pre-surgical . treatment and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring, object of this invention aims to simulate the motion of the temporomandibular joint in order to represent the individual characteristics of movement and the interrelationship of movement between the left ATMs and right, providing a jaw movement simulator based on medical images that aims to significantly reduce the many limitations of the mechanical articulator.
The extracted data from the model combined to the visualization and analysis of the paths of motion that the jaw describes inside your joints, allow students of medical and dental care, may have a greater understanding of how form and function interact in this system, . describing the movement clearly in terms of rotations and translations in each TMJ jaw.
The simulator system for the diagnosis planning, pre-surgical treatment and the oral and maxillofacial monitoring, object of this invention involves the construction of a model of the masticatory system into basic modules, defined as: obtaining the medical image (10), three-dimensional reconstruction Model (20) and simulation of motion and deformation (30), statistical results (40) and visualization of results on real data extracted from the jaw movement simulator (50).
The module of acquisition and processing of medical images related to the temporomandibular joint (10) provides magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography in muscles, joints and t teeth to get such images for three-dimensional reconstruction of the parts that compose the human body.
The three-dimensional representation can be made in the form of pixel-based two-dimensional slices or three-dimensional matrices, both provided by an image or by using a 3D scanner in a plaster cast of a real arcade.
In a second module, is performed the three-dimensional reconstruction of the model (20) through the segmentation methods, geometric and topological modeling of basic elements (bones, muscles, teeth, etc.). In this module, the user can reconstruct the portion of the teeth and bones or muscles or choose a prosthesis to fit β the model.
The third module consists in simulating the movement and deformation of tissues (30) of the temporomandibular joint by conventional algorithms for the simulation of human bodies based on anatomical concepts.
This third module can simulate the type of desired motion, such as jaw opening, jaw closing or chewing. As for the chewing, you can set the amount of food and consistence, ranging between 0 and 1.
In the module of the statistical results (40) are extracted data from the number of collisions and the number of teeth where the collisions occurred, the magnitude of muscle forces to perform the motion of # curves and comparison of motion before and after treatment.
The last module comprises the visualization of results related to real data taken from the jaw movement simulator (50) from the set of images obtained in stage acquisition and processing of medical images (10), under the three-dimensional form, with the mandibular movement in real time during the simulation beyond the curves of movement and collisions between bones and teeth. The system lets you get closer at specific points and image rotation.