JP6150401B2 - Plaque monitor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a plaque observer, and more particularly to a handy type plaque observer that can observe plaque adhering to a tooth surface.

  Plaque, also called dental plaque, is a mass of white to yellowish white bacteria that adhere to the surface of the teeth. And it causes dental caries and periodontal disease, and calcifies to calculus. As a method for observing teeth, the QLF (Quantitative Light Induced Fluorescence) method is known. When a purple light is irradiated on a tooth, a normal tooth without decalcification is excited to emit yellowish green light. The demineralized area where the enamel of the teeth starts to melt appears weak and dark.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a small and safe tooth surface observation device for home use. This apparatus includes an LED (light source), a band pass filter, a transmission filter, a camera, an image processing unit, a display, and the like, and is large for home use. In view of this, it is conceivable that the camera is replaced with a camera of a mobile phone and does not include an image processing unit. It is also conceivable to send an image to a PC and analyze the image on the PC. The light emitted from the tooth surface upon receiving the LED light looks orange to red to pink if it is dental plaque. If it is decayed, it looks green to brown. It is desired that the LED or filter has a size with one hand and a dental plaque observation device that can observe teeth from the outside with the mouth open. Moreover, it is desirable that you can observe your own teeth.

JP 2005-69807 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a plaque observer that can be held in the hand without emitting light that may have a harmful effect on the human body, and can observe the teeth from the outside with the mouth open. is there.

The plaque observer according to the present invention includes a box-shaped housing provided with a rectangular observation window, a plurality of LEDs that are provided in front of the housing and emit purple light, and covers the front side of the LEDs. A band-pass filter that passes a wavelength of 450 nm and the observation window of the housing are inserted, and the waveform of the transmittance is raised so that the transmittance is 30% before 500 nm, and then further increased to light of 500 nm or more. A long-pass filter having a two-stage rising portion that rises so as to pass through, an on / off switch that is provided on the upper surface of the housing and that lights or extinguishes the LED, and that is provided inside the housing and supplies power to the LED Japanese a battery, is provided on a side surface of the housing, and a charging port for charging of the battery, but that Bei Erareru to To.

A magnifying lens is detachably provided on the rear surface of the housing.

  An image of the teeth of the observation window is picked up by a camera and sent to a personal computer.

  The battery is provided with a protection circuit for a charging device.

  According to the dental plaque observing device according to the present invention, (1) an LED that emits purple light is used, and an ultraviolet light having a wavelength shorter than 380 nm and a blue light having a wavelength of 450 nm or more of the LED are provided. Irradiation light is in the safe 380-450 nm range. (2) Even if the LED light is directed to the eyes, it is safe because ultraviolet light and blue light are cut by a bandpass filter. (3) Since a box-shaped housing with a built-in battery is adopted and the teeth are observed from a rectangular observation window, the size can be held in the hand. (4) Since the battery charging port is provided, there is no need to purchase and replace the battery. (5) Since the light emitted from the teeth is observed through a long pass filter that transmits light having a wavelength longer than 500 nm and blocks light having a wavelength shorter than 500 nm, ultraviolet light and blue light do not enter the eyes and are safe. is there. Metabolites produced by plaque and oral bacteria that are difficult to see can be seen in orange to red to pink. The caries can also be seen in green to brown.

  Since the rising waveform of the long pass filter has two stages, when observing the light after passing through the long pass filter 6, the white balance of the light is improved and the color can be clearly observed.

  Since a magnifying lens is provided, even small plaque can be magnified and observed.

  Since an image of a tooth in the observation window can be captured by a camera and sent to a personal computer, it can be sent to a dentist who provides a dental care service, for example.

  Since the battery is provided with a protection circuit, the battery can be protected from damage due to overcharging during charging.

It is a perspective view of the plaque observer according to the present invention. It is explanatory drawing in the case of having a tooth observed with the plaque observer by this invention. It is explanatory drawing in the case of observing a tooth | gear by himself with the plaque observer by this invention. It is a circuit diagram of a plaque observer according to the present invention. It is a perspective view of a magnifying lens. It is a graph which shows the waveform of a band pass filter. It is a graph which shows the waveform of a long pass filter.

  Hereinafter, a plaque observer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a plaque observer 100 according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a view from the front side. The plaque observer 100 includes a box-shaped housing 5 in which a rectangular observation window 4 is provided at the center. It is a size that can be held in one hand, and the dimensions are about 8 cm in length, about 17 cm in width, and about 2 cm in thickness. In addition, a dimension is not restricted to this. Although the number of LEDs is not limited to this, five LEDs 2 are provided on the front surface of the housing 5. The wavelength of the LED 2 is an LED that emits purple light with a center wavelength of 405 nm. Depending on the LED specifications, the wavelength width may include wavelengths shorter than 380 nm and wavelengths longer than 450 nm. Although the five LEDs 2 are provided at the lower part of the housing 5, they may be provided at the upper part of the housing 5 to increase the amount of light to facilitate the observation of teeth. The front side of the LED 2 is covered with a band-pass filter 3 that passes a wavelength of 380 to 450 nm. Thereby, the irradiation light does not include ultraviolet light that may adversely affect the cells below 380 nm of LED 2 and blue light of 450 to 480 nm that may adversely affect the retina of the eye. You can

  A long pass filter 6 is fitted in the observation window 4 of the housing 5. The long pass filter 6 transmits light having a wavelength longer than 500 nm and blocks light having a wavelength shorter than 500 nm. Since light with a wavelength shorter than 500 nm is cut off, ultraviolet light and violet and blue light can be cut off so as not to enter the eyes. On the upper surface of the housing 5, an on / off switch 1 for turning on or off the LED 2 is provided. Inside the housing 5, a battery battery 14 for supplying power to the LED 2 is provided.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for observing teeth with the plaque observer 100 according to the present invention. An example of this is when a mother observes the mouth of a child. The plaque monitor 100 observes teeth from the outside with the mouth 11 open. The plaque monitor 100 is hygienic because it is not inserted into the mouth 11. The plaque 8 and the decayed tooth 8 'emit light having a frequency characteristic to the irradiation light. This light is observed with the eyes 16 through the long pass filter 6 of the plaque observer 100. Metabolites (such as acids) produced by plaque 8 and oral bacteria can be observed as orange to red to pink. Active care for dental plaque. In the case of the caries 8 ', it can be observed as green to brown. A charging port 7 for charging the battery 14 is provided on the side surface of the housing 5. Since there is no power supply cable, the plaque monitor 100 can be held in hand and can be moved freely according to the position of the mouth 11.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram in the case where the teeth are observed by the plaque observer 100 according to the present invention. Irradiation light, which is purple light emitted from the bandpass filter 3 of the plaque monitor 100, is excited when it hits the plaque 8 or the caries 8 ', and emits light having a characteristic frequency. This light is reflected by the mirror 18 through the long pass filter 6 of the plaque observer 100 and observed by the eyes 16. Metabolites produced by plaque 8 and oral bacteria can be observed as orange to red to pink. In the case of the caries 8 ', it can be observed as green to brown.

  FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the plaque observer 100 according to the present invention. The long pass filter 6 and the eyes 16 are shown on the right side of FIG. Five LEDs 2 are connected in series, and the voltage and current are controlled by the power control element 13. When the on / off switch 1 is on, the LED 2 is lit, and when the on / off switch 1 is off, the LED 2 is extinguished. The battery 14 can be charged by a charging terminal 12 provided at the charging port 7. The battery 14 can be a lithium battery. As shown in FIG. 4, the battery 14 is provided with a protection circuit 19 so that the battery 14 is not damaged during charging. According to this, the battery 14 can be protected from overcharging. The light from the LED 2 passes through the band-pass filter 3 and is applied to the plaque 8. Light from the plaque 8 enters the eye 16 through a long pass filter 6 that transmits wavelengths longer than 500 nm. Light having a wavelength shorter than 500 nm is blocked by the long pass filter 6. A magnifying lens 9 is detachably provided behind the long pass filter 6.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the magnifying lens 9. As shown in FIG. 6, since the magnifying lens 9 is provided with the fixing rods 17 on both sides, it can be engaged with the hooks 10 and 10 of FIG. Thereby, the magnifying lens 9 can be detachably mounted on the back side of the long pass filter 6. Since the magnifying lens 9 can enlarge and observe the plaque 8 and the caries 8 ', it is easy to observe even if the plaque and caries are small.

  FIG. 6 is a graph showing the waveform of the bandpass filter 3. The band pass filter 3 passes a wavelength of 380 to 450 nm. For this reason, even if LED2 contains ultraviolet light, for example, 350 nm, it can cut. Similarly, for example, 460 nm blue light can be cut.

  FIG. 7 is a graph showing the waveform of the long pass filter 6. In (A), the long pass filter 6 transmits all light having a wavelength longer than about 500 nm indicated by an arrow, and blocks light having a wavelength shorter than the wavelength indicated by the arrow. Since light having a wavelength shorter than a predetermined wavelength is blocked, ultraviolet light and blue light can be cut off and prevented from entering the eyes. Metabolites produced by plaque 8 and oral bacteria can be observed in orange to red to pink colors. In the case of caries 8 ', it can be observed in green to brown. As shown in (B), a step portion for allowing light to pass at a transmittance of about 30% is provided at the rising portion of the waveform, and the step is raised in two steps. In this way, when the light after passing through the long pass filter 6 is observed, the white balance of the light is improved and the color can be clearly observed.

  There may be no dentist nearby and you may not be able to go to the clinic easily. In such a case, an image that can be seen by the long pass filter 6 of the dental plaque monitor 100 is captured by a portable camera, a handy camera, or the like, and sent to a dentist who provides a dental care service by e-mail for a determination. be able to. Recently, interest in dental plaque is increasing over dental caries, and dentists can respond. You can also observe it in detail by sending it to a PC. Of course, even if it is difficult to determine the initial decay, it can be taken with the camera of the mobile phone and sent to the nearest dentist providing the service for a determination.

  The present invention is suitable as a small and safe dental plaque observer for home use. Further, since it does not emit ultraviolet light that may adversely affect cells and blue light that may adversely affect the retina of the eye, it can be used for both home use and dentist use.

1 ON / OFF switch 2 LED
3 Band Pass Filter 4 Observation Window 5 Housing 6 Long Pass Filter 7 Charging Port 8 Plaque 8 'Caries 9 Magnifying Lens 10 Hook 11 Port 12 Charging Terminal 13 Power Control Element 14 Battery 16 Eye 17 Fixing Rod 18 Mirror 19 Protection Circuit 100 Toothpaste Observer

Claims (4)

A box-shaped housing provided with a rectangular observation window;
A plurality of LEDs that are provided in front of the housing and emit purple light;
A bandpass filter that covers the front side of the LED and passes a wavelength of 380 to 450 nm;
It is fitted in the observation window of the housing, and the waveform of transmittance is raised so that the transmittance is 30% before 500 nm, and then further raised so as to allow light of 500 nm or more to pass. A long pass filter having a portion;
An on / off switch provided on the upper surface of the housing for turning on or off the LED;
A battery provided inside the housing for supplying power to the LED;
A charging port provided on a side surface of the housing for charging the battery;
There plaque observation unit, characterized in that Bei Erareru.
The plaque observing device according to claim 1, wherein a magnifying lens is detachably provided on a rear surface of the housing.
The dental plaque observation device according to claim 1, wherein an image of a tooth of the observation window is captured by a camera and sent to a personal computer.
The plaque observing device according to claim 1, wherein the battery is provided with a protection circuit for a charging device.

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