JPH01201238A - Diagnostic device for dentistry by stereoscopic x-ray image - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and suitably diagnose the abnormality, etc., of the shape of a tooth germ by selecting and displaying necessary right and left videos from a memory so as to constitute the solid video. CONSTITUTION:A video signal from a television camera controller 7 is observed by a CRT monitor 8 and inputted and accumulated to a video memory 9 such as a disk. In order to obtain the stereoscopic image, a pair of necessary and left tooth germ images is selected arbitrarily by a video picture retrieving setting device 10 and sent to a stereoscopic image observing device. Here, by using two CRT 12 to display right and left images, a polarization filter 14 is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the polarization before respective CRT 11 and 12, and for the picture projected at the CRT 11 and 12, the stereoscopic image is obtained by using a pair of polarization filter glasses 15 orthogonal to the right and left polarization light axes through a half mirror 13. Thus, the stereoscopic tooth germ image, etc., in a mouth can be easily and clearly observed and the suitable tooth germ, etc., can be easily diagnosed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a dental diagnostic device using X-ray images, and in particular, it facilitates the determination of the position and directional relationship of teeth, etc. using stereoscopic X-ray images, and reduces radiation exposure. The present invention relates to a dental diagnostic device using stereoscopic X-ray images that reduces the amount of radiation.

(Prior art and problems to be solved by the invention) Conventionally,
In dental diagnosis using X-rays, a piece of X-ray film is supported and brought into contact with the back surface of the tooth in the oral cavity with the tip of a finger, and X-rays are irradiated from an X-ray generating tube placed outside the oral cavity to examine the tooth. It is common practice to obtain an X-ray image film and observe it to diagnose tooth damage, abnormal conditions, and the like.

However, when diagnosing damage or abnormal conditions of teeth etc. in such cases, images taken on X-ray film are
Since it is displayed on a flat surface, it is possible to grasp three-dimensional positional relationships, such as how multiple teeth are arranged relative to each other, or in what direction the tooth roots extend. There were problems in that it was difficult to administer and could lead to errors in treatment.

Furthermore, the amount of X-rays required to be irradiated was not small, and the amount of radiation to the patient and operator was also a problem.

Therefore, the present inventor attempted stereoscopic X-ray photography in order to accurately observe the three-dimensional arrangement of teeth, and conducted various studies. Therefore, "shaking" will occur, and "misalignment" will occur in the process of moving the X-ray generator tube and positioning it at a certain angle and a certain distance from the left and right of the subject.
Because of this, we were faced with imaging problems such as the inability to obtain clear three-dimensional X-ray images. I also learned that the work was not easy, requiring a lot of time and effort.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been made to solve the above problems,
Abnormalities in tooth shape can be easily and accurately diagnosed, and
The present invention provides a dental X-ray diagnostic device that aims to reduce radiation exposure.

The present invention includes: 1) a pair of left and right X-ray generating tubes for stereoscopic X-ray imaging placed outside the oral cavity of a patient; 2) a switching device for time-sharing the outputs of the pair of X-ray generating tubes; 3) An X consisting of an X-ray fluorescent screen and a mirror placed in the patient's oral cavity
4) an X-ray image capturing television camera device fiTX consisting of a ray image receiving section, a lens barrel connected to the image receiving section, an image intensifier, and a television camera head; and 4) a memory for left and right images taken by the television camera device. and 5) a stereoscopic X-ray image observation device that selects and displays required left and right images from the memory to form a stereoscopic image.

(Example) Next, an example of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic layout diagram of the stereoscopic X-ray device and the X-ray image capturing television camera device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the Xa image capturing television camera device, and FIG. 3 is the stereoscopic X-ray image observing device. The block diagrams of each are shown below.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the fluorescent screen section 1 at the front of the X-ray imaging television camera device TX is brought into contact with the back surface of the tooth T at the required location on the patient, and the fluorescent screen section 1 is placed outside the patient's mouth when breathing. 1, a pair of left and right stereoscopic X-ray generating tubes A and B are arranged so as to form a stereoscopic image of the tooth T.

The three-dimensional X-ray generating tubes A and H are provided with a switching device C that changes over time the X-ray output of the left side X-ray generating tube A and the right side X-ray generating tube B.
A switching setting device for setting the switching time and X-ray output intensity, and a power source E are connected to the switching setting device and the power source E, respectively.

In addition, the X-ray tubes A and B are installed on a white stereo camera head so as to be lined up approximately at the distance between human eyes, with respect to the X-ray fluorescent screen 1 that is in contact with the back surface of the patient's intraoral teeth T. .

Then, a pair of left and right images are slightly projected on the X-ray fluorescent screen 1, which is set at a position where the X-rays emitted from the X-ray generating tubes A and B intersect, that is, at a position where the object viewed from the left and right is imaged. A means for this purpose is to alternately switch between the X-ray tubes A and B using the irradiation power source E and the switch C.

In this way, the original three-dimensional X-ray image of the tooth is obtained.

Next, the obtained original image is oriented 90 degrees by a mirror 2 in the X-ray imaging television camera device TX shown in FIG. This tooth image is captured by the lens 3a.

3b, the parallel image is produced after being reduced to a required size, and the image is supplied to an image intensifier 5 through a lens barrel 4 having a specific optical path length.

By providing the lenses 3a and 3b, the diameter of the lens barrel 4 can be reduced, making it easier to insert the lens barrel 4 into the oral cavity.

In addition, the image intensifier 5 increases the imaging sensitivity of the solid-state imaging television camera head 6 that comes next to it by X! The i-image is enhanced.

After that, the current image is focused on the imaging surface of the solid-state imaging television camera head 6, converted into an electrical signal, and connected to the television camera control bag via a connecting cable. 7 (see Figure 3).

The X-ray image photographing television camera device TX is composed of an X-ray fluorescent screen 1 and a mirror 2 placed in the patient's oral cavity.
It consists of an image receiving section a, a mirror 1:J4 connected to the image receiving section, an image intensifier 5, and a television camera head 6. Then, the X is inserted into the patient's oral cavity.
The lens barrel 4, which has a linear image receiving section and a constant length, is small and lightweight and can be placed anywhere in the oral cavity, and is kept away from an image intensifier that requires an applied voltage.

The device shown in FIG. 2 has an integral structure that is waterproof and insulated, can be attached to a flexible arm, and has a function of fixing the device after it is set at a predetermined position.

In FIG. 3, a video signal from a television camera control device 7 is observed on a CRT monitor 8, and is also input to and stored in a video memory 9 such as a disk. To obtain a three-dimensional image, the video image search setting device 311 selects a pair of left and right tooth images.
0, and send it to the stereoscopic image observation device.

Various known devices can be used as the stereoscopic image observation device, and examples of the stereoscopic television system include, for example, a polarization system.

As shown in Fig. 3, it uses two R and L CRTs (11, 12) that display left and right images, and each CRT
A polarizing filter 14 is arranged in front of the RT so as to be perpendicular to the polarized light, and the image projected on the CRT is filtered through a half mirror 13.
A three-dimensional image is obtained using polarizing filter glasses 15 whose left and right polarization axes are perpendicular to each other.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the description of the embodiments above, according to the device of the present invention, it is possible to easily and clearly observe a three-dimensional tooth image in the oral cavity, so it is easy to accurately inspect the teeth, etc. It becomes possible to do a place. Furthermore, by employing the television imaging system, the exposure time for X-rays can be significantly shortened, thereby reducing the amount of X-rays that the X-ray technician and patient are exposed to.

Furthermore, since each patient's dental image is stored in a video memory of 1 m, it is easy to file and reproduce the data, and data organization can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the stereoscopic X-ray apparatus and the X-ray image capturing television camera apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the X-ray image capturing television camera apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a stereoscopic X-ray image. A block diagram of each observation device is shown. l: X-ray fluorescent screen 2; mirror (plane reflecting mirror) 3m, 3b = lens system 4
:g [5: Image intensifier 6: Solid-state imaging television camera head 7: Television camera control device 8: CRT monitor 9 = video memory lO: Video image search setting device 11: R-CRTl
2: L-CRT 13: Half mirror 14: Polarizing filter 15: Orthogonal polarizing filter Glasses A; X-ray tube BOX-ray tube C: Switching device D = switching setting device E: Power supply K: Patient T: Teeth TX:
X-ray imaging television camera device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) a pair of left and right X-ray generating tubes for stereoscopic X-ray imaging placed outside the patient's oral cavity, 2) a switching device that time-divides the outputs of the pair of X-ray generating tubes, and 3) the patient's oral cavity. an X-ray image receiving section consisting of an X-ray fluorescent plate and a mirror disposed inside; an X-ray image photographing television camera device consisting of a lens barrel, an image intensifier, and a television camera head connected to the image receiving section; ) a memory for left and right images captured by the television camera device; and 5) a stereoscopic X-ray image observation device that selects and displays required left and right images from the memory so as to constitute a three-dimensional image. Dental diagnostic equipment using X-ray images.