KR102630786B1 - Low Power designed Oral Observation System - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an oral observation system with reduced power consumption. Specifically, in an oral observation system that observes whether or not microorganisms are activated by detecting fluorescence from inside the patient's mouth, only when fluorescence is detected, that is, the activity of microorganisms is detected. It relates to an oral observation system that minimizes power consumption during the time when fluorescence is not detected by allowing the system to record or display observation information only when fluorescence is detected.

Description

Low Power Designed Oral Observation System}

The present invention relates to an oral observation system with reduced power consumption. Specifically, in an oral observation system that observes whether or not microorganisms are activated by detecting fluorescence from inside the patient's mouth, only when fluorescence is detected, that is, the activity of microorganisms is detected. It relates to an oral observation system that minimizes power consumption during the time when fluorescence is not detected by allowing the system to record or display observation information only when fluorescence is detected.

Along with the social atmosphere of increasing interest in dental health, interest in devices that can look inside the mouth of patients or general users and check for abnormalities in the teeth and oral cavity through the display is also increasing, and many business operators are seeking to improve their health. A lot of money and manpower are being invested to develop oral observation devices with increased convenience.

Meanwhile, in the past and even to this day, various devices for oral observation are sold as commercial products. The operating principle of most of these devices is based on the need to photograph the inside of the oral cavity using an imaging means such as a camera, so they are basically energy-efficient. It has the problem of high consumption. In particular, many portable devices have been commercialized recently, but photography-based devices do not last long and require frequent charging, or the processing time required to display them to the user on the display increases somewhat. There is a problem.

On the other hand, since conventional devices are only capable of taking pictures of the inside of a patient's or user's mouth and showing them, there is a limitation in that they can only be confirmed visually, and it is necessary to know exactly where the abnormality is in the mouth and the level of microbial activity. There has also been a problem of not being able to computerically record the height.

The present invention was developed with an eye on this problem, and not only can solve the technical problems discussed above, but also provide additional technical elements that cannot be easily invented by those skilled in the art. It has been done.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0012713 (2014.02.03.)

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an oral observation system with minimal power consumption.

In particular, the present invention allows the oral observation system to generate observation information only when fluorescence generated according to microbial activity is detected on objects in the patient's oral cavity, such as teeth or gingival surfaces, and when fluorescence is not detected, at least The purpose is to minimize power consumption by enabling operation with only power.

In addition, the present invention further includes a gyro sensor capable of measuring posture information in the oral observation system, specifically measuring the mechanical movement of the device that the user can handle, and measuring the patient's posture based on the measured posture information. Another purpose is to map observation information about where fluorescence was detected in the oral cavity and provide it to the user.

Meanwhile, the technical problems of the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems. The low-power oral observation system according to the present invention includes a light emitting unit that irradiates light toward an object; An optical filter that passes only a specific band of reflected light reflected by the object; An optical sensor that detects reflected light passing through the optical filter; and a control unit that generates observation information only when reflected light is detected by the optical sensor.

Additionally, in the low-power oral observation system, the observation information may be a set of observation points corresponding to the viewpoints at which the reflected light is detected.

In addition, the low-power oral observation system may further include a gyro sensor, where the gyro sensor may be characterized in that it detects parameters corresponding to the dynamic movement of the optical sensor that changes depending on the user's handling.

At this time, the control unit is characterized in that, when reflected light is detected by the optical sensor, the parameters detected by the gyro sensor are mapped to the observation information, and further, the control unit maps the observation information to the pre-stored oral cavity. It may be characterized by overlapping on the image and displaying it to the user through a display means, and in this case, the previously stored oral image may be characterized as an oral image of the patient being observed.

In addition, in the low-power oral observation system, the parameters of the gyro sensor may be mapped to virtual coordinates on the oral image by the user's synchronization operation at an arbitrary point in time.

On the other hand, the method of observing the oral cavity using a low-power oral observation system according to the present invention includes a first step of irradiating light from a light emitting unit toward an object; A second step of detecting whether reflected light reflected by the object is received; A third step of generating observation information only when reflected light is detected; may include.

Additionally, the method of observing the oral cavity may further include synchronizing the gyro sensor provided in the low-power oral observation system to the patient's oral image.

In addition, the method of observing the oral cavity may further include, after the third step, overlapping the observation information on an image of the patient's oral cavity and displaying it to the user through a display means.

According to the present invention, the power consumption of the oral observation system can be significantly reduced, and thus, it is advantageous to miniaturize all or part of the oral observation system to be portable.

In addition, according to the present invention, signal processing is performed only depending on whether fluorescence is detected, so data processing within the system can be performed very quickly, which has the effect of greatly improving the immediate responsiveness of the oral observation system. there is.

In addition, according to the present invention, by mapping the observation information onto a previously stored oral image of the patient, preferably a 3D CT image of the patient, it is possible to determine where the fluorescence was detected in the oral cavity, that is, where the problem is in the oral cavity. It has the effect of making it easier for users to understand.

Meanwhile, it is understood that the effects according to the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and that there are other technical effects within the range that a person skilled in the art can infer.

1 shows an oral observation system according to a first embodiment.
Figure 2 shows an example of observation information obtained through the oral observation system according to the first embodiment.
Figure 3 shows an oral observation system according to a second embodiment.
Figure 4 shows an example of observation information obtained through the oral observation system according to the second embodiment.
Figure 5 shows an oral observation system according to a third embodiment.
Figure 6 shows a comparison between an image captured by the oral observation system of the third embodiment and a previously stored 3D CT image of a patient.
Figure 7 shows step by step the process of using the low-power oral observation system according to the present invention.

Details regarding the purpose and technical configuration of the present invention and its operational effects will be more clearly understood by the following detailed description based on the drawings attached to the specification of the present invention. Embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

The embodiments disclosed herein should not be construed or used as limiting the scope of the present invention. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the description, including embodiments, of this specification has various applications. Accordingly, any embodiments described in the detailed description of the present invention are illustrative to better explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the embodiments.

The functional blocks shown in the drawings and described below are only examples of possible implementations. Other functional blocks may be used in other implementations without departing from the spirit and scope of the detailed description. Additionally, although one or more functional blocks of the present invention are shown as individual blocks, one or more of the functional blocks of the present invention may be a combination of various hardware and software components that perform the same function.

Additionally, the expression including certain components is an “open” expression and simply refers to the presence of the components and should not be understood as excluding additional components.

Furthermore, when a component is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it should be understood that although it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, other components may exist in between. do.

Figure 1 shows an oral observation system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. When referring to the drawing, the oral observation system 100 largely includes a light emitting unit 101, an optical filter 103, and an optical sensor. (105), and may include a control unit (107).

The light emitting unit 101 is a component that irradiates light toward an object. There is no limit to the implementation method as long as the light emitting unit 101 emits light and allows reflected light to be generated by the object, but is preferably white light. Alternatively, it may be capable of emitting blue light, more preferably blue light of 380 nm to 420 nm. Blue light in the above wavelength range can be used to distinguish objects, that is, microorganisms, cracks, etc. present on the surface of teeth. In particular, when irradiated on a material generated during the metabolic process of a microorganism, it is absorbed by the material and is the first irradiated light. It is converted into a unique ray of light that is different from that of other rays and is emitted. For example, a substance called porphyrin, which is produced during the microbial metabolic process in teeth, reacts to blue light of 380 nm to 420 nm and causes fluorescence. As will be described later, it is understood that the present invention is intended to minimize power consumption by activating the device only when reflected light reflected by an object, more specifically fluorescence, is detected and generating observation information about the location. On the other hand, the light emitting unit 101 can be implemented so that light of a wavelength desired by the designer is irradiated toward an object by placing a filter that passes only light in a certain band around the light source that emits white light. Additionally, a plurality of light emitting units may be provided depending on the wavelength characteristics of the light to be irradiated toward the object. In the drawing, it can be seen that two light emitting units (101A, 101B) are provided in the oral observation system 100.

Next, the optical filter 103 is a component that controls color characteristics or contrast by blocking light in a specific wavelength band or adjusting the degree thereof. This is also provided as long as it can filter light in the wavelength band desired by the designer. There are no restrictions on the implementation method. However, as an example of the optical filter 103, the above optical filter 103 uses a high refractive index and low refractive index material on a transparent substrate (a coatable substrate including plastic, glass, etc.) using a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) technique. It can be implemented by sequential stacking. For reference, PVD creates desired spectroscopic characteristics by controlling the lamination (coating) thickness of each material using the material's unique transmission, reflection, and absorption properties. At this time, various types of coating materials can be used. , Preferably, TiO ₂ , Ti ₃ O ₅ , and Ta ₂ O ₅ may be used as high-refractive materials, and SiO ₂ , ZrO ₂ , and Al ₂ O ₃ may be used as low-refractive materials. The optical filter 103 is [high refraction/low refraction/high refraction…] ] The filter can be manufactured by repeated deposition in the following order, and the number of layers can be from 20 to a maximum of 50 layers.

On the other hand, the optical filter 103 in the present invention absorbs the light emitted from the light emitting unit 101 from the object and then re-emits fluorescence, or light in a wavelength band that can confirm the presence of microorganisms among the reflected light. It can be characterized as passing only. Preferably, the optical filter 103 may have spectral characteristics of an average transmittance of 20 ± 5% in the 510 ± 15 nm band, an average transmittance of 1% or less in the 560 ± 30 nm band, and an average transmittance of 85% or more in the 600 ~ 800 nm band.

The position where the optical filter 103 is provided is suitable between the optical sensor 105, which will be described later, and the object. As an example, the optical filter 103 may be bonded to the front of the optical sensor 105. It can be implemented. However, the location of the optical filter 103 may vary and is not necessarily limited to the above embodiment.

Next, the optical sensor 105 is configured to detect reflected light that has passed through the optical filter 103, or more precisely, fluorescence in which the reflected light has been filtered by the optical filter 103. It detects this fluorescence and converts it into an electrical signal. It can be implemented as a device capable of conversion detection. The optical sensor 105 in the present invention can be implemented with elements such as photo diodes, photo transistors, CDS, etc. These elements are driven by flowing current when light is received, and do not normally consume power. It can be used to implement a low-power device as in the present invention by consuming power only when light is detected. In another way, the optical sensor 105 may not necessarily be implemented only as an element, but may be implemented by placing a light receiving element that can be activated with only a small amount of power on a board made up of a series of elements. It can be implemented as a module for light detection, and this module is normally in standby mode and runs with only minimal power, and only consumes a relatively large amount of power when light is detected, so that the wavelength band of the received light, It is also possible to analyze more diverse information about the received light, such as the intensity of the light.

Next, the control unit 107 is configured to generate observation information when reflected light or fluorescence is detected by the optical sensor 105. The above control unit 107 is not necessarily limited to generating observation information, and may be configured to control the entire oral observation system 100. From a hardware perspective, the control unit 107 may also be called a controller, microcontroller, microprocessor, microcomputer, etc. Additionally, the control unit 107 may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. When implemented using hardware, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a digital signal (DSP) is used. processor), DSPD (digital signal processing device), PLD (programmable logic device), FPGA (field programmable gate array), etc., and when implemented using firmware or software, it is a module, procedure, or module that performs the above functions or operations. Firmware or software may be configured to include functions, etc.

On the other hand, although not separately shown in the drawings, the oral observation system 100 may further include memory. At this time, the memory is ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), flash memory, SRAM (Static RAM), It can be implemented with HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), etc.

We have looked at the schematic configurations of the oral observation system 100 according to the first embodiment.

For reference, each component of the oral observation system 100 described above is all provided in one housing. For example, it is provided in a housing that can be handled or carried by a user, so that it can be used in the patient's or his or her mouth. It can be used to look inside. In some cases, the housing may further include a display unit that displays observation information generated by the control unit 107 to the outside. As an easy example, the housing may be a cylindrical housing that is easy for the user to hold in one hand, and a battery for power supply may be provided inside the housing, and each of the components described above may be provided inside the housing so that the user can easily It can be used to observe the inside of the patient's or his or her mouth.

On the other hand, some of the components of the oral observation system 100 may be included in separate housings. For example, the light emitting unit 101, the optical filter 103, and the optical sensor 105 may be provided in a housing that can be handled by the user, and the control unit 107 may be included in a terminal device separate from the housing. there is. In this case, it is necessary to enable data transmission and reception between the handleable housing and a separate terminal device through wired or wireless communication means, and the separate terminal device may be provided with a display unit for displaying observation information. Also, for reference, it goes without saying that the handleable housing may further include control means necessary to control at least one of the light emitting unit 101, the optical filter 103, and the optical sensor 105. As an easy example, the handleable housing may be a cylindrical housing that is easy for a user to hold with one hand, and a battery or other power supply means may be provided within the housing, and a separate terminal device may be installed in the space around the user ( (e.g. computer) may exist so that data can be transmitted and received for generating observation information with this terminal device.

When using the oral observation system 100 according to the first embodiment, the user holds the light emitting unit 101 while holding the housing including at least the light emitting unit 101, the optical filter 103, and the optical sensor 105. It can be manipulated to point towards the inside of the patient's or user's own mouth, and when fluorescence is triggered by microorganisms present on the tooth or gingival surface (in this detailed description, the induced fluorescence is also referred to as reflected light), this fluorescence becomes By generating an electrical signal when detected by the optical sensor 105, the control unit 107 (here, the control unit 107 is included in a housing that can be handled or is provided in a separate space other than the housing that can be handled) may be used) can generate observation information.

In a specific embodiment, the user can illuminate the inside of his or her oral cavity while holding the housing including at least the light emitting unit 101, the optical filter 103, and the optical sensor 105, and at this time, reflected light or fluorescence is emitted. If it is not detected, the electrical signal will not be generated by the optical sensor 105, so the control unit 107 will not generate observation information, and if reflected light or fluorescence is detected, the electrical signal generated by the optical sensor 105 will not be generated. The control unit 107 will generate observation information according to the electrical signal.

An example of observation information generated by the control unit 107 is shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b).

Basically, the optical sensor 105 only detects whether or not light is received and generates or does not generate an electrical signal accordingly, so the control unit 107 can only refer to information about whether or not an electrical signal is generated, and thus this In this case, the observation information may take the form of something that can be expressed in binary form, such as a black and white pattern as shown in FIG. 2(a), or a 1/0 pattern. For example, assuming that the user scans the upper and lower teeth in order while holding the housing, observation information for the upper teeth (P_upper) and observation information for the lower teeth (P_lower) may appear in the same pattern as in Figure 2(a) depending on the time sequence. The section marked “ON” in the drawing can be understood as a section in which fluorescence is detected and the optical sensor 105 generates an electrical signal, and the other sections can be understood as sections in which fluorescence is not detected. This observation information can be used as data showing how many microorganisms are in an active state on the object, and may be displayed to the user through the display unit depending on the design of the oral observation system 100. For example, a dentist can refer to the pattern in FIG. 2(a) and infer the patient's dental health by looking at how long the black pattern appears. For reference, in Figure 2(a), a tooth image is inserted in the background to help understand the observation information, but the actual observation information may be generated without the background tooth image.

On the other hand, the observation information generated by the control unit 107 is not in the form of a pattern indicating whether fluorescence was detected in chronological order as shown in FIG. 2(a), but reflects light from a specific area in the oral cavity using the optical sensor 105. When detected, only the part corresponding to the photodiode that detected fluorescence among the plurality of photodiodes forming the optical sensor 105 (at this time, the photodiode may correspond to one pixel) can be displayed in black. . Figure 2(b) shows an example of observation information generated according to this principle. As shown in Figure 2(b), the observation information includes points where fluorescence is detected as black dots or a collection of black pixels ( It can be displayed as Q). For reference, the tooth drawing shown blurred in the background of FIG. 2(b) is to aid understanding of the embodiment, and the actual observation information generated by the control unit 107 by receiving an electrical signal from the optical sensor 105 is a black dot. Understand that it may consist of only a collection of pixels or black pixels. Also, for reference, in general, an RGB filter is provided in the device to identify the color of light detected by the optical sensor 105, and additional signal processing is performed to reproduce the color of light on the display afterward. Although there is a technology that does this, the present invention may be characterized by not providing an additional RGB filter in order to reduce power consumption and because it only needs to know the location where fluorescence was detected and there is no need to identify the color. Accordingly, when observation information is displayed to the user, it may be displayed only in black and white.

On the other hand, if the control unit 107 of the oral observation system 100 according to the first embodiment is implemented as a separate terminal, and in an environment in which the control unit 107 can perform higher level data processing, the control unit 107 Receives electrical signals from the optical sensor 105, generates observation information based on these electrical signals, and displays points corresponding to the electrical signals on the previously stored tooth image of the patient (patient subject to observation). Observation information of the current state can be generated and provided to the user. At this time, the control unit 107 may generate observation information by simply overlapping black dots or a collection of black pixels (Q) on the patient's tooth image, or by using the patient's tooth image and the optical sensor 105. After matching the detected area, observation information can be generated by mapping the areas where actual fluorescence was detected onto the patient's tooth image. At this time, there may be various methods for matching the patient's tooth image with the area detected by the optical sensor 105, but one example is a plurality of extraction points extracted from a previously stored tooth image of the patient, Additionally, a method of matching a contour that can be extracted from the area detected by the optical sensor 105 may be possible.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 , we looked at examples of the oral observation system 100 according to the first embodiment and the observation information generated through it.

Figure 3 shows an oral observation system 100 according to a second embodiment. Compared to the first embodiment, the oral observation system 100 according to the second embodiment further includes at least one gyro sensor 109. Briefly looking at the oral observation system 100 according to the second embodiment, in this embodiment, when a user observes the inside of the oral cavity while holding a housing that can be handled, the mechanical movement accompanying the action is performed. By measuring with the gyro sensor 109, the point in the oral cavity that the user is currently observing is estimated in conjunction with the previously stored 3D oral image, and the area detected by the above 3D oral image and the optical sensor 105 It is characterized by matching to generate observation information indicating the point where fluorescence was detected on the 3D oral image and providing it to the user.

It was mentioned that the oral observation system 100 according to the second embodiment further includes at least one gyro sensor 109, and the gyro sensor 109 is an inertial space around one or more axes orthogonal to the spin axis. Based on the principle of measuring angular motion based on It can be understood as a composition that does.

When using the oral observation system 100 according to the second embodiment, the user can observe the inside of the patient's or his own mouth while holding the handleable housing, and the optical sensor 105 fluoresces during observation. When detecting, the optical sensor 105 can generate an electrical signal to allow the control unit 107 to generate observation information. As an example of the observation information generated at this time, the observation information includes the parameters of the gyro sensor 109 acquired at the time the optical sensor 105 detects fluorescence, and the parameters of the gyro sensor 109. It may include location points of the mapped 3D oral image. In other words, the observation information in the second embodiment is a gyro sensor ( It may be in the form of mapping the parameters of the gyro sensor 109 at the time of fluorescence detection and the location points of the previously stored 3D oral image so that they can be confirmed through 109). For reference, the three-dimensional oral image mentioned in this detailed description may have a unique coordinate system, and any point on the above coordinate system points to a different location, and is a point defined by the parameters of the gyro sensor 109. Understand that it can be mapped to each other.

Meanwhile, when the observation information is displayed to the user, the location points at the time when fluorescence was detected are displayed on the 3D oral image, allowing the user to easily determine where the microorganisms are active in the patient's or his or her mouth. You can make it understandable. Figure 4 shows observation information generated through the oral observation system 100 according to the second embodiment displayed on a three-dimensional oral image using the parameters of the gyro sensor 109. The left side of Figure 4 shows the points where fluorescence was detected on the tooth surface by the optical sensor 105, and the right side shows the points where previous fluorescence was detected and the mapped location points on the 3D oral image. It was done.

For reference, when attempting to use the oral observation system 100 according to the second embodiment, the user must determine the parameters of the gyro sensor 109 at any point in time before performing a full-scale oral observation, that is, the posture of the optical sensor 105. It is necessary to define whether the gyro sensor 109 parameters at this point correspond to which position of the 3D intraoral image. For synchronization, for example, by providing a synchronization guide to the user through the display unit, more specifically, by directing the user to position the housing to point the optical sensor 105 at a random point(s) inside the oral cavity through the display unit, , When that state is reached, the location of the 3D oral image is synchronized with the parameters of the gyro sensor 109 in a specific posture by inducing a command input for synchronization (e.g., having the user press a button provided on the housing). can do.

The oral observation system 100 according to the second embodiment was examined with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 above.

Figure 5 shows the configurations of the oral observation system 100 according to the third embodiment. Compared to the second embodiment, the oral observation system 100 further includes a correction unit 111. .

In the previous embodiment, the gyro sensor 109 is provided in the oral observation system 100, and the three-dimensional oral cavity is measured with reference to the parameters acquired by the gyro sensor 109, that is, the posture information of the housing or the optical sensor 105. It was explained that it is possible to display where fluorescence was detected within an image. However, in general, as the gyro sensor 109 is used, errors occur and problems arise, and as a result, there is a risk that the gyro sensor 109 will eventually be unable to generate or provide accurate observation information.

The correction unit 111, which is a further added component in the third embodiment, is intended to compensate for the limitations of the gyro sensor 109, and is based only on the parameters that the gyro sensor 109 can measure. This can be understood as a configuration to increase the accuracy of mapping by allowing the control unit 107 to refer to additional information in a state where mapping to an exact location point within the image is not guaranteed.

It is understood that there may be a variety of methodologies for correcting errors generated by the gyro sensor 109, and that this detailed description does not necessarily limit the specific function of the correction unit 111 to a specific method. However, in one preferred method, the correction unit 111 can correct the parameters obtained by the gyro sensor 109 by comparing two images and measuring the similarity of the images.

Specifically, the correction unit 111 compares a random area of the three-dimensional oral image with an area detected by the optical sensor 105 or, in some cases, captured by the gyro sensor 109. It is possible to determine whether the parameters, that is, the posture information of the housing or the optical sensor 105, are accurate. The dynamic movement of the housing by the user can soon be measured with parameters acquired by the gyro sensor 109, and these parameters will correspond to specific parts in the three-dimensional oral image that are pre-mapped. The above correction unit 111 was further proposed to prevent previously acquired parameters from being judged to correspond to incorrect parts of the 3D oral image due to an error in ). That is, the correction unit 111 compares the 3D oral image mapped with the parameters acquired by the gyro sensor 109 and the actual oral image of the patient currently detected or photographed by the optical sensor 105, thereby It is possible to determine whether the parameters (posture information) measured by (109) are accurate.

Meanwhile, the correction unit 111 not only serves to determine the error of the gyro sensor 109, but also may serve to correct the error. As an example, the correction unit 111 uses an image acquired at the time the optical sensor 105 detects fluorescence (referred to as the first image for easy distinction. The first image at this time is obtained by the optical sensor 105. The image corresponding to the first image (hereinafter referred to as the second image) can be searched through image processing within the three-dimensional oral image (which may be acquired or acquired by a separate imaging unit). In this way, the gyro sensor 109 parameters mapped to the searched second image, that is, the posture information that would have been obtained if the gyro sensor 109 had measured correctly, are provided to the control unit 107, allowing the control unit 107 to use the gyro sensor ( 109) errors can be corrected.

Figure 6 shows that the correction unit 111 compares and searches for an image (second image) corresponding to the first image from the first image obtained at the time the optical sensor 105 detects fluorescence and the 3D oral image. It shows the appearance. Referring to FIG. 6, the correction unit 111 may define a plurality of feature points (F) from the first image during the comparison process, and these feature points and feature points (F) showing similar patterns in the three-dimensional oral image. You can search for the second image by repeating the process of matching '). For reference, a feature point in the image may be a point that satisfies any one of various conditions, such as the inflection point on the boundary between the tooth and the gingiva, the point in contact with the tooth on the side, the point where the tooth begins to separate from the tooth on the side, etc., as intended by the designer. It may satisfy one of the conditions set according to .

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, we looked into the oral observation system 100 according to the third embodiment.

Figure 7 lists a method of observing the actual oral cavity using the oral observation system 100 designed for low power. For reference, the exemplary method of FIG. 7 includes a light emitting unit 101, an optical filter 103, an optical sensor 105, and a control unit 107 provided in a handleable housing, and the observation generated by the control unit 107. Information is provided to a separate data processing terminal (computer) through wireless or wired communication, and the explanation will be made assuming that the information is provided in an environment that allows the user to observe the inside of the oral cavity through a display unit connected to the computer.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the observation method may first begin with a step (S101) of controlling the light emitting unit 101 to irradiate light toward an object. Step S101 can be started by the user pressing the power button provided on the outer side of the housing.

After step S101, there may be a step (S102) in which the optical sensor 105 detects whether reflected light reflected by the object or fluorescence emitted by the object is received, and the result of detection in this step is actual reflected light or fluorescence. Only when this is received, the control unit 107 can proceed to step S103 of generating observation information. It is emphasized once again that the present invention is intended to minimize power consumption when reflected light or fluorescence is not detected, and when no light is detected in step S102, the entire system may be in standby mode.

On the other hand, the oral observation method according to the present invention assumes that a gyro sensor 109 is provided in the oral observation system 100, and uses the gyro sensor 109 to image the oral cavity of a person (patient) to be observed. A synchronization step (S100) may be further included. For reference, this step is preferably performed before step S101, and can be performed by the user's synchronization input. Specifically, when there is an input from the user, the control unit 107 matches the parameters of the gyro sensor 109 at the time of the input and the coordinates in the previously stored oral image of the patient. Since the synchronization process was previously described in the oral observation system 100 according to the second embodiment, detailed description will be omitted here.

On the other hand, the oral observation method according to the present invention may further include, after step S103, overlapping the observation information generated by the control unit 107 on the patient's oral image and displaying it to the user through a display means. there is. (S104)

We looked at the low-power oral observation system and how to observe the oral cavity using it. Meanwhile, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments and application examples described above, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims. Of course, it is possible, but these modified implementations should not be understood separately from the technical idea or outlook of the present invention.

100 Oral Observation System
101A, 101B light emitting unit
103 optical filter
105 optical sensor
107 control unit
109 Gyro sensor
111 Compensation unit

Claims (1)

In a low-power oral observation system,
A light emitting unit that irradiates light toward an object;
An optical filter that passes only a specific band of reflected light reflected by the object;
An optical sensor that detects reflected light passing through the optical filter; and
a control unit that generates observation information only when reflected light is detected by the optical sensor;
Including,
The objects are the teeth of a specific patient,
Characterized in that the observation information is a black and white pattern that allows inferring the dental health status of the specific patient.
Low-power oral observation system.