RU2358688C2 - Flexibility tester for tunica mucosa of mouth - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: medicine.

SUBSTANCE: tester refers to medical equipment, namely to orthopedic dentistry and can be used to flexibility testing of tunica mucosa of mouth. The flexibility tester for tunica mucosa of mouth (FTTMM) comprises a split frame and a probe. The frame contains a microprocessor board transferring strength force caused by exposure on tunica mucosa of mouth in electric signal being visualised in current force on monochrome LCD after converted from analogue to digital signal. The frame comprises an accumulator, FTTMM command keys, a PC data transmission connector, a power switch, an accumulator charging connector. The frame is jointed by cable to the probe. The latter is packaged and comprises as follows: a high-precision servo-controlled drive, a screw mechanical rotary-to-linear converter, a board with mounted pressure sensor travelling along the frame with the screw converter bar, a magnetic clutch connecting the sensor and spring shaft, the guided spring shaft ensuring direct delivery the force to the measured point of tunica mucosa of mouth, an electrolytic capacitor providing constant performance of the servo-controlled drive.

EFFECT: tester allows for measurement and recording of measurement results starting from contact of the measuring probe and pain limit, and not only in pain sensation moment, as in common devices.

4 dwg

Description

The device relates to medical equipment, namely to orthopedic dentistry, and can be used to determine the compliance of the oral mucosa.

Recently, due to large defects in the dentition, the population’s demand for various dental procedures based on removable prosthetics has sharply increased. However, when using removable dentures, patients often face the problem of adapting to removable dentures. The problem of adaptation is associated with the difficulty of taking into account the structural features of the mucous membrane of the prosthetic bed and, as a result, the lack of individual choice of material in the manufacture of a removable prosthesis. As a result, a removable prosthesis during operation leads to trauma to the mucous membrane of the prosthetic bed. To eliminate the causes of injury, doctors carry out numerous corrections of removable dentures, which significantly increases the patient’s adaptation to the prosthesis and increases the risk of prosthesis failure.

In this connection, along with the development of prosthetics techniques, issues of an individual approach to the selection of both material for prosthetics and methods of its implementation are actively being studied.

So, in orthopedic practice it is widely known that when designing removable dentures, their quality largely depends on the degree of compliance of the mucous membrane of the prosthetic bed. The value of the degree and zones of compliance of the mucous membrane of the prosthetic bed is of great importance when choosing impression materials, defining the boundaries, design of prosthetic bases, which allows to improve the fixation of prostheses and stabilize them.

However, despite the existence of various devices that measure the compliance of the oral mucosa, they all have drawbacks.

A known device for determining the compliance of the mucous membrane of the oral cavity (RU 2119779, bull. No. 28, 10/10/1998). The principle of operation of this device is based on determining the compliance of the mucous membrane by squeezing it with a retractable probe and registering the result with an hour indicator. However, the known device does not allow a high degree of certainty to determine the compliance of the mucous membrane.

A known device for measuring the compliance of the mucous membrane of the jaws (RU 2240079, bull. No. 32, 11/20/2004, this device is the closest analogue of the proposed method). The device consists of a housing, a lever with a gear sector at one end and a movable probe at the other. The essence of the functioning of this device is that on the device that dispenses pressure on the mucous membrane, the necessary pressure value is set. To do this, turning the adjusting nut acts on the shaped washer, thereby compressing the calibrated spring of the dosing device, then the probe tip is applied to the mucosal test point so that the sleeve contacts the mucous membrane along the perimeter. Lever-like pressing the handle of the device, press the probe into the mucosa. When immersed, the probe creates a recess, and the undeformed mucous membrane along the edge of the sleeve moves it away from the end of the probe. In the process of leverage-like pressure, the end of the rectangular portion of the handle moves towards the fastener and, by means of the pin, the applied pressure is transferred to the device that dispenses pressure on the oral mucosa. When pressing on the mucous membrane, the sleeve moves the lever, while the arrow of the recording device is set in motion by means of a pin. When the set pressure is reached, the electrical circuit of the signaling device is closed and readings are taken from the scale of the recording device, showing the degree of compliance of the mucous membrane. Moreover, the known device does not allow measurements with a changing pressure force, as is the case when a patient uses a removable prosthesis, and recording the results during the entire measurement. In addition, the device has multiple parts, which makes it difficult to operate, configure and repair.

The proposed device for determining the compliance of the oral mucosa (UDOPSOR) is designed to measure and study the compliance of the oral mucosa by immersing the mucosa with calibrated forces. The device allows you to visualize the received data in the form of a dive schedule, as well as data transfer and construction of tables in a personal computer according to the received charts.

UDOPSOR provides the following features:

- observation of the movement of the working body within the working area on the oral mucosa of 15 mm,

- display on the liquid crystal screen of the force arising from exposure in the range from 0-500 g; this possibility is due to the maximum pain threshold in the study area.

- saving in memory UDOPSOR data, their sorting, tabulation and processing of measurements.

Moreover, the measurement error is ± 5% and is determined both by the professionalism of the operator and the number of measurements, the increase of which leads to a decrease in the average statistical error to ± 1%.

Structurally, the UDOPSOR is made (Fig. 1) in a detachable housing (1) connected by a cable (2) with a probe (3), as well as with a charging unit (4). In the case (1) of UDOPSOR, the main microprocessor board, a liquid crystal monochrome screen, a battery, UDOPSOR control keys, a connector for connecting the device to a PC, a power switch, and a battery charging connector are installed.

Structural diagram (figure 2) UDOPSOR consists of the following components:

5. Pic type microprocessor with its own RAM resources.

6. A liquid crystal display (LCD) controlled by an information display unit.

7. A probe that allows direct removal of information about the characteristics of the mucous membrane of the patient’s mouth.

8. The unit for storing information and programs that provides the logic of the UDOPSOR.

9. Governing body - push-button node for selecting the logic of work and operations performed by UDOPSOR.

10. The battery and its charging circuit in place with the charging unit.

11. A device for outputting current data to an external personal computer through a connector for connecting the UDOPSOR to a PC.

UDOPSOR is provided by an authentic microprocessor program designed specifically for this purpose. The program allows you to create graphs of the dependence of pressure on time over the entire measurement, starting from the contact of the probe with the mucous membrane of the mouth and ending with the moment the measurement ceases. The criterion for stopping the measurement is the pain threshold of the patient.

Structurally, the probe is made (Fig. 3) in the form of a detachable housing (12) connected to the main digital unit of the UDOPSOR cable (13), through which power is supplied, controlled, and the values of the measured parameters are obtained.

The probe consists of the following main parts (figure 4):

14. Precision servo.

15. Screw mechanical transducer of rotational motion into translational.

16. Boards with a pressure sensor installed on it, moved along the device body by a rod of a screw transducer.

17. The magnetic coupling connecting the sensor and the spring shaft.

18. The spring shaft in the guide, directly delivering force to the measured point of the oral mucosa.

19. Electrolytic capacitor for stable operation of the servo drive.

20. Cases of 2 parts connected by screws.

21. An electric cable.

The probe is a precision device that allows you to create automatic micromotion of the spring shaft, directly affecting the mucosa, and at the same time measuring the resistance force arising from this effect.

The microprocessor sends a signal to the servo drive, which provides the shaft rotation by 1 step (angular displacement 10 °). The screw transducer extends the rod with the sensor mounted on it by 1 step. Linear displacement is 0.1 mm. The spring shaft transmits movement to a portion of the oral mucosa, which, resisting the action, creates a force on the sensor. The microprocessor polls the sensor, converts the value of the force into an electrical signal. In this case, a conversion from an analog signal to a digital one takes place. Having processed the magnitude of the signal, the microprocessor visualizes the current value of the force on the liquid crystal display in the form of a vertical line corresponding to the magnitude of the force expressed in grams along the Y axis.

Having entered the data about the next step into the RAM, the microprocessor takes the next step, and the cycle repeats.

Thus, by sequentially increasing the effect on the oral mucosa, a graph is created on the screen of the liquid crystal display, along the X axis of which the movement in millimeters is displayed, and along the Y axis - the force of resistance to this movement. Based on the characteristics of this point in the oral mucosa, the graph allows you to judge the compliance of the oral mucosa. That is, the higher the resistance to movement per unit of exposure, the lower the compliance of the oral mucosa.

Having processed the obtained data, the microprocessor returns the spring shaft to its original state and UDOPSOR is ready to take data at the next point of the oral mucosa. After examining all the given points on the oral mucosa, a generalized picture of its condition arises, which is stored in digital form by the memory of the microprocessor and personal computer.

UDOPSOR is powered by an internal voltage source (battery), which in turn is charged from an alternating current network with voltage of 220 V ± 10%, with a frequency of 50 Hz ± 1%.

The proposed device allows you to measure and record the measurement results from the beginning of the touch of the measuring probe of the device to the pain threshold, and not only at the time of pain sensitivity, as in all previously known devices. Mucosal compliance is not a linear characteristic, therefore, the measurement must be carried out in dynamics, i.e. with a changing pressure force, which is possible in this device. All previously known devices had a significant error due to opposing forces under pressure with a probe on the mucous membrane of the mouth. According to the methodology, our device has a special platform for fixing the measuring probe, which makes the error to a minimum.

Claims (1)

A device for determining the compliance of the oral mucosa (UDOPSOR), comprising a detachable housing and a probe, characterized in that a microprocessor board is installed in the housing, which translates the value of the resistance force arising from exposure to the oral mucosa to an electrical signal, which, after being transferred from the analogue signal in digital is visualized in the current value of effort on the liquid crystal monochrome display, the accumulator, control keys UDOPSOR, a data transmission socket on personal a computer, a power switch, a battery charging connector, the housing is connected by a cable to the probe, the probe being enclosed in the housing and consists of the following parts: a precision servo drive, a screw mechanical transducer of rotational motion into translational motion, boards with a pressure sensor installed on it, moved along the housing of the device by a rod a screw transducer, a magnetic coupling connecting the sensor and the spring shaft, the spring shaft in the guide, directly delivering force to the measured point of the mucous membrane mouthwash, electrolytic capacitor, ensuring stable operation of the servo.

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