Optical measurement of dental cast profile and application to analysis of three-dimensional tooth movement in orthodontics.
Dental casts are frequently used for measuring the size, shape and position of a tooth. We have developed an optical apparatus for measuring a three-dimensional profile of a dental cast. The measurement is based on the triangular method which detects a laser spot on a cast by an image sensor. The apparatus is computer-controlled and designed to achieve a total measuring depth of 40 mm, a data acquisition time of 25 ms per point and a minimum scanning pitch of 0.1 mm. The depth and lateral resolutions are 0.05 and 0.1 mm, respectively, within a depth range of 25 mm. As a particular application of the apparatus, three-dimensional movement of teeth, including rotational movement, during orthodontic treatment, has been quantified by means of the superimposition of tooth profiles using a computer.
Yamamoto
K
K
Division of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Toshimitsu
A
A
Mikami
T
T
Hayashi
S
S
Harada
R
R
Nakamura
S
S
D002648:Child; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D003765:Models, Dental; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D010159:Palate / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D014087:Tooth Movement Techniques