WO2010071680A4

WO2010071680A4 - Dental fluoroscopic imaging system

Info

Publication number: WO2010071680A4
Application number: PCT/US2009/006648
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel Uzbelger Feldman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-12-16
Filing date: 2009-12-22
Publication date: 2011-08-04
Anticipated expiration: 2011-06-16
Also published as: EP2434955A1; EP2434955A4; WO2010071680A1

Abstract

The dental fluoroscopic imaging system includes a flat panel detector comprised by a gamma-rays or x-rays converter, a plate, a collector, a processing unit and a transmitter suitable for 2D intraoral/extraoral and 3D extraoral dental fluoroscopy. The x-ray converter contains a material capable of transforming the low dose gamma rays or x-rays beam received from an emitter after going through the dental examination area into electrical signals or a light image consequent with the radiographed image. The plate transmits the electric signals or light image to a collector which amplifies it and sends it to a processing unit and then to transmitter designed to transfer digital images sequentially to a host computer and software which can acquire, process, transform, record, freeze and enhance 2D and 3D images of video frame rates. Two dimensional images are obtained while using a C-arm/U-arm configuration while 3D images are obtained while using the O-arm configuration.

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS received by the International Bureau on 21 July 2010 (21.06.2010)

1. A dental fluoroscopic imaging system using flat panel detectors, comprising: a housing which contains a converter material, a plate, a collector, a processing unit and a transmitter capable of reading out and transferring to a host digital images of video frame rates.

2. An intraoral flat panel detector according to claim .1 is sized to fit within a patient's mouth.

3. An extraoral flat panel detector according to claim 1. is sized to be placed outside patient's mouth.

4. A flat panel detector according to claim 1, wherein the converter includes a

semiconductor of amorphous selenium (a-se), or a material such as Nal, NaI(TI), higher- Z bismuth, germinate (BGO), BaF2, CaF2(Eu), high-purity germanium HPGe, Cesium Iodide (Csl), CsI(TI), CsI(Na), LaC13(Ce), LaBr3(Ce), LuI3, Lu2Si05, Gadolinium Oxysulphidc (GSO), Lul.8Y0.2SiO5(Ce), amorphous silicon (a-si), poly-si, metal ceramic, CdW04, CaW04, linear photodiode array (PDA), Si(Li), CdTe, CdZnTe, CZT, CdSe, CdS, Se, PbI2, PbTe, HgTe, Hgl2, ZnS, ZnTe, ZnWC4, GaP, AlSb, YAG(Ce) or Gd202S as a material to transform the low dose gamma rays or x-rays beam received from an emitter after going through the examination dental area into electrical signals or a light image consequent with the radiographed image.

5. A flat panel detector according to claim I, further comprising: a plate such as a dielectric and top electrode layers material, or aluminum, metal ceramic, glass and amorphous carbon or a photodiode array of amorphous selenium or amorphous silicon for electrical signals or light image transmission.

6. A flat panel detector according to claim 1, further comprising: a collector made of an. active matrix array or an amplified pixel detector array (APDA) of amorphous selenium or amorphous silicon thin film transistor and storage capacitor (TFT), or Electrometer Probes, a Charged Coupled Device type (CCD) such as the Electron Multiplied CCD (EMCCD) chip and the Thinned Back illuminated (BICCD) chip, an active pixel sensor Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) array or a biCMOS based on silicon-germanium-carbon (SiGe:C) technology in order to amplify and read out the electrical signals or light image.

7. A flat panel detector according to claim 1, further comprising: a processing unit and a transmitter such as an analog to digital converter unit in order to sequentially convert and sequentially transfer digital images.

8. A flat panel detector according to claim 1, further comprising: a host computer and software which can acquire, process, transform, record, freeze and enhance 2D and 3D images of video frame rates ranging from 1 to 100 fps immediately as they occur.

9. A method of producing dental fluoroscopy wherein the flat panel detector receives and processes the low dose gamma rays or x-rays beam from an emitter after going through the examination dental area into electrical signals or a light image consequent with the radiographed image.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said emitter operating with direct current.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, comprising said emitter utilizing a focal spot size within, the range from 0.005 to 0.8 mm.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9, comprising operating said emitter with a target angle range from 0 to 30 degrees.

13. The method as claimed in claim 9, comprising operating said emitter allowing an x- ray beam with a continuous rate from 1 to 50 ms or with a pulse width range from 1 to 100 pulses/sec.

14. A method of producing 2D and 3 D dental fluoroscopy.

15. A method according to claim 16, of producing 2D dental fluoroscopy wherein said method utilizes a single emitter and a single extraoral flat panel detector positioned parallel facing each other and attached to a U-arm configuration.

16. A method according to claim 16, of producing 3D dental fluoroscopy wherein said method utilizes two emitters and two extraoral flat panel detectors attached to an Square- arm facing each other in a cross approach and emitting x-rays beams which intercepts in a perpendicular point.

Statement under Article 19(1)

The converter material 'Kodak Lanex' has been delete d from claim 4 in view of the disclosures of the Citations in the International Search Report and in the Written. Opinion; in particular, citation to Feldman (US 6,543,936 B2) on Fig 3; col 4, In 66 to col 5, In.52.

The 'fiber optic' approach has been deleted from claim 5 in view of the disclosures of the Citations in the International Search Report and in the Written Opinion; in particular, citation to Feldman (US 6,543,936 B2) on Fig 3; col 4, In 66 to col 5, In 52.

The 'immediately as they occur' approach has been added to claim 8 in view of the disclosures of the Citations in the International Search Report and in the Written Opinion; in particular, citation to Panstar (US 2008/0063139 A1 ) on Figs 6a and 6b; paras [0049] - [0051].

Claim 13 has been cancelled in view of the disclosures of the Citations in the

International Search Report and in the Written Opinion; in particular, citation to Feldman (US 6,543,936 B2) on Fig 3; col 4, In 45-49.

Claim 14 has been cancelled in view of the disclosures of the Citations in the

International Search Report and in. the Written Opinion; in particular, citation to Feldman (US 6,543,936 B2) on Fig 3; col 4, In 45-49 and on Fig 3; col 4, In 66 to col 5, In 3.

The C-arm approach has been amended in claim 17 in view of the disclosures of the Citations in the International Search Report and in the Written Opinion; in particular, citation to Virta (US 6,466,641 B1) on Fig 9; col 4, In 36-40.

The O-arm approach has been amended in claim 18 in view of the disclosures of the Citations in the International Search Report and in the Written Opinion; in particular, citation to Janes (US 2005/0020902 A1 ) on Fig 3; para [0028].

Applicant maintains that the amendments are fully supported by the disclosure of the subject International application as filed and do not raise any impact of new matter.

Applicant therefore respectfully requests that the IPEA Authorized Officer enter the Amendments,