Are you an open systems candidate?

If you can answer "yes" to the three questions below, then open architecture CAD/CAM is your best choice.

Determination of whether a lab should pursue open system architecture is a function of CAD/CAM knowledge, preparedness to adopt some level of integrator responsibility, and risk preparedness.


KNOWLEDGE

Do you have suitable integrator skills? This requires either learning, or recruiting, or partnering with an experienced integrator in the dental domain. These skills should include;
• Familiarity with computer systems, network domains, file types (specifically 3D data) and use of application programs.
• An understanding of scanning, Computer Aided Design (CAD), and manufacturing techniques such as NC programming and milling, or rapid prototyping (additive manufacture).
• Ability to define required technical specifications and interfaces, and test those specifications in a production application.
• Shop-floor performance tracking and problem resolution.

PREPAREDNESS

Do you have the desire to become involved in the aforementioned knowledge topics for the benefit of the business, and be fault-tolerant to early implementation issues?
"Rome wasn't built in a day" is a term which comes to mind. Success typically will take more work than the easy route of buying into a closed system.

RISK PREPAREDNESS

Do you embrace the risks that are inherently a part of putting together an open-architecture system?
With thorough research, and adequate purchase specifications, buying open system components is low risk. Without thorough research, it can be a very expensive proposition. If you are prepared to write-off the occasional error, you are a much better candidate. If you are strongly risk averse - and like "cookie-cutter" solutions, then this is not the environment.

- Mervyn Rudgley

3M™ ESPE™ Lava™ Chairside Oral Scanner (C.O.S.).

3D Systems Corporation, a leading provider of 3-D Modeling, Rapid Prototyping and Rapid Manufacturing solutions, announced that 3M has selected 3D Systems’ Viper™ Pro SLA® technology for the digital production of dental models. This Rapid Manufacturing platform will seamlessly integrate with the soon-to-be-released 3M™ ESPE™ Lava™ Chairside Oral Scanner (C.O.S.).

Under an engineering development agreement, 3D Systems is co-developing a proprietary Rapid Manufacturing methodology for the production of accurate, durable models of individual teeth and arches with crisp resolution that combines the 3M ESPE Chairside Oral Scanning technology with the Viper™ Pro SLA® System and a new proprietary Accura® SL Material. Selected by 3M for its accuracy, repeatability, detail and production capacity, the manufacturing capable Viper™ Pro SLA® System converts proprietary materials and composites into solid cross-sections, layer by layer, until three-dimensional models are built.

Additionally, 3D Systems and 3M ESPE developed a proprietary new material specifically for this high-volume, high-resolution application. The new Accura® Material exhibits high detail, higher durability and offers superior resolution and precision. 3M ESPE will introduce the Lava™ C.O.S. to dentists in North America and Europe in 2008. The Lava™ C.O.S. will provide an alternative to the traditional dental impression process and enable the high-speed 3-D motion capture of tooth anatomy used to create PFM and all-ceramic crowns and bridges manufactured by dental labs

BioCAD - The Red Eagle Landed

Press Release: September 7, 2007 - Dentistry is in full revolution, billions are spent each year. BioCad took the digital dental CAD/CAM initiative. The Québécois Company in less than seven years became the most advanced research center and production of prostheses and dental implants in North America.
Today, BioCad inaugurates new buildings blazing in the technological Park of Quebec. A masonry of 12,000 square feet built at the cost of $5 million and equipped with the best robot-like tools of the planet. Distinguished guests from every continent ventured to Quebec for the inauguration of BioCad for lectures by Dr. Ady Palti (Baden-Baden, Germany), president of the International Congress of Oral Implantology (ICOI) and Jean Robichaud, Master Dental Technician and founder of BioCad.




Gabriel Robichaud, Projects Director, in front of the new BioCad world corporate building.









Jean Robichaud, a Master Dental Technician, founded BioCad with his sons Bernard and Gabriel. In the mid nineties, realizing that automation is the means of accelerating any processes, Jean placed himself ahead of curve to automate the manufacture of prostheses and implants.

At the end of seven years, BioCad “robotized not only the manufacturing process of the dental prostheses, but its team of engineers conceived ImplantCad the most sophisticated bar, abutments and crown & bridge CAD/CAM provided with a 3D scanner which, in less than 10 minutes, can scan a 3D image of the patient dentitions by utilizing impression provided by the dentist. In itself, it is revolutionary”, continues Mr. Robichaud, “Because up to now it was done manually. However, due to the shortage of dental lab technicians, our solution makes it possible to save time, money, while ensuring a precision of the implants within a micron” (a measurement of tens of time smaller than a hair). Thus, with a simple click of mouse, a dental lab technician anywhere in the world can transmit a 3D image to BioCad and in less than one day BioCad will mass customize production of the prostheses, bars or custom abutments.

According to Gabriel Robichaud, “BioCad clients are the dental laboratories. A market which in 10 years has expanded where consumers are more educated and concerned with dental esthetics.”
Today, bars, customized abutments and prostheses are in great demand at the BioCad milling center fully equipped with milling Swiss and German equipment. “These titanium monobloc frameworks, or ImplantCad bars, are highly accurate because they are CAD/CAM generated and seamless since there is no welding of segments”, specifies Mr. Robichaud.
BioCad aims to be the world implantology leader. “ BioCad has already a number of agreements, but it is only tip of the iceberg, affirms Gabriel Robichaud, since BioCad will continue its worldwide renowned implantology research and the development.”
BioCad ImplantCad, the most comprehensive dental CAD/CAM with bar design, custom abutments, coping, and crown & bridge design to launched September 7th 2007. The custom abutment module is due to be released October 2007 for Canada and the full product is geared to be launched 1st Quarter of 2008 for the USA to coincide with Lab Day at the Chicago Mid-Winter.
For Additional information please visit www.biocad.us, e-mail implantcad@biocad.us or call 1-888-683-8435

Eli's aka the maven brain

"Eli's aka maven brain is like a computer....he has this constant picture of a desk top floating around in his head...all the files/projects are in their little folders some open some minimized in case he gets that one phone call....at times they are all open at once....no...he doesn't crash...he very carefully closes the ones that are important and begins to calculate the urgent....then all of the sudden something new comes in as a pop up....for a minute he scrambles to find the words...he takes a breath...screen saver...breath...then the information starts coming out....knowledge beyond belief...it becomes one of the moments when you are just amazed by what the computer/I mean brain /I mean amazing what he knows and can do....he never seems to be overloaded he just reboots and in seconds he is magically on once again...."

By Robin

Ten Trade Show Exhibit Best Practices

Is now a good time to spend on a trade show exhibit? Regardless of the economic conditions or competitive landscape, there are many tactics your small business can use to ensure a winning trade show. Your 10 best trade show exhibit tactics:

Ten Trade Show Exhibit Best Practices

Pick an offbeat show. Sometimes an unrelated show to your target market can be the best exposure opportunity. Choose unrelated shows, and stand out, making sure the demographics are correct.

Avoid trade show company hype. Companies running the show may over-hype their event. Talk to the businesses who have attended several trade shows.
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Use this information to guide your trade show exhibit attendance decision.


Never exhibit at a new trade show. New trade shows are untested venues. Small businesses have limited time and money to experiment on unknowns. Save your cash for the regular, proven shows in your industry.


Focus on quality. Invest in shows that reach the key decision-makers of your target market.


Create a buzz. Months prior to the trade show, spend time informing existing clients and your market of the upcoming show. Use the show as a platform for a new product or service launch.


Be an attendee-not an exhibitor. If the budget is tight this year, don't spend on trade show exhibits. Capitalize on the trade show by being a speaker or a panel expert. This will add credibility to your business and attract potential leads.


Partner with the trade show`s management team. Good trade show organizers will want your business to have success and come back next year. Contact the management team for help with developing an appealing booth, staff scheduling, and marketing campaigning prior to the show kick-off.


Train your trade show team. Trade shows are unlike other sales environments. Limited time and attention of attendees requires quick qualifying, and lead generating tactics. Make sure your staff is prepared and has a clear goal for each day.


Call them while they're hot. Sales staff frequently make the mistake of contacting trade show leads, months after the show. Make sure your sales staff have extra time and incentive to follow-up with all leads within weeks of your trade show exhibit.


Make your business newsworthy. Use drama and flair to have your small business stand above the competition.

Trade shows still continue to be big business for all businesses. According to The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), business-to-business spending for trade shows is third to advertising and promotion. In a world of websites, emails, and voice mails, trade shows offer one of the true opportunities to build relationships with face to face contact. Something every business can use a little more of.

Defining NDT

Also known as Non Destructive Evaluation (NDE), NDT refers to the method of examining materials and components in order to identify and quantify defects and degradations in their material properties before they result in failure. The aim of NDT is to ensure the safe utilization of engineering structures, as well as to ensure product quality and performance upon production. To put it simply, NDT encompasses techniques to evaluate defects in objects without having to physically break them up to test them. This is achieved through a number of non-invasive measurement techniques that draw their origin from areas as diverse as medicine, geophysical prospecting, sonar and radar.

NDT inspection techniques are essential tools toward ensuring quality assurance in a host of applications. These techniques are required right from product or material development stage, through manufacture and inspection at final application level. Applications for NDT range from inspection of aircrafts, automobiles, railway, foundry applications, to defense, nuclear power plants, oil pipelines and rigs. NDT is also essential in inspection of welds and detection of cracks, flaws and defects at surface and subsurface levels. Inspection of such flaws and defects is paramount as avoidance or inadequate NDT inspection could potentially end in catastrophic consequences. These could range from wastage of material, time and other resources to even endangering safety of human lives and the environment.

The use of NDT is thus taking on greater significance in today's market scenario due to the following reasons:
• Increasing concern on impact of products and services on the safety of human lives and the environment;
• Stringent regulatory edicts and standards governing quality of materials, products and services;
• Competitive market conditions forcing end-user organizations to identify means to optimize costs; and,
Growing focus on quality in emerging Asia Pacific and East European markets to cater to needs of domestic and international demand.

Over the years, the emphasis of NDT has moved from being a qualitative method aimed only for defect identification, towards a more quantitative tool. Most of the leading NDT techniques typically are labor intensive in nature and thus depend considerably upon the skill levels of technicians performing inspection. The move toward quantitative NDT has meant increasing statistical trending for identifying residual life of assets as well as reduction in defects on the production line. This growing importance toward the quantitative analysis has necessitated the effective capture, storage, analysis and reporting of NDT test results, thus impacting the evolution of the various NDT product types. Before understanding more about the product and technology trends in this market, let us understand the various NDT techniques that have governed the development of these equipment.

NDT Techniques

There are a number of NDT techniques that have been developed over the years. As mentioned earlier, most of these techniques trace their origin to non-invasive measurement methodologies. As is the case in other industries, each of these techniques is constantly evolving to match the needs of the developing end-user markets. Each technique has its set of benefits, as well as limitations, and the most suitable technique to be used depends upon the physical property of the material to be tested. Chart 1.1 provides a view of the leading NDT techniques used in the NDT market.



Ultrasonic Inspection

The Ultrasonic inspection process involves transmission of sound waves of short wavelength at high frequencies in order to identify flaws and/or measure the thickness of materials. An ultrasonic instrument works with the principle of sending a pulsed beam of high-ultrasound from a handheld transducer, which is placed upon the surface of the object being tested (also known as specimen). The sound waves (or echo) from the pulse that returns to the transducer is displayed upon the screen of the Ultrasonic equipment, presenting the amplitude of the pulse and the duration taken for return to the transducer. By measuring this sound that bounces back through the thickness of the specimen, a trained operator can identify defects as well as calculate the flaw-size, distance and reflectivity.

Surface Inspection

As the name suggests, surface inspection refers to the method of inspecting the surface or near-surface of materials or the object, using inspection techniques towards identifying flaws, cracks and other defects. Surface inspection can be basically classified as:
• Liquid penetrant Inspection (LPI) - Also known as dye penetrant inspection, this method aids in revealing surface breaking flaws by bleeding out of a colored or fluorescent dye from the flaw. LPI works on the principal of capillary action, and involves stages such as cleaning the surface to be inspected, application of penetrant, clearing out excess penetrant and application of developer to display defects through regular white light, or ultraviolet black light for fluorescent penetrants.
• Magnetic particle inspection (MPI) - This is used in inspection of ferromagnetic materials such as steel and iron. This is based on the principle that magnetic lines of force (flux) would get distorted by the presence of a flaw and thus reveal its presence. MPI involves application of fine iron particles to the area under examination, and measuring the variations once a magnetic field is applied.

Eddy Current Testing

Eddy current test is an electromagnetic technique primarily performed on conductive materials. It can be used for identifying cracks, as well as rapidly sorting small components for flaws, size and/or material variations. This technique works with the principal of bringing an energized coil near the surface of a metal component to generate eddy currents into the specimen. The currents develop magnetic field that typically opposes that of the original magnetic field, and the presence of flaws or variations affects the impedance in the coil. Measuring this change and displaying it aids in identifying the nature of the flaw or material condition.

Visual Inspection

At its most basic level Visual inspection can be performed by the naked eye of the operator. Visual inspection refers to the examination of surfaces using direct viewing or low magnification techniques. A number of products such as light sources and video display units such as borescopes and videoscopes are used toward inspecting an object or surface visually. These equipment are further affixed to a processing unit where the images can be processed using a software and interpreted accordingly. The visual inspection process is particularly of use in inspection of surfaces with complex geometries by using flexible borescopes or videoscopes.

Radiography

Radiography involves the process where radioactive rays are directed at the object to be inspected, to pass through it and the resulting image is captured on a film. This film is in-turn processed and image displayed as a sequence of grey shades between black and white. Radiography encompasses sources such as X-rays, Gamma rays as well as newer methods such as real time radiography, computed radiography (CR) and computed tomography (CT). Considering the radioactive nature of this technique, special protective care has to be taken by the technician taking the radiography measurements to avoid exposure and the resultant harmful side effects.

Voxels, volume rendering and volume graphics

Volume rendering, or more generally spoken volume graphics, is a sub-specialty of 3D computer graphics which is concerned with the discrete representation and visualization of objects represented as sampled data in three or more dimensions. A volume/voxel data set is a three-dimensional array of voxels. The term voxel is used to characterize a volume element; it is a generalization of the notion of pixel that stands for a picture element.




Medical CT/NMR scanners are a typical and widely known source of voxel data.


Volume graphics or volume rendering has inherent advantages for applications needing visualization of irregular objects, or where the interior structure is important, or where high level of details and realism is essential - e.g., representations of the human body. Volume graphics is also the choice for CGI manufacturers needing true physics based models of real world phenomena.

While todays widely used 3D computer graphics uses polygonal meshes to represent an object by its surface, only volume graphics uses voxels - 3D or volumetric pixels - as basic element to represent not only the surface but also the entire inner of an object.

Volume graphics visualization today is superior to polygon based 3D graphics in means of image quality and performance when highly complex objects with finest details have to be visualized.


A volume data set is built up from voxels on a regular 3D grid.

Envisiontec Vanquish FC

EnvisionTEC is an established name in the rapid prototyping market. Since the launch of their initial product offering, the Perfactory, envisionTEC has seen a great deal of success and rapid adoption amongst the traditional stamping ground of rapid prototyping . Not only for design, engineering and manufacturing, envisionTEC has an infiltration into the jewelry , bio-medical modeling and dental sectors. Based on the Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology from Texas Instruments, the Perfactory differs from traditional photo-curable resin-based processes in that it's based on consumer-led technology typically used in movie theaters projectors or High definition televisions.

Essentially, where traditional SLA systems use expensive lasers to cure resin layer by layer, the Perfactory uses a series of projected bitmaps (photo images) to cure resin where needed. This is done repeatively until the movie of images is finished. This gives EnvisionTEC several advantages. The build speed achieved is particularly impressive, but perhaps more important advantage is the on-going and running costs of the machine. They are much lower than in a typical laser-based system (simply because there's no laser). Also, through the manipulation of light, envisionTEC maximizes the potential of the system by adjusting how the light is handled using lens.

As a result, the initial offering saw two variants of the same core machine, the Perfactory Standard and the Mini. The Perfactory Standard machine offers the user the ability to choose between different zoom levels and focal areas. This meant that the same machine could either build larger volume parts at slightly lower resolution (though we're still talking in the order of 0.93mm) or opt to build and focus on a slightly smaller area but achieve much higher resolutions (typically 0.32mm).
Another big advantage is that because the system is based on technology from the consumer realm, the organization could piggy back on the advances made by Texas instruments without incurring the research and development costs typically associated with such advanced technology. Essentially, as TI improves DLP, EnvisionTEC can then take those enhancements and apply them to their products (relatively easily). And this is exactly what's happened of late.

So let's take a look at what Envisiontec Vanquish FC can do. The Vanquish FC a large step up from the appliance-like nature of the Perfactory. The current unit is similar in terms of colour scheme (a rather fetching grey and orange combination) but looks much more similar to traditional SLA machines in terms of both size and portability (or lack thereof). Standing on a footprint of around a meter square and rising to about head height (depending on your stature obviously) the machine currently looks far more industrial than its predecessor. But what's really important is what it does and how it does it, so let's takes a look inside the box.
The Vanquish FC (the FC stands for Flash Cure by the way) is based on the same core technology and builds process found in the other Envisiontec products, but with one key difference. The Perfactory projects the photo image from below the build platform through a shallow vat of resin - which means the models are built upside down. Conversely, due to the size of models (and their associated weight) it can produce the Vanquish FC builds in a more traditional method. The photo image is projected from above, through a membrane onto a build platform which lowers into a much deeper vat of resin. It's this membrane that's key to the whole process. As the sections are built up, the model moves down into the vat to a predefined layer thickness. The transparent flexible membrane creates the same capillary action as you'd find in the Perfactory to add the next of 0.1mm layer of uncured resin across the surface of the model. Rollers then moves horizontal across the top of the membrane to ensure that the layer thickness is consistent across the whole part and that any bubbles are removed, and the membrane ensures that this does not come into contact with the resin

In both the standard and high-resolution modes, the build envelope varies in X and Y between 317.5mm x 254mm and 203mm x 162.5mm for maximum and minimum zoom respectively. The Z build height remains constant at 381mm. The real difference is the feature resolution and accuracy achievable. In Standard Resolution mode, maximum zoom gives you feature resolution (the smallest buildable feature) of between 0.246mm and 0.157mm depending on the zoom factor with accuracy between ±0.123mm and ±0.157mm. The High Resolution mode allows you to build down smallest feature resolutions between 0.144mm and 0.093mm with an accuracy varying between ±0.072mm and ±0.046mm. The other difference between the two modes is that build speed drops slightly from the maximum of 25mm per hour for the Standard Resolution mode to 19mm per hour when you're building in High Resolution mode.
Post processing of parts is minimal. The models come off the machine in a near fully cured state, and only really need post curing if you're looking to optimize mechanical strength (which might be advisable if you're looking for functional snap fits and the like). Other than that, models can be finished, painting, sanded, tapped etc as required without adverse effects on the part's structure.

Cost

The capital cost for the Vanquish FC is $170,000.00. In terms of on-going costs, a maintenance contract is available from EnvisionTEC which provides full coverage during a yearly period for approx. $15,900.00 per year. Consumables in the system are quite clear-cut. The projector unit is pretty much 'bullet proof' (again, a benefit of the consumer technology), but the projector bulb does need replacing every 1,000-1,500 hours (which equates to around 2-3 months of extensive use) and these costs $1,500.00 for a 2 pack to replace.

As you might imagine, resin is also a consumable and this is priced exactly the same as the Perfactory system, with each resin pack (which provides 1 Kilogram of material) costing around the $225.00. There are currently three material offerings across the entire EnvisionTEC range. The standard methacrylate is the dark orange material you often see associated with the machine. The other is a newer resin that's been requested by many of the customers in the jeweler market and dental market, which is directly castable or pressable. This should also see adoption by those within the design and engineering community for pattern making and investment purposes. A flesh colored material is also available for the biomedical device market. Other consumables are negligible, but the membrane that separates the build layer from the resin is replaceable and has a working life of around 1,000 hours (obviously depending on usage) and they cost $1200.00 to replace. Other than that, the system is free from the other types of maintenance costs traditionally associated with resin-based systems.

In conclusion

When we first looked at the Perfactory machine, it was pretty clear that the real advantage to the user came from the fact that it was based on consumer technology. This means that advances made in the mainstream electronics market by Texas Instruments could be readily and rapidly applied to the prototyping and direct manufacturing users of the EnvisionTEC machines. Both the commercialization of Vanquish FC machine and the delivery of the ERM module mean new customers and existing adopters are seeing this potential realized. For those looking to bring prototyping or direct manufacturing (as some customers are already doing with the Perfactory machines) technology in-house, there is now a range of EnvisionTEC products that give you a choice between opting for a small form factor machine or much larger build envelope for the heavier user. Whichever you plump for, the good news is that running costs are a great deal lower than many traditional, laser-based systems, but still retain the accuracy and build speed you need to ensure that the most is made of your investment.

In short, the Vanquish FC sees the Perfactory process reapplied to a much larger form factor and for those looking to maximize their productivity it is a much more appealing solution to an increasingly common problem. Ongoing costs associated with rapid prototyping technologies are a massive concern for many with their own facilities in house, but the good news is that EnvisionTEC has developed a machine that combines the large build volumes and increased productivity required by many within the industry with the low-maintenance and low running costs associated with their earlier products.

iPhone Used for Viewing Medical Images - A significant step forward...

iPhone Used for Viewing Medical Images - A significant step forward...


Enlarge pictureThe applications that Apple includes with the iPhone are very general purpose and equally useful to everyone. When Jobs announced that development for the iPhone would be possible through the browser via Web 2.0 there was a silent uproar and a lot of grumbling that this is not a real development environment and that these are not real applications. Despite all this, each and every day, more and more applications that nobody could have predicted make their way to the device.

Such is the case of Heart Imaging Technologies (HeartIT) that has announced that its medical imaging can be viewed on the iPhone. Traditionally, viewing medial images required dedicated workstations costing tens of thousands of dollars, which in turn are connected to proprietary picture archiving communications and storage (PACS) systems costing millions of dollars more. In order to view medical images, physicians had to literally drive or walk to one of these workstations. Today all that is a thing of the past.

Using the iPhone, physicians can simply click on a web link sent via email by one of their colleagues, enter their password, and, for example, instantly view movies of a patient’s beating heart halfway around the world. They can even put their colleagues on speakerphone and carry on a medical consultation while simultaneously browsing through the imaging results.

The iPhone offers a revolutionary new way of interacting both with the information and other people. While not of interest to the general public, innovative uses such as these have a big impact in saving lives. The iPhone has been presented and treated as a consumer device by the public at large, but forward thinking applications of technology such as this are constantly moving the device further along and showing that it can be much more. From healthcare to business mobility and entertainment, the potential of the iPhone is tremendous.

WebPAX VS by HeartIT™

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for yourself, referring physicians, and your patients without having to pay for an entire PACS.

With WebPAX VS, send your DICOM data to HeartIT over a secure HIPAA compliant connection, and present your images on a website capable of being viewed on any computer! HeartIT stores your image data on equipment at a remote storage facility owned and maintained by HeartIT. No additional hardware, software, or web clients required to see your medical images online.










Advantages of WebPAX VS?
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iPhone Browses Diagnostic Heart Images

Durham, NC, July, 16 2007

Heart Imaging Technologies (HeartIT) announced today that medical images can be viewed on Apple’s new iPhone. (See examples at http://www.heartit.com.) Physicians can simply click on a web link sent via email by one of their colleagues, enter their password, and, for example, instantly view movies of a patient’s beating heart halfway around the world. They can even put their colleagues on speakerphone and carry on a medical consultation while simultaneously browsing through the imaging results.

Viewing medical images traditionally requires dedicated workstations costing tens of thousands of dollars, which in turn are connected to proprietary picture archiving communications and storage (PACS) systems costing millions of dollars more. In order to view medical images, physicians must literally drive or walk to one of these workstations. Recent advances in World Wide Web browser technologies and the web sites that utilize their rich features, collectively referred to as Web 2.0, are challenging these expensive and cumbersome proprietary approaches.

Medical images displayed in a web browser have traditionally been of lower quality and therefore had limited diagnostic utility. This technology is the first to provide physicians with the ability to drill-down and view medical images, including movies, on a hand-held device.

“Patient privacy is obviously a critically-important issue on the internet,” said Brent Reed, HeartIT’s Director of Software Development. “Fortunately, medical privacy concerns can be addressed using the same encryption technologies employed by online banking and credit card transactions.”

Heart Imaging Technologies' headquarters are located near North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. Formed in 2000, HeartIT provides web-based medical image management services and computing systems to regional health care systems, large hospitals and private clinics as well as drug and device companies sponsoring multi-center clinical trials. Worldwide, HeartIT’s systems currently provide secure web browser access to over 50 million medical images.

iPhone Running Electronic Medical Records!

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) compatible with the infamous iPhone. Everything from office notes to prescriptions, x-rays to echos can be viewed in all their multi-touch screen glory on the iPhone. Not to worry, this sexy little program isn't just for hip, trendy physicians - soon even patients will be able to access their medical records while downloading songs from iTunes.

Imagine having access to your patient accounts in the palm of your hand. Take it a step further and put the best, most elegant user interface on it, surrounded by beauty and a full blown web experience and you have EMR on the iPhone. Already have an iPhone? Take it for a spin. Open Safari up on your iPhone and prepare to be blown away. Don't say we didn't warn you! :)

Applaud the effort, but pretty much any standards-based web UI that doesn't use Flash (at the moment) will work on the iPhone. That doesn't make it an "iPhone Application". It means that the iPhone is a capable web browser and should work with sites similar to how any small laptop or computer would.

iPhone apps are just webapps, but there is a clear and obvious difference between one that is just another website that happens to work on the iPhone and one that was specifically designed for small-screen/touch-based input+slow EDGE speeds. I vastly prefer viewing the latter on my iPhone because I don't have to scroll and zoom all the time to see the entire page, and it loads in a couple seconds and not in one minute.

I’ve Got You Under My Skin (New Version)

Articles and meetings have been discussing digital radiography ad nauseum, present company included. There is a thirst for knowledge on the basics of this technology, implementation, return on investment, and more. Many of the current users, however, are looking for the next level. One area of interest is implant planning. Several of the digital radiography companies now are including a database with a variety of implant designs in their software. If properly calibrated, the dentist can overlay the image of the selected implant in the edentulous space, and perhaps predict which one will be the best fit. This is, at best, a simple schematic since there is no real way to look at the bone thickness and density, or the precise buccal to lingual location of nerve canals or bone concavities from a two-dimensional picture. A Cone Beam Volumetric Computed Tomography (CBVCT) scan or MRI would certainly be of great value. But once the information is in the dentist’s hands, how could that be put into practical use? I have mentioned previously in this column that there are now in-office units that can perform these scans. Imaging Sciences International (i-Cat), J. Morita (Accuitomo), AFP Imaging/QR s.r.l (NewTom 3G and VG), Planmeca (ProMax 3D), Sirona (XG Galileos 3D), TeraRecon (PreXion 3D), Hitachi Medical Systems (MercuRay), Imtec Imaging (ILUMA), E-woo (Picasso) and Soredex (Scanora 3D) are examples. Still, once the practitioner has these images, they have to be interpreted properly to aid in the treatment planning of procedures.


Enter the world of rapid prototyping and stereolithography. These are common terms in other industries that are involved in design-and-build products. Small machine parts and rocket engines are prototyped with these new computerized units. Imagine an engineer developing a new cellular phone case. The design can be easily done with CAD programs. But, until recently, these specifications had to be sent to a special firm that could read the specs and build the prototype at a high cost. There are now “three-dimensional printers” that will take the program and - with the push of a button - quickly build the case out of layers of plastic, metal filings, cornstarch, or other inexpensive materials. The case could be looked at, handled, and - if changes are necessary - reprogrammed and remade for a few dollars in a short period of time. Web sites like 3DSystems.com, Envisiontec.com, stratasys.com or zcorp.com can give you some insight into these units.

Taking this information into our arena is seemingly a simple transition. A patient who is going to receive implants will have a set of study models taken. A diagnostic waxup is done to see where the teeth can be ideally placed. At this point, a lab can fabricate an appliance with radiopaque points, cylinders, or other markers that the patient will wear during the radiographic scan. This helps to locate the future position of the teeth. Once the scan is done, new dental 3D software can use the database of implant sizes and shapes, and superimpose them on the scan in real dimensions - unlike the two-dimensional simulations mentioned previously.


Once the implants are positioned, the CAD system can build a template with guide holes that fit right over the bone, based on the 3D scan. The software also has told us what the length of the implant will be. Thus, self-limiting drills and the implants can be sent to the dentist along with this surgical stent. All the operator has to do is put the correct size drill through the guide hole, and drop it to the predetermined, self-limited length. The implant will easily follow. The dentist can purchase the software, do the planning, and transmit the images for fabrication, or the entire process also can be handled by the software/implant company, or by a lab that specializes in this technique. Look at some examples at nobelguide (Medicim- Oralim), simplant.com, implant3d.com, ident-surgical.com, cadimplant.com, easyguide, or implantlogic.com. I spent some time learning from Anton Voitik at , Dental Arts Laboratories, Inc. a full-service dental lab in Peoria, Illinois. For a reasonable fee, the lab handles the complete process from the study models to the surgical stent. This permits the dentist to take advantage of the technology without having to learn all of the details. The next logical step is to remove the dentist from the picture and have a robotic system handle everything - the idea of the Israeli-based Tactile Technologies Version 1 and Version 2 is under development (www.implantdirect.com).


I must thank Eliezer Ganon from Columbus, Ohio, for helping me with some of the research on this exciting new arena. Eli has conducted a comprehensive study of all available (and some future) products, and has become a terrific resource for dental technology information. Visit his Web site at designtechnologygizmo.com. I hope to give you a more comprehensive look at this arena at a future time.


Dr. Paul Feuerstein installed one of dentistry’s first computers in 1978. For more than 20 years, he has taught technology courses. He is a mainstay at technology sessions, including annual appearances at the Yankee Dental Congress, and he is an ADA Seminar series speaker. A general practitioner in North Billerica, Mass., since 1973, Dr. Feuerstein maintains a Web site (www.computersindentistry.com) and can be reached by e-mail at drpaul@computersindentistry.com.

Dental CAD CAM July 2007

One thing is crystal clear: the world of digital technology is moving full speed ahead and it’s quickly changing the way laboratories operate and the services they offer, and the manufacturers are responding to the needs of the marketplace.

For instance, the price of a complete Dental CAD/CAM system can be cost prohibitive to many laboratory owners—some come with a $200,000 price tag—but more and more manufacturers are now offering stand-alone scanners, a less expensive alternative that allows the laboratory to buy only the scanner to scan and design its own restorations and then send the data off-site for fabrication.

Another example is the growing availability of CAD-generated implant abutments. An alternative to stock or laboratory-fabricated cast custom abutments, manufacturers tout this service as more economical, less labor intensive and more precise than traditional methods. Three manufacturers Atlantis Components, Nobel Biocare and U-Best Dental Technology—currently offer CAD-generated implant abutments and three more— 3M, Kavo and BioCAD—plan to launch the service this year. Although each manufacturer’s service works a bit differently, in general, the laboratory sends either a traditional or scanned model to the company, which mills the abutment out of zirconia or titanium then returns it to the laboratory.


HOT…BioCAD based out of Quebec Canada- The most comprehensive dental CAD/CAM with bar design, custom abutments, coping, crown and bridge design to be launch in September of 2007. The custom abutment module is due to be released October 2007 for Canada and January 2008 for the USA. BioCAD designed BEGO Medical GmbH CAD/CAM.

The concept of “open” systems STL —meaning digital data can be read by any manufacturer’s milling or rapid prototyping unit—was a recurring topic of the meeting. Laboratory owners are intrigued by this concept because it gives them more versatility. There are several open systems of the InVision® DP 3-D printer from 3D Systems bundled with 3Shape DentalDesigner CAD, the imagen™ system bundled with Evirsa/Cynovad CAD or 3Shape DentalDesigner CAD, LaserDenta 5 Axis Laser Scanner bundled with Evirsa/Cynovad CAD, Evisiontech DCP Printer, Objet Eden 3D Printer, Solidscape Benchtop T66 3D Printer, Stratasys, Inc Dimension 3D Printer, Geomagic Piano CAD/CAM and dental wings cad with 5 axis scanner. Additionally, 3D Systems’s V-Flash™ Desktop Modeler price tag of $9,900.00 and Desktop Factory 125ci price tag of $4,995.00 3D printing systems to be launched later this year (2007). Digital dental lab M-4D milling unit with DentMill from Delcam what an impressive milling unit for $60,000.00.

Another hot topic is digital impressions. This area of digital technology continues to generate excitement in the laboratory community. Digital impressions are coming to the forefront and initially there will be a hybrid of both traditional and digital impressions. How fast is it going to happen? There’s high interest from dentists, so probably faster than we think, and it can have a very positive effect on the C&B&I process in the laboratory. In 2006, 3M purchased Brontes Technologies, a developer of proprietary 3-D intraoral imaging technology 3M ESPE ISS.

Cadent iTero™ here’s how the system works: Once the digital impression is captured, it is reviewed on screen for accuracy and the margin is identified. Then it is emailed to Cadent’s manufacturing facility for milling into the physical model. That model is then sent to the laboratory for restoration fabrication.

Other 3D intra oral digital impression companies such as Hint-El, Dentsys 3D, SensRay (Dentsply and Glidewell Labs) and others are racing in that arena...

imagen™ system uses the 3D printing process (a type of rapid prototyping) invented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the early 90s. Instead of milling down a block of material, the system creates a precious metal coping by adding powdered metal in layers and bonding them together (the process only uses the material it needs so there’s no waste as there is with milling). Once complete, the coping is sintered, then prepared for final porcelain as usual. The system can fabricate 100 single units a day and is an example of an open system—it can accept scanned data from a variety of manufacturers’ devices.

With this system, laboratories have two options: they can rent the complete system for $2,500 per month (which decreases on a sliding scale based on productivity); the print fee per unit is $10, the material cost is $30 per gram of finished product and the average price for an anterior unit is $28. Or, a lab can rent the scanner only and send the data to the imagen production center for fabrication; an anterior costs $50 and a posterior costs $65; both fees include metal finishing and one-way shipping.

The company also noted the exciting future potential of this technology: one day it will be used to produce full ceramic restorations, including zirconia, that have variable color and translucency built throughout the material because you will be able to selectively color and harden sections of the buildup during the layering process.

InVision® DP (Dental Professional) 3-D printer. 3D Systems Invision DP this rapid prototyping unit that uses scanned data to fabricate individual copings and up to 16-unit bridges in a light-cured resin. The user scans a model, designs a virtual waxup, then sends the data to the Invision DP printer that “prints” the waxup in layers; it is then ready to be cast or pressed with conventional techniques. Scanning and design take about two minutes, and the unit can print 20 units in about three hours and up to 150 in about five hours. In addition to outputting digital data to its own wax printer, the InVision DP scanner is another example of an open system—it can export data to any other open system. A different version of 3D Systems’ printer was formerly available through Cynovad as part of the Neo; this new version just completed beta testing and is now ready for sale. The scanner and design software cost $39,000 and the printer costs $80,000. The company is working on 3Shape Dental Designer software that creates a full crown waxup.

HOT … Envisiontech Dental Component Printer (DCP) which employs Digital Light Projection technology developed by Texas Instrument. The Perfactory DCP uses visible light from regular projection bulb to cure resins which are both biocompatible and can be used for burn out in a lost wax casting process. The Perfactory DCP is capable of producing anything from wax up crowns, caps, and surgical drill guides, to removable dental partials. Single or multiple parts can be produced in a little as 60 minutes from a 3D Solid Model data with less than 25 microns accuracy in Z direction. With a running operational costs as little as a $1 per hour, the average cost per crown is $0.10. There are two configurations available for the Perfactory DCP. The Perfactory Desktop at the cost of $40,000.00 can produce 20 crowns or copings in two hours for small to medium dental labs while the Perfactory Mini with ERM at the cost of $86,900.00 (or $65,900.00 without ERM) is capable of producing 60 caps or crowns for the medium to large size dental labs both with a 25 microns Z accuracy.


Prismatik CZ Clinical Zirconia™. Launched in 2006, Glidewell Laboratories’ system consists of a milling unit and software that works with a scanner made by 3Shape. “Our objective was to make a zirconia substructure at a PFM price,” said Mervyn Rudgley, an engineer Glidewell hired 2 years ago to spearhead digital manufacturing and Prismatik CZ’s development. The unit mills 12-15 units in three-and-a-half hours and the company offers three levels of partnership, including marketing materials: labs that send less than five units per day pay $59 per outsourced coping; at 5 to 25 units per day, a lab can become a remote design partner, meaning it purchases a scanner and software for $30,000, e-mails the data to Glidewell and pays $39 per unit; and at over 25 units per day, labs have the option to purchase the full system for $141,000 with an approximate per-unit cost of $15. The laboratory manufacturers its own zirconia block and, soon, its own pressable ceramic for zirconia.

Ceramill System. Amann Girrbach America’s in-house manual zirconia milling system offers an economical alternative to a digital CAD/CAM system. The Ceramill is based on the pantograph principle, or copy milling which, according to the company, “puts the material back in the hands of the technician.” To create a zirconia coping, the user applies a light-cured resin over a traditional die, attaches the resin buildup into a plastic plate and inserts it into the milling unit, side by side with a YTZP zirconia blank. The unit has two conjoined arms that hold the probe tip and the milling handpiece. The user manually traces the resin buildup with the probe tip while the other arm simultaneously mills a duplicate coping out of the zirconia block. The unit mills one coping from start to finish in 25-30 minutes for approximately $34, including labor costs. Three-unit bridges can be milled in 35-40 minutes; medium and large zirconia blocks are also available and can process a full 14-unit span. The complete system retails for $27,212 and includes the milling unit, suction device, sintering furnace, LED lamps, motion-sensored curing light, materials starter kit and two-day training course.
CeraSys. There have been several system developments in the last year. In addition to its three-axis scanner that scans one unit in seven minutes, CeraSys America’s new five-axis scanner takes two-and-a-half minutes per unit and is ideal for poor margin preps. The CeraDesign software now offers automatic connector placement and a complete pontic library. The CeraMilling unit, which initially only milled zirconia and wax, now features an all-purpose mill that the company says can “machine everything from A to zirconia” and has different cutting tools depending on which material you’re cutting. The CerasysZR material, which is 95% zirconium oxide, comes in two base colors, white and translucent; both can be stained to match any shade.

Cercon. Following the trend of manufacturers offering more affordable hardware options, Dentsply’s newest component is the Cercon Eye, a stand-alone scanner that allows laboratories to buy only an in-house scanner, then scan and send data to be milled at one of the company’s 220 milling sites. The Cercon Eye costs $13,500 and the Art software that drives the system is $7,100.

Etkon es1 system. A new version of the software, etkon visual 4 that features pontic and connector bar libraries, was launched in June of 2007. Labs can produce single crowns, inlays, onlays, Maryland bridges, and telescoping and fully contoured crowns in a new proprietary YZ material called Zerion. Additionally, EtkonUSA launched a new proprietary etkon milling machine from Germany, and additional software upgrades are in the works, including a full contour crown and bridge library as well as the ability to scan inlays using a waxup and scan function called CopyCad.

KaVo EVEREST® (Geomagic). A double scan feature and simultaneous 5-axis technology allow KaVo’s EVEREST users to mill implants, bars, slide attachments and more. The system’s implant capabilities will be broadened by an on-screen design function and a cooperation with implant provider NEOSS®, allowing EVEREST users to mill custom titanium or zirconia implant abutments for a broad range of implant brands. The company also unveils new EVEREST software architecture, based on modules by the software company, geomagic®. Coming soon: a remote scanner solution.

inLab®. Sirona Dental Systems’ new 2.9 software offers three additional features: a Manual Correction Mode allows the user to scan two different models and digitally overlap them to create a virtual matrix, a Reduction Mode allows restorations to be designed in full contour mode then reduced to accommodate the desired amount of porcelain, and a Margin Cementation Gap reduces space at the margins and allows you to profile unique fit requirements for each client. Also, various materials can now be milled using a Step Bur that has four cylindrical steps, a design that stabilizes the concentric milling action and eliminates the need to overmill; the infiniDent web-portal allows inEos and inLab users to upload files for fabrication. In the works: CAD-generated titanium and zirconium oxide implant abutments from Straumann, as well as metal frameworks.

Katana. Coming soon is a software upgrade: a dual scan technique where technicians can scan the prep and the waxup—a benefit for implant cases where virtual waxups are not ideal. Katana is manufactured by Noritake, marketed by Zahn, and distributed by Custom Milling Center (CMC).

Lava™. New from 3M ESPE in 2006, laboratories can purchase a stand-alone scanner, the $34,500 Lava Scan ST, and send the digital data to one of the nationwide authorized Lava milling centers. Lava currently fabricates single crowns and up to six-unit bridges; eight-unit bridge capability and an implant abutment service are coming this year.

Procera®. Now available from Nobel Biocare: longer-span Procera zirconia bridges (10 units up to 60mm long), and the first alumina one-piece bridge in up to four units. Procera abutments are also available for other implant systems, including Astra Tech in titanium and Camlog in zircona and titanium, and replacements for the Procera esthetic abutment kit can now be ordered using the scanner. Coming soon: the ability to scan Procera implant bridges in both titanium and zirconia using the Forte scanner.

TDS (Turbo Dent System). In the second half of 2007, the company will launch a new software module, Implant Smart, that uses CT scan technology to create a blueprint for the case in advance of the implants being placed. Implant Smart integrates the CT scan into the software and allows the dentist to select his implant of choice, review the CT scan for bone consistency and health, and then virtually place the implants. The software also allows the technician to provide clients with a complete solution: you can fabricate a surgical guide or stent for easy implant placement, the custom implant abutment in titanium or YZ material, the temporary crown, and/or the YZ /VM9 final restoration. Existing TDS customers will receive the software module first at no charge for beta testing with their doctors.

ZenoTec System (3Shape DentalDesigner CAD). Users of Wieland Dental Systems’ machine will soon be able to design copings in full contour by selecting from a full library. The file can then be split so the coping and full contour can be milled out of two different materials. For example, the coping can be milled out of zirconia and the full contour can be milled out of resin and then invested and over pressed. A hardware update will speed up the machine by approximately 20% and, rather than only milling the disc in the horizontal position, the unit will be able to tilt the disc during milling to maximize the unit-to-material ratio. Also to come will be “pre”-shaded zr-discs that no longer require dipping and are ready for any lighter shade of porcelain.

DentMill by Dellcam is a software solution for machining dental parts. Parts can be imported as models from standard dental design software or scanned images. Finished products, including copings, crowns, bridges, including full arch, and abutments, are produced on machines like the M-4D from Digital Dental Lab. DentMill automates the part orientation by automatically selecting stock sizes and holder pins to complete the setup for cap and bridge manufacturer. Digital Dental Lab system integrates a digital prescription for easy order tracking and processing and includes design software enhancement such as a virtual wax tool and automated pontic morphing and trimming to match gingival surface.

Hot - Geomagic Piano is a modular dental CAD/CAM software package with a built-in open-development platform. Clinically tested for over a decade by visionary dental equipment manufacturers, Geomagic Piano's proven technology enables the integration and creation of best-in-class turnkey solutions for the digital preparation and production of dental restorations.

Hot - 3Shape’s dental system is a complete and integrated CAD solution for dental restoration design and order management. The file output is completely open and therefore compatible with and open and suitable production equipment (CNC machines, sintering machines or 3D printers). The D-250, 3shape state-of-the-art 3D scanner, provides accurate, reliable and fast 3D scan of dental preparations, wax-up bridges, bite impressions, full casts and implant positions. DentalDesigner, the most advanced CAD program available, along with the AbutmentDesigner modules allows for design of complex restorations combining different techniques or materials within minutes. DentalManager is a unique application to manage orders throughout the production process, tracking delivery status as well as optimizing and planning manufacturing.

ThinkFree Online Office Application

ThinkFree has recently launched ThinkFree Premium and with this release, they’ve impressed me once again and proved that they can really make the difference in the Office applications market. ThinkFree is one of the best online office application and with ThinkFree premium they’ve made sure that you get the power of Online capabilities and the wonders of Offline computing.

Here are some of the positives of ThinkFree premium :

Power to create ThinkFree docs and edit Microsoft Office Documents (i.e. Word, Excel & powerpoint files) online and offline.

Collaboration with other users, allows many users to work on a single document at once.

Seamless integration of Offline and Online services, i.e. it synchronizes your account when you go online and thus allows you to take your documents where ever you go. Because, it needs to be installed on the machine, so you get to edit the files pretty quickly and so the work gets done pretty fast.

Overall rating & views :

ThinkFree premium is really a nice concept and because it synchronizes well, it usability becomes much more than any normal office application. However, because still it’s under constant development and that it needs lot of work in the features’ department as compared to Microsoft Office. You may miss a couple of features but most of the users will be just do fine with the available features.
What are you thoughts about ThinkFree premium or it’s free online service ?

POLARIZING MULTIPLEXER AND METHODS FOR INTRA-ORAL SCANNING

INVENTOR: Richard Trissel, Del Mar, CA

This application is related to Application Serial No. 11/217,229 entitled "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OBTAINING HIGH RESOLUTION 3-D IMAGES OF MOVING OBJECTS BY USE OF SENSOR FUSION " filed commonly herewith and commonly owned, the content of which is incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND The present invention relates to intra-oral methods and apparatus for optically imaging a structure and creating representative 3D models of the structures from the images.
The dental and orthodontic field is one exemplary application of digital generation of 3D models of structures. In many dental applications, a working model of a patient's teeth is needed that faithfully reproduces the patient's teeth and other dental structures, including the jaw structure. Conventionally, a three-dimensional negative model of the teeth and other dental structures is created during an impression-taking session where one or more U-shaped trays are filled with a dental impression material. The impression tray containing the impression material, in its pliant state, is introduced into the mouth of the patient. While the tray and impression material is held in place, the material cures, and after curing, the tray and material are removed from the mouth as a unit. The impression material is allowed to solidify and form an elastic composition, which is the negative mold after removal. The working model is obtained by filling this
-->impression with a modeling material such as dental stone in its liquid state. After being poured into the impression, the dental stone sets and hardens into a solid form which when removed from the impression is a positive representation of the structure of the patient's teeth and tissue in the jaw.
Dental patients typically experience discomfort when the dentist takes an impression of the patient's teeth. The procedure can be even more uncomfortable for the patient if the impression materials run, slump or are otherwise expelled into the patient's throat. Also, shipment and storage of the models can be costly. Hence, determination of the surface contour of teeth by non-contact optical methods and generation of digital 3D teeth models have become increasingly important.
A basic measurement principle behind collecting range data for optical methods is triangulation. Triangulation techniques are based on known geometric techniques. Given a triangle with the baseline of the triangle composed of two optical centers and the vertex of the triangle the target, the range from the target to the optical centers can be determined based on the optical center separation and the angle from the optical centers to the target.
Triangulation methods can be divided into passive and active. Passive triangulation (also known as stereo analysis) typically utilizes ambient light and both optical centers are typically camera imagers. Active triangulation uses only a single camera imager and, in place of the other camera imager, uses a source of controlled illumination (also known as structured light). Stereo analysis while conceptually simple is not widely used because of the difficulty in obtaining correspondence of object surface features between camera images. Objects with well-defined edges and corners, such as
-->blocks, may be rather easy to obtain surface feature correspondence, but objects with smoothly varying surfaces, such as skin or tooth surfaces, with no easily identifiable surface features or points to key on, present a significant challenge for the stereo analysis approach.
To overcome the correspondence issue, active triangulation, or structured light, methods project known patterns of light onto an object to infer its shape. The simplest structured light pattern is a spot, typically produced by a laser. The geometry of the setup enables the calculation by simple trigonometry of the active triangulation sensor's range from the scanned object's surface on which the light spot falls. This computed active triangulation sensor's range to the surface of the scanned object will be referred to herein as the surface range data. Typically a sequence of images is gathered with the spot of light moved to fall across different areas of the scanned object's surface and by keeping track of where the active triangulation sensor is positioned with respect to a coordinate reference frame that is fixed with respect to the object being scanned, the sequence of active sensor surface range data can be used to construct a 3D model of the object's surface. Other patterns such as a stripe, or 2-dimensional patterns such as a grid of dots can be used to decrease the required time to capture the set of active triangulation images needed to compute the surface range data for the scanned object's surface of interest.
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SUMMARY
A polarizing multiplexer includes a first arm with a first polarizing beam splitter to receive unpolarized light and a first retarder coupled to the first polarizing beam splitter to generate a first right-hand circularly polarized (RHCP) beam. A normal incident beam splitter is used to receive the first RHCP beam. The multiplexer also includes a second arm with a second polarizing beam splitter to receive unpolarized light; and a second retarder coupled to the second polarizing beam splitter to generate a left- hand circularly polarized (LHCP) beam, wherein the LHCP beam is reflected off the normal incident beam splitter and converted to a second RHCP beam before transmitting back through the second retarder, thereby being converted to linear polarization, and then transmitting through the second polarizing beam splitter.
Advantages of the above system may include one or more of the following. The system provides a compact optical configuration for combining the light from two perspectives of an object. The system can work with a system that uses Schleimpflug imaging, with a tilted object and image plane, which captures images of an object (such as a tooth), from two perspectives in order to accurately map its features using passive or active triangulation. The two perspectives are spatially combined and imaged onto a single camera imager which provides the advantage of reduced size and cost over a system using two camera imagers. Further, the configuration has the advantage of minimizing inadvertent re-illumination of the object with leakage light from the losses at the polarizing beam splitters.
When used in an intra-oral scanner, the system provides a compact intra-oral dental scanner head that enables an operator to scan a dental structure of interest with the
-->intra oral scanner thereby accommodating a wide range of patient jaw and dentia sizes, shapes and orientations. The system automatically provides intra-oral scanning and image capturing of the scanned dental structures in the jaw through an optical aperture and combines the information available in the entire set of images obtained during the scan to create an accurate 3D model of the scanned structures. Intra-oral images of dental structures can be taken rapidly through intra-oral image apertures and with high resolution. Further, the image aperture position and orientation are known with respect to a fixed coordinate reference frame such that the acquired images can be directly processed into accurate 3D models of the imaged dental structures. The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which corresponding parts are identified by the same reference symbol.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a polarizing multiplexer.
FIG. 2 shows an exemplary dental scanner head with the polarizing multiplexer of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows an exemplary intra-oral scanner system with the polarizing multiplexer of FIG. 1.
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DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a polarizing multiplexer 10. Ih FIG. 1, aπn-1 1 allows un-polarized light from an illuminated object 60 to be delivered incident on a Polarizing Beam Splitter (PBS-I) 11, which can be a Wire Grid Polarizer (WGP) or a dielectric plate polarizer or a cube polarizing beam splitter.
The WGP can be an array of thin parallel conductors supported by a dielectric substrate or a transparent substrate. When the grid spacing (g) is much shorter than the wavelength, the grid functions as a polarizer that reflects electromagnetic radiation polarized parallel ("s-polarity") to the grid, and transmits radiation of the orthogonal polarization ("p-polarity"). The WGP reflects light with its electric field vector parallel ("s-polarity") to the wires of the grid, and transmit light with its electric field vector perpendicular ("p-polarity") to the wires of the grid, but the plane of incidence may or may not be perpendicular to the wires of the grid. The WGP functions as a mirror for one polarization of light, such as the s polarity light, and is transparent for the other polarization, such as the p-polarity light.
In one embodiment, light coming from the object 60 along Arm-1 1 is split 50/50 (3 dB loss) by the PBS-I 11 with the reflected light being substantially s-polarity linearly polarized, and the transmitted light being substantially p-polarity linearly polarized. The p-polarity light transmitted through PBS-I 11 is directed to a beam dump 14 or equivalent, which serves to absorb the p-polarity light and thereby eliminates it as a potential source of interference. The s-polarity light reflected by PBS-I 11 then passes through a Quarter- Wave Retarder (QWR-I) 21 with its fast axis oriented at 45 degrees to the axis of linear polarization in a manner which results in a Right-Hand Circularly
-->Polarized (RHCP) beam for the transmitted light exiting QWR-I 21. The RHCP light is then transmitted through the compensation window 32 and then through the normal incident Beam Splitter (B/S) 30. In this embodiment, the B/S 30 splits the light 50/50 (3 dB loss) whereby it passes 50% of the incident light with its RHCP polarization preserved while it also reflects 50% of the light, with the reflected light having its polarization changed to Left-Hand Circularly Polarized (LHCP). The LHCP light reflected by B/S 30 then passes back through the compensation window and then through the QWR-I 21 which changes the LHCP light to p-polarity linearly polarized light that continues on through the PBS-I 11 and is directed to the beam dump 14, or equivalent where the light is absorbed. The RHCP light passed by B/S 30 then passes through a Quarter- Wave Retarder (QWR-2) 22 with its fast axis oriented to result in the light passing through to exit as p-polarity linearly polarized light. This p-polarity light then efficiently transmits through a Polarizing Beam Splitter (PBS-2) 12 to a lens 40, which images the object 60- onto the camera imager 50.
In FIG. 1, arm-2 2 allows un-polarized light from the illuminated object 60 to fall incident on the Polarizing Beam Splitter (PBS-2) 12, which can be a WGP or a dielectric plate polarizer or a PBS cube, Light is split 50/50 (3 dB loss) with the reflected light being substantially s-polarity linearly polarized, and the transmitted light being substantially p-polarity linearly polarized. The p-polarity light transmitted through PBS- 2 12 is directed to a beam dump 16 or equivalent, which serves to absorb the p-polarity light and thereby eliminates it as a potential source of interference. The s-polarity light reflected from PBS-2 12 then passes through the Quarter- Wave Retarder (QWR-2) 22. The retarders 22 and 21 are each comprised of a plate made of a material in which the
-->speed of light through the material depends on the polarization of that light ("birefringent" material). The birefringent material resolves an incident light wave into a slow wave, corresponding to one component of the incident light wave's polarization vector, and a fast wave, corresponding to another, orthogonal component of that wave's polarization vector. The slow wave travels at a slower velocity than, and is therefore retarded relative to the fast wave. As a result, the wave that emerges from the birefringent material can have a polarization state that differs from that of the wave incident on the material.
The light passes through the QWR-2 22 with its fast axis oriented at 45 degrees to the axis of linear polarization in a manner which results in a left-hand circularly polarized (LHCP) beam. The LHCP light continues on to the normal incident beam splitter (B/S) 30 where 50% of the light (3dB loss) is reflected by the B/S 30 and 50% (3 dB loss) of the light passes through the beam splitter 30. The light that passes through the B/S 30 has its LHCP preserved and the LHCP light passes through the compensation window 32 and then through the QWR-I 21 that converts the LHCP light to p-polarity linearly polarized light. The p-polarity light then passes through the PBS-I 11 and is directed to the beam dump 14 or equivalent, which serves to absorb the p-polarity light and thereby eliminate it as a potential source of interference. The LHCP light that is reflected off of the B/S 30 has its polarization converted to RHCP and the RHCP light then passes through the Quarter-Wave Retarder (QWR-2) 22 resulting in p-polarity linearly polarized light. This p-polarity light then efficiently transmits through the Polarizing Beam Splitter (PBS-2) 12 to a lens 40, which images the object 60 onto camera imager 50.
-->The polarizing multiplexer 10 is compact in size. Further, the configuration has the advantage of not inadvertently 're-illuminating' the object with any of the leakage light from the losses at the B/S 30 and the polarizing beam splitters 11 and 12. The leakage due to the initial transmission through PBS-I 11 and PBS-2 12 simply continues on through to the beam dumps 14 and 16 or equivalent. The reflected light in arm-1 1 from the B/S 30 is LHCP due to its reflection. It is then converted to p-polarity by QWR- 1 21 and transmits through PBS-I 11 to the beam dump 14 or equivalent. The transmitted light in arm-2 2 from the B/S 30 is similarly LHCP and is then converted to p-polarity by QWR-I 21, which also transmits through PBS-I 11 to the beam dump 14 or equivalent.
In one embodiment, the two arms have substantially identical optical path lengths from the object plane to the shared imaging lens 40. Since the light propagating through arm-2 2 passes through the beam splitter 30, which has a finite thickness, an equivalently thick compensating window 32 is required in the path of arm-1 1 so that the optical path lengths are matched between the two arms. Light traveling through the multiplexer incurs a 3 dB loss each way for a total of a 6 dB loss when compared with the nominal 3 dB anticipated from combining the un-polarized light from two spectrally identical objects.
FIG. 2 shows an exemplary dental scanner head 80 that uses the polarizing multiplexer 10 shown in FIG. 1. The scanner head acquires teeth surface contour data by imaging the profile created by the intersection of a sheet of laser light with the surface of the teeth from an angle offset from the laser sheet. In one embodiment, the sensor head includes a single dental scanner head assembly which projects a laser sheet onto the teeth
-->and then utilizes the polarizing multiplexer 10 to optically combine multiple views of the profile illuminated by the sheet of laser light. The scanner head 80 uses a laser diode 70 to create a laser beam that passes through a collimating lens 71 which is followed by a sheet generator lens 72 that converts the beam of laser light into a sheet of laser light. The sheet of laser light is reflected by the folding mirror 73 in a manner such that the sheet of laser light illuminates the surface of the tooth or other object being scanned.
In a second embodiment, the profile imaging system comprises two or more identically constructed dental scanner heads that are integrated into a common intra oral probe body. For example, in a two scanner head system one scanner head may be used to capture lingual profile images of the teeth while a second one is used to simultaneously capture buccal profile images of the teeth. Preferably, the two scanned image profiles are nominally in the same plane, although this is not a requirement for the intra-oral scanner system and the scanner may be configured such that the image profiles captured by two or more dental scanner head assemblies are in different planes. Each scanner head 80 uses the multiplexer 10 to combine a proximal and distal view of the profile illuminated by the scanner head's laser light.
Turning now to FIG. 3, an intra-oral scanner system 100 is shown. The scanner system 100 is mounted on the end of an articulating arm 160 and in one embodiment, the other end of the articulating arm 160 is attached to a cart assembly 180. The output of the scanner system 100 communicates with a computer 165 and display 170. The scanner 100 captures images through the dental scanner head 80. The camera imager 50 may be a CMOS sensor with approximately 1,280 rows and 1,024 columns of pixel elements, or equivalent. In one embodiment, the laser diode source 70 provides laser
-->light with a wavelength of 632 nanometers. The intra-oral optical probe 150 contains the passive optical components (shown in FIG. 2) of the dental scanner head 80 such as the lens 40, 71 and 72, the PBS's 11 and 12, the QWR's 21 and.22, the beam splitter 30, the compensating window 32 and the folding mirror 73 . The intra-oral optical probe 150 employs the polarizing multiplexer (not shown) to obtain views from two different perspectives of the profile of the laser illumination on the object 60 for the camera imager 50. In an alternative embodiment the laser source 70 is also packaged with-in the intra oral probe 150.
The scanner system 100 has a scanner housing 112 that contains a communications link such as an IEEE 1394 link 114. The link 114 communicates with a processor 116, which in turn controls a motor driver 118 that can be a linear stepper motor driver. The motor driver 118 in turn actuates a motor stage 120 to move the intra- oral end of the dental scanner head 80 across the dental structures within the intra-oral cavity. The processor 116. also communicates with custom electronics such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) 122 as well as a memory buffer 126. The gate array 122 communicates with the camera imager 50. The laser light source 70 provides light to the intra oral optical probe 150 for illumination of the dental surface being scanned.
In one embodiment, the patient's teeth are coated with a fluorescent-based coating. US Patent 6,592,371 titled Method and System for Imaging and Modeling A Three Dimensional Structure by Durbin et al, describes the use of a fluorescent material to coat a surface before scanning and is incorporated herein. In this embodiment, the camera imager 50 would acquire a slice of surface image data every 25 to 100 μm by
using the light source 70 such as a 632 nm laser diode source to excite the fluorescent
-->coating with a line pattern and then measuring the returned fluorescent signal as viewed from two perspectives through the polarizing multiplexer 10 contained in the intra-oral optical probe 150.
In one implementation using active triangulation to measure the surface contour of the teeth being scanned, the linear motor and position resolver stage 120 is used to move the dental scanner head along a linear path across one or more of the patient's teeth while the laser source 70 is used to illuminate the patients teeth with a line pattern and the profile image camera 50 collects a series of profile images at a rate such that the captured
surface image slices are nominally 25 to 100 μm apart. As an alternative to the laser line pattern for the active triangulation illumination, a laser light dot or a laser light two- dimensional pattern maybe be used for the active triangulation illumination.
In one embodiment of the intra oral scanner that is configured to use a single dental scanner head 80, the operator would perform the following steps to obtain an optical impression: The- operator first coats one or more of the patient's teeth with a fluorescent-based coating. The operator then grasps the body of the intra-oral scanner 100, which is attached to the articulating arm 160, and positions the intra-oral optical probe 150 into the patient's oral cavity such that it is oriented to view and capture the buccal side of the coated dentition. Once the intra-oral probe 150 is properly positioned, the operator releases their hold on the body of the scanner and the articulating arm then holds the scanner 100 steady at the released position. The linear motor and position resolver stage 120, which is coupled to the dental scanner head 80, moves the dental scanner head 80 along a linear path of 5 to 100 millimeters, but typically 40 to 50 millimeters, on the buccal side of the coated dentition while the scanner system captures
-->profile images of the observed dentition every 25 to 40 μm of linear travel. During the buccal scan, the profile image capture for the camera imager 50 is controlled by a field programmable gate array (FPGA) 122. The FPGA 122 is synchronized by the processor 116 and the FGPA performs the data compression of each image prior to transmission to the host image processor through the IEEE 1394 interface 114. Upon completion of the buccal scan, the operator would then grasp the body of the scanner 100 and reposition the intra-oral optical probe 150 to the lingual side of the coated dentition and orient the intraoral optical probe to view the coated dentition. The operator would then release their hold on the body of the scanner and the lingual scan profile images would be captured using the same process as described above for the buccal scan. In one embodiment, a bite block incorporated into the outer shell of the housing for the intra oral optical probe 150 can be used in conjunction with the scanner system 100 to constrain and minimize the extent of relative motion between the patient's teeth and the dental scanner head 80 during a scan.
At the conclusion of the lingual scan, the buccal and lingual profile image scan data would be combined by the image processor hosted in the computer 165 to create a 3D model of the scanned teeth for display to the user on the display 170. The image processing for each frame of the profile image scan data would include level thresholding, determination of the beam center and computing the associated y and z range coordinates using active triangulation analysis. The x coordinate for each profile image scan would be obtained from the position resolver contained with the linear motor and position resolver stage 120. The range map corresponding to the surface contour of the scanned dentition would then be created by simply assigning y and z coordinates
-->determined from the profile image with the measured x-direction value that corresponds to the instant in time that the profile image data frame was captured. The three- dimensional model generation process can include performing structured light illumination and triangulation analysis on the captured images. The system can display a representation of the three-dimensional model and transmit the three-dimensional model over a network. The three-dimensional model can be used for diagnosis and treatment of a patient.
In one embodiment, the cart assembly 180 is coupled with the scanner 100 via the articulating arm 160 extending from the cart 180. The scanner housing 112 attaches to the arm 160 through a wrist-joint interface that allows the scanner 100 to be rotated about its pitch, yaw and row axis. The body of the housing 112 serves as a grip for the user to grasp and maneuver the scanner 100 to position the probe head 150 for a scan. The scanner 100 electrically interfaces to the cart assembly 180 through a harness running along/within the arm 160. At the start of a scan, the user releases their hold on the scanner housing 112 and the arm 160 holds the scanner system 100 steady at the released position.
The 3D model produced by the system described above can be automatically fused and displayed with other 3D images such as CT, MR or any other imaging that provides a 3D data set. Thus, if the patient's anatomy is known relative to a fixed reference, the model generated by the probe can be displayed so that it automatically correlates with an imaging database for display purposes.
It is to be understood that various terms employed in the description herein are interchangeable. Accordingly, the above description of the invention is illustrative and
-->not limiting. Further modifications will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of this disclosure.
The invention has been described in terms of specific examples which are illustrative only and are not to be construed as limiting. The invention may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them.
Apparatus of the invention for controlling the equipment may be implemented in a computer program product tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage device for execution by a computer processor; and method steps of the invention may be performed by a computer processor executing a program to perform functions of the invention by operating on input data and generating output. Suitable processors include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructions include all forms of non- volatile memory including, but not limited to: semiconductor memory devices such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash devices; magnetic disks (fixed, floppy, and removable); other magnetic media such as tape; optical media such as CD-ROM disks; and magneto-optic devices. Any of the foregoing maybe supplemented by, or incorporated in, specially- designed application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or suitably programmed field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). While the above embodiments have involved application of fluorescent substances to dental structures, the invention is applicable to all non-opaque and opaque surfaces.
-->Although an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications thereof, have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise embodiment and the described modifications, and that various changes and further modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Digital Impressions (Cadent iTero, 3M™ ESPE™ Lava™ Chairside Oral Scanner (C.O.S.) Brontes 3D)

Tens of millions of impressions are taken each year for the production of crowns, bridges, and partial dentures. Dentists seem to be taking a number of these time-consuming, “patient-hating” procedures daily. New systems are now available that create digital impressions of a patient’s teeth, both prepared and unprepared. These systems provide a way to dispense of trays and impression materials. These methods should lead to increased patient satisfaction and their accuracy should create better-fitting crowns and bridges.

The 3M™ ESPE™ Lava™ Chairside Oral Scanner (C.O.S.)is a combination of unique hardware and software with a design based on the research of Professor Doug Hart and Dr. Janos Rohaly, originally at MIT, as well as development during the last three years by Brontes Technologies. Research and development has led to a sophisticated method for capturing images called “Active Wavefront Sampling.” This method enables “3-D Video in Motion” - a breakthrough in image capturing technology in which the system efficiently captures broad anatomy from the mouth.

The Cadent iTero™ system comprises an intraoral scanner, a CAD workstation at the dental lab, and central production support by Cadent. There are no special techniques required since the dentist preps the teeth being restored and attends to normal clinical matters, such as tissue and moisture management. The case proceeds with the dentist or dental assistant completing the digital Rx. iTero then instantly develops a customized scanning sequence for that specific case. Guided by visual and audible prompts, the dentist - or more often the assistant - proceeds through the scanning sequence. During this time, the system stitches together the scans of the target area, the adjacent teeth, and the bite into a real-time digital model. This magnified digital model is presented on a flat panel display along with real-time analytical tools, which bring attention to areas that may need adjustment - for example, occlusal clearance. All of this occurs in just three to four minutes. Adjustments may be made and additional scans taken after which the digital file is transmitted to a participating dental lab. The lab completes the computer-aided design (CAD) and uploads that design to Cadent. The models, removable dies, and copings - if requested - then are produced at Cadent’s production center in New Jersey and delivered to the dental lab for completion of the restoration.

Brontes Technologies offers dentists and laboratories a technology that would enable a range of restorations that a user could prescribe, both conventional and CAD/CAM. The unique technology used in the 3M ESPE imaging device allows the user to move freely throughout the mouth capturing data of all surfaces of the dentition and tissue. This eliminates the potential inaccuracies caused by the extrapolation of data.

iTero does not feature an in-practice milling system. So the capital expense with iTero is modest without any limitations on either restorative materials or clinical indications. As such, iTero can serve as a digital front end to any type of restorative system - conventional or CAD/CAM. This includes the current standard of care, porcelain fused to metal. Cadent is positioning iTero as open architecture. This means the digital file also can be sent to in-lab CAM systems, too.

When it comes to investigating digital impression technologies such as cadent iTero or 3M™ ESPE™ Lava™ Chairside Oral Scanner (C.O.S.) clinicians will encounter terms like confocal, triangulation, reflective coatings, stereolithographics, and active wavefront sampling. Simple definitions of terms that clinicians soon will be seeing:

The imaging technology used in the 3M™ ESPE™ Lava™ Chairside Oral Scanner (C.O.S.) is Active Wavefront Sampling (AWS). AWS is a new technique for capturing three-dimensional data that enables a 3-D video in motion approach to scanning. This technology was born from research done at MIT. Unlike triangulation and laser methodologies, AWS does not rely on the warping of a laser or light pattern on an object to determine 3-D data. These more traditional 3-D methods suffer from distortion, optical illusion, and are comparatively slow. AWS allows a user to capture 3-D data in a video sequence and model this data in real time. It is highly accurate and extremely fast.

The imaging technolology used in the Cadent iTero is not based on triangulation while also being telecentric. As a result, no reflective coating is required. The probe can be placed directly on the surface. This promotes ease of use and patient comfort. The parallel confocal design also promotes exceptional accuracy. The iTero system expands upon this concept by simultaneously projecting 100,000 beams of parallel red light rays with each individual scan.

- Triangulation: The majority of optical scanning systems are based on some form of triangulation. There are three common elements to all such systems: (1) a light source that (2) illuminates the object, which is positioned at an angle to (3) a detector. This triangulation of light leads to compromised accuracy when scanning two types of surfaces:

- Curved surfaces because the angle of reflection reduces the viewing area
- Surfaces that do not reflect light evenly, such as natural dentition vs. amalgam

To cope with this second problem, systems based upon triangulation require dental surfaces to be coated with an opaque, reflective coating. An uneven coating or environmental changes during scanning - such as saliva, contact with scanner probe or the tongue - might further compromise the accuracy of these systems.

- Parallel confocal: Confocal is a principle by which light is filtered by passing it through a small pinhole. Only the light reflected from the object at the proper focal distance will pass through the pinhole. Therefore, only those rays that are in focus will return through the filtering device.

- Telecentric: A telecentric system maintains the same field of view, the area being scanned, regardless of distance from the object that is being imaged. As a result, there is no need to compensate for different levels of magnification and no need for the user to hover above the object.

- Steriolithography: The digital files from these systems are transmitted into CAD systems, then to various CAM production systems. Steriolithography is just one of many additive CAM approaches that build up materials. On the other hand, milling-based CAM systems are subtractive in nature.

Revolutionary Implant System

06-14-2007

Curasan AG: REVOIS® All-in-One Dental Implant System Registered in the U.S.
curasan AG, a German leader in regenerative medicine, has obtained FDA clearance for its REVOIS® All-in-One dental implant system, permitting the sale of the system in the U.S. This means that the system can be rolled out earlier than originally planned – the rollout will take place at the ICOI World Congress in San Francisco in late August 2007.
REVOIS® gives curasan direct access to the dental implant market, the segment within dental surgery that generates the highest revenues and earnings. Curasan Inc., the company’s U.S. sales organization, has already been very successful in that country with its Cerasorb® synthetic bone substitute and its Epi-Guide® resorbable membrane. The excellent rapport with the target group, dental implantologists, and with opinion leaders that the company has established with these products are an excellent basis for marketing the REVOIS® All-in-One dental implant system.
“This step represents another important milestone in the implementation of our corporate strategy,” said curasan’s CEO Hans Dieter Rössler. “This strategy calls on us to organize our sales and marketing activities with a clear focus on the dental market. Of course, our R&D department will continue to develop new products for use in orthopedics, for skin transplants and for other fields. These will be marketed by way of license agreements and by cooperation with multinational groups.”
A Truly Useful Innovation:REVOIS® – the REVOlutionary Implant System – is an intelligent modular system that achieves maximum precision with a minimum number of parts, covering all implantological requirements with only 120 components. This simplifies procurement, allows the reduction of expensive inventory, and greatly enhances the component selection process in actual clinical practice.
One pivotal element is the multi-functional precision abutment. It fits all implant diameters and enables the user work with only one prosthetic line.
The REVOIS All-in-One System was designed for clinicians who demand highest quality and want to safely cover all implantological requirements with a single system but who, nevertheless, value simplicity of use and economical procedures as well as excellent precision and esthetics. Implantologists, prosthodontists and dental technicians can benefit from considerable savings in time and costs.