Perceptive, a Boston based company, quickly convinced you by allowing AI controlled autonomous robots to perform full process dental surgeries on human patients for the first time, at a speed approximately 8 times faster than human dentists.
It is worth noting that Perceptive claims that "even if patients frequently move their heads, the machine can safely handle them, and the trial run tests on moving patients have been successful
Perceptive has announced two new technologies, hoping that robotic diagnosis and treatment can bring a better dental experience to everyone in the future.
OCT 3D imaging system
This handheld imaging device is designed to be operated in the oral cavity, using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to generate 3D images of the interior of teeth, and can even penetrate deep below the gum line and into the bones. Both in terms of resolution and positional accuracy, this is much better than the 2D or 3D X-rays typically used by dentists.
Numerous clinical practices have proven that X-rays are actually very poor at detecting tooth decay. Perceptive CEO Chris Ciriello told us that the accuracy of using X-ray imaging to determine the location and extent of tooth decay is about 30%. In fact, X-rays only serve to assist doctors in diagnosis and treatment, as dentists will start drilling holes in your teeth and continue drilling until the precise location and depth of the cavities are found. But this method is obviously not suitable for robots, as robots need to obtain all data in advance, which is where OCT comes in.
OCT can be seen as similar to ultrasound in that it uses reflected energy to construct images, but OCT uses light rather than sound to achieve higher resolution. That is to say, OCT not only avoids harmful X-ray radiation, but also has high resolution and accuracy compared to X-ray imaging.
The reason why OCT was not used for dental diagnosis and treatment before was that the traditional OCT required a few seconds of exposure time to obtain detailed images, and if moved during the exposure process, the images would become blurry.
Perceptive uses the structure from motion approach, where shorter exposure times result in much fewer data points, and then moves the scanner to collect more data to gradually construct and generate a complete 3D image.
Ciriello stated that this method can locate pathology within a range of approximately 20 micrometers with an accuracy rate of over 90%. Moreover, this method is very easy for dentists to operate, as they only need to move the tool in different directions around the teeth until the scan is complete.
Perceptive's AI driven robot system will completely change the dental industry, "said Karim Zaklama, a member of the Perceptive Clinical Advisory Committee and a professional dentist." By simplifying procedures and improving patient comfort, the patient experience will be better. "" Advanced imaging features, especially intraoral scanners, provide unparalleled details that will enable us to diagnose problems earlier and more accurately, and enable us to connect with patients more effectively. "" The improved efficiency allows us to focus more on personalized patient care and reduce visit time, enabling us to effectively treat more patients
Ciriello also emphasizes once again that this is not just about collecting data so that robots can manipulate patients' teeth, it is a better imaging technology that can help dentists identify and treat problems that patients may encounter. We believe this is a fundamental change, "Ciriello said. We provide dentists with powerful tools to better identify problems