JP3795662B2 - Dental care system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a dental care system in which various kinds of information related to medical care are transmitted wirelessly to a medical care unit in a dental clinic, received by the medical care unit, and displayed on the display device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There has already been proposed a dental medical system in which a display device is provided in a medical unit such as a medical chair or a medical table installed in a dental clinic and displays diagnostic data of various diagnostic devices, images of affected areas, and the like (for example, JP, 9-34963, A, JP-A-6-46712, etc.). These are all wired systems that connect various information sources such as diagnostic equipment and X-ray imaging devices to the display via a cord, and the cord that connects the information transmission side and the reception side covers the floor surface. Crossing and getting in the way. Further, since the medical unit does not have a function of selecting a device on the information transmission side, it is inconvenient for use at a medical site.
[0003]
In particular, when many information sources are connected to one display, or when many displays are connected to one information source, a large number of cords are concentrated in one place, and wiring becomes troublesome, and the connection is switched. For this purpose, the configuration of the system itself is complicated, such as requiring a plurality of changeover switches, and the operation is not easy. Further, for example, relatively simple medical instruments such as root canal length measuring instruments and dental pulp diagnosing instruments are generally provided for each clinical unit and connected by wire, so that one medical instrument is shared by a plurality of clinical units. In other words, there is a waste of redundantly installing the same type of medical equipment.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
This invention pays attention to these points, and it is an object of the present invention to obtain a dental care system that can easily display various types of information related to medical care on a display device of a medical care unit and that does not disturb the code even in a narrow medical room. It was made.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, a dental care system according to the present invention includes a plurality of dental care instruments having a function of transmitting information related to dental care by wireless communication means, and at least a medical chair for patients 1 Alternatively, the dental medical instrument is a cordless type equipped with a power supply battery necessary for operation, and the holding unit for holding the dental medical instrument is used as a dental medical unit. When it is detected that the medical instrument has been taken out from the holding unit, information on the medical instrument is automatically selected and displayed on the display unit of the dental unit . With such a configuration, it is possible to send necessary information from a dental medical instrument as an information source to a dental medical unit without using a connection cord, and to realize a clean dental clinic with no or few cords Becomes easy. Further, when the medical instrument is taken out from the holding part for use, if the medical instrument is a root canal length measuring device, for example, the position of the measuring needle is automatically displayed. This is convenient because there is no need to perform the selection operation, and the burden on the user is reduced.
[0009]
As a wireless communication means in this dental care system, any one of a communication means using radio waves, a communication means using infrared rays, and a communication means using ultrasonic waves is used. As a specific configuration, a well-known technique in each of these means can be adopted as appropriate, and a system can be constructed using an optimum means corresponding to a target dental clinic.
[0010]
Since the wireless communication means as described above is adopted, in order to select a specific one from a plurality of dental medical instruments, for example, a different code signal is assigned to each dental medical instrument , and this code signal is It is configured to be identified by the selection means of the dental care unit. In addition, when the communication means uses radio waves, a different frequency is assigned to each dental medical instrument , and a specific dental medical instrument is selected by identifying the frequency with the selection means of the dental clinical unit. It is also possible to configure. With such a configuration, even if a plurality of dental medical instruments are mixed in the dental clinic, a predetermined dental medical instrument can be reliably selected.
[0012]
As the display unit of the dental treatment unit, a video display device having a function of displaying characters and images is used. This makes it possible to display various image information and text information related to dental practice, such as images taken with an intraoral camera and data of measurement results obtained by a root canal length measuring instrument .
[0013]
In addition to the video display device as described above, the display unit can also be provided with an audio output device, which enables display by voice or sound.
[0016]
The display unit may be configured to display information related to the dental practice unit itself in addition to the transmission information from the selected specific dental practice instrument . Thereby, for example, various data necessary for medical treatment such as the rotational speed of the turbine can be displayed, and appropriate medical treatment can be efficiently performed.
[0019]
In the above configuration, when the dental medical instrument is held in the holding unit, the holding unit is provided with a function of charging the power source battery of the medical instrument. Thereby, when not in use, charging is always performed, and the trouble that the instrument cannot be used because the battery is discharged can be prevented.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of a dental care system, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of a dental care unit, FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of a dental care unit, and FIG. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the holding | maintenance part holding this. FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing systems having different configurations of the dental care system of the present invention.
[0022]
In FIG. 1, 1 is a host computer, 2 is an intraoral camera, 3 is a dental X-ray apparatus, 4 is a dental medical instrument, and 5 is a dental medical unit. 11 is a control unit of the host computer 1, 12 is a wireless transmitter, 13 is a wireless receiver, 14 is a wireless mouse, 21 is a control unit of the intraoral camera 2, 22 is a wireless transmitter, and 31 is a dental X-ray apparatus 3 , 32 is a wireless transmitter, 41 is a controller of the dental medical instrument 4, and 42 is a wireless transmitter. The dental medical instrument 4 is a relatively small diagnostic instrument or therapeutic instrument, such as a handpiece-type root canal length measuring instrument, periodontal pocket depth measuring instrument, or pulpal examination instrument, and the measurement result or the like. However, only one device is shown in the figure, but there may be a plurality of devices.
[0023]
Reference numeral 51 denotes a medical chair for a plurality of patients provided in the dental clinic, which is the center of each dental medical unit 5. 1 and 2, 52 is a display device, 53 is a wireless receiver, 54 is a small computer for control, and as shown in FIG. A medical table 57, a foot controller 58, and the like are provided. The display device 52 is erected on the rear part of the medical table 57, for example, and the receiver 53 is installed in a state of being inserted from the front edge of the table 57. The computer 54 is not shown in the figure, but is installed in an appropriate place such as a back seat of the medical chair 51 and a table 57, or is externally attached.
[0024]
The host computer 1, intraoral camera 2, dental X-ray apparatus 3, and dental medical instrument 4 are transmitting devices in this system, and information related to dental care is transmitted wirelessly from the respective transmitters 12, 22, 32, and 42. Is configured to send by. The dental care unit 5 is configured to receive information transmitted from these transmitters by the receiver 53 and display the contents on the display device 52.
[0025]
Each transmitter 12, 22, 32, 42 and receiver 53 may be any one that uses radio waves, infrared rays, or ultrasonic waves as a communication medium. However, in the illustrated example, radio waves are used, and the frequency of the carrier wave is set for each. The transmission devices, that is, the host computer 1, the intraoral camera 2, the dental X-ray apparatus 3, and the dental medical instrument 4 are all different. As shown in FIG. 2, the receiver 53 of the dental care unit 5 is provided with a tuner 53a, and the operation unit 53b is located at a position where the user can easily operate, for example, as shown in FIG. It is arrange | positioned at the front edge part. That is, the user operates the operation unit 53b to select a predetermined transmission device, and the contents are output to the display device 52 by receiving the radio wave and processing it by the computer 54. is there.
[0026]
When the information to be transmitted is image information, for example, the image displayed on the display of the host computer 1 or the X-ray device 3 is transmitted as it is, and the image is transmitted in the form of data such as pixels. Two types of transmission methods can be employed in the case where the image is reproduced and processed by the computer 54 of the dental care unit 5.
[0027]
Note that the modulation scheme and specific circuit configuration used for the above-described communication may be appropriately selected by applying a known technique. In the case of communication using infrared rays or ultrasonic waves, those known communication techniques may be appropriately selected. Adopt it. In addition, when using radio waves as described above, a transmission device can be selected depending on a difference in frequency. For example, a different code signal is assigned to each of a plurality of transmission devices, and this code signal is used as a receiver of the dental care unit 5. The selection means provided in 53 or the computer 54 may be used for identification. This is a method that can be used not only when using infrared rays or ultrasonic waves but also when using radio waves. In the case of selection using such a code signal, the signal format, specific circuit configuration, and the like can be appropriately selected by a known technique.
[0028]
As the display device 52 of the dental care unit 5, a video display device is used to display image information transmitted from the intraoral camera 2, the dental X-ray device 3, or the like. 2 and 3, 52 a indicates a display such as a liquid crystal panel corresponding to the video display device, and is controlled by the computer 54 and images of the oral cavity taken by the intraoral camera 2 and dental X-rays. In addition to X-ray images taken with the device 3, measurement results with dental instruments, images from external computers, etc., displayed with letters and numbers as necessary, and information that does not involve images such as numerical data Displays letters and numbers.
[0029]
Further, since some information is accompanied by an audio signal, it is necessary to provide an audio output device, and the display device 52 is configured to be able to display by voice or sound, for example, by a speaker 52b. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the speaker 52b is provided on the side of the display 52a.
[0030]
As shown in FIG. 1, the host computer 1 includes a receiver 13 for receiving operation signals, and is configured to perform various operations by operating a wireless mouse 14. The operation signal may be sent from a wireless remote controller such as a wireless pointing device, a wireless keyboard, or a wireless foot controller instead of the wireless mouse 14.
[0031]
The receiver 13 of the host computer 1 can also receive signals transmitted from other transmitters, that is, transmitters 22, 32, and 42, and is obtained by the intraoral camera 2 and the dental X-ray apparatus 3. It has a function of receiving and processing the obtained image information and information such as the measurement result obtained by the dental medical instrument 4 and transmitting the result from the transmitter 12 to the dental medical unit 5. Therefore, the dental care unit 5 does not directly receive the transmission information from the transmitters 22, 32, 42 of each transmission device, and can also be configured to exchange information with these transmission devices all via the host computer 1. It is.
[0032]
Furthermore, in addition to images and data relating to other dental treatments that are processed and stored by the host computer 1, the host computer 1 performs online processing or offline processing of data of external devices such as an external computer, so that information and medical records of the receiving personal computer can be obtained. Various information such as dental receipt information such as medical information recorded on the VTR, video recorded on a VTR, images and data processed by an external computer and stored in a storage medium, etc. are transmitted from the transmitter 12. A function of transmitting to each dental care unit 5 is also provided.
[0033]
FIG. 5 shows that transmission information from each transmission device is not directly received by the dental care unit 5 as described above, but is received by the host computer 1 and information from the external device is also processed by the host computer 1. The system configuration when transmitting to the dental care unit 5 is illustrated. In this figure, reference numeral 6 is a summary of various information sources such as external devices, and includes a case where there are a plurality of information sources.
[0034]
The information transmitted in this way has various contents, and includes a lot of information that cannot be displayed at the same time even from information from the same transmitting device. Therefore, a function for switching the contents displayed on the display device 52 is also provided. This function can be easily executed by using the computer 54 and increasing the processing capacity of the transmitter 12 and the receiver 53. For example, X-ray images of the same patient from the past to the present can be displayed sequentially. You can compare and see changes. In the case of other devices, for example, the position of the measuring needle is displayed in a schematic diagram when measuring the root canal length, the measured value is displayed numerically, or when measuring the pocket depth, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-173461. The information is displayed in a tabular form as exemplified in the official gazette or displayed as a bar graph, and information necessary for medical care can be more appropriately displayed by such a function.
[0035]
In addition to the information from each transmitting device, the display device 52 displays information about the dental care unit itself. The information regarding this unit is various information directly or indirectly related to medical care such as the number of revolutions of the turbine and motor, water pressure and air pressure, the state of contamination of the pipeline, and the failure mode. It can be easily implemented by using.
[0036]
As described above, since the computer 54 is used for various controls, the computer 54 includes a relatively simple command input unit 54a with a small number of keys. The command input unit 54a is similar to the operation unit 53b of the tuner 53a by the user. It is arranged at a position where it is easy to operate, for example, at the front edge of the medical table 57 as illustrated in FIG.
[0037]
The host computer 1 can also transmit control signals for each dental care unit 5 in addition to the various types of information as described above. As a result, a plurality of dental care units 5 can be controlled by the host computer 1, so that it is not necessary to provide a computer 54 for each unit or the function can be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of the entire system. Is effective.
[0038]
By the way, when a dental medical instrument such as a root canal length measuring instrument that is relatively small and does not include image information in the measurement result is provided with the transmission function according to the present invention, a power source battery necessary for the operation of the instrument is provided. If it is installed and is completely cordless without the power supply cord, one medical instrument can be freely moved and shared by multiple medical units, and the advantage of wirelessly transmitting information is also increased. . In general, this type of medical instrument is held by a dental holding unit provided in or near a dental medical unit, for example, a medical table. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 4 'denotes a wired dental medical instrument provided with a power cord and a signal cord 4a. In this example, a holding portion 71' for these instruments 4 'is provided below the medical table 57. Is provided.
[0039]
In the present invention, a part or all of these medical instruments 4 ', for example, a root canal cutting device with a root canal length measuring function, is used as a cordless type medical instrument 4 having a wireless transmission function and equipped with a power supply battery. The holding portion 71 ′ is also a holding portion 71 corresponding to this. FIG. 4 shows an example of a schematic configuration of a cordless dental medical instrument 4 having such a power supply battery 44 and an instrument holding part 71 for holding the same, and an intermediate part of the hole-like holding part 71. A sensor 72 having a configuration in which a transmitter 72a and a receiver 72b are arranged opposite to each other is provided in the part, and the presence or absence of the medical instrument 4 is detected by the sensor 72. Based on the detection result, when the medical instrument 4 is not in the holding unit 71, priority is given to the information transmitted from the medical instrument 4, and the information on the medical instrument 4 is automatically displayed on the display device 52. It is made to do. If the medical instrument 4 is a root canal length measuring device, for example, the position of the measuring needle is automatically displayed, and what is displayed in what manner is preset for each medical instrument. .
[0040]
In other words, since it is generally considered that the user does not have the medical instrument 4 in the holding unit 71 when the user intends to use the medical instrument 4, if the information on the instrument is automatically displayed, the user himself / herself can perform a selection operation. This is convenient because it eliminates the need for the user, and the burden on the user is also reduced. Since the information on the wired medical instrument 4 'can be displayed on the display device 52, the priority display of information can be applied to these wired medical instruments 4'.
[0041]
As shown in FIG. 4, a charging terminal portion 73 to which charging power of a predetermined voltage is supplied is provided in the innermost portion of the instrument holding portion 71, and the transmitter is provided in the medical instrument 4 correspondingly. 42 is provided, and a connection portion 43 having specifications that can be connected to the terminal portion 73 is provided on the end face of the base end portion. Therefore, when the use of the medical instrument 4 is finished and inserted into the holding part 71, the connection part 43 is connected to the charging terminal part 73, and the power supply battery 44 is held while the medical instrument 4 is held by the holding part 71. Will be charged automatically. For this reason, the battery 44 can always be kept charged, and the trouble that the battery cannot be used because it is in a discharged state can be prevented almost completely.
[0042]
In this example, the transmitters 12, 22, 32, and 42 of each transmitting device and the receiver 53 of the dental care unit 5 may be incorporated in each transmitting device and dental care unit from the beginning. Transmitters and receivers can be easily electrically connected to each transmitter and dental care unit, and are adapter-type transmitters that are planned and manufactured with a structure that can be bought and sold independently as products. It may be a receiver. In this case, even if various devices and medical instruments on the transmission side and dental treatment units on the reception side are already installed, a function for transmitting information wirelessly by slightly modifying these devices, The function of receiving this can be added to various devices, instruments, and medical care units, and the dental care system of the present invention can be realized relatively easily.
[0043]
In addition, various devices and dental units on the transmission side can be equipped with output and input terminals for connecting adapter-type transmitters and receivers from the beginning, which eliminates the need for modification during connection. It becomes. In addition to electrically connecting adapter-type transmitters and receivers to various devices, etc., it is also possible to adopt a detachable attachment structure that can be mechanically attached and integrated with one touch, for example. This makes it easier to implement the dental care system of the present invention. It should be noted that the specific circuit configurations and shapes of the transmitter and the receiver can be appropriately selected using a conventionally known technique in accordance with the devices to be combined and the dental practice unit.
[0044]
Although the above description is an example in which there are a plurality of transmission devices and a plurality of dental care units as shown in FIG. 1, the dental care system according to the present invention can be implemented even if one or both of them are one. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the image information obtained by the intraoral camera 2 and the dental X-ray apparatus 3 and the measurement results obtained by the dental medical instrument 4 are all input to the host computer 1 in a wired manner. However, a system configuration in which information is processed and the result is transmitted from the transmitter 12 to one or a plurality of dental care units 5 is also possible. Thus, the system according to the present invention can be constructed in various forms according to the situation of the dental clinic.
[0045]
As is apparent from the above description, the dental care system of the present invention has a plurality of dental care instruments having a function of transmitting information related to dental care by wireless communication means, and at least a medical chair for patients 1 Or, it is composed of a plurality of dental care units . The above-described dental medical instrument is a cordless type equipped with a battery for power supply necessary for operation, and a holding unit for holding the dental medical instrument is provided in the dental medical unit, and the medical instrument is taken out from the holding unit. When it is detected that the information has been detected, the information on the medical instrument is automatically selected and displayed on the display unit provided in the unit.
[0046]
Therefore, it is possible to send necessary information from the dental medical instrument as the information source to the dental care unit without using a code for connecting between the information transmitting side and the receiving side. The code is not complicated, and it does not get in the way of being concentrated in one place, and a clean dental clinic is realized. In addition, the system configuration itself is simplified, such as eliminating the need for a plurality of changeover switches for switching connections, and an easy-to-use system that can be easily operated is obtained. In addition, since a relatively simple medical instrument can be shared by a plurality of medical units, the waste of redundant installation is eliminated. Furthermore, when the medical instrument is taken out from the holding part for use, the information on the medical instrument is automatically displayed, which is convenient because the user does not need to perform a selection operation on the dental instrument. The burden on the user is also reduced.
[0049]
By using any one of radio waves, infrared rays, and ultrasonic waves as the wireless communication means in this dental care system, the system can be constructed using the optimum means corresponding to the target dental clinic.
[0050]
In addition, in the case where a dental treatment unit is provided with a selection means for selecting a specific dental treatment instrument , a code signal assigned to each diagnosis instrument is identified by the selection means, and assigned to each diagnosis instrument. When the frequency of the received radio wave is identified by the selection means, a predetermined medical instrument can be reliably selected even if a plurality of medical instruments are mixed in the dental clinic.
[0052]
In addition, in the case of using a video display device having a function of displaying characters and images as a display unit of a dental care unit, image information and data by characters can be displayed. In addition to such a video display device, A display provided with an audio output device can also display by voice or sound.
[0055]
In addition to the transmission information from the specific dental medical instrument selected, information related to the dental medical unit itself is displayed on the display unit. The operation of the medical instrument attached to the unit such as the turbine speed A state etc. can be displayed and medical care can be performed appropriately.
[0058]
In the above configuration, since the holding unit has a function of charging the power source battery when the dental medical instrument is held in the holding unit, the battery is discharged because it is always charged when not in use. This prevents the trouble that the appliance cannot be used.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an overall configuration of a dental care system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a dental care unit in one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a dental care unit in the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a dental medical instrument and a holding unit for holding the dental medical instrument in the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration of the dental care system according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of the dental care system according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Host computer 2 Intraoral camera 3 Dental X-ray apparatus 4 Dental medical instrument 5 Dental medical unit 12, 22, 32, 42 Wireless transmitter 13 Wireless receiver 14 Wireless mouse 43 Connection part 44 Battery 51 Medical chair 52 Display apparatus 52a display 52b speaker 53 wireless receiver 53a tuner 54 small computer 71 instrument holding part 72 sensor 73 charging terminal part

Claims (8)

A plurality of dental care device with a function of transmitting information relating to dental practice by radio by the communication unit is configured with one or more dental treatment unit having a medical chair at least for the patient, the dental care instruments Is a cordless type equipped with a power source battery necessary for operation, and a holding unit for holding the dental medical instrument is provided in the dental medical unit, and it is detected that the medical instrument has been taken out from the holding unit. A dental care system configured to automatically select information on the medical instrument and display it on the display unit of the dental care unit when the user is in the office. Wireless by the communication means, the communication means using radio waves, the communication means using an infrared, dental system of claim 1, wherein any one of the communication means using ultrasonic. 3. The dental care system according to claim 2 , wherein a different code signal is assigned to each dental medical instrument , and the dental medical instrument is selected by identifying the code signal. The dental practice according to claim 2 , wherein the wireless communication means uses radio waves, and different frequencies are assigned to each dental medical instrument , and the dental medical instrument is selected by identifying the frequency. system. Dental system of claim 1, wherein the display unit of the dental treatment unit is a video display device having a function of displaying characters and images. The dental care system according to claim 5 , further comprising an audio output device having a function of displaying voice or sound on the display unit. The dental care system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein information related to the dental care unit itself is displayed on the display unit in addition to the transmission information from the selected specific dental care instrument . When dental hospital equipment to the holding portion is held, dental system of claim 1, wherein having a function of charging a battery for power supply of the medical instrument holding portion.

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