Challenge

Perio-imagerWhen a start-up company in the dental industry contacted MPR Associates with a concept for designing a revolutionary dental inspection device, the firm's Technology Group was up for the challenge.  The task included transferring proof-of-concept of an ultrasonographic sensor device from a university lab's research project to a commercially marketable product.  The end result was to create a unique digital imagining and diagnostic tool for effectively detecting, mapping, characterizing and evaluating the presence and monitoring the treatment of periodontal disease.

Approach

MPR's project team set out to prove the concept's underlying technology.  In doing so, they identified specific technical issues with the concept's hardware, software and fluidics design.  Such issues included control of low velocity fluid flow, as well as interference elements with the ultrasonic signal and interpretation of the return signal.

Focusing on the various software issues, MPR engineers developed an approach for handling such challenges as the use of an embedded XP operating system, developing a screen design for managing the process, utilizing automated controls and overcoming memory management constraints.  The next step was to develop a prototype to validate the system's commercial design.  Utilizing COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) components satisfied the product's design concept and provided cost-saving benefits to the client.

Solution

MPR engineers took the project from concept to final design, executing the project on a turnkey basis.   The result was the introduction of a total platform design that encompassed:

The device consists of a unique and proprietary hand piece and a compact chair-side computer console for data acquisition, conversion and display, as well as a foot pedal that controls the hand piece and the unit.  Hardware in the device includes an ultrasonographic transmitter and receiver, water flow control components, electrical connectors and circuit boards to control, process and convert the signals into a series of user-friendly images.  Embedded software within the computer converts the signal from an analog to a digital format and uses proprietary algorithms to interpret and convert the echoes corresponding to the depth of the outer boundary of the periodontal ligament.  The test results and other information can be sent wirelessly or via cable to additional screens in the operatory or to the dentist's computer server.

Benefits

The system's state-of-the-art design, which uses ultrasonography with sophisticated signal processing techniques, completely alters the current method of detecting and measuring periodontal disease by utilizing a non-invasive tool to measure pocket depth. In addition, the system is extremely accurate, objective, digital and automatic. MPR's work on this project exceeded this client's expectations. A successful commercial product was developed within 10 months.