Aseptico Inc.

Daniel Thacker

Scott Lewallen

An apparatus that indicates a proximity of a dental instrument in a tooth's root canal to the canal's apical foramen while using the dental instrument to perform a dental/medical procedure. The apparatus includes a signal generator that provides divider signal across a first node and a third node, and a reference impedance coupled between the first node and a second node. The second node and third node include configuration for electrically coupling between a tip of the dental instrument and an electrode coupled with a body tissue of the patient, a stimulation signal being defined across the second node and the third node. The apparatus also includes a microprocessor operable to compare the stimulation signal and the divider signal, and generate a proximity signal in response to the comparison, and a proximity indicator that indicates the proximity of the dental instrument to the apical foramen in response to the proximity signal.

Detecting and indicating a proximity of a dental instrument to a tooth apical foramen

An apical foramen locator that a dental or medical practitioner can use to quickly and accurately identify the location of a patient's apical foramen during a dental/medical procedure is provided. The apical foramen locator determines the location of the apical foramen relative to a tool inserted into the patient's tooth by sensing an impedance&#x2014;typically the voltage across two electrodes&#x2014;and a stimulus voltage, and retrieving from an impedance map apical foramen location data that corresponds to the sensed impedance. The apical foramen locator can include a power circuit operable to apply a stimulus voltage across two electrodes and a reference resistor, an impedance-sensing circuit operable to read the stimulus voltage, a first voltage across the electrodes and a second voltage across the reference resistor and a processing component operable to derive first and second voltage indices from the stimulus, first and second voltages. Impedance maps can be generated using the apical foramen locator on reference teeth and can be stored in a memory used by the processing component.

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Snohomish, WA, United States of America

Daniel Thacker