Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Erich Heubeck

Werner Guenther

Manfred Muether

Michael Doebert

Werner Gunther

Leonhard Werner

Joachim Pfeiffer

Ulrich Schulze-Ganzlin

Josef Ploetz

Michael Dobert

Dieter Molitor

Ernst-Otto Fleer

Rolf Adler

Manfred Muther

A line detector camera suitable for employment in a dental x-ray diagnostics apparatus contains an x-ray-sensitive detector held in a housing, the detector containing a plurality of detector elements that are arranged to form one or more lines, and having contacts connected to control lines that are in turn connected to a connector part. The connector part makes both electrical and mechanical connection in a releasable manner to a correspondingly fashioned holder of the x-ray diagnostics apparatus.

Line detector camera for employment in, particularly, dental x-ray

A dental x-ray diagnostics installation for producing panorama tomograms of the jaw of a patient has a radiation source and a detector, which converts x-radiation into corresponding light radiation, disposed on opposite sides of the patient. The detector is preceded by a secondary diaphragm. The radiation source, the detector and the secondary diaphragm are rotated around the patient so that radiation attenuated by the jaw, and passing through the secondary diaphragm is incident on the detector. At least one CCD sensor is provided on which light radiation generated by the detector is incident. The CCD sensor converts the light radiation into electrical signals. The sensor has an image zone with a number of lines parallel to a longitudinal extent of the opening of the secondary diaphragm, and has a storage zone. The lines in combination receive all of the light radiation so as to generate a complete charge image corresponding to the x-radiation incident on the detector. A clock generator is provided which controls transfer of the charge from the lines of the image zone into the storage zone, and also controls read-out of the storage zone. By selecting the frequency of the clock pulses generated by the clock pulse generator, the transfer and read-out speed can be selected to simulate the speed of movement of x-ray film in a conventional dental panorama tomography apparatus.

Dental x-ray diagnostics installation for producing panorama slice

A dental x-ray diagnostics installation having a holder for film cassette and a holder for diaphragms of different sizes, which holder for diaphragms is positioned in an x-ray source so that the beam passes through the diaphragm aperture before reaching the subject. The diaphragms are interchangeable with one another and have different diaphragm apertures for the purpose of matching the x-ray beam cross-section to different film cassette formats. In order to be able to more easily execute exposures having film cassettes of different sizes, the installation of the present invention includes a sensing arrangement for determining the size and position of the format of each film cassette inserted into the holder, a logic circuit for taking the output of the sensing arrangement and directing it either to a display unit and/or to a control unit which controls the radiation source dependent on the selected film format and/or controls the adjustment mechanism for a diaphragm arrangement comprising a plurality of diaphragm apertures which are allocated to the different cassette formats.

Dental x-ray installation

A dental x-ray diagnostic installation for the production of panoramic exposures of slices of the skull of the patient particularly in the region of the jaw, characterized by an exposure unit with an x-ray unit pivotable around an axis and displaceable in a plane perpendicular to the axis, a film holder unit lying opposite and moveable relative to the x-ray unit, a head holder arranged between the two units, a control arrangement for controlling the pivoting and displacement movement of the exposure unit relative to the head holder and also controlling the movement of the film holder relative to the x-ray tube of the exposure means and an input arrangement for inputting information of the selected curvature of the slice being exposed. The improvements are that the input means is constructed so that the curvature of the slice to be exposed can be directly graphically inputted into the control arrangement such as by means of a monitor with a light pen or by means of a 'computer graphic tablet'.

Dental x-ray diagnostics installation for producing panoramic exposures

A dental x-ray diagnostics installation for generating panorama tomograms of a patient has a rotary unit on which a radiation source and a carrier for a film cassette are mounted. The rotary unit is mounted so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis and can also be swivelled at right angles relative to the axis of symmetry of the patient while simultaneously undergoing rotational motion. The mount for the film cassette can be adjusted relative to the radiation source independently of adjustment of the rotary unit. A control unit operates the rotary unit so that, proceeding from an initial position, the rotary unit is repeatedly rotated by a selected angle corresponding to a desired area to be examined, and further controls the drive for the film cassette at a speed corresponding to a selected tomogram position upon each repeated transillumination of the subject.

Dental x-ray diagnostics installation for producing panorama tomograms

An apparatus for positioning the head of a patient for producing dental panorama tomograms, which apparatus has an arrangement for positioning the head in a desired position relative to a fixed point with respect to at least one projection plane and this point, in turn, assumes a definite position relative to a central ray extending from the x-ray tube towards the x-ray picture, characterized by an arrangement for producing silhouettes and for projecting the silhouettes of the head in an actual position and in a desired position, simultaneously with the fixed point of each of the two silhouettes coinciding. By moving the head forming the silhouette of the actual position, the silhouette of the actual position can be moved to be congruent with the silhouette of the desired position to bring the head into the desired position for x-ray exposure.

Apparatus for positioning the head of a patient for producing x-ray

A dental x-ray diagnostics installation has a rotary unit carrying an x-ray source and a radiation detector disposed behind a secondary diaphragm, the rotary unit rotating around the jaw of a patient to produce panorama tomograph exposures of the patient's jaw. The radiation detector generates electrical signals proportional to the incident radiation intensity. To simplify signal processing, the detector is formed of one or more semiconductor detectors having a scintillation layer which corresponds to the size of the opening in the secondary diaphragm. The voltages acquired by the detector are converted to digital form, and stored in an image memory. A computer calculates a total image from the signals supplied by the detector, and stored in the memory, during a complete exposure. The signals from the image memory are combined to generate a tomogram of a desired slice of the patient's jaw.

A dental diagnostic apparatus or installation which obtains a better matching of the exposure data to the patient and has a rotary unit carrying the radiation source and the film cassette which are adjustable to an initial position by an adjustment arrangement and from this initial position the film cassette can be charged with the radiation within the framework of normal transillumination with the radiation initially beginning outside of the mandibular arch. The incoming radiation dose is measured by a detector arrangement which creates a signal that is compared in a computational unit of a control arrangement to a rated quantity corresponding to a prescribed dose value. The exposure data required from further transillumination of the patient's head are identified therefrom and the tomogram position is determined by identifying the patient-associated film speed via the jaw length/jaw width measurements and comparison to defined rated value.

Dental x-ray diagnostic apparatus for producing panorama tomograms of

In order to provide a dental X-ray diagnostic installation for producing panoramic tomograms of the jaw of the patient and to achieve a simple structure with improved image quality, the apparatus includes an adjustment mechanism for the carrier of the radiation source and the film cassette holder to be adjusted in an orbital curve corresponding to the dental arch of the patient. The adjustment arrangement includes first adjustment parts with which the carrier can be rotated around a first vertical axis, and second adjustment elements for moving or swivelling the first axis in an arch transverse relative to the symmetry axis of the subject during the rotary motion. The swivel radius and the amount of excursion of this swivel motion are selected so that the perpendicular transillumination direction through the subject gives a constant distance between the subject and the film during the motion of the rotary unit. To accomplish this, the invention includes two separate embodiments with various modifications.

Dental X-ray diagnostic installation for producing panoramic tomograms

In medical, particularly dental medical apparatus which comprise a stationarily erectible post at which a carriage is adjustably held by means of a guidance device as a carrier of a medical apparatus, for example an X-ray apparatus, a simplified post design is provided. This is composed of a tubular frame which contains two vertical carrying pipes which extend parallel to one another and accept the carriage therebetween and which are connected to one another by a cross-strut at their ends. The two carrying pipes comprise at least one transverse division which roughly halves the tube length, the divided tube sections being connected to one another at this transverse division upon assembly. The guidance elements for the carriage are situated in the carrying pipes.

X-ray equipment support apparatus

A dental X-ray diagnostic installation for producing panoramic tomograms of the jaw of a patient is provided with a multiple diaphragm part having a plurality of different diaphragm apertures which can be adjusted to be positioned into a beam path from the X-ray source to enable producing different exposures. Preferably, the multiple diaphragm part is mounted for rotation on an axis so that the diaphragm apertures can be respectively aligned to the beam path of the radiation source. The multiple diaphragm part can be either a one-piece diaphragm member having a cylindrical configuration, a multiple piece member having a disk configuration, or can be a box-shaped carrier carrying a plurality of diaphragm inserts.

The present invention is directed to a device for storing a dental handpiece, which has a supply hose connected to one end which supply hose hangs freely in a loop-like fashion below the stored handpiece when the handpiece is in a stored position. The device uses a guidance roller and either a U-shaped element or a second roller to guide the hose during movement of the handpiece from a stored position to an extended position and either the second roller or U-shaped element coact with the first roller to form a socket for receiving the handpiece and providing a first or upper storage position. The device can also include a second U-shaped member which receives the handpiece and holds it in a second storage position.

Device for storing dental handpieces

An improved dental handpiece having a device for supplying a cooling agent to a driven dental instument supported in a head portion of a handle section which is removably mounted on a center section of a handpiece characterized by the device for supplying fluid supplying fluid to a first group of ports which are connectable with an external conduit of a first type of handle section for delivering fluid to the dental instrument and a second group of ports arranged to supply fluid to internal fluid passages of a second type of handle section in which the cooling conduits are incorporated therein and a device for preventing flow from one group of ports so that hand sections having either external cooling conduits or incorporated internal conduits for cooling fluid can both be utilized with the handpiece. In the embodiments of the improvement, the means for preventing flow may either be various valve arrangements, or specially designed plugs and fluid connections.

Device for supplying cooling agents to a dental instrument of a handpiece

A dental patients' chair with two parallelogram supporting arms, each having one end linked to a base and another end carrying the seat of the chair. The invention is particularly characterized in that the base is a welded construction consisting substantially of a horizontal basic part and two spaced welded vertical side walls receiving link axles of an end of the parallelogram arms.

Dental patients' chair with a parallelogram supporting arm

A dental patient's chair wherein a padding-supporting portion includes a rigid carrier or support frame having fastened to the side remote from the padding cover a unitary shaped element covering the rearwardly facing surface of the backrest, which is elastically-shaped in planes perpendicular to the plane of the backrest, and which is exteriorly provided with a washable surface.

Growing community of inventors

Bensheim, Germany

Erich Heubeck