Development of Mandibular Movements Measuring System Using Double Stereo-Cameras

In this paper, we propose a 3D automated measuring system which measures the mandibular movements and the reference plane of the jaw movements. In diagnosis and treatment of the malocclusions, it is necessary to estimate the mandibular movements and the reference plane of the jaw movements. The proposed system is configured with double stereo-cameras, PC, two moving pattern plates(MPPs), two fixed pattern plates(FPPs) and one orbital marker. The virtual pattern plate is applied to calculate the homogeneous transformation matrices which describe the coordinates systems of the FPP and MPP with respect to the world coordinates system. To estimate the parameters of the hinge axis, the Euler's theorem is applied. The hinge axis points are intersections between the FPPs and the hinge axis. The coordinates of a hinge axis point with respect to the MPP coordinates system are set up to fixed value. And then, the paths of the jaw movement can be calculated by applying the homogeneous transformation matrix to fixed hinge axis point. To examine the accuracy of the measurements, experiments of measuring the hinge axis points and floating paths of them are performed using the jaw motion simulator. As results, the measurement errors of the hinge axis points are within reasonable boundary, and the floating paths are very similar to the simulator's moving path.