ARTICLES AND PAPERS
2023
Mixed Reality Guided Root Canal Therapy - AE-CAI
| Fangjie Li* | Qingying Gao* | Nengyu Wang | Nicholas Greene | Tianyu Song | Omid Dianat | Ehsan Azimi |
* Co-first author
KEYWORDS: Mixed Reality, Root Canal Therapy, Navigation, Augmented Reality
Root Canal Therapy (RCT) is a widely performed procedure in dentistry, with over 25 million individuals undergoing it annually. This procedure is carried out to address inflammation or infection within the root canal system of affected teeth. However, accurately aligning CT scan information with the patient’s tooth has posed challenges, leading to errors in tool positioning and potential negative outcomes. To overcome these challenges, we have developed a mixed reality application using an Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Display (OST-HMD). Our application incorporates visual cues, an augmented mirror, and dynamically updated multi-view CT slices to address depth perception issues and achieve accurate tooth localization, comprehensive canal exploration, and prevention of perforation during RCT. Through our preliminary experimental assessment, we have observed significant improvements in the accuracy of the procedure. Specifically, with our system the accuracy in position was improved from 1.4mm to .4mm (more than a 70% gain) using an Optical Tracker (NDI) and from 2.8mm to 2.4mm using an HMD (HoloLens 2), thereby achieving submillimeter accuracy with NDI. 6 participants were enrolled in our user study. The result of our study suggests that the average displacement on the crown plane of 1.27 ± 0.83 cm, an average depth error of 0.90 ± 0.72 cm and an average angular deviation of 1.83 ± 0.83◦. Our error analysis further highlights the impact of HoloLens 2 spatial localization and head motion on the registration and calibration process. Through seamless integration of CT image information with the patient’s tooth, our mixed reality application assists dentists in achieving precise tool placement. This advancement in technology has the potential to elevate the quality of root canal procedures, ensuring better accuracy and enhancing overall treatment outcomes.
