Development of an Ultra-Miniaturized Inertial Measurement Unit for Jaw Movement Analysis during Free Chewing

Abstract

Problem statement: Jaw movement analysis, as a clinical aid, can provide an objective basis for understanding and diagnosing jaw musculoskeletal disorders. Therefore, the use and development of devices for quantitatively measuring and analyzing jaw movement have become more common and popular in the clinic. Many types of jaw tracking devices have been developed, but most of them are still not handy and easy to be used. Approach: To improve the handiness and utility of the jaw movement analysis devices, we developed a simple to be used jaw tracking prototype by using a new ultra-miniaturized Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) named WB-3. The WB-3 IMU was composed by 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer and 3-aixs magnetometer, which can not only measure the acceleration and angular speed of jaw movement, but also can measure mouth opening angle. The IMU's extremely reduced weight and size allowed it to be easily adhered to mandible during normal tests without physical restriction to the subjects. A preliminary experiment for jaw movement analysis during free chewing of three types of food with different shapes and hardness was evaluated. A group of 15 healthy subjects aged from 21-36 years old kindly participated in the experiment. Results: The parameters of chewing time, chewing frequency, power spectrum density of jaw's angular speed and acceleration, cumulative distribution function of jaw's acceleration and mouth opening angle were presented. The experimental results clearly showed that the subjects used less chewing time, less chewing frequency, less acceleration cumulative distribution and energy to eat soft food; higher values were found in the case of hard food and there was no significant difference in mouth opening angle while eating these three foods. Conclusion: Our jaw movement analysis prototype using IMU WB-3 was proved to be a valid and handy method for jaw movement and pattern analysis which may be used clinically as an assistant system for dental therapy.

Analyzing Breathing Signals and Swallow Sequence Locality for Solid Food Intake Monitoring

“…A two-microphone system was developed [6] for recording chewing and swallowing sound through the ear canal as well as externally through the air. In another study [7], an inertial measurement unit (with an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer) was attached to the chin to measure jaw movement during free chewing. Similarly, Imtiaz et al [8] put two inertial measurement units on the shoulder and the back of the head to measure the head movement angle and an EMG unit under the chin to measure chewing activity.…”

A Wearable Inertial Measurement Unit for Long-Term Monitoring in the Dependency Care Area

“…It is applied to the evaluation of quality of life [ 4 – 6 ] and the ability of some individuals to walk [ 7 ]. Furthermore, human movement analysis is being used as a tool in for both treatment and clinical diagnosis [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Frictional Properties of Self-Ligating Brackets and Low-Friction Ligatures

“…The magnitude of force during orthodontic treatment will result in optimal tissue response and rapid tooth movement. Therefore orthodontic movement should be impressed with low forces (Berger, 2000), thus ensuring treatment efficiency in respect of biologic principles (Thorstenson and Kusy, 2003), oral flora (Koshy et al, 2008) arch forms (Mohammad et al, 2011) and allowing correct jaw movements (Zhuohua et al, 2010). Friction at the bracket archwire interface might prevent the attainment of optimal force levels in the supporting tissues.…”