Ultrasonic Periodontal Probing Based on the Dynamic Wavelet Fingerprint

Abstract

<p/> <p>Manual pocket depth probing has been widely used as a retrospective diagnosis method in periodontics. However, numerous studies have questioned its ability to accurately measure the anatomic pocket depth. In this paper, an ultrasonic periodontal probing method is described, which involves using a hollow water-filled probe to focus a narrow beam of ultrasound energy into and out of the periodontal pocket, followed by automatic processing of pulse-echo signals to obtain the periodontal pocket depth. The signal processing algorithm consists of three steps: peak detection/characterization, peak classification, and peak identification. A dynamic wavelet fingerprint (DWFP) technique is first applied to detect suspected scatterers in the A-scan signal and generate a two-dimensional black and white pattern to characterize the local transient signal corresponding to each scatterer. These DWFP patterns are then classified by a two-dimensional FFT procedure and mapped to an inclination index curve. The location of the pocket bottom was identified as the third broad peak in the inclination index curve. The algorithm is tested on full-mouth probing data from two sequential visits of 14 patients. Its performance is evaluated by comparing ultrasonic probing results with that of full-mouth manual probing at the same sites, which is taken as the "gold standard."</p

An Ultrasonographic Periodontal Probe

“…Previous publications describe the fabrication of several generations of prototype ultrasonographic probes [1]- [8], [12]- [14]. The body of the 5 th generation probe is manufactured similarly to other dental hand pieces, with the 10 MHz piezoelectric transducer located in the head of the probe.…”

“…The ultrasonographic periodontal probe uses high-frequency ultrasound to determine the depth of the periodontal ligament non-invasively. An ultrasonic transducer projects high frequency (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15) ultrasonic energy between the tooth and the gum and detects echoes of the returning wave ( Figure 1b).…”

“…Previous work with the ultrasonographic periodontal probe by Hou developed the Dynamic Wavelet Fingerprint (DWFP) method to transform wavelet coefficients to 2D binary images [8]. The method is general, but when directly applied to data obtained from a 4 th generation ultrasonographic periodontal probe tested on 14 patients [12]- [14], the authors used image recognition techniques to resolve at best 60% of the pocket depths accurately within a tolerance of 1mm. This paper describes the development of more sophisticated artificial intelligence routines that include pattern classification as well as image recognition techniques to detect pocket depth for the ultrasonographic periodontal probe.…”

Lamb Wave Detection of Delaminations in Large Diameter Pipe Coatings

“…In 2002 Hou and Hinders developed a multi-mode arrival time extraction tool that rendered the time series data in 2D time-scale binary images [59]. Since then this technique has been applied to multi-mode extraction of Lamb wave signals for tomographic reconstruction [12,60,61], time domain reflectometry signals wiring flaw detection [62,63] and a periodontal probing device [64].…”

Computer-assisted identification of the gingival sulcus and periodontal epithelial junction on high-frequency ultrasound images

“…With the development of ultrasonic periodontal probes, interdental areas can be included in the examination. In fact, ultrasonic periodontal probes are able to replace manual periodontal probing [17][18][19].…”