Electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) applied to the study of mechanical behavior of human jaws

摘要

Abstract: The study of the mechanical behavior of the human jawduring chewing is helpful in several specific medicalfields that cover the maxillo-facial area. In thiswork, electronic speckle pattern interferometry hasbeen applied to study dead jaw bones under externalstress which simulates the deformations induced duringchewing. Fringes obtained after subtraction of twoimages of the jaw, the image of the relaxed jaw andthat of the jaw under stress, give us information aboutthe most stressed zones. The interferometric analysisproposed here is attractive as it can be done in realtime with the jaw under progressive stress. Imageprocessing can be applied for improving the quality offringes. This research can be of help in orthognathicsurgery, for example in diagnosis and treatment offractured jaws, in oral surgery, and in orthodonticsbecause it would help us to know the stress dispersionwhen we insert an osseointegrated implant or place anorthodontic appliance, respectively. Studying fragmentsof human jaw some results about its elasticity andflexibility were obtained. !9