US-20260124009-A1 - Robotic Dental System and Method of Preparing for a Robotic Dental Procedure

Abstract

A dental robot includes a platform and a suspension system. The suspension system supports the platform and automatically compensates for weights of the platform and a robot arm, end effector, and tooth clamp attached to the platform. The suspension system maintains a constant height of the platform above a base, absent an external force on the tooth clamp. The suspension system allows position and orientation of the platform to change with three degrees of positional freedom and three degrees of rotational freedom, relative to the base, in response to an external force on the tooth clamp, such as a result of movement (change in position and/or orientation) of a subject. A rigid connection between the tooth clamp and the platform ensures that position and orientation of the platform remains fixed, relative to the subject's teeth, in response to movement of the teeth.

Inventors

• Justin LaRue
• Christopher John CIRIELLO
• Phillip Getto
• Scott KILCOYNE
• Alexander Krull
• Jesse Mitchell
• Joseph Doeringer
• Haoran Wang
• Jack Mondry

Assignees

• PERCEPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251107

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A robotic dental system, comprising: a treatment system, which comprises: a robotic arm, a distal end of which is configured to be coupled to an end effector; and a platform, to which a proximal end of the robotic arm is coupled, the platform comprising a coupling portion for rigidly coupling to a dental clamp, which is configured to be rigidly clamped to one or more teeth of a subject, the platform and coupling portion being configured such that, when the dental clamp is rigidly clamped to the one or more teeth and the dental clamp is rigidly coupled to the coupling portion, a position and orientation of the platform remain fixed, relative to the one or more teeth ; a base; and a suspension system, comprising a proximal end, which is coupled to the base, and a distal end, which is coupled to the platform, wherein the suspension system supports a weight of the treatment system, and is configured such that, when the robotic dental system is operating in a treatment mode, with the dental clamp rigidly clamped to the one or more teeth and the dental clamp rigidly coupled to the coupling portion, the suspension system permits a the position and orientation of the platform to change, relative to the base, in response to forces applied by the one or more teeth to the dental clamp, thereby accommodating changes in a the position, orientation, and both of the one or more teeth by enabling corresponding changes in the position, orientation, or both of the platform, wherein the suspension system comprises a plurality of linkages, connected by a plurality of joints, the plurality of linkages and the plurality of joints together providing the platform with three degrees of translational freedom and three degrees of rotational freedom.
2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of joints comprises a plurality of vertical axis revolute joints, each of which is connected to one or more of the plurality of linkages, and enables said one or more linkages to rotate about a vertical axis corresponding to the revolute joint in question, and wherein the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints provides the platform with two degrees of translational freedom in a horizontal plane.
3. 3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints comprises three vertical axis revolute joints, and wherein the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints additionally provides the platform with a rotational degree of freedom about a vertical axis.
4. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a proximal-most of the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints is located at the proximal end of the suspension system.
5. 5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints are coupled to respective motors, each of which is configured to cause movement of the corresponding vertical axis revolute joint.
6. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of joints comprise one or more elevation joints, which provide the platform at least with a translational degree of freedom in a vertical direction, and wherein at least a first elevation joint of the one or more elevation joints is coupled to at least one motor, which is configured to cause movement of the first elevation joint.
7. 7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the first elevation joint is coupled to at least one mechanical force-generating element, which applies force that counteracts force applied to the elevation joint by a portion of the suspension system distal to the elevation joint.
8. 8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more elevation joints are revolute joints.
9. 9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein a maximum torque applied to the elevation joint by the at least one mechanical force-generating element is greater than a maximum torque applied to the elevation joint by the at least one motor.
10. 10 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the elevation joint is a prismatic joint.
11. 11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein a maximum force applied to the elevation joint by the at least one mechanical force-generating element is greater than a maximum force applied to the elevation joint by the at least one motor.
12. 12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of joints comprises one or more non-vertical axis rotational joints, which collectively provide the platform with two rotational degrees of freedom about respective, non-vertical axes.
13. 13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of joints comprise one or more elevation joints, which provide the platform at least with a translational degree of freedom in a vertical direction, and wherein at least a first elevation joint of the one or more elevation joints is coupled to at least one motor, which is configured to cause movement of the first elevation joint, and wherein the one or more non-vertical axis rotational joints are located distally of the elevation joint.
14. 14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of joints comprises a plurality of vertical axis revolute joints, each of which is connected to one or more of the plurality of linkages, and enables said one or more linkages to rotate about a vertical axis corresponding to the revolute joint in question, wherein the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints provides the platform with two degrees of translational freedom in a horizontal plane, and wherein the one or more non-vertical axis rotational joints are located distally of the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints.
15. 15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more non-vertical axis rotational joints are located at the distal end of the suspension system.
16. 16 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more non-vertical axis rotational joints coupled to one or more motors, configured to cause movement of the one or more non-vertical axis rotational joints.
17. 17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the one or more non-vertical axis rotational joints are coupled to one or more mechanical force-generating elements, which apply torque that counteract torque applied to the one or more non-vertical axis rotational joints by a portion of the suspension system distal to the one or more non-vertical axis rotational joints.
18. 18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein a maximum torque applied to the one or more non-vertical axis rotational joints by the one or more mechanical force-generating elements is greater than a maximum torque applied to the elevation joint by the one or more motors.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims a benefit of U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 63/717,862, filed Nov. 7, 2024, titled “Robotic Dental System and Method of Preparing for a Robotic Dental Procedure,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, for all purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to dental robotics. RELATED ART The access to dental care crisis in the United States warrants immediate attention. Over 90% of American adults are affected by dental caries, and approximately 35% of Americans do not visit a dentist annually, with 28% having untreated tooth decay. This widespread dental care avoidance is often attributed to high costs and long appointments. This avoidance contributes to over $45 billion in lost productivity and over 34 M lost school hours for young adults and has severe ramifications for individuals' overall health, including increased risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer's disease. The current state of dentistry has numerous challenges, including a heavy reliance on manual procedures that incur high costs and a limited supply of dental practitioners. To address these problems we propose the development of a highly precise and accurate robotic tooth preparation system. The following references may be relevant to the present disclosure: U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2016/0367343 to Mozes, et al., U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2016/0354169 to Suttin, and WO 2017/100828 to Zuaiter, et al. Reference is also made to commonly-owned PCT application, pub. no. WO2024/229470A1, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, for all purposes. SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS The present disclosure relates to dental robotics, and more particularly to a dental robot that can automatically compensate for weight of a robot arm and can automatically maintain a constant position and orientation of a proximal end of the robot arm, relative to teeth of a human subject, throughout the course of a dental surgery procedure. In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a robotic dental system, comprising: a treatment system, a base, and a suspension system. The treatment system comprises: a robotic arm, a distal end of which is configured to be coupled to an end effector; and a platform, to which a proximal end of the robotic arm is coupled, the platform comprising a coupling portion for rigidly coupling to a dental clamp, which is configured to be rigidly clamped to one or more teeth of a subject, the platform and coupling portion being configured such that, when the dental clamp is rigidly clamped to the one or more teeth and the dental clamp is rigidly coupled to the coupling portion, position and orientation of the platform remain fixed, relative to the one or more teeth. The suspension system comprises a proximal end, which is coupled to the base, and a distal end, which is coupled to the platform. The suspension system supports a weight of the treatment system, and is configured such that, when the robotic dental system is operating in a treatment mode, with the dental clamp rigidly clamped to the one or more teeth and the dental clamp rigidly coupled to the coupling portion, the suspension system permits a the position and orientation of the platform to change, relative to the base, in response to forces applied by the one or more teeth to the dental clamp, thereby accommodating changes in the position, orientation, and both of the one or more teeth by enabling corresponding changes in the position, orientation, or both of the platform. The suspension system comprises a plurality of linkages, connected by a plurality of joints, the plurality of linkages and the plurality of joints together providing the platform with three degrees of translational freedom and three degrees of rotational freedom. In some examples, the plurality of joints comprises a plurality of vertical axis revolute joints, each of which is connected to one or more of the plurality of linkages, and enables said one or more linkages to rotate about a vertical axis corresponding to the revolute joint in question, and wherein the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints provides the platform with two degrees of translational freedom in a horizontal plane. The plurality of vertical axis revolute joints can, for example, comprise three vertical axis revolute joints. In specific examples, the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints additionally provides the platform with a rotational degree of freedom about a vertical axis. In some examples, a proximal-most of the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints is located at the proximal end of the suspension system. In addition, or instead, one or more of the plurality of vertical axis revolute joints can, for example, be coupled to respective motors, each of which is configured to cause movement of the corresponding vertical axis revolute joint. In some examples, the plurality of joints comprise one