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A method and apparatus for monitoring, storing and displaying movements of a person's mandible in relation to the cranium, comprises a plurality of infrared LED's securely mounted to the cranium and to the jaw, in immovable relation to the mandible. The location of each LED, as determined by photodiodes as the LED's are sequentially turned on and off, is compared against an established three dimensional system frame of reference and through distinct local frames of reference associated with the cranium and the jaw, respectively, within the system frame of reference. A pointer, also provided with LED's is used to locate specific points on the mandible in reference to the movement described by the LED's attached to the lower jaw. The data is collected, calibrated and stored by a computer for subsequent display and analysis, either alone or in conjunction with a video display of the person's actual head and jaw as the data was taken.
1. The method of tracing the movement of a minor body in space in relation to a major body that is also movable in space where the minor body is connected to, and supported by, the major body in such a way that movement of the major body is imparted to the minor body while the minor body is movable in relation to the major body, comprising the steps of:
positioning a first light detector and a second light detector in immovable positions and in fixed, spaced-apart relation to each other, where said first and second light detectors each has a planar light-sensitive surface that has the capability of generating electrical signals indicative of the physical location where said light is incident on said light-sensitive surface and a lens system for focusing a beam of light onto the light-sensitive surface;
defining a first planar two-dimensional coordinate system for said first detector for indicating the position of an incident light spot on the light-sensitive surface of the first detector, and defining a second planar two-dimensional coordinate system for said second detector for indicating the position of an incident light spot on the light-sensitive surface of the second detector;
defining a system frame of reference in terms of a three-dimensional coordinate system by positioning a plurality of calibraiton light-emitting sources in fixed, precisely measured spatial relation to each other in the field of vision of the first and second detectors, detecting the positions of said calibration light-emitting sources with the first and second detectors, and calibrating the image coordinate systems of said first and second detectors to correspond with the measured spatial relationships of the calibration light-emitting sources;
attaching at least three major body light-emitting sources in fixed spaced-apart relation to each other on said major body, and attaching at least three minor body light-emitting sources in fixed spaced-apart relation to each other on said minor body;
detecting the locations of said major body light-emitting sources and of said minor body light-emitting sources in the system frame of reference with said first and second detectors, and calculating three-dimensional image coordinate designations for each of those locations as a function of the respective first and second two-dimensional coordinates of the incident light spots on the respective light-sensitive surfaces of the first and second detectors;
transforming said coordinate designations of said minor body light-emitting sources to a local major frame of reference defined by the positions of said major body light-emitting sources by defining a local major coordinate system that is fixed in spatial relation to said major body light-emitting sources, defining a local minor body coordinate system that is fixed in spatial relation to said minor body light-emitting sources, and offsetting the local minor coordinates of the minor body light-emitting sources with the local major coordinate system; and
moving the minor body in relation to the major body for a period of time while detecting positions of both the major body light-emitting sources and the minor body light-emitting sources and transforming coordinates of the positions detected to the local major coordinate system.
2. The method of claim 1, including the tracking of a selected individual point on the minor body, comprising the steps of:
positioning at least three pointer light-emitting sources on a rigid pointer that has a pointer tip;
measuring precisely the spatial relations of said pointer light-emitting sources to each other and to said pointer tip;
positioning said pointer tip on a selected point on the minor body to be tracked;
detecting the locations of said pointer light-emitting sources along with detecting the locations of said major and minor body light-emitting sources;
calculating three-dimensional image coordinates for each of those locations of the detected pointer, major body, and minor body light-emitting sources as functions of the respective first and second two-dimensional coordinates of the incident light spots on the respective light-sensitive surfaces of the first and second detectors focused thereon from the light-emitting sources;
determining the coordinates of said selected point in the minor local coordinate system as a function of the spatial relations of said pointer tip to said pointer light-emitting sources and as a function said pointer light-emitting sources to said minor body light-emitting sources;
transforming the coordinates of said selected point and of said minor body light-emitting sources to said major coordinate system;
moving the minor body in relation to the major body for a period of time while detecting sequential positions of both the major body light-emitting sources and the minor body light-emitting sources;
determining the coordinates of said selected point as a function of its fixed spatial relation to the minor body light-emitting sources in sequential positions of the minor body light-emitting sources as the minor body moves; and
transforming the local minor coordinates of said selected point to the local major coordinate system.
3. The method of claim 2, including the step of displaying said selected point on a visual display device as a function of its local major coordinates as it moves.
4. The method of claim 2, including the steps of defining an anatomic frame of reference in fixed spatial relation to permanent anatomic reference points on said major body and transforming the three-dimensional coordinates of said major and minor body light-emitting sources from said local major coordinates system to three-dimensional anatomic coordinates in fixed spatial relation to said anatomic frame of reference.
5. The method of claim 4, including the steps of:
positioning said pointer tip sequentially on three selected permanent anatomic reference points on said major body, and, with the pointer tip positioned at each of said selected anatomic reference points, detecting the locations of said pointer light-emitting sources along with detecting the positions of the major body light-emitting sources;
defining an anatomic coordinate system in a fixed spacial relationship to the positions of said anatomic reference points; and
using the spatial relationships of said anatomic reference points to said major body light-emitting sources, transforming said local major coordinate system of reference to said anatomic coordinate system of reference.
6. The method of claim 5, including the steps of transforming the local major coordinates of said selected point on said minor body being tracked into three-dimensional coordinates in terms of said anatomic coordinate reference system.
7. The method of claim 6, including the steps of selecting and placing the pointer tip on additional points on the minor body in sequence, determining the coordinates of these additional points in the anatomic reference system, and tracing and recording these points in relation to the anatomical coordinates of the minor body light-emitting sources as they move with the minor body.
8. The method of claim 7, including the steps of displaying the movements of the selected points on the minor body on a visual display device as a function of the sequential anatomic reference coordinates of the selected points as they move with the minor body.
9. The method of claim 8, including the steps of video recording in digital data format the minor and major bodies simultaneously as the movements of the selected points are being detected and recorded, merging the data of the video image with the coordinate data of the selected points, and displaying the video image of the moving major and minor bodies together with an image of the moving selected points superimposed on each other and moving together at the same speeds.
10. The method of claim 9, including the steps of determining the axis of rotation of the minor body from the anatomic coordinate data of the moving selected points on the minor body, and recording the anatomic coordinates of the axis of rotation.
11. The method of claim 10, including the step of physically locating the axis of rotation on the minor body by positioning said pointer tip adjacent the minor body and moving it on said minor body while continuously detecting the pointer light-emitting sources and determining the anatomic coordinates of the pointer tip as it moves on the minor body and continuously comparing these anatomic coordinates of the moving pointer tip with the anatomic coordinates of the axis of rotation, and providing a signal perceptible to a human sense when the anatomic coordinates of the pointer tip coincide with the antomic coordinates of the point of rotation.
12. The method of claim 2, including the step of positioning four pointer light-emitting sources on said pointer.
13. The method of claim 12, including the step of positioning one of said pointer light-emitting sources immediately adjacent said pointer tip and positioning the other three pointer light-emitting sources more remote from said pointer tip.
14. The method of claim 1, including the steps of:
sensing photovoltages at four points on diametrically opposite peripheral sides of said light-sensitive surface of each of said first and second detectors;
amplifying each sensed voltage immediately adjacent said light-sensitive surface; and
converting said four amplified voltage signals from analog to digital form, and determining orthogonal X and Y planar two-dimensional coordinates of the position of the focused light spot on the light sensitive surface as a function of respective photovoltage magnitudes at each lead, distances between leads, and distances from the position of the focused incident light spot to the respective leads.
15. The method of claim 14, including the steps of switching on only one light-emitting source one at a time in a predetermined sequence and in a predetermined time cycle, and detecting the light emitted by each light-emitting source one at a time with said first and second detectors, determining the three-dimensional image coordinates of each light-emitting source simultaneously with detecting the emitted light as the light-emitting source is turned on, and storing said coordinates along with the time of detection.
16. The method of claim 15, including the step of averaging the coordinates for four sequential detections of each light-emitting source and storing the averaged coordinates.
17. The method of claim 14, including the steps of delaying determination of the X and Y planar coordinates for a sufficient time for the photovoltage induced by the incident light to stabilize.
18. The method of claim 17, including the steps of continuously detecting the photovoltage induced by each incident light spot on the light-sensitive surface and determining the rate of change of the voltage, and, when the rate of change of the voltage decreases to a predetermined threshold rate of change, initiating the step of determining the X-Y planar coordinates.
19. The method of claim 1, including the steps of attaching four major light-emitting sources on said major body, and attaching four minor light-emitting sources on said minor body.
20. The method of claim 19, including the steps of attaching said four major light-emitting sources in at least two different planes that are spaced different distances from the detectors, and attaching said four minor light-emitting sources in at least two different planes that are spaced different distances from the detectors.
21. Mandibular movement monitoring apparatus for detecting, monitoring, and analyzing movement of a person's mandible in relation to the person's cranium as the cranium and the mandible move in space, said apparatus comprising:
two photo detector means for detecting light spots incident on photo-sensitive surfaces in a manner indicative of the specific position of the incident light spot on the photo detector surfaces, said photodetector means including lens means for focusing incident light onto said photo-sensitive surfaces, and signal output means for outputting data signals;
processing means for processing said incident spot data signals from said detector means to determine three-dimensional spatial coordinates of the sources of the incident light spots;
four upper light source means for producing light to be detected by said detector means;
four lower light source means for producing light to be detected by said detector means;
harness means for mounting said upper light source means in immovable relation to the person's cranium and for mounting the lower light source means in immovable relation to the person's mandible, said four upper light source means being mounted in at least two different planes that are different distances from said detector means, and said four lower light source means being mounted in at least two different planes that are different distances from said detector means;
pointer means for establishing spacial relationships of selected points on the person's mandible and cranium in relation to said upper and lower light source means, said pointer means including a rigid body with a designated pointer tip thereon, first pointer light-emitting means positioned immediately adjacent said pointer tip for emitting light from a location close to said tip, and second, third, and fourth pointer light-emitting means positioned more remotely from said pointer tip and in precisely measured spaced-apart relation to each other, to said first pointer light-emitting means, and to said pointer tip; and
displaying means for displaying selected points in terms of three-dimensional coordinate reference systems.
22. The apparatus of claim 21, including a calibration cube having a plurality of calibration light-emitting means mounted thereon in precisely measured spatial relations to each other for calibrating said detector means and said data processing means to a predetermined spatial reference system defined by the positions of said calibration light-emitting means on said calibration cube.
23. Harness apparatus for mounting LED's on a person's head, some of which LED's are mounted in immovable relation to the person's cranium and some of which LED's are mounted in immovable relation to the person's mandible, comprising:
an upper frame comprised of an elongated upper cross bar, a nose piece attached to the upper cross bar for supporting the upper frame on the person's nose, two elongated ear bow members, one of which extends rearwardly from one end of the upper cross bar and the other of which extends rearwardly from the other end of the upper cross bar;
a lower frame comprised of an elongated lower cross bar, and a chin cup attached to the lower cross bar for positioning under the person's chin;
two spaced-apart left side elastic bands, one of which extends between the proximal end of the left ear bow and the lower cross bar and the other of which extends from the distal end of the left ear bow to the left rear corner of the chin cup;
two spaced-apart right side elastic bands, one of which extends between the proximal end of the right ear bow and the lower cross bar and the other of which extends from the distal end of the right ear bow to the right rear corner of the chin cup;
a first upper LED bracket extending upwardly and forwardly from the left end of the upper cross bar, a second upper LED bracket extending upwardly and forwardly from the right end of the upper cross bar, a third upper LED bracket extending laterally outward from the left ear bow, a fourth LED bracket extending laterally outward from the right ear bow, and an LED mounted on the distal end of each of said first, second, third, and fourth upper LED brackets; and
a first lower LED bracket extending forwardly from the left end of said lower cross bar, as second lower LED bracket extending forwardly from the right end of said lower cross bar, a third lower LED bracket extending upwardly from the left end of said lower cross bar, a fourth lower LED bracket extending upwardly from the right end of said lower cross bar, and an LED mounted on the distal end of each of said first, second, third, and fourth lower LED brackets.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of tracking, monitoring, and analyzing movement of a rigid body in three dimensions in relation to another body as they both move in relation to a motion detector, and more specifically to the tracking, recording, monitoring, analyzing, and displaying the movement of a mandible in relation to a cranium.
2. State of the Prior Art
The field of dental occlusion (closure of the jaws) is many-faceted and has many implications, some of which researchers and practitioners have only recently become aware, and such awareness is still growing. For example, disfunctions of the temporal mandibular joint (TMJ) can be manifested in such a widely varying symptoms as pain or noise in the TMJ itself, headache, backache, vision impairment, and others. Therefore, it has become important to be able to classify TMJ disfunctions for more effective analysis and treatment and to be able to monitor the effects of TMJ treatment. Other applications in this field of dental occlusion include rehabilitation of the occlusion by restorative, orthodontic, and/or surgical means, as well as the construction of prosthetic devices.
The problem of measuring and analyzing the physical relationship between the upper and lower jaws during the processes of speech, mastication (chewing), and deglutition (swallowing) is crucial to this field and study of dental occlusion. For example, the following relationships and motions are significant to researchers and practitioners working in this field:
(1) Envelopes of motion of the mandible during normal speech and chewing, and during maximum extension.
(2) Movement of the condyles within envelopes of possible movement as the patient chews, speaks, or swallows.
(3) Similarities and differences in condyle displacement between rest position and "centric relation" in different individuals.
(4) Mandibular velocities during various functions.
(5) Asymmetries of movement during functional activity.
(6) Changes in functional activity and border movement after various types of therapeutic intervention.
Mechanical articulators have been used to advance knowledge of relative jaw movement. See, e.g., B. B. McCollum, "Gnathology, A Research Report," Scientific Press, Pasadena, Calif. (1955), and by W. G. A. Bonwill, The Scoentific Articulation of the Human Teeth as Founded on Geometrical, Mathematical, and Mechanical Laws, 8 J. PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY 41 (1958). An empirical approach published by N. G. Bennett, A Contribution to the Study of the Movements of the Mandible, 21 DENT. ITEMS OF INTEREST 617 (1899), was another important early step in this field. L. E. Kurth, Centric Relations and Mandibular Movement, 50 JADA 309 (1955), B. Jankelsen, Physiology of the Human Dental Occlusion, 50 JADA 664 (1955), and U. Posselt, "Physiology of Occlusion and Rehabilitation", F. A. Davis Co., Blackwell Scientific Publication, Philadelphia, at 44 (1962), were more functionally oriented studies of dental occlusion. A significant report in which the limits of movements of the condyle heads were defined by using a series of wax check bites with the teeth held in different positions of opening and eccentricity is found in U. Posselt, Movement Areas of the Mandible, 7 J. PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY 368 (1957).
While all of the developments described above represented significant advances in the study and understanding of dental occlusion, they were based on methods that used bulky intra-oral mechanical components to acquire mandibular movement data. Such bulky, cumbersome instrumentation introduced distortions into the masticatory (chewing) pattern resulting in data that was somewhat skewed from a person's normal mandibular movement patterns. Also, the data were not stored and were not available for subsequent analysis.
Consequently, more recent efforts in this field have moved in the direction of trying to gather more accurate data for occlusion analysis. One such development utilizes a magnet mounted on a patient's tooth, and a system of antennae positioned on either side of the patient's head pick up signals indicative of the tooth. However, this type of system is limited to tracking a single point. Therefore, three-dimensional movements of the entire mandible cannot be determined.
Another type of system uses rigid stylii, attached to the mandible, which move against a resistive foil recording surface. A variation of this kind of system uses three styli attached to the teeth and three orthogonal sensor surfaces. See S. Hobo & S. Mochizuki, A Kinematic Investigation of Mandibular Border Movement by Means of an Electron Measuring System, Part I: Development of the Measuring System, 50 J. PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY 368, No. 3 (1983), and S. Hobo, A Kinematic Investigation of Mandibular Border Movement by Means of an Electronic Measuring System, Part II: A Study of the Bennett Movement, 51 J. PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY 642, No. 5 (1984). This kind of system is quite constraining to the patient, and computation of condylar paths is slow.
Researchers in this field are now recognizing that recording and display of mandibular movements should be performed on a real-time basis in order to have real clinical utility. The approach to the mandibular movement problem considered to be the most flexible at the present time involves the tracking of light emitting diodes (LED's) on the mandible using various kinds of detectors. These LED tracking systems can produced three-dimensional coordinates that can be plotted in various planes, displayed graphically on a computer monitor, and stored for later analysis.
There are a number of variations in the mean of attaching the LED's to the mandible and in the types of detection and computing hardware employed. For example, a single LED on a patient's mandible has been used. See T. Jemt, Chewing Patterns in Dentate and Complete Denture Wearers Recorded by Light Emitting Diodes, 5 SWED, DENT. J. 199 (1981), S. Karlsson, Recording of Mandibular Movements by Intra-orally Placed Light Emitting Diodes, 35 ACTA. ODONT. SCAN. 111 (1977), and A. Ekfeldt, T. Jemt & L. Mansson, Interocclusal Distance Measurement Comparing Chin and Tooth Reference Points, 47 J. PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY 560, No. 5 (1982). Another approach uses clutch-mounted (fastened to teeth) LED's and three linear array detectors with 2,048 diodes on each detector, and three-dimensional coordinates are computed by a specialized hardware interface and displayed on a graphics screen. See F. Mesqui, F. Kaeser & P. Fisher, On-line Three-dimensional Light Spot Tracker and Its Application to Clinical Dentistry, PROCEEDINGS, BIOSTERIOMETRICS, at 310 (1985), and S. Palla, B. Ernst & F. Mesqui, The Condylar Path of Clicking Joints, IADR ABSTRACT 145 (1986).
The present inventors also reported the use of a non-restraining head harness comprises of an upper component mounted on the cranium and a lower component mounted on the lower jaw and fastened together by elastic connectors. Three LED's were mounted on the upper component, and three LED's were mounted on the lower component. The LED positions were detected by two detectors and computed in three dimensions using photogrammetric techniques. See S. Curry & S. Baumrind, Real Time Monitoring of the Movement of the Mandible, 4 PROCEEDINGS, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY 99 (1986). These developments, while significant in some sense, also highlighted the substantial shortcomings of the then-existing technology.
In spite of the work and studies described above, all of which have incrementally advanced the state of this art prior to this invention, there still remained a need for additional improvements to attain a system that would monitor the movements of the human mandible more accurately and more efficiently in three dimensions. For example, in order to obtain more realistic, natural results, the patient needs to be allowed maximum freedom of movement with a minimum of constraint on his/her natural head movement activity, yet the detectors must be able to detect the mandibular movement accurately, in spite of such freedom of movement. The LED's have to be mounted in more secure, immoveable, and stable relation to the patient's lower jaw and cranium, yet maintain maximum comfort and minimum constraint against movement. More accurate and efficient data processing and controls, as well as improved and useable displays of results, are imperative for any feasible and useful application. Also, improved tracking of individually selected points, as well as an ability to find or pinpoint specific desired points in a predictable, repeatable manner were still required prior to this invention, as well as an ability to repeat measurements of specific points, axes of rotation, and the like, at a later date, and compare them to prior data.
Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide an efficient and accurate system for monitoring and displaying movements of a plurality of solid objects in relation to each other as they also move together in relation to a detector system.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an efficient and accurate method and apparatus for monitoring and displaying movements of a person's mandible in relation to the cranium as both are free to move together in relation to a detector system.
Another specific object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for tracing the movement of any selected point or plurality of points on one of two rigid objects moving in relation to each other, such as on the mandible as it moves in relation to the cranium.
Still another specific object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for determining the center of rotation of one rigid object at any instant in time and to display the movement of the center of rotation in real time in relation to another object.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for guiding an external indicator to a preselected point on a person's mandible in an accurate, repeatable manner for subsequent monitoring of movement of that preselected point.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for superimposing a graphic representation of the movement of selected points on a person's mandible in conjunction with a video image of the person's face as he/she moves his/her jaw in speech, chewing, and swallowing processes.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved, more comfortable harness apparatus for mounting LED's on a person's face in a manner that secures the LED's in substantially immovable relation to selected parts of the person's face, such as the cranium and mandible.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a more sensitive and efficient detector system for monitoring and recording movement of objects.
Additional object, advantages, and novel features of this invention are set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following specification or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and in combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the method of this invention may comprise detecting the movements of a plurality of LED's mounted on major and minor bodies that are connected together to monitor and analyze movements of the minor body with respect to the major body as they bodh move in space. The invention includes steps of establishing and calibrating a three-dimensiional system frame of reference, local three-dimensional frames of reference within the system frame of reference for the LED's mounted on the major and minor bodies, establishing an anatomic frame of reference having a permanently fixed relation to the major body, and transforming local minor system coordinates to local major system coordinates and to anatomic reference system coordinates. The method of this invention also includes specific steps utilized in the system to detect, process, monitor, and display selected points and movements.
The apparatus of this invention may comprise a system of components to perform the method of the invention, including specific improved harness apparatus for mounting LED's on a person's head and an LED pointer for establishing selected points to be detected, tracked, and utilized in the method of this invention.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mandibular motion analysis system components according to the present invention with the harness shown mounted on a patient and a researcher or practitioner at the keyboard of a computer processing unit;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the mandibular motion analysis system of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an LED harness according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment LED harness according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of a detector utilized according to the present invention to establish X-Y harness coordinates;
FIG. 6 is a diagrammetric illustration of non-linear coordinate position response of a photo diode surface before calibration;
FIG. 7 is a diagrammetric illustration of the linear X-Y coordinate response of the photo diode after calibration according to this invention;
FIG. 8 is a graphical representation of signal output of the photo diode in relation to time;
FIG. 9 is an isometric view of the system frame of reference or coordinate system with the detectors, an LED, and the initial calibration frame positioned therein according to this invention;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an example anatomical frame of reference utilized according to this invention;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a free position LED pointer utilized according to the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a flow chart of data acquisition and transformations in the use of an anatomical frame of reference.
FIG. 13 is an example time series plot of central incisor movements with each dimension plotted separately in one dimension;
FIG. 14 is an example border movements plot of mandible movement in the saggital plane in two dimensions;
FIG. 15 is an illustration of a three-dimensional line representation of the patient's mandible superimposed on a three-dimensional video display of the patient's photo image.
The mandibular motion analysis system 10 according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, comprises an LED harness 100 mounted on the head of a patient P, a pair of light detectors 12, 14 positioned a spaced distance in front of the patient P, a detector pre-amplifier unit 16, an LED controller 18, a computer processing unit 20, and a graphics display unit 22. An optional video camera recorder 15 is also shown for use in superimposing a moving video image of the patient P on a representative image of the patient's mandible for viewing together in action on a separate video monitor 23. An operator O or clinician is shown operating the keyboard of the computer 20. The operator O has the patient P perform a series of mandibular movements, such as extreme border movements, as well as normal speech, chewing, and swallowing movements, while the detector and video equipment is turned on to collect mandibular motion data. The data are then stored, processed, and displayed for research or clinical analysis of the patient's mandibular movements as recorded by the system 10. There can also be a patient database system to aid in storing and retrieving data. A floppy disk containing the data collected on the patient can be made part of the patient's records.
The mandibular motion analysis system 10 is illustrated in FIG. 2 in schematic to facilitate a description of the principle components. The two detectors 12, 14 are positioned a spaced distance apart from each other, as well as a spaced distance in front of the head of the patient P. Both detectors 12, 14 remain stationary in these fixed positions. The distance between the detectors 12, 14 is arbitrary, but once it is chosen and set, it remains fixed and is utilized by the computer 20 in calculating X-Y-Z coordinates.
Each detector 12, 14 has a photo diode 30, 130, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, that produces electric current or a photovoltage when any part of it is exposed to light. It is preferred, although not necessary, that the LED's emit infrared light radiation and that the photo diodes 30, 130 be infrared detectors. For example, the photo diode 30 of detector 12, as illustrated in schematic in FIG. 5, has an infrared light-sensitive surface about 1 cm�1 cm in size. It is wired to take off photo-generated currents from its four sides, as shown at leads 31, 32, 33, 34. There are measurable photo-generated voltages V1, V2, V3, V4 at the leads 31, 32, 33, 34, respectively, which are preferably amplified immediately adjacent the photo diode 30 at the detector 12 by amplifiers 35, 36, 37, 38, respectively. These signals are also preferably conditioned even further at the detector 12 by filters 41, 42, 43, 44 to eliminate as much electronic noise as possible at the detector location, and then they are fed to an analog to digital (A/D) converter. The resulting digital signals of the amplified voltages V1, V2, V3, and V4 are then fed to a microprocessor 50 for conversion to meaningful X-Y coordinates indicative of where infrared light from LED's is incident on the photo diode 30.
The respective voltages V1, V2, V3, V4 in relation to each other indicate the portions, or locations on the surface of the photo diode 30 surface where light is incident or most intense. Specifically, the higher the voltage on any lead 31, 32, 33, or 34, the closer the incident light to that lead. Consequently, X-Y plane coordinates of a spot of light incident on any part of the photo diode 30 surface can be determined by a fairly straightforward calculation using the formula:
Vs =Vo sin h[α(L-S)]/sin h(αL) (1)
where Vs is the measured current voltage at a specific contact or lead, i.e., Vs =V1, V2, V3, or V4 for leads 31, 32, 33, 34, respectively, Vo is the total photo-induced current voltages at all leads or contacts, i.e., Vo =V1 +V2 +V3 +V4, L is the distance between leads or contacts, S is the distance from the contact in question to the spot of light on the photo diode 30 surface, and α is a fall off parameter characteristic of the specific photo diode semiconductor material used. The photo-induced signals can also be measures of photo-induced current at each lead 31, 32, 33, 34. Such currents can be converted to measurable voltage signals by current-to-voltage converting operational amplifiers. In a good photo diode, α should approach zero, thus reducing the effective formula to:
Vs =Vo (L-S/L) (2)
and should be linear across the surface of the photo diode 30.
Since actual photo diodes 30 are less than perfect, the behavior of α for any given photo diode can be modeled by collecting a dense grid of accurately known points in X and Y planar coordinates on the photo diode 30, and computing parameters that can produce linear and orthogonal coordinates from the above equation (2). Such parameters can be applied by computer 20, or, preferably by the dedicated microprocessor 50, to the output voltages V1, V2, V3, V4, of the photo diode 30 to eliminate distortion and produce accurate linear and orthogonal X-Y position coordinates of a light spot 40 incident on the photo diode 30 surface. Once this calibration procedure is performed, i.e., the correction parameters for a particular photo diode 30 are determined, it remains valid for that particular photo diode. FIG. 6 illustrates the characteristic non-linearity of the raw X-Y coordinate system produced by the photo diode 30 before calibration, and FIG. 7 illustrates the corrected X-Y coordinate linearity after calibration and application of the correction parameters to the raw X-Y coordinates by the microprocessor 50.
It has also been found that the signals generated by the photo diode 30 are typically somewhat erratic at first upon being exposed to the incident light spot 40 from an LED. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, upon being first exposed to the light spot 40, the output voltages Vo shoot upwardly quite rapidly and then, over a very short time interval, decrease and ultimately settle into a more steady output at about a time t1 until the LED is turned off at time t3. Therefore, in order to eliminate noise and instability and to get a more accurate X-Y coordinate signal indicative of the position of light spot 40 on photo diode 30, it is necessary to only read the signals generated at some appropriate time interval when the voltage output signals are steady, such as the time interval t1 to t2 illustrated in FIG. 8. This goal can be accomplished by setting some arbitrary t1 before the voltage signal is read. However, it is preferable to use the microprocessor 50 to constantly calculate and monitor the rate of voltage change and to find the time t1 when the rate of change decreases to an acceptable threshold. The output voltages V1, V2, V3, and V4 can then be read in the time interval t1 to t2 beginning at t1 as determined by the microprocessor 50. This period will be on the order of microseconds.
As mentioned above, the microprocessor 50 is also used to perform some or all of the calculations according to equation (2). It may be preferable to same some of this data for other analysis uses in the computer; therefore, it has been found preferable to just perform the add/subtract functions of equation (2) with the microprocessor for each X and Y coordinate. Thus, FIG. 5 is illustrated as having essentially two very highly conditioned add/subtract signals for the X and Y coordinates of the light spot 40 output by microprocessor 50 through leads 51, 52. If it is desired to perform the complete formula (2) calculations in the microprocessor 50, the signals output through leads 51, 52 would be highly conditioned complete X-Y coordinate data for the position of light spot 40. The X-Y image coordinates of the photo diode 30 of detector 12 have been designated in FIGS. 2, 5 and 9 as X12 -Y12.
The second detector 14, as illustrated in FIG. 5, has similar components and features as detector 12. For example, the detector has a photo diode 130 with four leads 131, 132, 133, 134, at which photo voltages are produced. These voltage signals are amplified by amplifiers 135, 136, 137, 138, filtered by filters 141, 142, 143, 144, and fed to the A/D converter 48. The digitized signals are then fed to the microprocessor 50 where the calibration parameters applicable to photo diode 130 are applied to straighten the X-Y coordinates and where the equation (2) calculations, or portions thereof, are performed as desired to output highly conditioned X-Y coordinate signal data on output leads 151, 152 indicative of the position of an incident spot 140. The X-Y image coordinates of the photo diode 130 of detector 14 have been designated in FIGS. 2, 5, and 9 as X14 -Y14.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 9, each detector 12, 14 is fitted with a lens assembly 24, 124, respectively, to focus light from LED's mounted on the harness 100 (described in more detail below) onto the photo diode surface 30, 130, respectively, of each detector 12, 14. The lenses 24, 124 are chosen to provide a field of view sufficiently large enough to contain the patient's head without unnecessary restriction of a normal range of movement for the patient's head, as indicated by the block 26 in phantom lines in FIG. 2. For example, a 16 mm lens can provide a field of view of about 30 cm�30 cm at a range of about 1.5 meters.
If the LED's are infrared emitting devices, which is preferred for this application, the detectors can also be fitted with visible light blocking filters (not shown) so that only infrared is admitted. Of course, the photo diodes 30, 130 would be infrared detectors. Therefore, the use of the term "light" herein is understood to include infrared light where infrared detectors are used.
In order for the X12 -Y12 coordinates of detector 12 and the X14 -Y14 coordinates of detector 14 to have beneficial use and meaning in this system 10, they are first converted to a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system relative to the entire system 10 and to a patient P positioned in the system. Such a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, designated herein in terms of Xp -Yp -Zp coordinates, is illustrated in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, the detectors 12, 14, as well as any LED, such as LED 28, detected by the detectors 12, 14, are positioned in this Xp -Yp -Zp coordinate system, and their relative spatial relationships can be expressed in terms of this Xp -Yp -Zp coordinate system.
The initial calibration of the detectors 12, 14 to this Xp -Yp -Zp coordinate system is facilitated by a plurality of LED's positioned in precisely measured spatial relation to each other. A cube structure 160 having LED's 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168 mounted at its corners at known precisely measured distances from each other, as shown in FIG. 9, can be used for this purpose. Infrared light from these LED's 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168 can be detected by the detectors 12, 14, and, with those spatial relationships, the X12 -Y12 coordinates of detector 12 and the X14 -Y14 coordinates of detector 14 can be calibrated or initialized on a standard, repeatable scale. Thereafter, local coordinates of any LED, such as LED 28, positioned in the system and detected by detectors 12, 14, can be generated by projecting back the X-Y coordinates of the light spots detected and calculating the X-Y-Z coordinates by normal photogrammetric triangulation techniques.
For example, the infrared light spot's 40, 140, shown in FIG. 5, may be generated by the LED 28 in FIG. 9, and focused onto the photo diodes 30, 130 by respective lens assemblies 24, 124 of detector 12, 14. The X12 -Y12 image coordinates of the infrared light spot 40 on photo diode 30 and the X14 -Y14 coordinates of the infrared light spot 140 on photo diode 130 are determined as described above. The local X-Y-Z coordinates of the LED 28 can then be calculated by the computer processing unit 20 using known photogrammetric techniques as a function of the X12 -Y12 and X14 -Y14 coordinates, respective the Xp -Yp -Zp positions of the detectors 12, 14, the rotations φ, ω, κ about the Xp, Yp, and Zp axes, respectively, for each detector, and the focal lengths FL12, FL14, for each detector. In other words, the local coordinates Xn -Yn -Zn for any point n, i.e., (XYZ)n, is a function of these parameters for that point, as follows:
[XYZ]n =f[X12 Y12, X14 Y14, [Xp Yp Zp ]12, [Xp Yp Zp ]14, [φωκ]12, [φωκ]14, fL12, fL14 ].
Of course, if the led 28 moves forward to an alternate position 28' as shown in FIG. 9, the corresponding focused spots 40, 140 on the respective photo diodes 30, 130 move outwardly to alternate positions 40', 140', respectively. The new local coordinates X'-Y'-Z' of this alternate location are determined in the same way by the computer 20 by recalculating the new values from the new X'12 -Y'12 and X'14 -Y'14 coordinates of the infrared light spots 40', 140' in the detectors 12, 14.
The photo diode 30, 130 used in each detector 12, 14, as indicated above can have an active photo-sensitive area of, for example, about 1 cm�1 cm, and the incident light spot positions can be resolved, for example, by a 12 bit number across this distance of 1 cm. Therefore, the resolution of a device according to these parameters is approximately 2.4 μm (1 cm/4096). At a typical operating scale of 1:25, the resolution in X-Y plane coordinates of the subject would be about 0.06 mm. This detector set-up, therefore, propagates this X-Y resolution photogrammetrically, as described below, to a third dimension Z resolution of about 0.1 mm.
Applying these principles and components to mandibular movement and analysis requires mounting LED's on the patient's head to move in conjunction with his/her mandible. A harness 100 for this purpose has been developed, as shown in FIG. 3. The LED harness 100 has the advantage over clutch-mounted LED's of allowing quick data acquisition without requiring the time-consuming, costly process of taking molds then making and fittig a clutch to the patient's teeth. It is also non-intrusive, does not have to be positioned inside the patient's mouth, and is much more comfortable and conducive to natural mouth movement than clutch-mounted devices.
The harness 100 is comprises of an upper frame 102 mounted on the patient's head in substantially immovable relation to his/her cranium, a lower frame 202 mounted on the patient's lower jaw in substantially immovable relation to his/her mandible, a plurality of strategically positioned elastic bands 115, 116, 117 (not seen in FIG. 3), 118 connected between the upper frame 102 and lower frame 202, four upper LED's 111, 112, 113, 114 strategically mounted on the upper frame 102, and four lower LED's 211, 212, 213, 214 strategically mounted on the lower frame 202.
The upper frame 102 is comprised of an upper cross bar 103 traversing the patients face just above eye level and is anchored on the face with a nose piece 105. Rigid glasses-type ear bows 104 extend rearwardly from the upper cross bar 103 to anchor the sides on the patient's ears. Therefore, this upper frame is anchored firmly on the patient's cranium. An additional elastic head band 110 can also be positioned around the back of the patient's head and connected to the bows 105 on both sides of the head to further increase stability. Two extension rods 106, 107 extend upwardly and forwardly from the opposite ends of the upper cross bar 103 for mounting LED's 111, 112, respectively, outward of the patient's forehead. Two more extension rods 108, 109 extend laterally outwardly in opposite directions from the ends of upper cross bar 103 to mount LED's 113, 114, respectively laterally outward form the region of the patient's temporal bones. When mounted in this manner, the LED's protrude away from the patient's head for better visibility to the detectors 112, 114, yet they are in an expanded spatial relation somewhat corresponding to the spacial relation of the patients forehead and temporal bones. The LED's 111, 112 are in a vertical plane spaced forward of the vertical plane in which the LED's 213, 214 are positioned in order to provide more accurate three-dimensional tracking of the cranium.
The lower frame 202 is comprised of a rigid chin cup 201 adapted for positioning under the patient's chin and lower jaw. A lower cross bar 203 is anchored to the chin cup 201 and extends laterally outward in opposite directions from the chin. Two extension rods 206, 207 extend forwardly from opposite ends of lower cross bar 203 to mount LED's 211, 212 forward of the patient's chin. Two additional extension rods 208, 209 extend generally upward from the opposite ends of lower cross bar 203 to mount LED's 213, 214 at a height somewhat comparable to a horizontal plane extending through the patient's condyles on the temporal mandibular joint where the rear of the lower jaw is attached to the cranium. When mounted in this manner, the LED's 211, 212, 213, 214 extend outwardly and forwardly from the patient's head for better visibility to the sensors 12, 14, yet they bear an expanded spatial relation to each other somewhat corresponding to the shape of the patient's mandible. The LED's 211, 212 are in a vertical plane spaced forwardly of a vertical plane in which LED's 213, 214 are positioned for more accurate three-dimensional tracking of the mandible.
The harness 100 described above, while having advantages over clutch-mounted devices, is still somewhat sensitive to contractions of the muscles in the floor of the patient's mouth, particularly during swallowing. Therefore, to minimize such effects, particularly on patients where that is a problem, and to provide increased stability, the alternate embodiment harness 170 according to this invention is shown in FIG. 4. This alternate embodiment harness 170 is similar to the embodiment 100 harness described above in that it also has an upper frame 102 and a lower frame 202. The upper frame 102 also has an upper cross bar 103 adapted to be anchored on the bridge of the patient's nose by a nose piece 104 and on his/her ears by a rigid ear bow 105. An elastic head band 110 is adapted to pass around the back of the patient's head and attach to the ear bows 104 on opposite sides of the head. The four LED's 111, 112, 113, 114 are mounted by brackets 106, 107, 108, 109 as on the embodiment 100 harness. The lower frame 202 of this embodiment 170 also has the cross bar 203 and the four LED' s 211, 212, 213, 214 mounted on brackets 206, 207, 208, 209, as described above for the harness embodiment 100.
The chin support structure of this harness embodiment 170 is a narrow, semi-rigid strap 172 that is sized and shaped to be positioned under the forward edges of the patient's mandible only, but not to extend all the way from one side to the other under the patient's mouth, thus avoiding contact with the skin and muscles of the floor of the patient's mouth. A wide, resilient elastic band 174 extends all the way from one bow 105 on one side of the patient's head and under his/her chin and lower jaw to the bow 105 on the other side of the head in such a manner that it covers the strap 172 and holds it against the front portion of the patient's mandible. Strap 172 can be fastened to the elastic band 174, such as by stitching, if desired, or it can be left free. A bracket 176 attaches the lower cross bar 203 to the strap 172 with fasteners 178, such as rivets or similar devices, extending through the elastic band 174 to the strap 172. The resilience of the elastic band 174 allows it to flex with contraction and expansion of the muscles on the floor of the patient's mouth while holding the strap 172 firmly against the mandible without relative movement between the mandible and the strap 172. Therefore, the LED's 211, 212, 213, 214 on the lower frame 202 remain in fixed spatial relation to the mandible, regardless of swallowing and other muscular flexing about the patient's mouth.
The LED's 111, 112, 113, 114, 211, 212, 213, 214 of the harness can be tracked in the same manner as described above for the example LED 28 in FIG. 5. To do so, only one of the LED's 111, 112, 113, 114, 211, 212, 213, 214 can be turned on, detected, and have it local coordinates determined at a time. Therefore, this system 10 is provided with an LED controller 60 for sequentially turning these LED's on and off, one at a time, as their respective local coordinates are determined and stored by the computer 20.
In collecting tracking data for computer storage and for subsequent manipulation, display, and analysis, the coordinate data are collected at regular "clock tick" intervals, for example tick intervals at 32 times per second. Each tick starts a new cycle in which all eight LED's 111, 112, 113, 114, 211, 212, 213, 214 are sampled four times in sequential order, and the four coordinate data points for each LED is averaged to reduce random electronic noise. This data is processed by the microprocessors 50, as described above, and fed to computer 20 for processing, storage, and display on the graphics display unit 22. While this method averages readings for moving targets, it occurs so fast that any error introduced is extremely small. In the alternative, an A/D converter having a "sample and hold" capability can be used so that all data from all LED's can be sampled, held in registers, and then read out one at a time during the 1/32 second clock interval. This method removes error due to LED movement during multiple samples.
Also, because data are accurately clocked, missing data can be interpolated by fitting a spline curve to the existing data. Missing data might result from the momentary obscuring of an LED, such as by the patient turning his/her head enough to obscure an LED from the line of sight of a detector. Further, with four LED's on the top frame 102 and four LED's on the lower frame 202, even if an LED is temporarily obscured, there are still usually three LED's visible in each system, which is still enough to position a rigid body in space.
The operator O starts by selecting the number of seconds of data on the patient's mandible movement he/she wants to collect, such as between 1 and 120 seconds. He/she also sets the number of times to sample each LED at each clock tick, such as 1 to 4 times, and the number of LED's being sampled. The LED's can be sampled in any order, and certain ones can be read more frequently than others. This feature allows the operator O to sample the more rapidly moving LED's mounted on the lower frame 202 or mandible at a higher frequency than those mounted on the upper frame 102 or cranium, if desired.
Once the options described above are chosen, the operator hits a key on the keyboard of computer 20, and data are collected, as described above. The views of the LED's can be displayed on the graphics display unit in real-time to aid in positioning the patient P during mandibular movement. Such display can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional, including a three-dimensional perspective view, as desired.
After data collection is completed, the local coordinates for the lower frame 202 system are transformed to the upper frame 102 system, i.e., offset by the upper frame 102 coordinate system, to isolate mandibular movement in relation to the cranium, as will be described in more detail below, thus obviating the need for constraints on the movement of the patient's head. Data can then be displayed on the graphics display unit 22, such as in the format of time series, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the format of frontal, saggital, or horizontal views, such as the saggital views illustrated in FIG. 14, or as three-dimensional views from any perspective.
The patient's mandible is essentially a rigid body moveably mounted on the cranium. The cranium is movable in space, so, when it moves, the mandible moves with it. In other words, the cranium can be considered the major body or system, and the mandible can be considered the minor body or system. When the major body or system moves, the minor body or system moves along with it. Yet, the minor body or system can move in relation to the major body or system. By tracking the movement of both the mandible and the cranium, i.e., all the LED's 111, 112, 113, 114, 211, 212, 213, 214 on the harness 100, the local coordinate system or frame of reference of LED's 111, 112, 113, 114 for cranial position can be offset by computer 20 against the coordinate system or frame of reference of the LED's 211, 212, 213, 214 for mandibular position, thus providing the relative movement of the patient's mandible in relation to the cranium and effectively eliminating the effect of overall movement of the patient's head. Consequently, there is no need to unduly constrain the patient's head against natural movement, albeit his/her head must, of course, remain reasonably stable enough to keep the LED's on harness 100 within the range 26 visible to the detectors 12, 14, as shown in FIG. 2.
In general, it is desirable to determine the movement of actual points on the mandible, such as at the mandibular condyles, on the ramus of the mandible, pedigo, and the like. However, it is, of course, impossible to place LED's at exactly those points because they are covered by muscle and skin tissues. Therefore, it is necessary to use another method, according to this invention, to establish and track the motion of such arbitrarily chosen points. The first step in this method is to establish a local frame of reference that is stable with respect to the cranium. Such local frame of reference can be the local coordinate system or frame of reference for the cranium established by the four LED's 111, 112, 113, 114, as described above. Assuming the upper harness 100 remains stable, this local coordinate system established by these harness LED's will remain constant with respect to the skull.
It is appropriate to mention at this point that, while this local frame of reference is stable as long as the harness is in place, it is still arbitrary with respect to the patient's head. In other words, it is arbitrarily set by the position of the LED's on the upper frame 102. If the harness 100 was to be removed and then replaced on the patient's head, its replacement position most likely would not line up exactly with its previous position. Thus, the LED's would not line up exactly with their previous positions, and the local frame of reference would shift from where it was before in relation to the patient's head. Therefore, a more fixed frame of reference is also needed for accurate repeatability of specific point location for subsequent monitoring and for subsequent data comparison, and the like.
The second step, therefore, is to refer the local coordinate system described above to an anatomic frame of reference. A suitable anatomic frame of reference for this purpose is the typical anatomic reference coordinate system shown in FIG. 10, which is commonly used by researchers and practitioners in dental and medical fields. It is appropriate to note than this anatomic frame of reference, as shown in FIG. 10, has reverse notation or reference in that the X and Z axes are reversed from the conventional mathematical and engineering notation utilized in the description above and on FIGS. 2, 6, 7, and 9. However, the X and Z axes notations for this anatomic frame of reference are left in reverse in FIG. 10, since that is the common notation in the dental field. It really does not make any difference conceptually and functionally to this invention, as long as this difference is kept in mind to avoid confusion.
As shown in FIG. 10, this anatomic reference system is based on a substantially horizontal ZX plane extending through the left and right porions (ear openings) of the skull and through the orbitales (bottoms of the eye sockets), a vertical mid-saggital XY plane extending through a point midway between the left and right porions, and a vertical YZ plane extending through the left and right porions. The lines of intersection of these three planes form mutually orthogonal X, Y, and Z axes of this anatomical frame of reference.
The transformation of the local frame of reference to the anatomic frame of reference is initiated by establishing a three-dimensional spatial relationship between the local frame of reference and the anatomic frame of reference. This relationship is established by utilizing a hand-held pointer 60, as shown in FIG. 10, to establish the anatomic frame of reference in the local coordinate system or frame of reference.
The pointer 60 is comprised of an elongated wand 65 extending from an enlarged frame portion 66. A triad of LED's 61, 62, 63 are mounted on the frame portion 66. A fourth LED 64 is mounted adjacent the distal end 67 of the wand portion 65. The precise position of the tip 68 at the distal end 67 of the wand 65 is precalibrated precisely with respect to each of the four LED's 61, 62, 63, 64, and the positions of those LED's are precalibrated precisely in relation to each other.
The LED's 61, 62, 63, 64 on the pointer 60 are also connected to the LED controller 18, so that they can be driven to go on and off in sequence with the LED's on the harness 100, as described above. As position data of these pointer LED's are detected by the detectors 12, 14 and processed, the computer 20 transforms all these coordinates to the three-dimensional local coordinate system of the upper frame 102 of the harness 100, just as it does for the LED's on the lower frame 202 of harness 100. Therefore, the locations of the pointer LED's 61, 62, 63, 64 become known with respect to the local frame of reference described above. Also, since the offset or position of the pointer tip 68 is known with respect to the pointer LED's 61, 62, 63, 64, as described above, and these relationships or calibrations are programmed into the computer 20, the computer 20 "knows" the position of the tip 68 in the local frame of reference as well.
While there are preferably four LED's 61, 62, 63, 64 provided on the pointer 60, as described above, only three LED's are necessary to locate the rigid pointer body in space. It is preferred that all four LED's 61, 62, 63, 64 be visible to both detectors 12, 14 for the best accuracy. However, if one of the LED's, such as LED 64 adjacent the tip 68, is obscured from the view of the detectors 12, 14 by the patient's head, the three remaining LED's 61, 62, 63 are sufficient to locate the point at the tip 68 of the wand 65.
In utilizing this capability, the operator O can point to, i.e., place the tip 68 of pointer 60 on, a selected permanent feature or reference point on the patient's head, for example at the left portion (ear opening). With the pointer 60 in this selected position, the system 10 is actuated to cycle and sample all twelve LED's on the pointer 60 and on the harness 100, and the computer 20 determines the precise location of the feature to which the pointer 60 is pointed, i.e., the position of tip 68 on the left porion, in the local frame of reference. A suitable button switch 69, or other actuator device can be provided on the pointer 60 for convenient actuation of the system. This procedure is then repeated on a minimum of at least two more well-spaced apart permanent anatomic features of the patient's head, for example, on the right porion (ear opening) and at one of the orbitales (bottom of eye socket). With these three anatomic points, the computer 20 can compute and store the relationship of the local frame of reference (upper frame 102 of harness 100) to an anatomic frame of reference. When the three anatomic points are chose as described above, the anatomic frame of reference shown in FIG. 10 is established in relation to the local frame of reference. Specifically, the left porion an d right porion establish the anatomic Z-axis. The orbitale, in conjunction with the Z-axis, establishes the anatomic ZX plane. The anatomic Y axis can then be determined by calculating the midpoint on the Z-axis between the left and right porions and orthogonal to the ZX plane, and the anatomic X-axis can be determined as laying in the ZX plane and intersecting the Z and Y axes at their point of intersection with each other.
Once the anatomic frame of reference is established, as described above, it can be used as the reference or coordinate system for all movements of selected points on the patient's mandible. Also, the three-dimensional coordinates of such movements can be transformed to this anatomic frame of reference and displayed in frontal, saggital, or horizontal views with varying scales.
The third step, therefore, is to determine movements of points of interest other than the LED's themselves, because the LED's are positioned quite some distance from the actual patient's mandible. To do so, the operator O can place the tip 68 of the pointer 60 on any desired feature, such as at the tip of the central incisor tooth, on the condyle, or at any other point of interest. He/she then actuates the system, such as by pusing the button 69 on the pointer. FIG. 11 illustrates this process with the tip 68 of the pointer 60 placed at the central incisor tooth 97.
The computer 20 computes the three-dimensional coordinates of the tip 28 in the coordinate system defined by the lower frame LED's 211, 212, 213, 214 of the harness 100 and stores the initial location of that point in relation to the lower frame LED's. It will do the same for any other point so located, such as the left and right condyles indicated at 98, 99 in FIG. 11. The coordinates for these points 97, 98, 99 can also be transformed by computer 20 to the anatomic frame of reference coordinates, just as it does for the positions of the lower frame LED's.
Because the mandible is a rigid body, the relative locations of these new points 97, 98, 99 to the four lower harness LED's 211, 212, 213, 214 will always remain the same, as long as the lower harness frame 202 is not moved in relation to the mandible. Therefore, as the patient moves his/her jaw or mandible with the harness 100 in place, and as the computer 20 computes the new lower harness LED positions with respect to the upper harness LED's and transforms them to the anatomic frame of reference, as described above, it can also compute the new anatomic coordinates of the new points 97, 98, 99. For example, at each time point (1/32 second) the lower incisor tip 97 will be computed in the anatomic system, even though no LED is actually positioned at the incisor. This entire sequence of steps is summarized in the flow diagram of FIG. 12.
With this system 10, as described above, the operator O can track any selected point in the cranial region of the patient in a three-dimensional anatomic coordinate system. Such point being tracked need not be visible to both detectors 12, 14, because only three LED's 61, 62, 63 on the pointer 60 need to be visible to the detectors 12, 14 to record the point. Therefore, the tip 68 can point to hidden features, and they can be tracked by the system 10.
Once a set of data for movement of selected points on the patient's mandible is obtained, as, for example in the patient's normal speech, chewing, and swallowing activities, as well as perhaps in extreme envelope movements, this data can be stored, analyzed, displayed, and the like.
The graphical diagrams in FIG. 14 are examples of tracking points on the incisor 97, left condyle 98, and right condyle 99 simultaneously during extreme border movement of the mandible and displaying the movement of these points in the saggital plane. These data may indicate, for example, that the left condyle of this subject moves in a more orbital path than the right condyle, which moves in more of an arcuate sliding pattern. These data can be stored and recalled any time in the future for comparison with subsequently collected data of movement of these same points on that patient, because the anatomic frame of reference provides a common, unchanging frame of reference for that patient over time, regardless of how the harness 100 may be positioned on the patient during subsequent tests.
With this data, the computer 20 can also determine points of rotation, e.g., the exact points about which the mandible rotates in chewing, speaking, and the like. Since the condyles are not truly fixed point hinges, but also allow some translational motion, a terminal hinge region or a locus point representing the hinge region movement may be determined and displayed. Thus, this system 10 can locate the hinge axis or its closest approximation more accurately and more reliably than any mechanical hinge locator can.
If a dental practitioner wanted to monitor such condyle points of rotation over an extended period of time, such as once each month for a year, for example to see if clinical corrective procedures are working, the data from the first test can be stored on computer disk, tape, or the like, along with the anatomic reference coordinates of those points of rotation. On each succeeding test, the computer 20 can assist in refinding the same points. For example, after placing the harness 100 on the patient, establishing the upper harness local features, such as left and right porions and orbitale to establish the anatomic frame of reference, and transforming the local upper harness coordinate system to the anatomic frame of reference, as described above, the operator can collect new movement data on the lower harness LED's. These new data are computed in the same anatomic frame of reference, as described above. Then the computer 20 can determine the new axes or points of rotation of the mandible in the same manner as before. These newly computed points of rotation can then be used to guide the tip 68 of pointer 60 to the new point of rotation so that the practitioner can observe precisely where it is on the patient.
The guide mechanism can be done in a variety of ways. For example, the new point of rotation can be displayed on the graphics display unit 22, along with the tip 68 of pointer 60. The pointer 60 can then be moved until the tip display on the display unit 22 overlays the displayed new point of rotation. Another method can include providing a position indicator 25, as shown on FIG. 5, to emit an audible or visual signal, such as a light or a sound, when the tip 68 of pointer 60 coincides with the new point of rotation. At that point, the actual tip 68 on the pointer should be located physically at the actual new point of rotation on the patient's jaw. Besides being able to observe precisely the location of the new point of rotation, the anatomical coordinates of that new point can be stored for later recall and comparison with subsequent tests to be conducted on the patient.
Another feature of the present invention is to position a video camera 15 capable of digitizing a moving video image in the system 10, preferably in a position somewhat corresponding in aspect to the patient as the detectors 12, 14. The video digital camera 15 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 positioned between the detectors 12, 14, although it can be positioned at other locations as well. As mandibular movement data is being collected, as described above, the video camera 15 also simultaneously records a video image in digital data of the patient's mouth movements. Then, the mandibular movement data is processed, as described above, and merged with the video image data by computer 20. This data can then be displayed on the video monitor 23, as illustrated in FIG. 15, as a moving video image of the patient P going through the mouth exercises with a graphical representation 90 of his/her mandible superimposed and moving in unison with the video image of the patient's lower jaw. Therefore, the clinician can replay the image at regular speed or in slow motion or even stopped intermittently, as desired, for analysis, of the motion of the mandible. Specific points, such as the selected incisor 97, left condyle 98, and right condyle 99 can also be superimposed on the video image of the patient.
The description above has been given primarily in terms of a patient's mandibular movement in relation to his/her cranium for convenience and illustration of an application of this system. However, this system can also be used to monitor motion of any set of bodies moving in relation to each other, including other anatomic parts of a human or animal as well as machines and other bodies in motion. Obviously, other LED mounting structures would have to be used for such other applications, but the processes and principle components of this system have application to such other uses.
The foregoing description is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims which follow.
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WORCESTER, Mass. - The College of the Holy Cross held a press conference on Friday, July 3, 2009, to introduce Sean Kearney as its new head men's basketball coach. In addition to taking questions from the media, Kearney answered selected questions submitted by fans to GoHolyCross.com.
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Editor, Daily Post
Liverpool-born Mark joined the Daily Post in January 2014 after seven years as editor of its Merseyside sister title the Liverpool Post. He started out as a weekly news reporter on Wirral Newspapers, and spent seven years at the Daily Post and Liverpool Echo. He was The Press Association's regional correspondent for North Wales, Merseyside and Cheshire from 1983 to 1997, before returning to the ECHO as deputy news editor. He has won a number of journalism awards, including the UK Press Gazzette Regional Reporter of the Year award, and in 1993 wrote a book on the James Bulger murder.


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Posted at: 03/23/2013 10:47 PM
Updated at: 03/25/2013 12:49 AM
By: Jenna Lohse
(ABC 6 News) -- Residents in West Concord wanted a school of their own and now they could be getting one. A new public charter school will open in the fall as long as there is enough enrollment. Today, an event was held at a bowling alley, to give those enrollment numbers a boost.
In an effort to draw in more students for the new West Concord Public Charter School, a fun atmosphere seemed to do the trick. Melissa Schingoi lives in West Concord and chose the new charter school for her kids.
"I thought it would be a better environment for them, smaller groups," said Melissa Schingoi.
Both Madison and Matthew go to Triton Public Schools in Dodge Center now, but Melissa feels West Concord Public Charter School is a better fit for them.
"Both of my kids have special needs, so I assume that they can get a lot better help there," said Schingoi.
"Not all learners learn the same and so being able to make that choice helps us reach all students," said Start-Up Coordinator Nicole Musolf.
The new school will have a different curriculum than a traditional public school, focusing more on the basics.
With a goal of enrolling 70 students, the plan is to break ground on the new school as soon as the snow melts.
"We're constructing a new facility because there's not one here in town that would be workable," said Jeff McCool.
Jeff McCool is not only a founder of the public charter school, he's also the Mayor of West Concord. He says the community is becoming younger and sees the benefits of a new school reaching outside building doors.
"I feel like this would be a good draw for people, give them a reason to move to town give them a school system to send their children to," said McCool.
"If you have a school people will come and they will stay because that's where their kids learn and that's where they make their investments and so we're trying to answer the call of the population that's here right now," said Musolf.
An extra perk for Melissa's kids? they'll now be able to walk to school next fall.
"They are counting down the days until school is out to start the new school," said Schingoi.
If all goes according to plans, the West Concord Public Charter School will be up and running by the beginning of August just in time for the next school year.


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Unlocking the Key to Deep Sleep
By Sarah Fenske
Making the Ferguson Commission Matter
By Danny Wicentowski
My Fake Boyfriend Became a Real-Life Crush
By Lindsay Toler
Rep. Jeffrey Pogue Bill Would Ban Unisex Bathrooms
By Danny Wicentowski
Darren Wilson Gives Speech to Nonprofit
By Danny Wicentowski
Angel Stewart and Other Victims of Violence Ask for Mercy
By Jessica Lussenhop
Obama Praises St. Louis' LaunchCode
By Lindsay Toler
By Lindsay Toler
Shortly before 2 a.m. on Sunday, April 20, residents of a North Broadway high-rise awoke to the kind of clatter one might associate with television cop dramas: A paddy wagon, a pair of canines and almost a dozen police officers were parked outside. A helicopter hovered in the air, its searchlights shining down.
Several dozen people were throwing punches inside the adjacent Dolce' Ultra Lounge & Bistro. Numerous calls to police went out. The fight spilled onto the street. When it finally ended, one man was arrested for disturbing the peace, and a club manager was hauled away for failing to post a liquor license.
Just two days prior, 29-year-old Tony Trupiano, the club's operator, sat down with St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department brass to discuss noise complaints and ways in which Dolce' might be a better downtown neighbor.
"I have no excuse for what happened that night, and I'm not going to sugarcoat the fight, because it was pretty crazy," says Trupiano. "But it was also really bad luck, because we were already trying to work with the police department and improve things."
The condo association of the Marquette Building begs to differ. Board members and residents who are trying to put the kibosh on Dolce' say the latest disturbance is further proof that 200 North Broadway is the wrong corner for a nightclub.
As board member and real estate developer Flora Denton puts it, "We have some neat things going on down here, but this is one black eye that we have to get rid of."
Though city officials are taking a close look at Dolce', they are not ready to shutter it. "Three hundred years ago, there was sword-fighting in bars, so this is nothing new," explains Bob Kraiberg, the city's excise commissioner. "Our purpose is to try to fix the thing and we have a lot of ways to do that. We don't want to just throw the baby out with the bath water."
Occupying the split-level space inside the St. Louis Place building, which the former Frank Sinatra-themed restaurant Summit once called home, Dolce' opened to considerable fanfare in October 2006. The restaurant/club featured a contemporary Italian culinary bent but captured more immediate attention for its sparkling interior — "a glittering chrome-and-glass bauble," as RFT restaurant reviewer Ian Froeb described it.
Dolce' quickly became a hot spot for functions hosted by such bold-faced names as Cedric the Entertainer and Marshall Faulk. Trupiano and his childhood pal, Rob Olsen, Dolce's owner, thought they had hit on the perfect location at the crossroads of corporate, residential and athletic facilities.
Next door, the Marquette Building is an equally high-end paragon of downtown's ongoing urban renaissance. The twenty-floor property was renovated by The Lawrence Group and also opened in late 2006. Swish interiors, a lush midlevel courtyard and a rooftop pool were among the top selling points for professionals like Paul Brown, an attorney with Thompson Coburn. Brown says he and his wife closed on their condo in 2004 long before Dolce' was on the scene. The high-rise's location was key.
"We didn't want to be right near Washington Avenue," explains Brown, "where all the bars and nightclubs were located."
But almost immediately, Brown recalls, the condo became unlivable come weekends. Residents complained of limos and cars triple-parked on Olive Street, blocking the entrance to the Marquette's parking garage. There were also complaints of ear-splitting music and rowdy patrons pouring out of the club after 2 a.m., yelling and throwing glass bottles on the sidewalk.
"I remember the very first weekend I spent here, I woke up to a bloodcurdling scream," recalls Linda Kasparek, a local management consultant. "I jumped out of bed immediately because I thought somebody was being attacked."
At her constituents' request, last summer Alderwoman Phyllis Young convinced Dolce's operators to move the valet stand off of Olive Street to alleviate late-night noise. But condo owners continued to call police with complaints. Then, in the wee hours of March 16 of this year, Marquette residents awoke to the rat-a-tat sound of an automatic handgun shooting at the St. Louis Place building.
"That was scary," says board member Denton. "Noise is one thing, but bullets flying? I think the place has gotten out of control."
Police Captain Jerry Leyshock, commander of the downtown district, characterizes the incident as a drive-by and says it's important not to jump the gun, so to speak. "There were two bullet holes found on the side of the [St. Louis Place] building, and a window was shattered, but you have a hard time tying that into anything at Dolce'," he explains. Leyshock adds that only one witness could be located.
Over the past year, Leyshock says police have received between 20 and 30 calls concerning Dolce' — enough to prompt the city counselor's office to issue a cease-and-desist order to the club's landlord, Behringer Harvard, of Addison, Texas.
It was a rare move, says associate city counselor Matt Moak: "Bars are a little different animal than most of what [our Problem Properties unit] deals with. We really try to avoid closing down a commercially viable enterprise because we want people to come downtown for entertainment purposes."
Sponsor Content


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FAIL : Popcorn Sprouts
Originally uploaded by mikeysklar
I bought a 25 lb. bag of organic popcorn last summer. The seeds have dried out to the point that the popcorn no longer pops. When this occurs people call the kernels old maids. I tried sprouting them since my attempts to rehydrate the kernels over night also failed. Sprouting sort of worked. I did get little green shoots, but there was a awful vinegar like smell coming from the sprouts after just a few days that made me toss the batch. Now I'm looking at the remaining 10 lbs of popcorn kernels and wondering what to do with them. These might just be compost.


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CLE Legal Ethics and Elimination of Bias Workshop
September 12, 2008 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Stanford Law School's Center on the Legal Profession and the John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest are co-sponsoring a free CLE program for our community partners and the Law School community. Professor Deborah Rhode and Professor Larry Marshall will lead the two-part workshop. The first two hours will focus on legal ethics and the last hour will address elimination of bias. The ethics session will discuss issues of resources and triage that face public interest attorneys. There will also be a discussion of particular ethics issues faced by public interest attorneys, including issues presented by the attendees. For the elimination of bias session, the professors will present a series of hypotheticals and discuss whether it is appropriate to take a lawyer's or a client's race, gender, or ethnicity into account. The workshop will also address the issue of cross-cultural competence.
Please RSVP to Esther Ng by sending an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com no later than Wednesday, September 10, 2008.
- Esther Ng, firstname.lastname@example.com, 650-721-2101


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CampusNet makes registration easy. CampusNet allows students to register for classes, print their schedules, request transcripts, manage student account and more.
Instructions for registration through CampusNet.
Starting with priority registration on March 26, 2014, degree seeking students will now be able to register for the Fall 2015, Spring 2015 and Summer 2015 simultaneously. This new multi-term registration process will provide you with the opportunity to:
More information on Multi-term Registration.
Important Waitlist Information.
Upper Division Scholars/Honors Program Academic Plan Contract


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For Sale signs in the yards
November 7, 2013 - Blaine Hyska
Congratulations to the winners of the local city elections.
Your jobs are just beginning. This won't be easy if you want to be successful. If you cannot push for progress, at least don't block it.
It's no secret that people are leaving the area. Just cruise through local communities and take note of how many "For Sale" signs you see.
Local municipalities ought to accept a good portion of the responsibility for this situation. Local communities need to react. Homeowners have done their share. Most are selling their homes for less than what they paid. They're taking a loss.
What are local municipalities doing to try to keep people in the community? Is it the same-old, same-old, or are local officials making their communities the best possible place to live?
Are the streets in good shape? Are potholes filled promptly? How are the parks? Are the water rates reasonable? How are the employment opportunities? Do you offer hassle-free garbage pickup? Is it a safe place to live?
Are the taxes reasonably low? More importantly, are the customers (the residents of the community) getting their money's worth? People are willing to pay for great service. Is your community giving it?
Are city offices and services assessable? Are city office hours set for the convenience of the customers, or the employees? Do you have (gasp, heaven forbid) Saturday hours, or evening hours?
Your customers, the people who live in the community, are most likely working people. This should be about convenience for the customer.
Elected city officials should be able to rattle off at least a half a dozen reasons why it's great live in their town. If they can't, you have to question the city's leadership.
The country is full of has-beens. Don't assume once people move in, they'll stay forever. Look at Detroit.
Here's one measure. If a city's own workers choose not to live in the municipality in which they work, how can you possibly expect to lure new taxpaying residents?
What you get is a town with a bunch of "For Sale" signs in the yards.
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French Antique Cobalt Blue Glass Boite-A-Rouge
browse these categories for related items...
Directory: Antiques: Decorative Art: Glass: French: Pre 1920: item # 1155971
Please refer to our stock # 400AOG when inquiring.
The Art and Orchid Gallery
7896 SE Peach Way
Jupiter, Florida
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|This round boite-a-rouge (box for rouge) has a pierced brass-a-cage mount over carved cobalt blue glass.[84A, 97B] This vanity objet de vertu shows a hand painted miniature of a lady on blue glass in a floral brass chased mount, French school.[97C] The remainder of the hinged cover is a machine spiral pattern on which four brass appliques, made of cartouche scroll and flower arrangements, have been annealed. This is typical of French ornamentation which mimics their 18th Century famous gold ormolu snuff boxes.[84A] Before the mid-19th Century, the French banned the use of poisonous mercury and used gold colored brass (copper-zinc alloy) for their metal mounts.[Wd] The top is held together by three fillets of brass dots. the cover is soldered to the brass hinge support which has an elaborate clasp cast as ribbons and scroll. The body of the box is cobalt blue glass with a ground 12-point star on the bottom. The glass is in a cage mount, mostly removable, of brass festooned with ribbons holding baskets of flowers and fruit. This produces a brilliant contrast of cobalt against gold. The interior contains a beveled mirror brass mounted in the cover. The mirror has several small age spots and the brass was restored. It is a finely made French antique boite-a-rouge with a hand painted miniature in very good condition. References available upon request. Size: ~ 2 3/4" H x 4 1/4"; Weight: ~ 570 grams


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Joey's men attack Peter, Harold collases and is taken to the hospital, and Christoph accidentally poisions Penelope.
Andrea and Louis go out to dinner. At dinner they run into Frank, her fathers lawyer at the restaurant. Andrea introduces Louis to Frank as "the new coat check", which obviously bruises his ego.
Penelope tells Christoph that their sneaking around has gotten old. Penelope asks Christoph to leave his wife. Christoph says he will never leave his wife, at which point Penelope implies to Christoph that Penelope may be cheating on him with Daniel.
At dinner George tells Victoria about Joey's men he met in jail. Victoria warns George to be wary of these men, even though they have the same goal George does to get rid of Louis.
The next day Harold and Frank come home from playing tennis. Frank tells Harold that he saw Andrea out with Louis the night before, while the two discuss Harold gets winded and has to sit down. Frank calls the hospital.
George tells Joeys men that Louis and Alex work at the restaurant.
Harold confronts Andrea about going out with Louis. Harold tells Andrea that Louis is not good enough for her. The two quarrel and Andrea grabs a bag and tells her father she is leaving him and moving in with Jessica, or maybe Louis. Harold tells her if she goes with Louis he is going to cut her off. Not swayed by his threats Andrea turns to leave, as she does Harold collapses on the floor
At the hospital Louis comforts Andrea who thinks her fathers collapse was her fault. Andrea tells Louis that she and her father fought over him right before his collapse. Kate approaches and offers to wait with Andrea.
In bed Penelope accuses Christoph of not having his heart in making love to her. Christoph says his heart is in nothing the two of them do which obviously bruises Penelope. Penelope tells Christoph that she can't do this anymore and encourages him to leave his wife again. Christoph tells her that Claudia is a wife and Penelope is not. He tells her that Daniel will not be a problem much longer.
Outside the restaurant Joey's men see Peter and Rita leave together. They recognize Rita as Louis's mother and follow the two back to Peters house. They decide to wait outside Peters house until Louis returns. Inside the house Rita and Peter talk about telling the boys that peter is their father. Rita decides to leave to walk to the store, once she leave Joey's men knock on the door. Joey's men enter Peters house an attack him.
Alex comes to visit Andrea at the hospital. Andrea has just found out her fathers attack was form eat exhaustion and shares the news with Alex. Andrea asks Alex if his brother is a womanizer and Alex gives Louis a glowing review to Andrea making him seem a lot better than he actually is.
Christoph approaches Daniel and tells him once again to stay away from his wife. Daniel tells Christoph to stop cheating on his wife that she deserves better. Christoph tells Daniel to watch his back and leaves.
In the kitchen Christoph replays all of the times he has seen Daniel with his wife in his mind. He then fills a small bottle with a cleaner with a disturbed expression on his face.
Joey's men tape Peter to a chair and repeatedly beat him when he refuses to give Louis up. Vincent pulls a gun to Peter's head, he still claims to not know where Louis and Alex are. The guys decide that they believe Peter and leave but promise to come back for Peter if they find out he lied. Once they leave they decide to return to the restaurant.
Erica asks George why he is not at the hospital with Andrea. The two begin to make out, Erica telling George that when he becomes the restaurant manager she would like to become manager.
Alex returns home to find Peter beaten and still taped to the chair. Peter tells Alex that he couldn't let anyone hurt his sons. Alex realizes that Peter is his father just as Rita returns from her walk.
At the restaurant Daniel orders a Brandy. When Penelope places it on eth counter Christoph pours some of the liquid from the bottle into his glass.
At the hospital George visits Andrea and Harold. Andrea argues with George outside of her fathers room about coming to the hospital. George tells Andrea to take as much time off as she wants he has the restaurant under control.
Louis arrives later to visit Andrea again. Andrea tells Louis she wants him there, and that her father will warm up to him.
Back at the restaurant Penelope and Daniel decide to switch drinks Penelope now unknowingly getting the drink that has been tampered with. Later on Penelope collapses on the floor. Christoph watches with the crowd as Kate tries to help Penelope, then rushes off.
Monday on Desire...
Will Penelope survive?


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Food trucks, crowds fill Heritage Square in Oxnard
When they were planning to hold the Downtown Gourmet Food Trucks event in Oxnard's Heritage Square, organizers said they would consider the evening a success if 600 people showed up.
In fact, at least three times that many — a solid 1,800, organizers said — showed up to sample the gourmet dishes served from trucks Thursday night.
"We had 600 people in the first 22 minutes," said Gary Blum, site superintendent for Heritage Square.
Abel Ramirez Magaña, executive director of the Oxnard Downtown Management District, said it took some hard work to clear the Los Angeles-based food trucks to come to Ventura County for the evening. Magaña and Blum said Oxnard City Attorney Alan Holmberg negotiated the proper health permits and other bureaucratic issues.
"We got the go-ahead in late July and had to hurry to get this organized," Blum said. The event was originally supposed to feature eight food trucks, but the number was scaled back to six because of health permit issues, Magaña said.
The next gourmet food truck gathering at Heritage Square is scheduled for Oct. 6, and Magaña said he hopes to have more trucks then. He said that since the first event was such an unqualified success, with long lines stretching around the historic square to each of the trucks, the district is looking to continue the gathering through the holiday season.
Nancy Shalkey of Oxnard staked out a choice spot on the porch of the Rancho Ventavo Wine Cellars tasting room for herself and some friends. They were eating dishes from the Frysmith truck, including the French Canadian favorite poutine made with gravy and fries.
"I was surprised at the turnout. There are more people than I thought there would be," Shalkey said. "I hope the food truck operators will realize that Oxnard is ready for gourmet food trucks."
Jack Tuggle, who was taking orders at the Ahn-Joo: A Korean Snack Bar truck, said he was impressed by the crowds in Oxnard. "It's amazing. There is a line around the block. It's usually busy, but this is way busier than usual," he said.
Adrien Nieto of Ventura, who recently finished second in television's "MasterChef" competition, was among the crowd. Nieto and his friends had staked out different lines and planned to share their treats.
Susan Barber of Oxnard was waiting at DonChow's Tacos, which has been featured on television shows and in national publications. "I got here at 6 and it's 7:30 now, so it took an hour and a half just to order. I ordered the tofu tacos and the chi-tamale," Barber said as she waited for her food. "I'm very excited. I'm just eight (people) away from getting to eat."
At La Dolce Vita restaurant in Heritage Square, business was booming. Gerry Moreno, mother of restaurant owner Michelle Kenney, was trying to keep up with the full house. "It's fabulous. We thought the food trucks would take all the business. But there's plenty," Moreno said.
Other food trucks were Pinoy Jeepney, which serves gourmet Filipino food; Mandoline Grill, with Vietnamese cuisine; and Dosatruck, which serves slumdogs made with Indian pesto rubbed inside the dosa — a South Indian savory crepe — with paneer, fresh spinach and masala dosa potatoes.
As she looked at the steady stream of people joining the long lines around Heritage Square, Tila Estrada of Oxnard announced, "Nobody expects Oxnard to succeed. But it does."
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