The dynamics of the stomatognathic system from 4D multimodal data

TL;DR

This paper discusses methods for acquiring, visualizing, and analyzing the complex 4D multimodal data of the human stomatognathic system, enabling detailed study of its dynamics through integrated imaging and motion analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for integrating diverse multimodal imaging data into 4D datasets for comprehensive analysis of the stomatognathic system's dynamics.

Findings

Successful visualization of system motion

Effective data registration across modalities

Enhanced analysis of physiological movements

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss methods of acquisition, visualization and analysis of the dynamics of a complex biomedical system, illustrated by the human stomatognathic system. The stomatognathic system consists of the teeth and the skull bones with the maxilla and the mandible. Its dynamics can be described by the change of mutual position of the lower/mandibular part versus the upper/maxillary one due to the physiological motion of opening, chewing and swallowing. In order to analyse the dynamics of the stomatognathic system its morphology and motion has to be digitized, which is done using static and dynamic multimodal imagery like CBCT and 3D scans data and temporal measurements of motion. The integration of multimodal data incorporates different direct and indirect methods of registration - aligning of all the data in the same coordinate system. The integrated sets of data form 4D multimodal data which can be further visualized, modeled, and subjected to multivariate time series analysis. Example results are shown. Although there is no direct method of imaging the TMJ motion, the integration of multimodal data forms an adequate tool. As medical imaging becomes ever more diverse and ever more accessible, organizing the imagery and measurements into unified, comprehensive records can deliver to the doctor the most information in the most accessible form, creating a new quality in data simulation, analysis and interpretation.