Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr 5;18(1):12.
doi: 10.1186/s13005-022-00307-4.

Application of holography and augmented reality based technology to visualize the internal structure of the dental root - a proof of concept

Damian Dolega-Dolegowski #  1 , Klaudia Proniewska #  2 , Magdalena Dolega-Dolegowska  3 , Agnieszka Pregowska  4 , Justyna Hajto-Bryk  2 , Mariusz Trojak  5 , Jakub Chmiel  6 , Piotr Walecki  2 , Piotr S Fudalej  7   8   9
Affiliations

Application of holography and augmented reality based technology to visualize the internal structure of the dental root - a proof of concept

Damian Dolega-Dolegowski et al. Head Face Med. .

Abstract

Background: The Augmented Reality (AR) blends digital information with the real world. Thanks to cameras, sensors, and displays it can supplement the physical world with holographic images. Nowadays, the applications of AR range from navigated surgery to vehicle navigation.

Development: The purpose of this feasibility study was to develop an AR holographic system implementing Vertucci's classification of dental root morphology to facilitate the study of tooth anatomy. It was tailored to run on the AR HoloLens 2 (Microsoft) glasses. The 3D tooth models were created in Autodesk Maya and exported to Unity software. The holograms of dental roots can be projected in a natural setting of the dental office. The application allowed to display 3D objects in such a way that they could be rotated, zoomed in/out, and penetrated. The advantage of the proposed approach was that students could learn a 3D internal anatomy of the teeth without environmental visual restrictions.

Conclusions: It is feasible to visualize internal dental root anatomy with AR holographic system. AR holograms seem to be attractive adjunct for learning of root anatomy.

Keywords: Augmented reality; Dental root; Holography; Mixed reality; Root canal; Tooth; Visualization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors have stated explicitly that there are no competing interests in connection with this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
HoloLens 2 glasses
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A scheme of the HoloLens-based application development
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The root canal configurations from the pulp chamber to the root apex according to Vertucci [23] displayed with our application utilizing the HoloLens device
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Experimental holograms projected in the operating room of the dental office
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Singal A, Bansal A, Chaudhary P, Singh H, Patra A. Anatomy education of medical and dental students during COVID-19 pandemic: a reality check. Surg Radiol Anat. 2021;43(4):515–21. doi: 10.1007/s00276-020-02615-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Conte DB, Zancanaro M, Guollo A, Schneider LR, Lund RG, Rodrigues-Junior SA. Educational Interventions to Improve Dental Anatomy Carving Ability of Dental Students: A Systematic Review. Anat Sci Educ. 2021;14(1):99–109. doi: 10.1002/ase.2004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Andrews C, Southworth MK, Silva JNA, Silva JR. Extended Reality in Medical Practice. Curr Treat Options Cardiovasc Med. 2019;21(4):18. doi: 10.1007/s11936-019-0722-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eckert M, Volmerg JS, Friedrich CM. Augmented Reality in Medicine: Systematic and Bibliographic Review. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019;7(4):e10967. doi: 10.2196/10967. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ma L, Jiang W, Zhang B, Qu X, Ning G, Zhang X, et al. Augmented reality surgical navigation with accurate CBCT-patient. Med Biol Eng Comput. 2019;57(1):47–57. doi: 10.1007/s11517-018-1861-9. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources