Multiple disciplines synergy tools for Ph.D. Students of biomedical informatics at Charles University in Prague.

The poster describes doctoral degree studies in biomedical informatics at Charles University in Prague. Particularly important in educational programmes and knowledge dissemination is the role of Internet. Therefore we also describe special activities concerned with the specific research at the First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Prague. These are selected tools for blended learning tools, ExaMe system and the role of the European Journal for Biomedical Informatics (EJBI), an official multilingual journal of EFMI, for Ph.D. student's cooperation and understanding the multidisciplinary field of biomedical informatics [1].

The application of CamScan 2 in forensic dentistry.

Forensic dentistry plays a major role in body identification. The dental examination is very accurate and also, nowadays, in the time of a comprehensive fingerprint and DNA assessment, objectively supported. The identification, which is based on the dental documentation, leads up to 43-89% of a successful process. The purpose of the study is to describe the techniques employed by forensic odontology to identify human remains and also to provide details of some of the novel developments within this area. Comparative methods of dental identification of the unknown subject with pre-mortem clinical records, X-ray images, implant presence, superimposition and DNA analysis confirm the identity of the individual. It was shown that dental identification of a person is based on unique individual characteristics of the dentition and dental restorations, relative resistance of the mineralised dental tissues and dental restorations to changes resulting from decomposition and harsh environmental extremes such as conditions of temperature and violent physical forces.

Dental implants and improvement of oral health-related quality of life.

OBJECTIVES: Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is a multifaceted field involving many factors. The aim of our study was to assess whether implant therapy improves OHRQoL in dental patients. METHODS: Patients receiving at least one implant completed a health-related questionnaire before and after the implantation (minimum 1.5 months). Questions covered the functional and aesthetic scales (AS). Paired differences in individual scores were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A univariate analysis of covariance was used to relate overall and scale-specific average paired differences to age, gender, marital and educational status. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to assess interactions between the covariates and different scales of outcome. All tests were performed at statistical significance level α = 0.05. RESULTS: All twelve Wilcoxon tests supported an improvement in OHRQoL after implant placement. On the AS, the mean difference in OHRQoL scores was found to be associated with marital status, presence of aesthetic reasons for undergoing the surgery and number of front teeth replaced by implants. On the functional scale (FS), most significant associations were observed with the number of front teeth replaced via implantation, followed by the presence of chewing problems and marital status. The multivariate analysis helped to identify the covariates that varied significantly over the two scales of interest. CONCLUSIONS: Effects of covariates responding significantly differently on different scales should not be summarized using an overall univariate analysis, using paired score differences averaged over all items. Such effect summary would be misleading. In the present study, significant implant-related improvements in OHRQoL were observed on both the aesthetic and FS in patients with at least one implant in the front dental area.

Ceramic bracket debonding by Tm:YAP laser irradiation.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to prepare a simple and reliable method for ceramic bracket debonding, ensuring minimal changes in the enamel structure and an acceptable temperature rise in the pulp. BACKGROUND DATA: Ceramic bracket debonding is based on the principle of degrading the strength of adhesive resin between the tooth and ceramic bracket. The search for a safe and efficient method of adhesive resin removal following debonding has resulted in the introduction of a wide range of instruments and procedures, among which proper use of laser irradiation can be promising. METHODS: The debonding of two types of ceramic brackets utilized a diode-pumped Thulium:Ytterbium-Aluminium-Perovskite (Tm:YAP) microchip laser generating irradiation at a wavelength of 1998 nm (spot size 3 mm; focused by lens), with two power settings (1-2 W). Loss of enamel and residual resin on teeth, as well as rise in temperature inside the tooth were subsequently investigated in detail. RESULTS: A 1W power of irradiation during a 60-sec period resulted in a temperature rise from 3 to 4°C in the approximate root location. This power is also suitable for debracketing from the point of view of damage to enamel lying below the bracket. Only a slight damage to the enamel was registered by SEM compared to conventional bracket removal. CONCLUSIONS: Use of a Tm:YAP laser (wavelength 1998 nm, power 1 W, irradiance 14 W/cm(2), interacting time 60 sec) which is at the same time compact and small enough to be used in the dental practice, together with moderate cooling, could be an efficient tool for debracketing.

Voice-controlled data entry in dental electronic health record.

The EuroMISE Center focuses on new approaches in the field of electronic health record (EHR). Among others, the structured health documentation in dentistry in the form of an EHR is being systematically studied. This paper describes the evolution of the EHR developed at the EuroMISE Center named MUDRLite and its graphical component for dentists called DentCross. The summary of features of the DentCross component is followed by a brief description of automatic speech recognition and an ASR module. The problems with data insertion into EHR during examination of a dental patient lead to further research in the area of the automatic speech recognition in medical practice. Cooperation of engineers, informaticians and dental physicians resulted in an application called DentVoice which is a successful application of the ASR module and the DentCross component of the MUDRLite EHR. The junction of voice control and graphical representation of dental arch makes hand-busy activities in dental praxis easier, quicker and more comfortable. This will result in a better quality of the data stored in a structured form in dental EHR, thus enabling better decision making and use of decision support systems.