SoftBank : Realize Mobile Communications of the SoftBank Group and Morita Develop World's First Dental Treatment Simulation System That Uses Mixed Reality (MR) Technology

March 17, 2017
Realize Mobile Communications Corp
J.MORITA CORPORATION

Realize Mobile Communications of the SoftBank Group and Morita Develop World's First Dental Treatment Simulation System That Uses Mixed Reality (MR) Technology

TOKYO, Japan - Realize Mobile Communications Corp. ('Realize Mobile'), a member of the SoftBank Group, and J.MORITA CORPORATION ('Morita') announce that they have developed the world's first* dental treatment simulation system that utilizes mixed reality (MR) technology, a technology that combines augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. Realize Mobile and Morita will demonstrate this system at the 37th International Dental Show, the world's largest dental industry exhibition, which will be held in Cologne, Germany, from March 21 to 25, 2017.

This system, developed under the supervision of dentists Tsutomu Kubota and Gaku Yoshimoto, is intended for dental treatment training in dentistry education. Some previous treatment training tools have used either AR or VR, but a unique feature of this system is its utilization of MR. This enables actual training on practice models in real environments with guidance enabled by computer-generated (CG) images in the virtual space.

When the practitioner wears the head-mounted display, the stereo camera displays videos of the patient's (the practice model's) oral cavities and affected areas. CG images are superimposed on this video data, including information on the locations and shapes of nerves and blood vessels in the affected areas, which cannot be seen with the naked eye. This enables the practitioner to perform treatment while visually confirming the areas that must not be harmed. The practitioner can also refer to CG images to confirm if the treatment is proceeding according to the initial plan, such as the depth and direction of the procedure. This system does not rely on the experience of the practitioner, but rather leverages various types of information for training on safer, less risky treatments. More information can be found at this video links. https://youtu.be/EGhq_WRbj-w , https://youtu.be/z37Z5uLsLt4

This dental treatment simulation system features advanced technology that uses external sensors to track the locations of the practitioner, patient and dental instruments in real time, enabling it to recognize the respective spatial locations of each. With an eye towards future clinical applications, its user interface also supports control using voice and gestures.

Realize Mobile and Morita will strive to enhance the safety and technological levels of dental treatments and develop technologies that are useful in clinical practice as well as education.
* Source: Realize Mobile company research

Demonstration videos

A demonstration video of this system can be viewed at the following links:
https://youtu.be/EGhq_WRbj-w
https://youtu.be/z37Z5uLsLt4

Demonstration schedule at the 37th International Dental Show

About Realize Mobile Communications Corp.

Realize Mobile Communications Corp., a member of the SoftBank Group, offers services that range from smartphone applications to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) solutions development. Our services utilize mixed reality (MR) and other technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT) for applications within fields that include medical care, monitoring and transportation. To learn more, please visit http://www.realize-mobile.co.jp/w/en/.

About J.MORITA CORPORATION

As a distributor / wholesaler leading the dental industry.
Through a network of 50 sales offices and some 400 dealers nationwide, Morita offers a broad range of products, including MORITA branded products which are developed through MORITA's manufacturing, marketing, and distribution channels, and also jointly developed products with our partners around the world.

About Realize Mobile Communications Corp