Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A fluoroscopic imaging method performed during a dental procedure for providing real-time video display of the dental procedure, comprising the steps of:(a) causing a beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel,(1) from an emitter,(2) through an area in which the dental procedure is being performed on a patient,(3) to a flat panel detector;(b) within the flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(1) generating digital data representative of digital images based on the electromagnetic radiation of the beam that is received by the flat panel detector, and(2) transmitting the digital data representative of digital images from the flat panel detector; and(c) at a computer, performing the steps of,(1) receiving the digital data representative of digital images transmitted from the flat panel detector, and(2) processing the digital data representative of digital images transmitted from the flat panel detector for display of digital images in the form of real-time video of the dental procedure;(d) using the processed data of said step (c)(2), displaying the real-time video of the dental procedure to a person at the location of the digital procedure;(e) wherein during said steps (a) through (d) the emitter and the flat panel detector do not concurrently rotate about the area in which the dental procedure is being performed;(f) wherein said steps (a) through (d) are performed such that the real-time video has a video frame rate of between 1 and 100 images per second; and(g) wherein the emitter is operated at voltage peaks within the range from 35 to 95 kVp and at current peaks between 0.0001 to 10 mA, and provides a beam with a continuous rate from 1 to 50 ms or with a pulse width range from 1 to 100 pulses/second, whereby low dose electromagnetic radiation is emitted during performance of said step (a). 2. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 1, wherein said step (d) comprises displaying the real-time video of the dental procedure to the person performing the procedure. 3. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 1, when the flat panel detector is an intraoral detector. 4. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 1, when the flat panel detector is an extraoral detector. 5. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 1, wherein the step performed at the computer of processing the data representative of digital images comprises transforming the digital data representative of digital images transmitted from the flat panel detector. 6. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 1, wherein the step performed at the computer of processing the data representative of digital images comprises recording the digital data representative of digital images transmitted from the flat panel detector. 7. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 1, wherein the step performed at the computer of processing the data representative of digital images comprises processing the digital data representative of digital images transmitted from the flat panel detector so as to enhance the represented digital images. 8. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 1, wherein the step performed at the computer of processing the data representative of digital images comprises compiling a series of the represented digital images into a video having a video frame rate ranging from 1 to 100 frames per second. 9. A fluoroscopic imaging method, comprising the steps of:(a) causing a beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel,(1) from a emitter,(2) through an area in which the dental procedure is being performed on a patient,(3) to a flat panel detector;(b) within the flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(1) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the beam that is received into electrical signals,(2) amplifying the electrical signals,(3) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a digital image, and(4) transmitting the digital data representative of the digital image from the flat panel detector;(c) at a computer, performing the steps of,(1) receiving the digital data representative of the digital image transmitted from the flat panel detector, and(2) generating an image based at least in part on the received data representative of the digital image for display of digital images in the form of real-time video of the dental procedure; and(d) repeating said steps (a) through (c) and, using the generated images of said step (c)(2), displaying real-time video of the dental procedure to a person at the location of the digital procedure;(e) wherein during performance of said steps (a)-(d) the emitter and the flat panel detector do not concurrently rotate about the area in which the dental procedure is being performed; and(f) wherein during performance of said steps (a)-(d) the emitter is operated at voltage peaks within the range from 35 to 95 kVp and at current peaks between 0.0001 to 10 mA, and provides an beam with a continuous rate from 1 to 50 ms or with a pulse width range from 1 to 100 pulses/second, whereby low dose electromagnetic radiation is emitted during performance of said step (a). 10. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 9, further comprising, while performing said steps (a) through (c), repeatedly performing the steps of,(g) causing a second beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel,(1) from a second emitter,(2) through the area in which the dental procedure is being performed on the patient,(3) to a second flat panel detector;(h) within the second flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(1) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the second beam that is received into electrical signals,(2) amplifying the electrical signals,(3) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a second digital image, and(4) transmitting the digital data representative of the second digital image from the second flat panel detector; and(i) at the computer, performing the steps of,(1) receiving the digital data representative of the second digital image transmitted from the second flat panel detector, and(2) generating an image based at least in part on the received data representative of the second digital image for the display of digital images in the form of the real-time video of the dental procedure;(j) wherein said step (d) further comprises using the generated images of said step (i)(2). 11. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 10, wherein said steps (a)-(i) are performed such that the real-time video has a video frame rate of between 1 and 100 images per second. 12. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 10, wherein said step (d) comprises displaying the real-time video of the dental procedure to the person performing the procedure. 13. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the two flat panel detectors is an intraoral detector. 14. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the two flat panel detectors is an extraoral detector. 15. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 10, wherein during performance of said steps the emitters and the flat panel detectors do not concurrently rotate about the area in which the dental procedure is being performed. 16. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 10, wherein during performance of said steps each of the emitters is operated at voltage peaks within the range from 35 to 95 kVp and at current peaks between 0.0001 to 10 mA, and provides an beam with a continuous rate from 1 to 50 ms or with a pulse width range from 1 to 100 pulses/second, whereby low dose electromagnetic radiation is emitted. 17. A fluoroscopic imaging method, comprising the steps of:(a) causing,(1) a first beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel,(A) from a first emitter,(B) through an area in which the dental procedure is being performed on a patient,(C) to a first flat panel detector;(2) a second beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel,(A) from a second emitter,(B) through the area in which the dental procedure is being performed on a patient,(C) to a second flat panel detector;(b) within the first flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(1) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the first beam that is received into electrical signals,(2) amplifying the electrical signals,(3) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a first digital image, and(4) transmitting the digital data representative of the first digital image from the first flat panel detector;(c) within the second flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(1) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the second beam that is received into electrical signals,(2) amplifying the electrical signals,(3) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a second digital image, and(4) transmitting the digital data representative of the second digital image from the second flat panel detector;(d) at a computer, performing the steps of,(1) receiving the digital data representative of the first digital image transmitted from the first flat panel detector and the digital data representative of the second digital image transmitted from the second flat panel detector, and(2) generating an image based at least in part on the received data representative of the first digital image and the received data representative of the second digital image for display of digital images in the form of real-time video of the dental procedure; and(e) repeating said steps (a) through (d) and, using the generated images of said step (d)(2), displaying real-time video of the dental procedure to a person at the location of the digital procedure; and,(f) wherein during performance of steps (a) through (d), the emitters and the flat panel detectors do not concurrently rotate about the area in which the dental procedure is being performed. 18. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 17, wherein the real-time video that is displayed is a 3D video. 19. The fluoroscopic imaging method of claim 17, wherein during performance of said steps each of the emitters is operated at voltage peaks within the range from 35 to 95 kVp and at current peaks between 0.0001 to 10 mA, and provides an beam with a continuous rate from 1 to 50 ms or with a pulse width range from 1 to 100 pulses/second, whereby low dose electromagnetic radiation is emitted. 20. A fluoroscopic imaging method, comprising the steps of:(a) causing a first beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel from a first emitter through an examination area to a first flat panel detector;(b) within the first flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(i) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the first beam that is received into electrical signals,(ii) amplifying the electrical signals,(iii) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a first digital image, and(iv) transmitting the digital data representative of the first digital image from the first flat panel detector; and(c) at a computer, performing the steps of,(i) receiving the digital data representative of the first digital image transmitted from the first flat panel detector, and(ii) generating an image based at least in part on the received data representative of the first digital image; andfurther comprising the steps of,(d) causing a second beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel from a second emitter through the examination area to a second flat panel detector;(e) within the second flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(i) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the second beam that is received into electrical signals,(ii) amplifying the electrical signals,(iii) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a second digital image, and(iv) transmitting the digital data representative of the second digital image from the second flat panel detector; and(f) at the computer, performing the steps of,(i) receiving the digital data representative of the second digital image transmitted from the second flat panel detector, and(ii) generating the image based at least in part on the received data representative of the second digital image;(g) wherein the first beam and the second beam intersect generally orthogonally at the examination area. 21. A fluoroscopic imaging method, comprising the steps of:(a) causing a first beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel from a first emitter through an examination area to a first flat panel detector;(b) within the first flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(i) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the first beam that is received into electrical signals,(ii) amplifying the electrical signals,(iii) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a first digital image, and(iv) transmitting the digital data representative of the first digital image from the first flat panel detector; and(c) at a computer, performing the steps of,(i) receiving the digital data representative of the first digital image transmitted from the first flat panel detector, and(ii) generating an image based at least in part on the received data representative of the first digital image; andfurther comprising the steps of,(d) causing a second beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel from a second emitter through the examination area to a second flat panel detector;(e) within the second flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(i) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the second beam that is received into electrical signals,(ii) amplifying the electrical signals,(iii) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a second digital image, and(iv) transmitting the digital data representative of the second digital image from the second flat panel detector; and(f) at the computer, performing the steps of,(i) receiving the digital data representative of the second digital image transmitted from the second flat panel detector, and(ii) generating the image based at least in part on the received data representative of the second digital image;(g) wherein the digital data representative of the first digital image is transmitted from the first flat panel detector at the same time that the digital data representative of the second digital image is transmitted from the second flat panel detector. 22. A fluoroscopic imaging method, comprising the steps of:(a) causing a first beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel from a first emitter through an examination area to a first flat panel detector;(b) within the first flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(i) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the first beam that is received into electrical signals,(ii) amplifying the electrical signals,(iii) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a first digital image, and(iv) transmitting the digital data representative of the first digital image from the first flat panel detector; and(c) at a computer, performing the steps of,(i) receiving the digital data representative of the first digital image transmitted from the first flat panel detector, and(ii) generating an image based at least in part on the received data representative of the first digital image; andfurther comprising the steps of,(d) causing a second beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel from a second emitter through the examination area to a second flat panel detector;(e) within the second flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(i) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the second beam that is received into electrical signals,(ii) amplifying the electrical signals,(iii) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a second digital image, and(iv) transmitting the digital data representative of the second digital image from the second flat panel detector; and(f) at the computer, performing the steps of,(i) receiving the digital data representative of the second digital image transmitted from the second flat panel detector, and(ii) generating the image based at least in part on the received data representative of the second digital image;(g) wherein the image is displayed to a user in real time. 23. A fluoroscopic imaging method, comprising the steps of:(a) causing a first beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel from a first emitter through an examination area to a first flat panel detector;(b) within the first flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(i) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the first beam that is received into electrical signals,(ii) amplifying the electrical signals,(iii) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of digital images, and(iv) transmitting the digital data representative of digital images from the first flat panel detector; and(c) at a computer, performing the steps of,(i) receiving the digital data representative of digital images transmitted from the first flat panel detector, and(ii) displaying a video to a user in real based at least in part on the digital data representative of digital images that is received from the first flat panel detector; andfurther comprising the steps of,(d) causing a second beam of electromagnetic radiation to travel from a second emitter through the examination area to a second flat panel detector;(e) within the second flat panel detector, performing the steps of,(i) transforming electromagnetic radiation of the second beam that is received into electrical signals,(ii) amplifying the electrical signals,(iii) converting the amplified electrical signals into digital data representative of a second digital image, and(iv) transmitting the digital data representative of the second digital image from the second flat panel detector; and(f) at the computer, performing the steps of,(i) receiving the digital data representative of digital images transmitted from the second flat panel detector, and(ii) displaying the video to the user in real based in part on the digital data representative of digital images that is received from the second flat panel detector.