SUMMARY

1	The computer The Shadepilot™ is a dental shade measuring device of a Linux® computer-controlled spectrophotometer. It is user-friendly and compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000 and higher versions.

2	The spectrophotometer The spectrophotometer has an LED light. When the measuring button is pressed, the light source illuminates the whole spectrum of visible light at brief intervals.

3	The optical waveguide The colours are conducted along an optical waveguide. This is divided into two waveguides and thus facilitates the convergence of the symmetrical light on the test object. The image of the test object, illuminated by the coloured light, is then reflected onto a special black and white CCD sensor located at the end of the lens.

4	The CCD Sensor The system described is already so far advanced that it measures spectrometric data and displays perfect shade images using only a black and white CCD sensor. This CCD sensor measures the data in the visible range of 400 nm to 700 nm.

5	The analysis of the image For each image taken, the internal computer analyses more than 2 million reference points and is also able to control all of the system's functions. In the colour recording, the section of the image is displayed on the high-resolution LCD display as a shade image.

6	High measuring quality This ensures the right position and therefore high measuring quality. In addition, the screen operated by means of a touch panel provides further information on the patient's data. It is possible to record a message which is then stored with this picture.

7	Transferring the data There are three possibilities for transferring the spectrometric data and images to the PC: USB, W-LAN and SD card.