Methods and apparatuses for forming a three-dimensional volumetric model of a subject's teeth
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsGilad Elbaz, Erez Lampert, Yossef Atiya, Avi Kopelman, Ofer Saphier, Maayan Moshe, Shai Ayal
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatuses for generating a model of a subject's teeth. Described herein are intraoral scanning methods and apparatuses for generating a three-dimensional model of a subject's intraoral region (e.g., teeth) including both surface features and internal features. These methods and apparatuses may be used for identifying and evaluating lesions, caries and cracks in the teeth. Any of these methods and apparatuses may use minimum scattering coefficients and/or segmentation to form a volumetric model of the teeth.
Claims21
A method of reconstructing a volumetric structure from a tooth, wherein the tooth is semi-transparent in a range of radiation wavelengths, the method comprising:
- receiving, in a processor, a digital representation of a surface of the tooth, a plurality of images of the tooth taken by a camera in the range of radiation wavelengths, the plurality of images taken with lighting projected substantially from a direction of the camera, and location data representing a location of the camera for each of the plurality of images;
- projecting a plurality of points of a grid of points corresponding to a volume within the surface of the tooth onto each of the plurality of images using a first calibration, wherein the grid of points are inside the tooth;
- producing a list of intensity values for each projected point;
- converting the intensity values on the list of intensity values into scattering coefficients according to a volume response;
- and
- storing a minimum scattering coefficient for each point into a list of minimum scattering coefficients;
- and
- outputting a volumetric model of the tooth produced from the list of minimum scattering coefficients.
A non-transitory computing device readable medium having instructions stored thereon for reconstructing a volumetric structure from a tooth that is semi-transparent in a range of radiation wavelengths, wherein the instructions are executable by a processor to cause a computing device to:
- receive a digital representation of a surface of the tooth in a first coordinate system, a plurality of images of the tooth taken by a camera in the range of radiation wavelengths, the plurality of images taken with lighting projected substantially from a direction of the camera, and location data representing a location of the camera for each of the plurality of images;
- project a plurality of points of a grid of points corresponding to a volume of the tooth onto each of the plurality of images using a first calibration, wherein the grid of points are inside the tooth;
- produce a list of intensity values for each projected point;
- convert the intensity values on the list of intensity values to scattering coefficients according to a volume response;
- and
- store a minimum scattering coefficient for each point from the scattering coefficients into a list of minimum scattering coefficients;
- and
- output a volumetric model of the tooth produced from the list of minimum scattering coefficients.
A method of reconstructing a volumetric structure from a tooth, wherein the tooth is semi-transparent in a range of infrared (IR) radiation wavelengths, the method comprising:
- collecting, in a processor, a digital representation of a surface of the tooth, a plurality of images of the tooth taken by a camera in the infrared range of radiation wavelengths, and location data representing a location of the camera corresponding to each of the plurality of images;
- projecting a plurality of points of a grid of points corresponding to a volume within the surface of the tooth onto each of the plurality of images using a first calibration wherein the grid of points are inside the tooth;
- producing a list of intensity values derived from the plurality of images for each projected point;
- converting the intensity values of the list of intensity values to scattering coefficients according to a volume response;
- and
- storing a minimum scattering coefficient for each point;
- and
- outputting a volumetric model of the tooth produced from the minimum scattering coefficients.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.