# US 12,109,091 B1 · Cryptographically secured dental treatment planning > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,109,091 B1 - Document ID: US12109091B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 18/199,867 - Filed: 2023-05-19 - Granted: 2024-10-08 - Earliest claimed: 2018-11-07 - Assignees: Align Technology, Inc. - Applicants: Align Technology, Inc. - Inventors: Sreelakshmi Kolli; Leon Rasovsky - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12109091B1 ## CPC - G06F 21/64: Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures - G16H 10/60: for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records - A61C 7/002: {Orthodontic computer assisted systems} - A61C 7/08: Mouthpiece-type retainers {or positioners, e.g. for both the lower and upper arch (arch-shaped medicament applicators for teeth or gums A61C19/063; mouthguards for protecting the teeth of sportsmen A63B71/085)} - A61C 9/0053: {Optical means or methods, e.g. scanning the teeth by a laser or light beam} - B33Y 80/00: Products made by additive manufacturing - G06F 16/2379: {Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing} - G06F 21/602: {Providing cryptographic facilities or services} - G06F 21/6245: {Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes} - G16H 15/00: ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof - G16H 20/00: ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance - G16H 20/40: relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture - G16H 30/40: for processing medical images, e.g. editing - G16H 50/50: for simulation or modelling of medical disorders - H04L 9/3247: {involving digital signatures} - H04L 9/50: {using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees} - A61C 2007/004: {Automatic construction of a set of axes for a tooth or a plurality of teeth} - G06Q 2220/10: Usage protection of distributed data files - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA - A61C: DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE (non-driven toothbrushes A46B; {tongue scrapers A61B17/24;} preparations for dentistry A61K6/00; preparations for cleaning the teeth or mouth A61K8/00, A61Q11/00) - B33Y: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract A method of cryptographically secured digital dental treatment planning comprises: receiving, at an intraoral scanning system, an intraoral scan of a patient's dentition, wherein the intraoral scan comprises a three-dimensional (3D) surface representing the patient's dentition at a first arrangement; encrypting, at the intraoral scanning system, the intraoral scan to create a cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition; decrypting, at a treatment planning system, the cryptographically secured dental record; determining a target arrangement for the patient's dentition; determining a digital treatment plan for the patient's dentition, wherein the digital treatment plan comprises a series of intermediate arrangements for a series of aligners to move the patient's dentition from the first arrangement toward the target arrangement; adding the digital treatment plan to the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition; and sending the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition to one or more data stores. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of cryptographically secured digital dental treatment planning, comprising: generating, at an intraoral scanning system, a three-dimensional (3D) virtual model of a patient's dental arch based on stitching together a plurality of intraoral scans of the patient's dental arch, wherein the 3D virtual model comprises a 3D surface representing the patient's dentition at a first arrangement; encrypting, at the intraoral scanning system, the 3D virtual model using a secret cryptographic key to create a cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition; adding data of the cryptographically secured dental record comprising the 3D virtual model to a blockchain; receiving, at a treatment planning system, the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition; decrypting, at the treatment planning system, the cryptographically secured dental record; determining, at the treatment planning system, a target arrangement for the patient's dentition; determining, at the treatment planning system, a digital treatment plan for the patient's dentition, wherein the digital treatment plan comprises a series of intermediate arrangements for a series of aligners to move the patient's dentition from the first arrangement toward the target arrangement; adding, at the treatment planning system, the digital treatment plan to the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition; and sending, from the treatment planning system, the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition to one or more data stores to store the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition by a manufacturing system; and manufacturing the series of aligners by the manufacturing system using the cryptographically secured dental record. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein manufacturing the series of aligners comprises: causing one or more 3D printing machines to print a plurality of stereolithography (SLA) molds corresponding to the series of intermediate arrangements; causing one or more thermoforming machines to thermoform the series of aligners over the plurality of SLA molds; and causing one or more trimming machines to trim the series of aligners along a cutline. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein manufacturing the series of aligners comprises: causing one or more 3D printing machines to print the series of aligners. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D virtual model of the patient's dental arch is received at a first time, the method further comprising: generating, at the intraoral scanning system or at a second intraoral scanning system, and at a second time, a second 3D virtual model of the patient's dental arch, wherein the second 3D virtual model comprises a second 3D surface representing the patient's dentition at a second arrangement associated with a stage of orthodontic treatment; retrieving the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition; and adding the second 3D virtual model to the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, further comprising: determining a current arrangement of the patient's dentition based on the second 3D virtual model; and tracking progress of the digital treatment plan based on comparing the current arrangement of the patient's dentition to an intermediate arrangement of the patient's dentition from the digital treatment plan, wherein the intermediate arrangement of the patient's dentition is associated with a stage of treatment. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, further comprising: determining that the current arrangement of the patient's dentition deviates from the intermediate arrangement of the patient's dentition; determining a revised digital treatment plan for the patient's dentition, wherein the revised digital treatment plan comprises a revised series of intermediate arrangements for a revised series of aligners to move the patient's dentition from the current arrangement toward the target arrangement; and adding the revised digital treatment plan to the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: digitally signing the cryptographically secured dental record by a node associated with the intraoral scanning system; and digitally signing the cryptographically secured dental record by a node associated with the treatment planning system. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: adding, to the blockchain, a transaction record associated with adding the digital treatment plan to the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the blockchain comprises a multi-dimensional blockchain comprising a main blockchain and one or more auxiliary blockchains. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more auxiliary blockchains store identifiers for locations of external storage storing the 3D virtual model. ### Claim 12 A system comprising: an intraoral scanning system configured to: generate a three-dimensional (3D) virtual model of a patient's dental arch based on stitching together a plurality of intraoral scans of the patient's dental arch, wherein the 3D virtual model comprises a 3D surface representing the patient's dentition at a first arrangement; encrypt the 3D virtual model using a secret cryptographic key to create a cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition; and add data of the cryptographically secured dental record comprising the 3D virtual model to a blockchain; and a treatment planning system configured to: receive the cryptographically secured dental record; decrypt the cryptographically secured dental record; determine a target arrangement for the patient's dentition; determine a digital treatment plan for the patient's dentition, wherein the digital treatment plan comprises a series of intermediate arrangements for a series of aligners to move the patient's dentition from the first arrangement toward the target arrangement; and add the digital treatment plan to the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition; and a data store to store the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, further comprising: a manufacturing system configured to: receive the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition; and manufacture the series of aligners using the cryptographically secured dental record. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein manufacturing the series of aligners comprises: causing one or more 3D printing machines to print a plurality of stereolithography (SLA) molds corresponding to the series of intermediate arrangements; causing one or more thermoforming machines to thermoform the series of aligners over the plurality of SLA molds; and causing one or more trimming machines to trim the series of aligners along a cutline. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein manufacturing the series of aligners comprises: causing one or more 3D printing machines to print the series of aligners. ### Claim 16 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the 3D virtual model of the patient's dental arch is received at a first time, the system further comprising: the intraoral scanning system or a second intraoral scanning system configured to: generate, at a second time, a second 3D virtual model of the patient's dental arch, wherein the second 3D virtual model comprises a second 3D surface representing the patient's dentition at a second arrangement associated with a stage of orthodontic treatment; retrieve the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition; and add the second 3D virtual model to the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the treatment planning system, the intraoral scanning system, or the second intraoral scanning system is configured to: determine a current arrangement of the patient's dentition based on the second 3D virtual model; and track progress of the digital treatment plan based on comparing the current arrangement of the patient's dentition to an intermediate arrangement of the patient's dentition from the digital treatment plan, wherein the intermediate arrangement of the patient's dentition is associated with a stage of treatment. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the treatment planning system, the intraoral scanning system, or the second intraoral scanning system is further configured to: determine that the current arrangement of the patient's dentition deviates from the intermediate arrangement of the patient's dentition; determine a revised digital treatment plan for the patient's dentition, wherein the revised digital treatment plan comprises a revised series of intermediate arrangements for a revised series of aligners to move the patient's dentition from the current arrangement toward the target arrangement; and add the revised digital treatment plan to the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition. ### Claim 19 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein: a node associated with the intraoral scanning system is configured to digitally sign the cryptographically secured dental record; and a node associated with the treatment planning system is configured to digitally sign the cryptographically secured dental record. ### Claim 20 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the treatment planning system is further configured to: add, to the blockchain, a transaction record associated with adding the digital treatment plan to the cryptographically secured dental record of the patient's dentition.