Miniaturized system and method for measuring optical characteristics
AssigneeVita Zahnfabrik H. Rauter GmbH & Co. KG
InventorsWayne D. Jung, Russell W. Jung, Walter W. Sloan, Alan R. Loudermilk
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Abstract
A miniaturized spectrometer/spectrophotometer system and methods are disclosed. A probe tip including one or more light sources and a plurality of light receivers is provided. A first spectrometer system receives light from a first set of the plurality of light receivers. A second spectrometer system receives light from a second set of the plurality of light receivers. A processor, wherein the processor receives data generated by the first spectrometer system and the second spectrometer system, wherein an optical measurement of a sample under test is produced based on the data generated by the first and second spectrometer systems.
Claims19
A method of determining optical properties of a dental object, the method comprising:
- applying a barrier to a probe;
- providing a reference object with known optical properties;
- measuring the optical properties of the reference object with the probe having the applied barrier;
- calibrating the probe having the applied barrier, using the known optical properties and the measured optical properties;
- measuring the optical properties of the dental object with the calibrated probe;
- storing data corresponding to a shade guide system having a plurality of shade guide values;
- and
- calibrating the measured optical properties of the dental object in the form of a closest match or matches to one or more of the stored shade guide values.
A method of determining optical properties of a dental object, the method comprising:
- applying a barrier to a probe;
- providing known calibration data;
- calibrating the probe having the applied barrier, using the known calibration data and the measured optical properties;
- measuring the optical properties of the dental object with the calibrated probe;
- storing data corresponding to a shade guide system having a plurality of shade guide values;
- and
- calibrating the measured optical properties of the dental object in the form of a closest match or matches to one or more of the stored shade guide values.
A system for determining optical characteristics of a dental object comprising:
- a calibration block of known optical characteristics;
- a probe having a tip to capture the optical characteristics of the dental object and the calibration block;
- a barrier applied to the tip of the probe;
- a storage medium for storing data corresponding to a shade guide system having a plurality of shade guide values;
- and
- a computer to calibrate the optical properties of the dental object measured by the probe having the applied barrier, in the form of a closest match or matches to one or more of the stored shade guide values.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.