Intra-oral scanning device with active delete of unwanted scanned items
AssigneeD4D Technologies, LLC
InventorsJessica Hawkins, Justin G. Graham
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An intra-oral scanning device and system are augmented to provide an active delete (or filter) tool. The tool automatically detects and deletes unwanted items and artifacts capturing as the scan is being done. The technique provides a better user experience by automatically removing items the deletion of which that may otherwise be time-consuming, frustrating, or impossible for the user to delete any other way.
Claims18
A method implemented in association with an intra-oral scanning device and an associated computing system executing software, the software configured to extract a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud from data captured by the scanning device, align the 3D point cloud to previously-captured data, and render a 3D model to an associated display screen, the 3D model representing a scanned object and configured as a collection of discrete, 3D samples that approximate an actual continuous surface of the scanned object, comprising:
- associating a weight with each discrete 3D sample in at least a portion of the 3D model, the weight representing a density of data associated with that sample available to the software for rendering the 3D model;
- adjusting the weights of one or more the 3D samples;
- and
- actively deleting one or more 3D samples based at least in part on a sample's weight or adjusted weight, wherein the one or more deleted 3D samples represent an unwanted item in the rendered 3D model.
Apparatus configured in association with an intra-oral scanning device, comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- computer memory holding computer program code executed by the processor and configured to extract a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud from data captured by the scanning device, align the 3D point cloud to previously-captured data, and render a 3D model to an associated display screen, the 3D model representing a scanned object and configured as a collection of discrete, 3D samples that approximate an actual continuous surface of the scanned object, the program code further configured to:
- associate a weight with each discrete 3D sample in at least a portion of the 3D model, the weight representing a density of data associated with that sample available to the software for rendering the 3D model;
- adjust the weights of one or more the 3D samples;
- and
- actively deleting one or more 3D samples based at least in part on a sample's weight or adjusted weight, wherein the one or more deleted 3D samples represent an unwanted item in the rendered 3D model.
A computer program product in a non-transitory computer readable medium for use in a data processing system in association with an intra-oral scanning device, the computer program product holding computer program instructions that, when executed by the data processing system during a scanning operation of an object having a true surface geometry, are operative to:
- assign weights to sampled data according to a density of data collection;
- and
- adjusting the weights according to an algorithm that ensures that erroneous sampled data close to the true surface geometry is gradually deleted as more information is collected about the true surface geometry.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.