Tooth shade analyzer system and methods
OwnerMaryann Lehmann Murljacicinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An intraoral camera connects to a shade analyzer subsystem, e.g., a digital video processor, and a color display monitor. The camera captures a digital color image of the patient's tooth and the subsystem compares that image to a stored plurality of tooth shades. Each tooth shade is represented in a block of data, including color image data, a tooth shade digital word, and a manufacturer type. The patient's tooth image includes an RGB chromaticity representation that is scanned and compared with the several tooth shades stored in memory, and a match is determined and communicated to a user of the system. The methodology includes the specification of fractional tooth shades, if needed, corresponding to a plurality of porcelain films for manufacturing a reconstructed tooth.
Claims4
A method for comparing the tooth shade of a patient's tooth after the patient's teeth are cosmetically whitened, comprising the steps of:
- capturing a first image of the patient's tooth with an intraoral camera before the tooth is cosmetically whitened, the first image including first color information representative of a color of the tooth,
- processing the color information of the image to determine the color of the patient's tooth,
- comparing the color of the patient's tooth to a plurality of tooth shades, the tooth shades being stored in an electronic medium,
- identifying one or more tooth shades with a combined color corresponding to the color of the patient's tooth,
- whitening the teeth,
- communicating the one or more identified tooth shades to a user of the system, and
- viewing the patient's tooth on a monitor after the whitening step while simultaneously displaying an image of the patient's pre-whitened tooth, to provide before and after imagery.
A system for determining the tooth shade of a patient's tooth, comprising:
- a color CCD camera for capturing the image of the patient's tooth, the image including color information representative of a color of the tooth, the CCD camera comprising three CCD arrays, each of the arrays collecting image data corresponding to a color spectrum selected from the group of red, green and blue, and
- a shade analyzer sub-system connected for electrical communication with the CCD camera, the shade analyzer having
- (i) color processing means for determining the color of the patient's tooth from the color information of the image,
- (ii) storage means for storing shade information representative of a plurality of tooth shades, each of the tooth shades corresponding to a different tooth color,
- (iii) color correlation means for comparing the color of the patient's tooth to the plurality of tooth shades and for identifying a tooth shade with a color corresponding to the color of the patient's tooth, and
- (iv) means for communicating the identified tooth shade to a user of the system.
A system for determining the tooth shade of a patient's tooth comprising:
- a color CCD camera for capturing the image of the patient's tooth, the image including color information representative of a color of the tooth, the CCD camera comprising a single CCD array, the array including a plurality of proximately located pixels corresponding to a color chromaticity selected from the group of red, green and blue, each of any group of three pixels having a different color associated therewith, and
- a shade analyzer sub-system connected for electrical communication with the CCD camera, the shade analyzer having
- (i) color processing means for determining the color of the patient's tooth from the color information of the image,
- (ii) storage means for storing shade information representative of a plurality of tooth shades, each of the tooth shades corresponding to a different tooth color,
- (iii) color correlation means for comparing the color of the patient's tooth to the plurality of tooth shades and for identifying a tooth shade with a color corresponding to the color of the patient's tooth, and
- (iv) means for communicating the identified tooth shade to a user of the system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.