Unified workstation for virtual craniofacial diagnosis, treatment planning and therapeutics

An orthodontic treatment planning system, comprising:

• a scanner for scanning the dentition of the patient;
• a general purpose computer receiving scan data from said scanner and responsively generating a three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition of the patient;
• software stored on a machine-readable memory containing instructions for combining, either automatically or with the aid of an operator, said scan data with digital data of the facial appearance of the patient, to thereby create a combined digital three-dimensional representation of said dentition and said facial appearance in a common three-dimensional coordinate system, wherein said scan data and the digital data of the facial appearance of the patient are obtained at different points in time and are not captured in a correlated fashion;
• wherein said instructions enable superimposition of such image data not captured in a correlated fashion,
• wherein said instructions further comprise instructions for creating a virtual 3D face from said digital data of the facial appearance of the patient using an active model matching strategy:
• said instructions further comprising software providing the user with tools to manipulate the position of the virtual teeth in said three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition relative to other anatomical structures of the patient and to visualize the effect of proposed changes in tooth position on the facial appearance of the patient,
• wherein said tools thereby provide the user with the ability to design on said computer a desired three-dimensional configuration of said virtual teeth while viewing the effect of changing tooth position on the visual appearance of the face of the patient.

A unified workstation system for facilitating treatment of an orthodontic patient, comprising:

• a plurality of imaging devices for obtaining two or three dimensional images of a patient;
• a general purpose computer including software for constructing, either automatically or with user involvement, a virtual three-dimensional patient model, said virtual three-dimensional patient model including data representing the patient's teeth, data representing the patients bone, and data representing soft tissue of the patient, wherein said data representing the patient's teeth and the data representing the patients bone are obtained at different points in time and are not captured in a correlated fashion;
• and wherein said software enables construction of said virtual thee-dimensional patient model from the data obtained at different points in time and not captured in a correlated fashion using a cylindrical projection technique;
• and
• a set of instructions for treatment planning for said patient using the virtual three-dimensional patient model.

A workstation for treatment planning, comprising:

• a processor and a memory storing image data pertaining to a patient;
• wherein said image data are obtained by superimposing a) a first set of digital data representing patient craniofacial image information obtained from a first imaging device, and b) a second set of digital data representing patient craniofacial image information obtained from a second image device different from said first image device, said first and second sets of data representing at least in part common craniofacial anatomical structures of said patient, wherein said first and second digital data sets are obtained at different points in time and are not captured in a correlated fashion;
• instructions for said processor to automatically, and/or with the aid of operator interaction, superimpose said first set of digital data and said second set of digital data so as to provide a composite, combined digital representation of said craniofacial anatomical structures created from said first and second digital data sets each obtained at different points in time and not captured in a correlated fashion in a common coordinate system;
• wherein said set of instructions comprise instructions for creating a virtual 3D face at least from a portion of said craniofacial anatomical structures using an active model matching strategy;
• instructions for said processor comprising treatment planning software for accessing said image data and viewing a proposed a treatment and appliance design for the patient;
• wherein said treatment planning software instructions are capable of providing output appliance design data in a format suitable for automated computer processing by software of any one of a plurality of different appliance manufacturers.

A system for use in diagnosis and planning treatment of a human patient, comprising:

• a general purpose computer system having a processor and a user interface;
• a memory accessible to said general purpose computer system storing a) a first set of digital data representing two dimensional patient craniofacial image information obtained from a first imaging device, and b) a second set of digital data representing three-dimensional patient craniofacial image information obtained from a second image device different from said first image device, said first and second sets of data representing at least in part common craniofacial anatomical structures of said patient, wherein said first and second digital data sets are obtained at different points in time and are not captured in a correlated fashion;
• and
• a set of computer instructions stored on a machine readable storage medium accessible to said general purpose computer system, wherein said set of instructions comprises instructions for causing said general computer system to:
• 1) automatically, and/or with the aid of operator interaction, superimpose said first set of digital data and said second set of digital data so as to provide a composite, combined digital representation of said craniofacial anatomical structures created from said first and second digital data sets each obtained at different points in time and not captured in a correlated fashion in a common coordinate system;
• wherein said set of instructions comprise instructions for creating a virtual 3D face at least from a portion of said craniofacial anatomical structures using an active model matching strategy;
• 2) displaying display said composite, combined digital representation of said craniofacial anatomical structures, including said virtual 3D face, to a user of said system.

A system for use in diagnosis and planning treatment of a human patient, comprising:

• a general purpose computer system having a processor and a user interface;
• a memory accessible to said general purpose computer system storing a) a first set of digital data representing three dimensional patient craniofacial image information obtained from a first imaging device, and b) a second set of digital data representing three-dimensional patient craniofacial image information obtained from a second image device different from said first image device, said first and second sets of data representing at least in part common craniofacial anatomical structures of said patient, wherein said first and second digital data sets are obtained at different points in time and are not captured in a correlated fashion;
• and
• a set of computer instructions stored on a machine readable storage medium accessible to said general purpose computer system, wherein said set of instructions comprises instructions for causing said general computer system to:
• 1) automatically, and/or with the aid of operator interaction, superimpose said first set of digital data and said second set of digital data so as to provide a composite, combined three-dimensional digital representation of said craniofacial anatomical structures created from said first and second digital data sets each obtained at different points in time and not captured in a correlated fashion in a common coordinate system;
• wherein said set of instructions comprise instructions for creating a virtual 3D face at least from a portion of said craniofacial anatomical structures using an active model matching strategy;
• 2) display said composite, combined digital three-dimensional representation of said craniofacial anatomical structures, including said virtual 3D face, to a user of said system.