Interactive orthodontic care system based on intra-oral scanning of teeth

• US 20030096210A1
• Filed: 10/24/2002
• Published: 05/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Orametrix Incorporated (Astrazeneca PLC)
• Original Assignee: Orametrix Incorporated (Astrazeneca PLC)
• Inventors: Weise, Thomas, Imgrund, Hans, Riemeier, Friedrich, Butscher, Werner, Sporbert, Peer, Sachdeva, Rohit, Rubbert, Rudger, Leichner, Mario, Troeger, Jens, Maetzel, Stephan, See, Peter, Geerdes, Hans-Florian, Kouzian, Dimitrij, Pfeil, Lutz
• Granted Patent: US 7,029,275 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 433/24
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 7/00 Orthodontics, i.e. obtaining or maintaining the desired position of teeth, e.g. by straightening, evening, regulating, separating, or by correcting malocclusions
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 7/002 Orthodontic computer assisted systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 7/146 Positioning or placement of brackets; Tools therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 9/0046 Data acquisition means or methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30953 using a remote computer network, e.g. Internet
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/00 Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/50 for simulation or modelling of medical disorders
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring

Abstract

Interactive, computer based orthodontist treatment planning, appliance design and appliance manufacturing is described. A scanner is described which acquires images of the dentition which are converted to three-dimensional frames of data. The data from the several frames are registered to each other to provide a complete three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition. Individual tooth objects are obtained from the virtual model. A computer-interactive software program provides for treatment planning, diagnosis and appliance from the virtual tooth models. A desired occlusion for the patient is obtained from the treatment planning software. The virtual model of the desired occlusion and the virtual model of the original dentition provide a base of information for custom manufacture of an orthodontic appliance. A variety of possible appliance and appliance manufacturing systems are contemplated, including customized archwires and customized devices for placement of off-the shelf brackets on the archwires, and removable orthodontic appliances.

Claims

1. An interactive, orthodontic care system based on scanning of teeth, comprising:

a hand-held scanner and associated processing system for capturing images of the dentition of the patient and processing the images to generate a full, virtual, three-dimensional model of the dentition;

a data conditioning system processing the virtual, three-dimensional model and responsively generating a set of individual, virtual three-dimensional tooth objects representing teeth in the dentition of the patient;

a workstation comprising a user interface for display of said set of individual, virtual three-dimensional tooth objects and software adapted for permitting a user to manipulate the virtual three-dimensional tooth objects to thereby design a target situation for the patient in three dimensions and parameters for a customized orthodontic appliance for said teeth.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the hand-held scanner and associated processing system, said data conditioning system, and said workstation are installed in an orthodontic clinic.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the hand-held scanner and workstation are installed in an orthodontic clinic, and wherein said data conditioning system is installed in a general purpose computer at a remote location from said orthodontic clinic.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said remote location comprises an appliance manufacturing facility manufacturing said customized orthodontic appliance.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising communication equipment for transmitting digital data representing at least said target situation and said parameters for a customized orthodontic appliance to a remotely located appliance manufacturing facility, said appliance manufacturing facility receiving said digital data and further comprising orthodontic appliance manufacturing equipment for manufacturing said customized orthodontic appliance.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises an archwire.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises set of orthodontic brackets and an archwire.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises a retainer.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises a substantially transparent aligning device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the hand-held scanner is adapted for intra-oral scanning and comprises a light source, an electronic imaging device and a pattern source, said light source projecting a pattern onto said dentition, said electronic imaging device converting incident radiation into a two dimensional image of the pattern as reflected from said dentition.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the hand-held scanner further comprises a continuous illumination light source providing general illumination of the dentition during scanning.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the hand-held scanner further comprises a video mode of operation in which a light source illuminates the dentition and an imaging device generates a video image of the dentition.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the scanner alternates in rapid succession between said video mode and a three-dimensional image capture mode.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a scanning workstation coupled to said hand-held scanner wherein said scanning workstation includes a voice-activated system in which operation of the scanner is controlled, at least in part, by voice commands.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein said processing system associated with said hand-held scanner executes a registration algorithm on frames of the three-dimensional point clouds, each frame corresponding to an individual two-dimensional image captured by said electronic imaging device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said registration algorithm comprises a cumulative registration algorithm.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein said processing system associated with said hand-held scanner executes a pattern recognition routine for said two-dimensional images, a decoding routine, and a three-dimensional calculation routine generating a three-dimensional cloud of points associated with each of said two-dimensional images.

18. An interactive orthodontic treatment planning system, comprising:

a workstation having a display, a memory storing a three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition of a patient in a malocclused situation and a processing unit;

said processing unit executing a routine for generating individual, virtual three-dimensional tooth objects of teeth from said three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition of a patient in a malocclused situation;

said processing unit further executing software representing an interactive treatment planning and appliance design program by which a user of said workstation may move the individual three-dimensional virtual tooth objects to a target situation, said target situation comprising a three-dimensional virtual model of said teeth at a desired occlusion; and

communication equipment for transmission of the three-dimensional virtual model of the said teeth at a desired occlusion to a remote location.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein said routine for generating individual, virtual three-dimensional tooth models compares portions of said three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition to three-dimensional virtual template teeth.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein said three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition is obtained from an intra-oral scanning of the dentition of the patient with a hand-held scanner.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the remote location comprises an orthodontic clinic.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the remote location comprises a precision appliance manufacturing center.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the treatment planning software program further comprises a feature for enabling a user to interactively place a three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket onto the surface of an individual, virtual three-dimensional tooth model and adjust the position of said virtual bracket relative to said individual, virtual three-dimensional tooth model.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the precision appliance manufacturing center comprises a wire bending robot for customized shaping of an orthodontic archwire and a placement device for placement of orthodontic brackets at the location where the user placed the virtual bracket on the virtual three-dimensional tooth model.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein said wire bending robot comprises a six-axis wire bending robot.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein said placement device comprises a bracket placement tray formed over a three-dimensional physical model of the dentition of the patient in a malocclusion having orthodontic brackets placed on the surface of the teeth at a location specified by the user.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the three-dimensional physical model is made from a rapid prototyping method selected from the group consisting of sterelithography, laser sintering, milling, and three-dimensional printing.

28. An interactive, orthodontic care system for use at an orthodontic clinic treating a patient suffering from a malocclusion, comprising:

a hand-held, intra-oral scanner and associated processing system for capturing images of the dentition of the patient and processing the images to generate a full, virtual, three-dimensional model of the dentition in the malocclusion;

a workstation having a display, a memory storing the three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition of a patient in a malocclused situation and a processing unit;

said workstation processing unit executing software representing an interactive treatment planning and appliance design program by which a user of said workstation may move individual three-dimensional, virtual tooth objects obtained from said virtual model of the dentition to a target situation, said target situation comprising a three-dimensional virtual model of said teeth at a desired occlusion; and

communications equipment for transmission of digital information representing at least one of said virtual, three-dimensional model of the dentition in the malocclusion and said three-dimensional virtual model of said teeth at a desired occlusion to a remotely located precision appliance manufacturing center for manufacturing a customized orthodontic appliance.

29. The system of claim 28, further comprising a processing unit executing a routine for generating individual, virtual three-dimensional tooth models of teeth from said three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition of a patient in a malocclused situation;

30. The system of claim 29, wherein said processing unit comprises the processing unit of said workstation.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein said processing unit comprises a general-purpose computer at said precision appliance manufacturing center.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises an archwire.

33. The system of claim 28, wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises one or more devices for placement of orthodontic brackets and an archwire.

34. The system of claim 28, wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises a retainer.

35. The system of claim 28, wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises a removable aligning device.

36. The system of claim 28, wherein the hand-held scanner includes a light source, an electronic imaging device and a pattern source, said light source projecting a pattern onto said dentition, said electronic imaging device converting incident radiation into a two dimensional image of the pattern as reflected from said dentition.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the hand-held scanner further comprises a continuous illumination light source providing general illumination of the dentition during scanning.

38. The system of claim 28, wherein the scanner further comprises a video mode of operation in which a light source illuminates the dentition and an imaging device generates a video image of the dentition.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the scanner alternates in rapid succession between said video mode and a three-dimensional image capture mode.

40. The system of claim 38, further comprising a scanning workstation coupled to said hand-held scanner wherein said scanning workstation includes a voice-activated system in which operation of the scanner is controlled, at least in part, by voice commands.

41. The system of claim 36, wherein said processing system associated with said hand-held scanner executes a registration algorithm on frames of the three-dimensional point clouds, each frame corresponding to an individual two-dimensional image captured by said electronic imaging device.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein said registration algorithm comprises a cumulative registration algorithm.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein said processing system associated with said hand-held scanner executes a pattern recognition routine for said two-dimensional images, a decoding routine, and a three-dimensional calculation routine generating a three-dimensional cloud of points associated with each of said two-dimensional images.

44. An orthodontic appliance manufacturing system, comprising:

a machine readable memory storing digital data representing a three-dimensional virtual model of a malocclusion of a patient and digital information representing the location of orthodontic brackets to be placed on the malocclusion, said memory further storing digital data representing a three-dimensional virtual model of the patient'"'"'s teeth and the dentition and location of orthodontic brackets at a target situation in three dimensions;

a wire bending robot;

an instrument for generating a three-dimensional physical model of the malocclusion with the brackets placed on the malocclusion;

a forming device forming a bracket placement tray matching the geometry of the physical model of the malocclusion with the brackets;

wherein the bracket placement tray may be removed from the physical model, said tray formed with spaces for placement of brackets and enabling bonding of the brackets to the teeth at a desired location based on the virtual model of the dentition and the placement of orthodontic brackets on the malocclusion.

45. The system of claim 45, wherein the wire bending robot comprises a six axis robot having a fixed gripping tool and a moveable gripping tool mounted to the end of a moveable arm.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein the instrument for generating the three-dimensional model comprises a stereolithographic instrument.

47. The system of claim 45, further comprising equipment for manufacturing a customized bracket bonding pad based on the placement of a three-dimensional virtual orthodontic bracket on the surface of a three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition of a patient.

48. A system for manufacture of a customized bracket bonding pad for a bracket, the bracket having a base, comprising:

a memory storing a three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition and a three-dimensional virtual model of an orthodontic bracket as placed on the surface of a tooth in the three-dimensional virtual model of the dentition;

a processing unit deriving from said three-dimensional virtual models the three-dimensional shape of a bracket bonding pad; and

a machine system for manufacturing a bracket bonding pad according to said derived three-dimensional shape.