Apparatus and method for measuring optical characteristics of teeth
First Claim
1. A method, comprising the steps of:
- positioning a probe in proximity to a dental object, wherein the probe provides light to the object and receives light from the object, wherein the received light is coupled to a video camera, wherein the camera has a field of view, wherein the object is positioned in the field of view of the camera;
generating optical characteristics data indicative of the optical characteristics including at least color characteristics of the object, wherein the optical characteristics data are generated based on camera data corresponding to the object and based on camera data corresponding to a color calibration standard generated with the color calibration standard in the field of view of the camera, wherein the color calibration standard includes one or more visible features, wherein the camera data corresponding to the color calibration standard include camera data from one or more regions of the color calibration standard that are a predetermined position with respect to the one or more visible features; and
storing the optical characteristics data in a record of a software database, wherein the software database includes a plurality of database records.
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Abstract
Methods for generating optical characteristics data of a dental object, including at least color characteristics, are disclosed. A probe is positioned in proximity to the dental object. The probe provides light to the object and receives light from the object, and the received light is coupled to a video camera, with the object positioned in the field of view of the camera. The optical characteristics data are generated based on camera data corresponding to the object and based on camera data corresponding to a color calibration standard generated with the color calibration standard in the field of view of the camera. The optical characteristics data may be stored in a record of a software database or used to prepare a second dental object.
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Citations
202 Claims
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1. A method, comprising the steps of:
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positioning a probe in proximity to a dental object, wherein the probe provides light to the object and receives light from the object, wherein the received light is coupled to a video camera, wherein the camera has a field of view, wherein the object is positioned in the field of view of the camera;
generating optical characteristics data indicative of the optical characteristics including at least color characteristics of the object, wherein the optical characteristics data are generated based on camera data corresponding to the object and based on camera data corresponding to a color calibration standard generated with the color calibration standard in the field of view of the camera, wherein the color calibration standard includes one or more visible features, wherein the camera data corresponding to the color calibration standard include camera data from one or more regions of the color calibration standard that are a predetermined position with respect to the one or more visible features; and
storing the optical characteristics data in a record of a software database, wherein the software database includes a plurality of database records. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of producing a second dental object, comprising the steps of:
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positioning a probe in proximity to a first dental object, wherein the probe provides light to the first dental object and receives light from the first dental object, wherein the received light is coupled to a video camera, wherein the camera has a field of view, wherein the first dental object is positioned in the field of view of the camera, wherein optical characteristics data including at least color data are generated based on camera data corresponding to the first dental object and based on camera data corresponding to a color calibration standard generated with the color calibration standard in the field of view of the camera, wherein the color calibration standard includes one or more visible features, wherein the camera data corresponding to the color calibration standard include camera data from one or more reunions of the color calibration standard that are a predetermined position with respect to the one or more visible features;
transmitting the optical characteristics data to a remote location;
receiving the optical characteristics data at the remote location; and
producing the second dental object based on the optical characteristics data. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A method of determining the optical characteristics of a dental object, comprising the steps of:
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positioning a probe in proximity to the object, wherein the probe provides light to the object and receives light from the object, wherein the received light is coupled to a video camera, wherein the camera has a field of view, wherein the object is positioned in the field of view of the camera; and
generating optical characteristics data indicative of the optical characteristics of the object including at least color characteristics, wherein the optical characteristics data are generated based on camera data corresponding to the object and camera data corresponding to a color calibration standard generated with the color calibration standard in the field of view of the camera, wherein the color calibration standard includes one or more visible features, wherein the camera data corresponding to the color calibration standard include camera data from one or more regions of the color calibration standard that are a predetermined position with respect to the one or more visible features. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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79. A method, comprising the steps of:
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positioning a probe in proximity to a dental object, wherein the probe provides light to the dental object and receives light from the dental object, wherein the received light is coupled to a camera, wherein the camera has a field of view, wherein the dental object is positioned in the field of view of the camera;
generating optical characteristics data indicative of the optical characteristics of the dental object, wherein the optical characteristics data are generated based on camera data corresponding to the dental object and based on camera data corresponding to a calibration standard, wherein the calibration standard and the dental object are simultaneously in the field of view of the camera; and
storing the optical characteristics data in a record of a software database, wherein the software database includes a plurality of database records. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106)
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107. A method of producing a second dental object, comprising the steps of:
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positioning a probe in proximity to a first dental object, wherein the probe provides light to the object aid receives light from the first dental object, wherein the received light is coupled to a camera, wherein the camera has a field of view, wherein the first dental object is positioned in the field of view of the camera, wherein the optical characteristics data are generated based on camera data corresponding to the first dental object and based on camera data corresponding to a calibration standard, wherein the calibration standard and the object are simultaneously in the field of view of the camera;
transmitting the optical characteristics data to a remote location;
receiving the optical characteristics data at the remote location; and
producing the second dental object based on the optical characteristics data. - View Dependent Claims (108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 201, 202)
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126. A method of determining the optical characteristics of a dental object, comprising the steps of:
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positioning a probe in proximity to the object, wherein the probe provides light to the dental object and receives light from the dental object, wherein the received light is coupled to a camera, wherein the camera has a field of view, wherein the dental object is positioned in the field of view of the camera; and
generating optical characteristics data indicative of the optical characteristics of the dental object, wherein the optical characteristics data are generated based on camera data corresponding to the dental object and camera data corresponding to a calibration standard, wherein the calibration standard and the dental object are simultaneously in the field of view of the camera. - View Dependent Claims (127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153)
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154. A method of producing a second dental object, comprising the steps of:
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positioning a probe in proximity to a first dental object, wherein the probe provides light to the first dental object and receives light from the first dental object, wherein the received light is coupled to a camera, wherein the camera has a field of view, wherein the first dental object is positioned in the field of view of the camera, wherein the optical characteristics data are generated based on camera data corresponding to the first dental object and based on camera data corresponding to a calibration standard;
transmitting the optical characteristics data to a remote location;
receiving the optical characteristics data at the remote location; and
producing the second dental object based on the optical characteristics data, wherein a material mixing unit receives the optical characteristics data, wherein the material mixing unit prepares constituent materials for the second dental object based on the optical characteristics data. - View Dependent Claims (155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172)
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173. A method of determining the optical characteristics of a dental object, comprising the steps of:
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providing light to the dental object and receiving light from the dental object, wherein the received light is coupled to a camera, wherein the camera has a field of view, wherein the dental object is positioned in the field of view of the camera; and
generating optical characteristics data indicative of the optical characteristics of the dental object, wherein the optical characteristics data are generated based on camera data corresponding to the dental object and camera data corresponding to a calibration standard, wherein the calibration standard and the dental object are simultaneously in the field of view of the camera. - View Dependent Claims (174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200)
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Specification