Planar guides to visually aid orthodontic appliance placement within a three-dimensional (3D) environment
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- displaying, via a user interface of a computing device, a three-dimensional (3D) digital representation of a tooth of a dental arch within a 3D environment;
while displaying the digital representation of the tooth of the dental arch, displaying, via the user interface of the computing device, a two-dimensional planar guide within the 3D environment as a visual aid to a practitioner in a placement of an orthodontic appliance relative to the tooth of the dental arch within the 3D environment, the planar guide having a planar guide orientation within the 3D environment andcomputing the planar guide orientation of the planar guide based on the placement of the orthodontic appliance within the 3D environment relative to the dental arch,wherein the two-dimensional planar guide is displayed separately from the digital representation of the tooth, andwherein displaying the planar guide comprises, as the practitioner moves the orthodontic appliance relative to the tooth within the 3D environment, rendering the planar guide at a location that is based on at least one of a position or an orientation of the orthodontic appliance within the 3D environment.
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Abstract
Techniques are described for providing an environment for modeling and depicting a three-dimensional (3D) representation of a patient'"'"'s dental arch to assist practitioners in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment. A system is described, for example, that includes modeling software executing on a computing device to provide a three-dimensional (3D) environment. The modeling software includes a rendering engine that renders a digital representation of a dental arch within the 3D environment, and a user interface that displays a planar guide within the 3D environment as a visual aid to a practitioner in the placement of an orthodontic appliance relative to the dental arch. By interacting with the system, orthodontic practitioners are able to visualize the 3D representation of the dental arch, and precisely position “virtual” orthodontic appliances relative to the modeled dental arch.
104 Citations
89 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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displaying, via a user interface of a computing device, a three-dimensional (3D) digital representation of a tooth of a dental arch within a 3D environment; while displaying the digital representation of the tooth of the dental arch, displaying, via the user interface of the computing device, a two-dimensional planar guide within the 3D environment as a visual aid to a practitioner in a placement of an orthodontic appliance relative to the tooth of the dental arch within the 3D environment, the planar guide having a planar guide orientation within the 3D environment and computing the planar guide orientation of the planar guide based on the placement of the orthodontic appliance within the 3D environment relative to the dental arch, wherein the two-dimensional planar guide is displayed separately from the digital representation of the tooth, and wherein displaying the planar guide comprises, as the practitioner moves the orthodontic appliance relative to the tooth within the 3D environment, rendering the planar guide at a location that is based on at least one of a position or an orientation of the orthodontic appliance within the 3D environment. - 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, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A method comprising:
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displaying, via a user interface of a computing device, a three-dimensional (3D) digital representation of a tooth of a dental arch within a 3D environment; positioning an orthodontic appliance at a position within the 3D environment in response to input from a practitioner; while displaying the digital representation of the tooth of the dental arch, displaying, via the user interface of the computing device, a two-dimensional planar guide within the 3D environment as a visual aid to the practitioner in adjusting a placement of the orthodontic appliance relative to the tooth of the dental arch within the 3D environment, the planar guide having a planar guide orientation within the 3D environment, wherein the two-dimensional planar guide is displayed separately from the digital representation of the tooth; and computing the planar guide orientation of the planar guide based on the placement of the orthodontic appliance within the 3D environment relative to the dental arch, and wherein displaying the planar guide comprises; rendering the planar guide at a location within the 3D environment that is based on the position of the orthodontic appliance; receiving input from the practitioner moving the placement of the orthodontic appliance with respect to the tooth within the 3D environment; and automatically moving the planar guide within the 3D environment as the practitioner moves the orthodontic appliance with respect to the tooth within the 3D environment.
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46. A system comprising:
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a computing device; and modeling software executing on the computing device, wherein the modeling software comprises; a rendering engine that renders a three-dimensional (3D) digital representation of a tooth of a dental arch within a 3D environment; a user interface that displays the digital representation of the tooth of the dental arch while displaying a two-dimensional planar guide within the 3D environment as a visual aid to a practitioner in a placement of an orthodontic appliance relative to the dental arch within the 3D environment, wherein the planar guide is displayed separately from the digital representation of the tooth, and wherein, as the practitioner moves the orthodontic appliance relative to the tooth within the 3D environment, the rendering engine renders the planar guide at a location based on at least one of a position or an orientation of the orthodontic appliance within the 3D environment and a guide control module that computes a planar guide orientation of the planar guide within the 3D environment based on the placement of the orthodontic appliance within the 3D environment relative to the dental arch. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 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, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83)
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84. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for causing a programmable processor to:
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render a three-dimensional (3D) digital representation of a tooth within the 3D environment; while displaying the digital representation of the tooth, display a two-dimensional planar guide within the 3D environment as a visual aid to a practitioner in a placement of an orthodontic appliance relative to the tooth within the 3D environment, the planar guide having a planar guide orientation within the 3D environment, wherein the planar guide is displayed separately from the digital representation of the tooth, and wherein the instructions cause the programmable processor to display the planar guide by rendering the planar guide at a location based on a position of the orthodontic appliance within the 3D environment as the practitioner moves the orthodontic appliance relative to the tooth within the 3D environment; and compute the planar guide orientation of the planar guide based on the placement of the orthodontic appliance within the 3D environment relative to the dental arch. - View Dependent Claims (85, 86, 87, 88, 89)
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Specification