Movement of orthodontic objects along a virtual archwire within a three-dimensional (3D) environment
View Patent ↗Techniques are described for moving an orthodontic object (e.g., an orthodontic appliance and/or its associated tooth) in response to input indicative of a desired movement of the object along a virtual archwire. The movement of objects along the archwire may be used to generate a three-dimensional (3D) representation of a patient's dental arch. The manner in which the object is to be moved along the virtual archwire may be determined automatically during creation of a treatment plan for a patient, or may be determined and input by an orthodontic practitioner as part of the creation of the treatment plan.
1. A method comprising:
representing an archwire within a three-dimensional (3D) environment with a plurality of segments;
receiving input indicative of movement of an orthodontic object along the archwire; and
moving the orthodontic object within the 3D environment as indicated along the archwire based on the plurality of segments.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying a digital representation of the orthodontic object.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
defining each of the plurality of segments by a geometric relationship; and
moving the orthodontic object along the archwire based on the defined geometric relationships of the segments.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the geometric relationship is a geometric curve.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the geometric curve is a circular curve, a parabolic curve, an elliptical curve, a catenary curve, a second order curve, a third order curve, a cubic spline curve, or a parametric cubic curve.
6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the geometric relationship is a linear relationship.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of segments lie in a plane.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of segments bend in three dimensions.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein moving the orthodontic object as indicated comprises determining on which of the plurality of segments a specified position is located based on the geometric relationships that define the plurality of segments.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the orthodontic object is an orthodontic appliance, and further comprising associating a tooth with the orthodontic appliance and moving the tooth along with the orthodontic appliance.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the orthodontic objects comprises an orthodontic appliance or a tooth.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises an orthodontic bracket, a buccal tube, a sheath, or a button.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving the input indicative of movement from a practitioner via a user interface.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the practitioner interacts with the user interface by clicking and dragging the orthodontic object along the archwire.
15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving the input indicative of movement from a treatment planning control module.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of segments is represented by a circular curve, and wherein each circular curve is defined by a center and a radius.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein moving the orthodontic object as indicated comprises determining on which of the plurality of segments a specified position is located based on the centers and the radii that define the plurality of segments.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein a proposed orthodontic prescription includes a plurality of orthodontic appliances each associated with a different one of a plurality of teeth in a dental arch and wherein the archwire is received in a slot of each orthodontic appliance.
19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising automatically moving affected orthodontic objects along the archwire as a consequence of moving the orthodontic object as indicated.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the affected objects are automatically moved such that relative positions between adjacent orthodontic objects are maintained.
21. A system comprising:
a computing device; and
modeling software executing on the computing device, wherein the modeling software comprises:
an object movement control module that represents an archwire within a three-dimensional (3D) environment with a plurality of segments;
receives input indicative of movement of an orthodontic object along the archwire; and
moves the orthodontic object as indicated along the archwire based on the plurality of segments.
22. The system of claim 21 , further comprising a user interface to display the orthodontic object within the 3D environment.
23. The system of claim 22 , wherein the orthodontic object comprises an orthodontic appliance or a tooth.
24. The system of claim 23 wherein the orthodontic appliance comprises an orthodontic bracket, a buccal tube, a sheath, or a button.
25. The system of claim 21 , wherein each of the plurality of segments is defined by a geometric relationship.
26. The system of claim 25 , wherein the geometric relationship is a non-linear relationship.
27. The system of claim 26 , wherein the non-linear relationship is a circular curve, a parabolic curve, an elliptical curve, a catenary curve, a second order curve, a third order curve, a cubic spline curve, or a parametric cubic curve.
28. The system of claim 25 , wherein the geometric relationship is a linear relationship.
29. The system of claim 21 , wherein the plurality of segments lie in a plane.
30. The system of claim 21 , wherein the plurality of segments bend in three dimensions.
31. The system of claim 21 , wherein moving the orthodontic object as indicated comprises determining on which of the plurality of segments a specified position is located based on the geometric relationships that define the plurality of segments.
32. The system of claim 21 , wherein the orthodontic object is an orthodontic appliance, and further comprising associating a tooth with the orthodontic appliance and moving the tooth along with the orthodontic appliance.
33. The system of claim 21 , wherein the object movement control module receives the indicated movement from a treatment planning control module.
34. The system of claim 21 , wherein each of the plurality of segments is represented by a circular curve, and wherein each circular curve is defined by a center and a radius.
35. The system of claim 34 , wherein the object movement control module further determines on which of the plurality of segments a specified position is located based on the centers and the radii that define the plurality of segments.
36. The system of claim 21 , wherein the object movement control module further automatically moves affected orthodontic objects along the archwire as a consequence of moving the orthodontic object as indicated.
37. The system of claim 36 , wherein the object movement control module automatically moves the affected orthodontic objects such that relative positions between adjacent orthodontic objects are maintained.
38. The system of claim 21 , further comprising a database to store a library of virtual representations of archwires.
39. The system of claim 38 , wherein the database is located remote from the computing device and coupled to the computing device via a network.
40. The system of claim 21 , further comprising a user interface that receives input from the practitioner regarding the indicated movements.
41. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions for causing a programmable processor to:
represent an archwire within a three-dimensional (3D) environment with a plurality of segments;
receive input indicative of movement of an orthodontic object along the archwire; and
move the orthodontic object as indicated along the archwire based on the plurality of segments.
42. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to define each of the plurality of segments with a geometric relationship.
43. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to display the orthodontic object at the specified position within the 3D environment.
44. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to determine on which of the plurality of segments a specified position is located based on the geometric relationships that define the plurality of segments.
45. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to automatically move affected orthodontic objects along the archwire as a consequence of moving the orthodontic object as indicated such that relative positions between adjacent orthodontic objects are maintained.