IP Library Granted Patent US 10,952,816
Granted Patent B2
US 10,952,816 · App. 16/256,914 · Granted Mar 23, 2021

Visual prosthetic and orthodontic treatment planning

Inventor: Avi Kopelman (Palo Alto, CA)
Assignee: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
A61C7/002A61B34/00A61B34/10A61C1/082A61C9/0053A61C13/0004A61B2034/102A61B2034/105G16H50/50
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,952,816
App. No.
16/256,914
Granted
Mar 23, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods for improved visual prosthetic and orthodontic treatment planning are provided herein. In some aspects, a method for preparing a tooth of a patient is disclosed. The method may comprise building a model of a dentition of the patient including a model of the initial shape of tooth. The method may also include determining a final prepared shape of the tooth. In some aspects, the method may also include generating a treatment plan comprising a plurality of steps to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth. The method may also include rendering visualizations for the plurality of steps of the treatment plan. The visualizations may depict the removal of tooth material to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth.

Claims (75)

1. A method for preparing a tooth of a patient, the method comprising:

building a three-dimensional surface model of a dentition of the patient from a three-dimensional surface scan of the patient's dentition;

building a volumetric model from a scan of an internal structure of the patient's dentition;

building a three-dimensional composite model comprising a plurality of voxels from the three-dimensional surface model and the volumetric model, thereby building a model of the dentition of the patient including a model of an initial shape of the tooth;

determining a final prepared shape of the tooth;

generating a treatment plan comprising a plurality of steps to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth; and

rendering visualizations for the plurality of steps of the treatment plan, the visualizations depicting removal of tooth material to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth,

wherein a voxel of the plurality of voxels comprises a defect type.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of voxels each comprise a location within the composite model, a dental structure type of the internal structure, and a density.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the dental structure type of the internal structure, the density, and the defect type are determined based on an infrared scan of the internal structure of the patient's dentition or an x-ray image of the internal structure of the patient's dentition.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining the material removed for each step of the treatment plan.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

selecting a tool from a plurality of tools for removing tooth material for each of the plurality of steps; and

selecting a tool head from a plurality of tool heads for removing tooth material for each of the plurality of steps.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

determining a movement path for each selected tool for removing material for the plurality of steps in the treatment plan.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the movement path includes an indication of a direction of translation and an orientation of the tool head.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the visualizations are three-dimensional visualizations.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the visualizations are three-dimensional, video simulation of the material removal for the plurality of steps of the treatment plan.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving constraints on the final prepared shape of the tooth; and

generating a plurality of suggested final prepared shapes of the tooth based on the constraints.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving a selection of the final prepared shape from the plurality of suggested final prepared shapes, and wherein determining the final prepared shape of the tooth is based on the received selection of the final prepared shape.

12. A method for preparing a tooth of a patient, the method comprising:

building a model of a dentition of the patient including a model of an initial shape of the tooth;

determining a final prepared shape of the tooth;

generating a treatment plan comprising a plurality of steps to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth;

rendering visualizations for the plurality of steps of the treatment plan, the visualizations depicting removal of tooth material to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth;

reimaging the patient's dentition after removing a portion of material according to a step of the treatment plan to build an updated dentition model including an updated model shape of the patient's tooth;

comparing the updated dentition model with a dentition model for the step of the treatment plan; and

highlighting remaining material that should be removed according to the step of the treatment plan.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining an updated final prepared shape of the tooth;

generating an updated treatment plan comprising a second plurality of steps to modify the updated model shape of the tooth to the updated final prepared shape of the tooth; and

rendering second visualizations for the second plurality of steps of the updated treatment plan, the second visualizations depicting removal of tooth material to modify the updated model shape of the tooth to the updated final prepared shape of the tooth.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the final prepared shape of the tooth is the same as the updated final prepared shape of the tooth.

15. A system for aiding in preparing a tooth of a patient, the system comprising:

one or more processors and memory, wherein the memory comprises instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to:

build a three-dimensional surface model of a dentition of the patient from a three-dimensional surface scan of the patient's dentition;

combine the three-dimensional surface model of the patient's dentition with an imagery of the internal structure of the patient's dentition to form a three-dimensional, composite model of the patient's dentition comprising a plurality of voxels, thereby building a model of a dentition of the patient including a model of an initial shape of the tooth;

generate a treatment plan comprising a plurality of steps to modify the initial shape of the tooth to a final prepared shape of the tooth; and

render visualizations for the plurality of steps of the treatment plan, the visualizations depicting removal of tooth material to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth,

wherein a voxel of the plurality of voxels comprises a defect type.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of voxels each comprise a location within the volumetric model, a dental structure type of the internal structure, and a density.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the dental structure type of the internal structure, the density, and the defect type are determined based on an infrared scan of the internal structure of the patient's dentition or an x-ray image of the internal structure of the patient's dentition.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the memory further comprising instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to:

determine the material removed for each step of the treatment plan.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to:

select a tool from a plurality of tools for removing tooth material for each of the plurality of steps; and

select a tool head from a plurality of tool heads for removing tooth material for each of the plurality of steps.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to:

determine a movement path for each selected tool for removing material for the plurality of steps in the treatment plan.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the movement path includes an indication of a direction of translation and an orientation of the tool head.

22. The system of claim 15 , wherein the visualizations are three-dimensional visualization.

23. The system of claim 15 , wherein the visualizations are a three-dimensional, video simulation of the material removal for the plurality of steps of the treatment plan.

24. The system of claim 15 , wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to:

receive constraints on the final prepared shape of the tooth; and

generate a plurality of suggested final prepared shapes of the tooth based on the constraints.

25. The system of claim 24 , wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to:

receive a selection of the final prepared shape from the plurality of suggested final prepared shapes, and wherein determining the final prepared shape of the tooth is based on the received selection of the final prepared shape.

26. A system for aiding in preparing a tooth of a patient, the system comprising:

one or more processors and memory, wherein the memory comprises instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to:

build a model of a dentition of the patient including a model of an initial shape of the tooth;

generate a treatment plan comprising a plurality of steps to modify the initial shape of the tooth to a final prepared shape of the tooth;

render visualizations for the plurality of steps of the treatment plan, the visualizations depicting removal of tooth material to modify the initial shape of the tooth to the final prepared shape of the tooth;

receive an updated image of the patient's dentition after removing a portion of material according to a step of the treatment plan to build an updated dentition model including an updated model shape of the patient's tooth;

compare the updated dentition model with a dentition model for the step of the treatment plan; and

highlight remaining material that should be removed according to the step of the treatment plan.

27. The system of claim 26 , wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to:

determine an updated final prepared shape of the tooth;

generate an updated treatment plan comprising a second plurality of steps to modify the updated model shape of the tooth to the updated final prepared shape of the tooth; and

render second visualizations for the second plurality of steps of the updated treatment plan, the second visualizations depicting removal of tooth material to modify the updated model shape of the tooth to the updated final prepared shape of the tooth.

28. The system of claim 27 , wherein the final prepared shape of the tooth is the same as the updated final prepared shape of the tooth.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 14, 2019
From: KOPELMAN, AVI
To: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 048600/0928 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62622728 · Jan 26, 2018
Related Publication 20190231478A1 · Aug 1, 2019
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