Method and system for hybrid mesh segmentation

1. A computer-implemented hybrid method for segmenting at least a portion of an unsegmented 3-D teeth model and generating one or more segmented 3-D teeth models from the portion of the unsegmented 3-D teeth model, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining a 3-D mesh model of a patient's dentition;

executing a tooth segmentation procedure on the 3-D mesh model to identify one or more portions of the 3-D mesh model corresponding respectively to one or more teeth of the patient's dentition from other portions of the 3-D mesh model and displaying the one or more identified teeth;

recording the one or more identified teeth according to an operator instruction;

removing the one or more portions of the 3-D mesh model corresponding respectively to the one or more identified teeth from the 3-D mesh model to form a modified 3-D mesh model;

performing, one or more times, a sequence of steps including:

(i) identifying a subsequent tooth segmentation procedure the same as or different from a prior tooth segmentation procedure;

(ii) executing the subsequent tooth segmentation procedure on the modified 3-D mesh model to identify one or more portions of the modified 3-D mesh model corresponding respectively to one or more teeth of the patient's dentition previously unidentified from other portions of the modified 3-D mesh model and displaying the previously unidentified one or more teeth;

(iii) recording the previously unidentified one or more teeth; and

(iv) removing the one or more portions of the modified 3-D mesh model corresponding respectively to the one or more previously unidentified teeth from the modified 3-D mesh model; and

displaying, storing, or transmitting the recorded teeth as segmentation results.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the segmentation results distinguish one or more teeth from the patient's gum tissue.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the segmentation results distinguish individual teeth from each other.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the operator instruction for recording identifies a displayed tooth according to a touch screen or computer mouse selection.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the operator instruction verifies a tooth segmentation result.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing is terminated by an operator instruction.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the operator instruction adds one or more geometric primitives for interactive tooth segmentation.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of obtaining the 3-D mesh model comprises acquiring a plurality of structured light images from a hand-held intraoral camera.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the tooth segmentation procedures comprises an automatic segmentation procedure, and wherein the results of the automatic segmentation procedure appear in color.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising restoring one or more of the recorded teeth to the modified 3-D mesh model.

11. A computer-implemented method for generating a digital model of intraoral features, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a 3-D digital mesh model of a patient's dentition from a plurality of structured light images;

performing automatic tooth segmentation on the generated 3-D digital mesh model;

displaying segmentation results from automatic tooth segmentation and recording a set of one or more automatically segmented teeth in response to an operator instruction;

accepting at least a second operator instruction related to an interactive segmentation of other teeth not in the recorded set;

performing the interactive segmentation of a portion of the 3-D digital mesh model corresponding to other teeth not in the recorded set and recording one or more interactively segmented teeth in the recorded set; and

displaying, storing, or transmitting recorded segmentation results from the recorded set.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the second operator instruction identifies an error in the displayed segmentation results from the automatic tooth segmentation.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising a step of returning at least one recorded tooth back to the 3-D digital mesh model before an additional segmentation of the 3-D digital mesh model is performed.

14. An apparatus for intraoral imaging, said apparatus comprising:

a structured light imaging camera that is configured to acquire a 3-D mesh model of a patient's dentition; and

a computer processor in signal communication with the imaging camera and with a display, said computer processor being programmed with instructions for:

executing a segmentation procedure on the acquired 3-D mesh model to identify a plurality of segmented teeth from the acquired 3-D mesh model;

recording at least one of the plurality of segmented teeth to remove at least one already segmented tooth from the 3-D mesh model to form a modified 3-D mesh model;

performing, until a desired portion of the plurality of segmented teeth are recorded, a sequence including the steps of:

(i) selecting a different segmentation procedure;

(ii) executing the different segmentation procedure on the modified 3-D mesh model; and

(iii) recording at least one newly segmented tooth of one or more segmented teeth from the different segmentation procedure and removing the recorded at least one newly segmented tooth from the modified 3-D mesh model; and

displaying, storing, or transmitting the plurality of recorded segmented teeth from the modified 3-D mesh model.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , where the recorded segmented teeth are recorded and removed from the 3-D mesh model or the modified 3-D mesh model when a segmenting confidence factor is above a prescribed threshold.