Surface mapping using an intraoral scanner with penetrating capabilities
An exemplary optical apparatus has an OCT imaging apparatus with a first light source for low coherence light of wavelengths above a threshold wavelength and a signal detector that obtains an interference signal between low coherence light from the sample and low coherence light reflected from a reference. A surface contour imaging apparatus has a second light source that emits one or more wavelengths of surface illumination below the threshold wavelength, a camera to acquire images from illumination reflected from the sample. The exemplary optical apparatus and/or exemplary methods for using the same can provide reduced errors in generating a dental 3D surface mesh.
1. A method for imaging an intraoral sample comprising:
a) obtaining optical coherence tomography imaging content with steps of:
(i) generating low coherence light of wavelengths above a threshold wavelength;
(ii) obtaining an interference signal between a first portion of the low coherence light scattered from the intraoral sample and a second portion of the low coherence light reflected from a reference;
b) obtaining surface contour imaging content of the intraoral sample;
c) simultaneously to step b) obtaining first depth imaging content associated to the obtained surface contour imaging content;
d) segmenting among the first depth imaging content a non deformable imaging content; and
e) providing second depth imaging content of the intraoral sample from an extraoral depth imaging apparatus;
f) registering the surface contour imaging content to the second depth imaging content of the intraoral sample using the non deformable imaging content;
wherein optical coherence tomography imaging and surface contour imaging content are obtained and mapped to the same coordinate system using the non deformable content.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the non deformable content comprises hard tissues.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second depth imaging content is a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) Scan 3D image, the method further comprises:
registering the non deformable content with the CBCT Scan 3D image.
4. The method according to claim 3 wherein the method further comprises
rescaling the CBCT Scan 3D image of the sample.
5. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising rigidly or non rigidly rectifying the surface contour imaging content based on the registered second depth imaging content.
6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the intraoral sample is an edentulous arch.
7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the extraoral depth imaging apparatus is a 3D extraoral x-ray imaging system.
8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the optical coherence tomography imaging content and the surface contour imaging content is acquired simultaneously or near-simultaneously in a single imaging operation.
9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the interference signal is obtained from a Michelson or Mach-Zehnder interferometer.
10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the intraoral sample is an intraoral feature.