IP Library Granted Patent US 11,883,259
Granted Patent B2
US 11,883,259 · App. 18/295,254 · Granted Jan 30, 2024

Intraoral scanning apparatus

Inventors: Gilad Elbaz (Tel Aviv, IL); Erez Lampert (Rehovot, IL); Yossef Atiya (Maccabim, IL); Avi Kopelman (Palo Alto, CA); Ofer Saphier (Rehovot, IL); Maayan Moshe (Ramat HaSharon, IL); Shai Ayal (Shoham, IL); Michael Sabina (Campbell, CA); Eric Kuo (San Jose, CA); Assaf Weiss (Yavne, IL); Doron Malka (Tel Aviv, IL); Eliahou Franklin Nizard (Jerusalem, IL); Ido Tishel (Kfar Bilu, IL)
Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.
A61C9/0053A61B1/00009A61B1/00016A61B1/00045A61B1/00194A61B1/046A61B1/0638A61B1/24
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,883,259
App. No.
18/295,254
Granted
Jan 30, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

System for scanning a subject's teeth. Described herein are intraoral scanning apparatuses for generating a three-dimensional model of a subject's intraoral region (e.g., teeth). These apparatuses may be used for identifying and evaluating lesions, caries and cracks in the teeth.

Claims (44)

1. An intraoral scanning system for scanning a patient's dentition, the system comprising:

a wand having at least one image sensor, a visible light light source and near-infrared (near-IR) light light source;

one or more processors operably connected to the wand, the one or more processors configured to:

receive scan data of a patient's dentition comprising a first set of two-dimensional (2D) images taken with an intraoral scanner capturing surface topology using structured light;

receive a plurality of 2D near-infrared (near-IR) images of the patient's dentition taken with the intraoral scanner while taking the first set of 2D images;

display a three-dimensional (3D) model of at least a portion of the patient's dental arch based on the captured surface topology; and

display one or more 2D near-IR images from the plurality of 2D near-IR images correlating to the displayed 3D model of at least the portion of the patient's dental arch.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wand further comprises a fluorescent light source.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to segment the 3D model or the one or more 2D near-IR images to identify teeth.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wand is configured to cycle between emitting visible light and near-IR light so that images taken with the visible light and near-IR light share a coordinate system.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to display the one or more 2D near-IR images by displaying the one or more 2D near-IR images over a corresponding visible light image.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more light sources and the at least one image sensor are arranged so that light emitted is reflected from a tooth and received by the at least one image sensor at an angle of between 0° and 15°.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to manipulate the 3D model of at least the portion of the patient's dental arch to rotate, zoom or section the 3D model based on user input.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a display subsystem to display the 3D model and the one or more 2D near-IR images.

9. An intraoral scanning system, comprising:

a wand configured to detect visible light and near-infrared (near-IR) light;

a display subsystem; and

one or more processors operably connected to the wand and display subsystem, the one or more processors configured to control:

scanning a patient's dentition with visible light to capture surface topology of the patient's dentition using structured light;

imaging the patient's dentition with near-infrared (near-IR) light to capture a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) near-IR images of the patient's dentition during the scanning of the patient's dentition with visible light;

displaying a three-dimensional (3D) model of at least a portion of the patient's dental arch based on the captured surface topology; and

displaying one or more 2D near-IR images from the plurality of 2D near-IR images correlating to the displayed 3D model of at least the portion of the patient's dental arch.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the wand comprises a visible light light source and a near-IR light source.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the wand comprises a fluorescent light source and wherein the one or more processors are configured to control scanning the patient's dentition with infrared light to capture a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) fluorescent light images.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the near-IR light source and an image sensor configured to detect near-IR light are arranged so that light emitted is reflected from a tooth and received by the image sensor at an angle of between 0° and 15°.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to image the patient's dentition with white light to capture color information of the patient's dentition during scanning of the patient's dentition with visible light.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to segment the 3D model and the one or more 2D near-IR images to identify teeth.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the wand is configured to cycle between emitting visible light and near-IR light so that images taken with the visible light and near-IR light share a coordinate system.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to display the one or more 2D near-IR images by displaying the one or more 2D near-IR images over a corresponding visible light image.

17. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to manipulate the 3D model of at least the portion of the patient's dental arch to rotate, zoom or section the 3D model based on user input.

18. An intraoral scanning system, comprising:

a wand configured to detect visible light and near-IR light comprising a visible light light source and a near-IR light source;

a display subsystem; and

one or more processors operably connected to the wand and the display subsystem, the one or more processors configured to control:

scanning a patient's dentition with visible light to capture surface topology of the patient's dentition;

imaging the patient's dentition with near-infrared (near-IR) light to capture a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) near-IR images of the patient's dentition during the scanning of the patient's dentition with visible light;

displaying a three-dimensional (3D) model of at least a portion of the patient's dental arch based on the captured surface topology; and

displaying one or more 2D near-IR images from the plurality of 2D near-IR images correlating to the displayed 3D model of at least the portion of the patient's dental arch.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to segment the 3D model and the one or more 2D near-IR images to identify teeth.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the near-IR light source and an image sensor configured to detect near-IR light are arranged so that light emitted is reflected from a tooth and received by the image sensor at an angle of between 0° and 15°.

21. The system of claim 18 , wherein the wand is configured to cycle between emitting visible light, fluorescent light and near-IR light so that images taken with the visible light, fluorescent light and near-IR light share a coordinate system.

22. The system of claim 18 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to display the one or more 2D near-IR images by displaying the one or more 2D near-IR images over a corresponding visible light image.

23. The system of claim 18 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to image the patient's dentition with white light to capture color information of the patient's dentition during scanning of the patient's dentition with visible light.

24. The system of claim 18 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to manipulate the 3D model of at least the portion of the patient's dental arch to rotate, zoom or section the 3D model based on user input.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 28, 2023
From: ELBAZ, GILAD; ATIYA, YOSSEF; KOPELMAN, AVI; SAPHIER, OFER; MOSHE, MAAYAN; AYAL, SHAI; SABINA, MICHAEL; KUO, ERIC; WEISS, ASSAF; MALKA, DORON; NIZARD, ELIAHOU FRANKLIN; TISHEL, IDO
To: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 065068/0616 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 28, 2023
From: LAMPERT, EREZ
To: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 065068/0630 →
Continuity (12)
Continuation 17146474 · Jan 11, 2021
Continuation 16814906 · Mar 10, 2020
Continuation 16706461 · Dec 6, 2019
Continuation 16410949 · May 13, 2019
Continuation In Part 16258516 · Jan 25, 2019
Continuation In Part 15662250 · Jul 27, 2017
Provisional Application 62758503 · Nov 9, 2018
Provisional Application 62622798 · Jan 26, 2018
Provisional Application 62517467 · Jun 9, 2017
Provisional Application 62477387 · Mar 27, 2017
Provisional Application 62367607 · Jul 27, 2016
Related Publication 20230240819A1 · Aug 3, 2023
Cited By (1)
US 12,402,988