IP Library Granted Patent US 12,544,202
Granted Patent B2
US 12,544,202 · App. 18/033,695 · Granted Feb 10, 2026

Oral image processing device and oral image processing method

Inventor: Sung Hoon Lee (Seoul, KR)
Assignee: MEDIT CORP.
A61C13/34A61C9/0053G06T7/11G06T7/344G06T15/06G06T19/20G06T2207/30036G06T2210/21G06T2210/41G06T2219/2004G06T2219/2016
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,544,202
App. No.
18/033,695
Granted
Feb 10, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to an intraoral image processing method and an intraoral image processing apparatus, and the intraoral image processing method according to an embodiment may include obtaining an intraoral image by scanning an object including one or more teeth, generating a first tooth image from the intraoral image, generating, based on the first tooth image and tooth model data, a second tooth image including roots of the teeth, and displaying the second tooth image.

Claims (69)

1 . An intraoral image processing method comprising:

obtaining an intraoral image by scanning an object including one or more teeth;

generating a first tooth image from the intraoral image;

determining a first tooth model data among from a plurality of pieces of tooth model data including template model data in which teeth are arranged, based on at least one of shape information on teeth included in the first tooth image, shape information on a dental arch included in the first tooth image, or size information on the teeth included in the first tooth image;

generating a synthetic image obtained by synthesizing the first tooth model data and the first tooth image by performing a synthesis test of determining whether data of the first tooth image corresponding to a first vertex included in the first tooth model data exists;

generating a second tooth image including roots of the teeth based on the synthetic image; and

displaying the second tooth image,

wherein the generating of the synthetic image comprises:

when the data of the first tooth image corresponding to the first vertex exists, determining data of the first tooth image corresponding to the first vertex as data of the synthetic image, and when the data of the first tooth image corresponding to the first vertex does not exist, determining the first vertex as data of the synthetic image.

2 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 1 , wherein the generating of the first tooth image comprises segmenting a tooth region and a gingival region from the intraoral image.

3 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 2 , wherein the generating of the first tooth image further comprises segmenting the teeth included in the tooth region.

4 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 1 , wherein the generating of the synthetic image comprises:

aligning the first tooth image with the first tooth model data; and

synthesizing the first tooth image and the aligned first tooth model data.

5 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 4 , wherein the aligning of the first tooth image with the first tooth model data comprises aligning the teeth included in the first tooth image with teeth included in the first tooth model data, based on the shape information on the teeth included in the first tooth image and shape information on the teeth included in the first tooth model data.

6 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 1 , wherein the synthesis test is a nearest neighbor test or a ray intersection test.

7 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 6 , wherein

when the synthesis test is the nearest neighbor test,

the generating of the synthetic image comprises

finding a vertex in the first tooth image which is closest to a vertex in the first tooth model data,

when a distance between the first vertex in the tooth model data and the vertex in the first tooth image which is closest to the first vertex in the first tooth model data is less than or equal to a threshold distance, determining data of the first tooth image as data of the synthetic image, and

when the distance between the first vertex in the first tooth model data and the vertex in the first tooth image which is closest to the first vertex in the first tooth model data is greater than the threshold distance, determining the first vertex in the first tooth model data as data of the synthetic image.

8 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 6 , wherein

when the synthesis test is the ray intersection test,

the generating of the synthetic image comprises

testing whether a virtual ray intersects the first tooth image, wherein the virtual ray is generated at the first vertex among a plurality of vertices included in the first tooth model data and has a direction parallel to a normal vector at the first vertex,

when the virtual ray intersects the first tooth image, determining data of the first tooth image at a point of the intersection as data of the synthetic image, and

when the virtual ray does not intersect the first tooth image, determining data for the first vertex as data of the synthetic image.

9 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 1 , further comprising deleting at least one of a portion of the first tooth image and a portion of the first tooth model data from a boundary region between the first tooth image and the first tooth model data, which is included in the synthetic image.

10 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 1 , further comprising scaling the first tooth model data included in the synthetic image.

11 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 1 , further comprising performing surface blending for a gap region included in the synthetic image.

12 . The intraoral image processing method of claim 1 , wherein

the second tooth image includes a crown and a root of the one or more teeth, and

the generating of the second tooth image comprises

generating an image of the crown based on intraoral data obtained through the scanning and generating an image of the root based on the first tooth model data.

13 . An intraoral image processing apparatus comprising:

a display;

a memory storing one or more instructions; and

a processor configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory to:

obtain an intraoral image by scanning an object including one or more teeth,

generate a first tooth image from the intraoral image,

determine a first tooth model data among from a plurality of pieces of tooth model data including template model data in which teeth are arranged, based on at least one of shape information on teeth included in the first tooth image, shape information on a dental arch included in the first tooth image, or size information on the teeth included in the first tooth image,

generate a synthetic image obtained by synthesizing the first tooth model data and the first tooth image by performing a synthesis test of determining whether data of the first tooth image corresponding to a first vertex included in the first tooth model data exists,

generate a second tooth image including roots of the teeth based on the synthetic image, and

control the display to display the second tooth image,

wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory to:

when the data of the first tooth image corresponding to the first vertex exists, determine data of the first tooth image corresponding to the first vertex as data of the synthetic image, and when the data of the first tooth image corresponding to the first vertex does not exist, determine the first vertex as data of the synthetic image.

14 . The intraoral image processing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein

the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory to

align the first tooth image with the first tooth model data and

synthesize the first tooth image and the aligned first tooth model data.

15 . The intraoral image processing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the synthesis test is a nearest neighbor test or a ray intersection test.

16 . The intraoral image processing apparatus of claim 15 , wherein

the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory to

test whether a virtual ray intersects the first tooth image, wherein the virtual ray is generated at the first vertex among a plurality of vertices included in the first tooth model data and has a direction parallel to a normal vector at the first vertex,

when the virtual ray intersects the first tooth image, determine data of the first tooth image at a point of the intersection as data of the synthetic image, and

when the virtual ray does not intersect the first tooth image, determine data for the first vertex as data of the synthetic image.

17 . The intraoral image processing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein

the second tooth image includes a crown and a root of the one or more teeth, and

the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory to generate an image of the crown based on intraoral data obtained through the scanning and generate an image of the root based on the first tooth model data.

18 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program including at least one instruction for performing, by a computer, an intraoral image processing method comprising:

obtaining an intraoral image by scanning an object including one or more teeth;

generating a first tooth image from the intraoral image;

determining a first tooth model data among from a plurality of pieces of tooth model data including template model data in which teeth are arranged, based on at least one of shape information on teeth included in the first tooth image, shape information on a dental arch included in the first tooth image, or size information on the teeth included in the first tooth image;

generating a synthetic image obtained by synthesizing the first tooth model data and the first tooth image by performing a synthesis test of determining whether data of the first tooth image corresponding to a first vertex included in the first tooth model data exists;

generating a second tooth image including roots of the teeth based on the synthetic image; and

displaying the second tooth image,

wherein the generating of the synthetic image comprises:

when the data of the first tooth image corresponding to the first vertex exists, determining data of the first tooth image corresponding to the first vertex as data of the synthetic image, and when the data of the first tooth image corresponding to the first vertex does not exist, determining the first vertex as data of the synthetic image.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 25, 2023
From: LEE, SUNG HOON
To: MEDIT CORP.
Reel/Frame 063434/0685 →
Priority Claims (2)
KR 10-2020-0141576 · Oct 28, 2020 · national
KR 10-2020-0150519 · Nov 11, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230390035A1 · Dec 7, 2023
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