US 12,082,987 B2
Computer-implemented methods and systems for modeling teeth
Fedor Chelnokov, Khimki Town (RU); Roman A. Roschin, Moscow (RU); and Petr Ushanov, Khimki (RU)
Assigned to Align Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Align Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Jun. 28, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/215,804.
Application 18/215,804 is a continuation of application No. 17/646,864, filed on Jan. 3, 2022, granted, now 11,737,852.
Application 17/646,864 is a continuation of application No. 14/166,530, filed on Jan. 28, 2014, granted, now 11,213,368, issued on Jan. 4, 2022.
Application 14/166,530 is a continuation of application No. 13/362,997, filed on Jan. 31, 2012, granted, now 8,639,477, issued on Jan. 28, 2014.
Application 13/362,997 is a continuation of application No. 12/055,192, filed on Mar. 25, 2008, granted, now 8,108,189, issued on Jan. 31, 2012.
Prior Publication US 2024/0074833 A1, Mar. 7, 2024
Int. Cl. A61C 7/00 (2006.01); A61C 13/00 (2006.01); G06F 30/00 (2020.01); G06T 9/00 (2006.01); G06T 17/00 (2006.01); G06T 19/20 (2011.01)
CPC A61C 7/002 (2013.01) [A61C 13/0004 (2013.01); A61C 7/00 (2013.01); G06F 30/00 (2020.01); G06T 9/001 (2013.01); G06T 17/00 (2013.01); G06T 19/20 (2013.01); G06T 2219/2004 (2013.01); G06T 2219/2016 (2013.01); G06T 2219/2021 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-implemented method for modeling a patient's tooth, the method comprising:
generating a clinical crown mesh of the patient's tooth, wherein the clinical crown mesh includes visible surfaces of a clinical crown of the patient's tooth that are detectable using a dental scanning technique;
generating a parametric tooth model representing an average of a plurality of etalon teeth of the same tooth type as the patient's tooth, wherein each of the plurality of etalon teeth is represented by a mesh having the same number of vertices, and wherein the vertices are located in similar positions on each corresponding surface;
fitting the clinical crown mesh with the parametric tooth model to create an interim tooth model, wherein fitting the clinical crown mesh with the parametric tooth model comprises:
coupling point pairs on surfaces of the clinical crown mesh and the parametric tooth model, wherein a weighting factor is assigned to each point of the clinical crown mesh or parametric tooth model, wherein, the closer a point is to a corresponding point on the corresponding clinical crown mesh or parametric tooth model, the higher the weighting factor assigned to that point;
transforming the point pairs according to their weighting factors to cause the point pairs to converge; and
repeating the coupling and the transforming until the point pairs are substantially the same on each surface of the clinical crown mesh and the parametric tooth model; and
morphing the interim tooth model to mimic an anatomical shape of the clinical crown mesh.