Claims
- 1. A computer-implemented method for use in creating a digital model of an individual component from a digital model of a patient's dentition and adapted to generate one or more appliances used in treating the patient, the method comprising:
obtaining a 3D digital model of the patient's dentition; creating a digital cutting surface to separate portions of the dentition model representing the adjacent teeth; and generating one or more appliances used in treating the patient based on the separated dentition model.
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying 2D cross sections of the digital model and receiving input from a human operator identifying approximate points at which the interproximal margin between the adjacent teeth meets gingival tissue.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the dentition model includes a 3D volumetric model of the patient's digital and the input from the human operator identifies two voxels in the volumetric model.
- 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising defining a neighborhood of voxels around each of the two voxels identified by the human operator, where each neighborhood includes voxels representing the digital model and voxels representing a background image.
- 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising applying a computer-implemented test to select a pair of voxels, both representing the background image, that lie closest together, where each neighborhood contains one of the voxels.
- 6. The method of claim 3, further comprising automatically identifying voxels on another 2D cross section that represent the interproximal margin.
- 7. The method of claim 6, wherein automatically identifying voxels on another 2D cross section includes:
defining a neighborhood of voxels around each of the selected voxels, where each neighborhood includes voxels representing the digital model and voxels representing a background image; projecting the neighborhoods onto the other 2D cross section; and selecting two voxels in the projected neighborhoods that represent the interproximal margin.
- 8. The method of claim 7, wherein selecting two voxels in the projected neighborhoods includes selecting a pair of voxels, both representing the background image, that lie closest together, where each of the neighborhoods contains one of the voxels.
- 9. A computer program, stored on a tangible storage medium, for use in creating a digital model of an individual component from a digital model of a patient's dentition and adapted to generate one or more appliances used in treating the patient, the program comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
obtain a 3D digital model of the patient's dentition; create a cutting surface to separate portions of the digital model representing the adjacent teeth; and generate one or more appliances used in treating the patient based on the separated dentition model.
- 10. The program of claim 9, wherein the computer displays 2D cross sections of the digital model and receives input from a human operator identifying approximate points at which the interproximal margin between the adjacent teeth meets gingival tissue.
- 11. The program of claim 10, wherein the dentition model includes a 3D volumetric model of the patient's digital and the input from the human operator identifies two voxels in 10 volumetric model.
- 12. The program of claim 11, wherein the computer defines a neighborhood of voxels around each of the two voxels identified by the human operator, where each neighborhood includes voxels representing the digital model and voxels representing a background image.
- 13. The program of claim 12, wherein the computer automatically selects a pair of voxels, both representing the background image, that lie closest together, where each neighborhood contains one of the voxels.
- 14. The program of claim 11, wherein the computer automatically identifies voxels on another 2D cross section that represent the interproximal margin.
- 15. The program of claim 14, wherein, in automatically identifying voxels on another 2D cross section, the computer:
defines a neighborhood of voxels around each of the selected voxels, where each neighborhood includes voxels representing the digital model and voxels representing a background image; projects the neighborhoods onto the other 2D cross section; and selects two voxels in the projected neighborhoods that represent the interproximal margin.
- 16. The program of claim 15, wherein, in selecting two voxels in the projected neighborhoods, the computer selects a pair of voxels, both representing the background image, that lie closest together, where each of the neighborhoods contains one of the voxels.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/US98/12861 |
Jun 1998 |
US |
|
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application no. 10/099,310 (Attorney Docket No. 018563-005710/AT-00113.1), filed Mar. 12, 2002, which was a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/311,941 (Attorney Docket No. 18563-005700/AT00113), filed May 14, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,504, which was continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/264,547, (Attorney Docket No. 18563-006000/AT00109), filed on Mar. 8, 1999, which was a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/169,276 (Attorney-Docket No. 18563-004800/AT00105), filed on Oct. 8, 1998, (now abandoned) which claimed priority from PCT application PCT/US98/12861 (WO98/58596 published Dec. 30, 1998), (Attorney Docket No. 18563-000120PC/AT00002PC), filed on Jun. 19, 1998, which claimed priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/947,080 (Attorney Docket No. 18563-000110/AT00002), filed on Oct. 8, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,893, which claimed priority from U.S. provisional application No. 60/050,342 (Attorney Docket No. 18563-000100/AT00001), filed on Jun. 20, 1997, the full disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (2)
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Parent |
10099310 |
Mar 2002 |
US |
Child |
10271665 |
Oct 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09311941 |
May 1999 |
US |
Child |
10099310 |
Mar 2002 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Date |
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09264547 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
Child |
09311941 |
May 1999 |
US |
Parent |
09169276 |
Oct 1998 |
US |
Child |
09264547 |
Mar 1999 |
US |