Method and system for providing visual guide for oral scanner

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method by which at least one processor provides a visual guide for an oral scanner. The method comprises the steps of: obtaining first oral scan data from an oral scanner; calculating scan completeness of a plurality of regions of the first oral scan data; determining, on the basis of the calculated scan completeness, a supplementary request region from among the plurality of regions; calculating the position and orientation of the oral scanner for the supplementary request region; and displaying, on a display, a visual guide generated on the basis of first scan completeness of the supplementary request region, the calculated position of the oral scanner, and the calculated orientation of the oral scanner.

Description

Method and system for providing visual guidance for an intraoral scanner

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and system for providing a visual guide for an oral scanner, and more particularly, to a method and system for calculating scan completeness of a plurality of areas of oral scan data acquired from an oral scanner, and outputting a visual guide indicating the position and direction of the oral scanner for an area requiring supplementation determined based on the calculated scan completeness on a display.

[0002] Dental hospitals and other institutions have traditionally treated patients' damaged teeth by creating plaster models of their teeth. However, the process of creating these plaster models has presented challenges, including material depletion, cross-contamination, and damage to the models themselves. To address these issues, a 3D oral scanner capable of acquiring 3D oral data has recently been developed.

[0003] However, these 3D intraoral scanners cannot always guarantee complete 3D intraoral scan data. Consequently, intraoral scans must be performed repeatedly. However, it is difficult for users performing intraoral scans to determine which areas require scanning and for what reason. Consequently, even with repeated intraoral scans, it is difficult to improve the accuracy of the intraoral data.

[0004] The present disclosure provides a method and device (system) for providing a visual guide for an oral scanner to solve the above-described problems.

[0005] The present disclosure can be implemented in various ways, including as a method, a device (system), or a computer program stored on a readable storage medium.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for providing a visual guide may include a step of acquiring first oral scan data from an oral scanner, a step of calculating scan completeness of a plurality of areas of the first oral scan data, a step of determining an area requiring supplementation among the plurality of areas based on the calculated scan completeness, a step of calculating a position and direction of an oral scanner with respect to the area requiring supplementation, and a step of outputting a visual guide generated based on the first scan completeness of the area requiring supplementation, the calculated position of the oral scanner, and the calculated direction of the oral scanner on a display.

[0007] A computer program stored in a computer-readable recording medium may be provided to execute a method for providing a visual guide according to one embodiment of the present disclosure on a computer.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes a communication module, a memory, a display, and at least one processor connected to the memory and configured to execute at least one computer-readable program contained in the memory, wherein the at least one program may include instructions for acquiring first oral scan data from an oral scanner, calculating scan completeness of a plurality of areas of the first oral scan data, determining an area requiring supplementation among the plurality of areas based on the calculated scan completeness, calculating a position and direction of an oral scanner with respect to the area requiring supplementation, and outputting a visual guide generated based on the first scan completeness of the area requiring supplementation, the calculated position of the oral scanner, and the calculated direction of the oral scanner on a display.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, users can conveniently identify areas within the oral cavity where scan completion is low and additional scanning is required. Furthermore, users can easily identify the types of areas requiring supplementation through visual guides. Consequently, by performing additional scans, users can obtain more precise oral scan data.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a user can easily identify why a given area requires supplementation simply by looking at the geometric shape. Furthermore, the user can estimate how long additional scanning will be required based on the surface size of the geometric shape. Accordingly, the user can easily perform additional oral scans of the patient and obtain high-quality oral scan data.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a user can easily identify teeth requiring additional scanning. Furthermore, the color of the outline, etc., allows the user to easily identify the type of area requiring supplementation in the tooth.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, by making teeth that are not scanned transparent, the user can focus more on teeth requiring additional scanning. Furthermore, by setting transparency according to the type of area requiring supplementation, the user can filter out unnecessary areas requiring supplementation and perform additional scanning.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a user can easily determine whether the current position and orientation of the oral scanner are appropriate through the outline color of the visual guide. This allows for convenient additional oral scans.

[0014] The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs (referred to as “one skilled in the art”) from the description of the claims.

[0015] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent similar elements, but are not limited thereto.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration in which an oral scanner according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is connected to a computing device.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a computing device connected to an oral scanner according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for providing a visual guide according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a drawing showing an example of outputting a visual guide according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a drawing showing an example of a visual guide according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 6 is a drawing showing an example in which an outline of a tooth is output according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 7 is a drawing showing an example of adjusting the transparency of a portion of a tooth according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 8 is a drawing showing an example of changing the size of a geometric shape according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a visual guide indicating a target position and direction of an oral scanner is output together with a visual guide indicating a current position and direction of an oral scanner on a display according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 10 is a drawing showing an example of a user interface screen on which a visual guide is output according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 11 is a drawing showing an example of outputting a visual guide according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Hereinafter, specific details for implementing the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, in the following description, specific descriptions of widely known functions or configurations will be omitted if they may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure.

[0029] In the attached drawings, identical or corresponding components are assigned the same reference numerals. Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments below, duplicate descriptions of identical or corresponding components may be omitted. However, even if a description of a component is omitted, it is not intended that such component is not included in any embodiment.

[0030] The advantages and features of the disclosed embodiments, and the methods for achieving them, will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms.

[0031] In this specification, singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, plural expressions include singular expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. When a part of the specification is said to include a component, this does not exclude other components, but rather implies that other components may be included, unless otherwise specifically stated.

[0032] In the present disclosure, 'display' may refer to any display device associated with a computing device, for example, any display device capable of displaying any information / data controlled by or provided from the computing device.

[0033] In the present disclosure, 'each of the plurality of As' or 'each of the plurality of As' may refer to each of all components included in the plurality of As, or may refer to each of some components included in the plurality of As.

[0034] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in which an oral scanner (110) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is connected to a computing device (120). The oral scanner (110) can be inserted into the oral cavity of a dental patient by, for example, a dental professional to non-contactly scan teeth and capture multiple two-dimensional image data. In addition, the oral scanner (110) can transmit the captured multiple two-dimensional image data to the computing device (120) or independently execute three-dimensional oral structure modeling based on the two-dimensional image data.

[0035] In one embodiment, the oral scanner (110) may be connected to a network configured to enable wired or wireless communication with a computing device (120). Here, the network may be configured as, for example, an electrical connection line such as a copper cable, a wired network such as Ethernet, a wired home network (Power Line Communication), a telephone line communication device, and RS-serial communication, a wireless network such as a mobile communication network, WLAN (Wireless LAN), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee, or a combination thereof, depending on the installation environment.

[0036] In one embodiment, the oral scanner (110) can exchange information and / or data, such as two-dimensional image data and three-dimensional oral structure model data, with the computing device (120). The oral scanner (110) and the computing device (120) may be configured to be physically separate as illustrated, but are not limited thereto. For example, the oral scanner (110) and the computing device (120) may be configured as an integrated unit within a single computing device.

[0037] In one embodiment, the computing device (120) may perform three-dimensional oral structure modeling by analyzing at least two two-dimensional image data or stereo images acquired from the oral scanner (110). To perform this function, the computing device (120) may include a processor (e.g., CPU, GPU, etc.) capable of performing image processing and three-dimensional modeling, and a memory capable of storing two-dimensional image data or three-dimensional oral structure model data.

[0038] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a computing device (120) connected to an oral scanner (110) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the computing device (120) may include a communication unit (222), a control unit (224), and a display unit (226), as illustrated. The communication unit (222) may be configured to transmit / receive information and / or data with the oral scanner (110). Specifically, the communication unit (222) may transmit a command signal of the control unit (224) to the oral scanner (110), and receive image information of a target oral structure (i.e., oral scan data, oral scan location, oral scan direction, etc.) from the oral scanner (110).

[0039] The control unit (224) can control the oral scanner (110) to capture an image of the target oral structure. Specifically, the control unit (224) can control the light source unit installed inside the oral scanner (110) to irradiate light toward at least one of the plurality of optical systems. In addition, the control unit (224) can control the image sensor unit installed inside the oral scanner (110) to detect light reflected by at least one of the plurality of optical systems. The control unit (224) can control the image sensor unit to acquire two stereo images from the images of the detected light. The control unit (224) can control the display unit (226) to display the two stereo images acquired from the image sensor unit. In addition, the control unit (224) can control the three-dimensional oral structure model data generated from the two stereo images to be visualized and displayed on the display unit (226).

[0040] In one embodiment, the control unit (224) may generate a visual guide. Specifically, the control unit (224) may acquire first oral scan data from the oral scanner (110) via the communication unit (222). In addition, the control unit (224) may calculate the scan completion rate of multiple regions of the first oral scan data and determine a region requiring supplementation among the multiple regions. Here, a region having a scan completion rate lower than a preset threshold may be determined as a region requiring supplementation. Additionally, the region requiring supplementation refers to a region requiring additional scanning, and the control unit (224) may calculate the position and direction of the oral scanner (110) required for additional scanning of the region requiring supplementation. Based on the first scan completion rate of the region requiring supplementation and the calculated position and direction of the oral scanner (110), the control unit (224) may generate a visual guide. Here, the first scan completion rate of the region requiring supplementation may indicate the degree of completion of the oral model for the region requiring supplementation acquired by the oral scanner (110). Scan completeness in areas requiring supplementation can be improved through additional scans.

[0041] In one embodiment, the visual guide may include a geometric shape representing at least one of the first scan completeness of the supplementation request area, the generated position of the oral scanner (110), or the generated direction of the oral scanner (110). Additionally, according to an embodiment, the visual guide may include a line representing at least one of the generated position of the oral scanner (110) or the generated direction of the oral scanner (110). The control unit (224) may transmit the generated visual guide and the supplementation request area to the display unit (226).

[0042] In one embodiment, the control unit (224) can control the surface size of the geometric shape of the visual guide. Specifically, the control unit (224) can obtain second oral scan data for the supplementation request area from the oral scanner (110) via the communication unit (222). In addition, the control unit (224) can calculate a second scan completeness of the supplementation request area based on the second oral scan data. Additionally, the control unit (224) can change the surface size of the geometric shape of the visual guide associated with the supplementation request area in real time based on the second scan completeness of the supplementation request area. That is, the control unit (224) can change the surface size of the geometric shape in real time based on the size of the supplementation request area.

[0043] In one embodiment, the control unit (224) can control the color of the geometric shape of the visual guide. Specifically, the control unit (224) can obtain second oral scan data for the area requiring supplementation from the oral scanner (110) via the communication unit (222). Furthermore, the control unit (224) can calculate a third scan completeness of the area requiring supplementation based on the third oral scan data. Additionally, the control unit (224) can change the color of the geometric shape of the visual guide associated with the area requiring supplementation in real time based on the third scan completeness of the area requiring supplementation.

[0044] In one embodiment, the control unit (224) can visualize the area requiring supplementation. In this case, the control unit (224) can determine at least one type of geometric shape, color, or pattern depending on the type of the area requiring supplementation. Here, the type of area requiring supplementation may include a common area, a conflict area, a change area, etc. Accordingly, the control unit (224) can transmit a visual guide corresponding to each type of area requiring supplementation to the display unit (226).

[0045] In one embodiment, the control unit (224) can visualize a plurality of teeth based on oral scan data. Furthermore, the control unit (224) can generate outlines of each of the visualized teeth. Here, the color of the outlines of each of the teeth can be determined based on the scan completion level associated with each region of the teeth. The control unit (224) can transmit the generated plurality of teeth and the outlines of each of the teeth to the display unit (226).

[0046] In one embodiment, the control unit (224) can adjust the transparency of the supplementation request area. Specifically, the control unit (224) can receive a first user input for selecting a type of supplementation request area. In addition, the control unit (224) can receive a second user input for selecting the transparency of the supplementation request area. Based on the first user input and the second user input, the control unit (224) can change the transparency of the type of supplementation request area corresponding to the first user input to a value corresponding to the second user input. Additionally, the control unit (224) can change the transparency of the remaining teeth that do not include the type of supplementation request area corresponding to the first user input to a predefined value (e.g., 100% transparency). The control unit (224) can control the display unit (226) to change the transparency of the corresponding supplementation request area.

[0047] In one embodiment, the control unit (224) can receive the current position and direction of the oral scanner (110) through the communication unit (222). In addition, the control unit (224) can generate a geometric shape corresponding to the current position and direction of the oral scanner (110). The control unit (224) can control the display unit (226) to output the generated geometric shape along with a visual guide.

[0048] The display unit (226) can display information and / or data received from the oral scanner (110) or the control unit (224) as an image. In this case, the image displayed on the display unit (226) can include two stereo images or an image of a three-dimensional oral structure model. In one embodiment, the display unit (226) can include a display panel device such as an LED display, an OLED display, an LCD display, a touch display, etc.

[0049] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for providing a visual guide according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, an oral scanner (310) may perform a first oral scan (312). Additionally, the oral scanner (310) may transmit first oral scan data (314) to a computing device (320).

[0050] In one embodiment, the computing device (320) can calculate the scan completion rate of multiple areas of the first oral scan data (314). Furthermore, the computing device (320) can determine areas requiring supplementation among the multiple areas based on the calculated scan completion rate (322). Additionally, the computing device (320) can calculate the position and orientation of the oral scanner relative to the areas requiring supplementation.

[0051] In one embodiment, based on the first scan completeness of the supplementation request area, the calculated position of the oral scanner, and the calculated direction of the oral scanner, the computing device (320) can generate a visual guide and output it on the display (324). Here, the visual guide can include a geometric shape representing at least one of the first scan completeness of the supplementation request area, the calculated position of the oral scanner, or the calculated direction of the oral scanner. For example, if the geometric shape is a circle, the position of the circle output on the display can represent the calculated position of the oral scanner, and a direction orthogonal to the circle can represent the calculated direction of the oral scanner.

[0052] In the above description, the visual guide is described as being formed as a geometric shape. However, the shape of the visual guide may be determined as an image formed on a specific reference plane when the supplementation request area is projected onto a specific reference plane. Accordingly, the shape of the visual guide may be similar to the two-dimensional shape of the supplementation request area. At this time, the position and normal direction of the reference plane may be determined according to the distance from the target tooth requiring supplementation scanning and the scan direction. It goes without saying that the description of an embodiment in which the visual guide is formed as a geometric shape, which will be described later, can be applied to a visual guide formed in a shape similar to the two-dimensional shape of the supplementation request area.

[0053] In one embodiment, the size of the geometric shape may be determined based on the size of the area requiring supplementation. For example, the area requiring supplementation may have a low scan completion rate, requiring additional scanning. The larger the area requiring supplementation, the larger the geometric shape may be. Accordingly, if the scan completion rate of the area requiring supplementation is improved through additional scanning, the size of the area requiring supplementation may decrease, thereby reducing the size of the geometric shape.

[0054] In one embodiment, the color of the geometric shape may be determined based on the scan completion level of the area requiring supplementation. For example, if the scan completion level of the area requiring supplementation is low and the density of additional data required is high, the color of the geometric shape may be displayed in red. In another example, if the scan completion level of the area requiring supplementation is high and the density of additional data required is low, the color of the geometric shape may be displayed in yellow. Alternatively, the color of the geometric shape may be determined based on the type of the area requiring supplementation. For example, if the area requiring supplementation is a cavity area, the color of the geometric shape may be displayed in black corresponding to the cavity area.

[0055] In one embodiment, the oral scanner (310) may perform a second oral scan (316). In addition, the oral scanner (310) may transmit second oral scan data (318) to a computing device (320). Additionally, the computing device (320) may calculate a second scan completeness of a supplementation-required area based on the second oral scan data (318). In this case, the size of the geometric shape output on the display may be changed in real time based on the second scan completeness. Accordingly, the user may use the visual guide to check in real time whether the additional scan is being performed appropriately. In addition, the color of the geometric shape output on the display may be changed in real time based on the second scan completeness. Accordingly, if the scan completeness of the supplementation-required area is improved through the additional scan, the color of the geometric shape may be changed.

[0056] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of outputting a visual guide (440) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, an oral scanner (410) may be inserted into the oral cavity of a dental patient by a dental professional to non-contactly scan teeth (420), thereby generating first oral scan data. Additionally, the oral scanner (410) may transmit the first oral scan data to an external computing device (not shown).

[0057] In one embodiment, the computing device can calculate the scan completion rate of multiple regions based on the first oral scan data. The scan completion rate of multiple regions may refer to the scan completion rate of each of the multiple regions within the oral cavity. If the scan completion rate is low, distortion of the oral scan data may occur, leading to inaccurate diagnosis and treatment.

[0058] In one embodiment, based on the calculated scan completeness, areas requiring additional scanning among a plurality of areas may be determined. Here, the types of areas requiring additional scanning may include void areas (e.g., areas where intraoral scan data is missing), conflict areas (e.g., areas where overlapping surfaces of multiple intraoral images fail to match), change areas (e.g., areas where the patient's teeth have changed compared to previous intraoral scan data of the same patient), areas containing foreign matter, areas with unclear boundaries, etc.

[0059] In one embodiment, the computing device can calculate the position and orientation of the intraoral scanner relative to the area requiring supplementation. Here, the position and orientation of the intraoral scanner relative to the area requiring supplementation may refer to the position and orientation of the intraoral scanner that will perform additional intraoral scanning. This position and orientation of the intraoral scanner may be determined through various algorithms that calculate the position and orientation of additional scanning required for areas where the scan completeness is below a predetermined value.

[0060] In one embodiment, the computing device may output a visual guide (430) generated based on the first scan completeness of the supplementation request area, the calculated position and direction of the oral scanner, on the display. Here, the visual guide (430) may include a geometric shape representing at least one of the first scan completeness of the supplementation request area, the calculated position of the oral scanner, or the calculated direction of the oral scanner. In addition, the geometric shape may represent a two-dimensional shape or a three-dimensional shape. Additionally, the computing device may visualize the supplementation request area with a pattern, color, etc. and output it on the display together with the visual guide (430).

[0061] In one embodiment, the visual guide (430) may indicate the scan completeness of additional intraoral scan data. Specifically, when the teeth (420) are additionally scanned by the dental professional, the computing device may acquire second intraoral scan data for the area requiring supplementation from the intraoral scanner (410). Furthermore, based on the second intraoral scan data, the second scan completeness of the area requiring supplementation may be calculated. In this case, the size of the surface included in the visual guide (430) may be changed in real time based on the second scan completeness. For example, if the scan completeness of the area requiring supplementation increases as additional intraoral scans are repeatedly performed, the size of the surface may gradually decrease. That is, the size of the surface may correspond to the size of the area requiring supplementation. Accordingly, when the scan completeness of the area requiring supplementation has sufficiently increased, the visual guide (430) may be removed. Alternatively, the color of the surface included in the visual guide (430) may be changed in real time based on the second scan completeness. For example, if additional oral scans are performed to improve the scan completeness of the area requiring supplementation, the color of the surface may change.

[0062] This configuration allows users to conveniently identify areas within the oral cavity where scan completion is low and additional scanning is required. Furthermore, visual guidance allows users to easily identify areas requiring supplementation. Consequently, by performing additional scans, users can obtain more precise oral scan data.

[0063] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a visual guide (512, 524) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the visual guide may include a geometric shape indicating at least one of the first scan completion level of the supplementation request area, the position or orientation of the generated oral scanner, and the type, color, or pattern of the geometric shape of the visual guide may be determined based on the type of the supplementation request area.

[0064] The first example (510) illustrates an example in which a visual guide (512) is output on a display. The visual guide (512) may indicate the position and direction of the oral scanner relative to the area requiring supplementation. For example, if the visual guide (512) is circular, the position of the circle may indicate the position of the oral scanner relative to the area requiring supplementation. Additionally, the direction perpendicular to the plane of the circle may indicate the direction of the oral scanner relative to the area requiring supplementation.

[0065] In one embodiment, the visual guide (512) may include a geometric shape corresponding to the type of the area requiring supplementation. For example, in the case of a geometric shape with a circular surface, the area requiring supplementation may indicate a hollow area. In another example, in the case of a geometric shape with a striped surface, the area requiring supplementation may indicate a hollow area. In this case, the same striped pattern may be displayed in the area requiring supplementation. Additionally, the area of ​​the geometric shape may be determined based on the scan completion of the area requiring supplementation or the size of the area requiring supplementation.

[0066] A second example (520) illustrates an example in which a supplementary requirement area (522) and a visual guide (524) are output on a display. The visual guide (524) may indicate the position and direction of the oral scanner with respect to the supplementary requirement area (522). Additionally, the visual guide (524) may include a geometric shape corresponding to the type of the supplementary requirement area (522). For example, in the case of a geometric shape having a square surface, the supplementary requirement area (522) may indicate that it is a conflict area. As another example, in the case of a geometric shape having a dotted surface, the supplementary requirement area (522) may indicate that it is a conflict area.

[0067] In one embodiment, a supplementation request area (522) may be visualized and displayed on a display. In this case, the supplementation request area (522) may include the same pattern as the visual guide (524). Furthermore, the supplementation request area (522) may be determined based on the scan completion level of the corresponding area. For example, if the scan completion level is lower than a preset threshold, the corresponding area may be determined as a supplementation request area.

[0068] Although Figure 5 illustrates that the shape and pattern of the surface of a geometric shape are determined based on the type of complementary requirement area, this is not a limitation. For example, the type of complementary requirement area may also be determined based on the color of the geometric shape. In this case, the complementary requirement area may also be displayed in the same color.

[0069] This configuration allows users to easily identify why a given area requires supplementation simply by looking at the geometric shape. Furthermore, the surface size of the geometric shape allows users to estimate how long additional scanning will be required. This allows users to easily perform additional oral scans of patients and obtain high-quality oral scan data.

[0070] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of how tooth outlines are output according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, multiple teeth within the oral cavity and the outlines of each of the multiple teeth can be generated based on oral scan data. In this case, the generated multiple teeth and the outlines of each of the multiple teeth can be visualized and output on a display.

[0071] In one embodiment, the color of the outline may be determined based on the scan completeness associated with each region of each of the plurality of teeth. For example, if a first tooth has a region requiring supplementation (622), the color of the first outline (620) of the first tooth may be displayed in blue. Conversely, a tooth with a sufficiently high scan completeness and thus no region requiring supplementation may be displayed in red.

[0072] In one embodiment, the color of the outline may be determined based on the type of the area requiring supplementation. For example, if the area requiring supplementation (622) of the first tooth is a cavity area, the first outline (620) may be displayed in blue. Conversely, if the area requiring supplementation of the second tooth is a conflict area, the second outline (610) may be displayed in yellow.

[0073] In one embodiment, the type of outline may be determined based on the scan completeness associated with each region of multiple teeth. For example, the outline of a tooth with an area requiring supplementation may be displayed as a dotted line. Conversely, the outline of a tooth with a sufficiently high scan completeness and thus no area requiring supplementation may be displayed as a solid line.

[0074] In Fig. 6, only the outline of the teeth is shown, but this is not limited to this, and the visual guide described above may be output on the display together.

[0075] This configuration allows users to easily identify teeth requiring additional scanning. Furthermore, the color of the outline and other features allow users to easily identify the areas requiring additional scanning.

[0076] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of adjusting the transparency of a portion of a tooth according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, a user can adjust the transparency of a supplementation-required area through a transparency adjustment interface (730). Specifically, the user can select the type of supplementation-required area through the transparency adjustment interface (730). Additionally, the user can set the transparency of the supplementation-required area using a sliding bar (732).

[0077] For example, a user can check the common area and conflict area in the transparency adjustment interface (730), and then adjust the transparency of the complementation request areas (710, 720) by adjusting the sliding bar (732) corresponding to each complementation request area. For example, a user can set the change area to be invisible, set the conflict area (720) to be clearly visible, and set the common area (710) to be medium transparent.

[0078] In one embodiment, a user can set teeth that do not include a supplementation request area to appear transparent. Specifically, if the user selects a type of supplementation request area in the transparency adjustment interface (730), teeth that do not include the selected supplementation request area can be set to appear transparent.

[0079] Although Figure 7 illustrates setting the transparency of the supplementary request area using a sliding bar, this is not a limitation. For example, a user can also set the transparency of the supplementary request area by entering a numerical value for the transparency of the supplementary request area.

[0080] This configuration allows users to focus on teeth requiring additional scanning by making non-target teeth transparent. Furthermore, by setting transparency for each type of area requiring supplementation, users can filter out unnecessary areas requiring supplementation and perform additional scanning.

[0081] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of changing the size of a geometric shape according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The first screen (810) illustrates an example in which a first visual guide (814) for a first supplementation request area (812) is output on a display. In one embodiment, a computing device may acquire first oral scan data from an oral scanner. As described above with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 , based on the first oral scan data, a first supplementation request area (812) and a first visual guide (814) for an additional scan may be visualized and output on a display. Here, the first visual guide (814) may include a geometric shape, and the size of the geometric shape may be determined based on the size of the first supplementation request area (812).

[0082] The second screen (810) illustrates an example in which a second visual guide (824) for a second supplementation request area (822) is output on the display. In one embodiment, the computing device may acquire second oral scan data (i.e., data obtained through an additional scan) from an oral scanner. In this case, by supplementing the data through an additional scan, the second supplementation request area (822) among the plurality of areas may be re-determined. In addition, as the size of the second supplementation request area (822) decreases, the size of the geometric shape of the second visual guide (824) may decrease. This change in the size of the geometric shape may be performed in real time while the user's additional scan is in progress. Accordingly, if the user sufficiently increases the scan completion rate through an additional scan of the supplementation request area, the visual guide indicating the area may be removed from the display.

[0083] Although FIG. 8 illustrates that the geometric shape of the second visual guide (824) decreases in size while maintaining the same shape (i.e., circular) as the size of the second supplementary requirement area (822) decreases, this is not limiting. For example, if a portion of the supplementary requirement area decreases through an additional scan, a portion of the geometric shape of the visual guide corresponding to that portion may also decrease. Accordingly, the shape of the decreased geometric shape may differ from the shape of the original geometric shape.

[0084] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a visual guide indicating a target position and direction of an oral scanner is output together with a visual guide indicating a current position and direction of an oral scanner on a display according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. A first screen (910) illustrates an example in which a first visual guide (914) for a supplementation request area (912) and a second visual guide (916) indicating a current position and direction of an oral scanner are output on the display. In one embodiment, the first visual guide (914) may indicate a target position and direction of an oral scanner for performing additional scanning on the supplementation request area (912). That is, the first visual guide (914) may indicate a position and direction in which an oral scanner will start additional scanning in order to increase the scanning completeness of the supplementation request area (912). In addition, the computing device may receive data associated with the current position and direction of the oral scanner from the oral scanner. In this case, based on the current position and direction of the oral scanner, the computing device can generate a second visual guide (916) indicating the current position and direction of the oral scanner.

[0085] In one embodiment, the second visual guide (916) may correspond to the first visual guide (914). Specifically, the second visual guide (916) may have the same shape as the first visual guide (914). In addition, the position of the second visual guide (916) may indicate the current position of the oral scanner, and the direction orthogonal to the second visual guide (916) may indicate the current direction of the oral scanner.

[0086] The second screen (920) illustrates an example in which the centers of the first visual guide (924) for the supplementation request area (922) and the second visual guide (926) indicating the current position and direction of the oral scanner are aligned. In one embodiment, the user may operate the oral scanner along the first visual guide (924). In this case, if the second visual guide indicating the current position and direction of the oral scanner is aligned with the first visual guide (924), it may mean that the additional scan is being performed properly. In this way, if the additional scan is being performed properly, the center of the second visual guide (926) will be aligned with the first visual guide (924), and the second visual guide (926) and the first visual guide (924) may be located on the same plane. Accordingly, the user can check the current position and direction of the oral scanner by comparing it with the first visual guide (924).

[0087] In Fig. 9, the shape and size of the first visual guide are shown to be different from the shape and size of the second visual guide, but this is not limited thereto, and the shape and size of the first visual guide and the second visual guide may be the same.

[0088] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface screen (1000) on which a visual guide (1030) is output according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, a user can check a three-dimensional oral cavity model (1010), a live view (1020), and a visual guide (1030) through the user interface screen (1000). Here, the live view (1020) may include an image captured at the current position and direction of the oral cavity scanner. In addition, the three-dimensional oral cavity model (1010) may include visualized data based on oral cavity scan data acquired from the oral cavity scanner.

[0089] In one embodiment, the outline color of the geometric shape of the visual guide (1030) may be determined based on the current position or orientation of the oral scanner. Specifically, if the current position of the oral scanner and the position of the geometric shape match, the outline color of the geometric shape may be displayed in a preset color (e.g., red). Additionally, if the current direction of the oral scanner and the direction orthogonal to the geometric shape are parallel, the outline color of the geometric shape may be displayed in a preset color (e.g., yellow). Additionally, if the current position and orientation of the oral scanner, respectively, match the position and orthogonal direction of the geometric shape, the outline color of the geometric shape may be displayed in a preset color (e.g., blue).

[0090] In one embodiment, the user can determine whether the current orientation of the oral scanner is appropriate through the shape of the geometric shape of the visual guide (1030). For example, if the geometric shape is circular, the 3D oral model (1010) may be rotated according to the current orientation of the oral scanner, thereby displaying the geometric shape as an ellipse. In this case, the user can adjust the current orientation of the oral scanner in a direction orthogonal to the geometric shape, thereby displaying the geometric shape as a circle instead of an ellipse. Accordingly, the user can determine whether the current orientation of the oral scanner is appropriate by confirming that the geometric shape is circular.

[0091] In FIG. 10, only a 3D oral model (1010) and a live view (1020) are shown on the user interface screen (1000), but the present invention is not limited thereto and may further include menus, icons, screens, etc. that support various functions.

[0092] This configuration allows users to easily determine whether the current position and orientation of the intraoral scanner is appropriate, based on the outline color of the visual guide. This facilitates the convenient performance of additional intraoral scans.

[0093] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of outputting a visual guide (1120) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the visual guide (1120) may further include a geometric shape indicating at least one of the scan completion of the supplementation request area (1110), the calculated position of the oral scanner, or the calculated direction of the oral scanner, as well as a line (1122) indicating at least one of the calculated position of the oral scanner or the calculated direction of the oral scanner. Here, one end of the line (1122) located opposite the tooth may indicate the calculated position of the oral scanner. Alternatively, the midpoint of the line (1122) may indicate the calculated position of the oral scanner. In addition, a direction parallel to the line (1122) may indicate the direction of the calculated oral scanner.

[0094] In one embodiment, the geometric shape may include a surface (1124) orthogonal to a line (1122). The surface (1124) may be positioned at the midpoint of the line. Additionally, at least one of the type (e.g., circular, rectangular, etc.), color, or pattern of the surface (1124) may be associated with the type of the complementation request area. For example, the visual guide (1120) may indicate that the complementation request area is a common area through the circular shape of the surface (1124). In another example, the visual guide (1120) may indicate that the complementation request area is a common area through the pattern of the surface (1124).

[0095] Alternatively, the color of the surface (1124) may be associated with the scan completion level of the supplementation request area. For example, if the scan completion level of the supplementation request area (1110) is low and the density of additional data required is high, the color of the surface (1124) may be displayed in red. As another example, if the scan completion level of the supplementation request area (1110) is high and the density of additional data required is low, the color of the surface (1124) may be displayed in yellow.

[0096] In one embodiment, the size of the surface (1124) may be determined based on the size of the supplementation request area (1110). For example, the larger the size of the supplementation request area (1110), the larger the size of the surface (1124). Accordingly, when the size of the supplementation request area (1110) is reduced by increasing the scan completeness of the supplementation request area (1110) through an additional scan, the size of the surface (1124) may also be reduced.

[0097] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method (1200) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the method (1200) may be performed by at least one processor. The method (1200) may begin with the processor acquiring first oral scan data from an oral scanner (S1210). Thereafter, the processor may calculate a scan completion rate of multiple regions of the first oral scan data (S1220).

[0098] Thereafter, the processor can determine a supplementation-required area among multiple areas based on the calculated scan completion rate (S1230). In addition, the processor can calculate the position and direction of the oral scanner with respect to the supplementation-required area (S1240).

[0099] Thereafter, the processor may output a visual guide generated based on the first scan completeness of the supplementation request area, the calculated position of the oral scanner, and the calculated direction of the oral scanner on the display (S1250). Here, the visual guide may include a geometric shape indicating at least one of the first scan completeness of the supplementation request area, the calculated position of the oral scanner, or the calculated direction of the oral scanner. In this case, the outline color of the geometric shape may be determined based on the current position or direction of the oral scanner. In addition, the visual guide may include a first visual guide indicating the current position or direction of the oral scanner with respect to the supplementation request area, and a second visual guide indicating a target position or direction of the oral scanner for additional scanning of the supplementation request area.

[0100] In one embodiment, the processor may visualize a complementary request area and output it on a display. Here, at least one of a type of geometric shape, color, or pattern may be determined based on the type of complementary request area. Additionally, the type of complementary request area may include at least one of a common area, a conflict area, or a change area.

[0101] In one embodiment, the visual guide further comprises a line indicating at least one of the position of the generated oral scanner or the direction of the generated oral scanner, and the geometric shape may comprise a surface orthogonal to the line. In this case, the size of the surface may be determined based on the size of the supplementation request area.

[0102] In one embodiment, the processor may obtain second oral scan data for the area requiring supplementation from the oral scanner. Furthermore, the processor may calculate a second scan completion rate for the area requiring supplementation based on the second oral scan data. Here, the size of the geometric shape may be changed in real time based on the second scan completion rate.

[0103] In one embodiment, the processor may visualize and output on a display a plurality of teeth within the oral cavity and outlines of each of the plurality of teeth based on first oral scan data. The color of the visualized outlines may be determined based on the scan completeness associated with each region of the plurality of teeth.

[0104] In one embodiment, the processor may receive a first user input for selecting a type of a supplementation request area. Furthermore, the processor may receive a second user input for selecting a transparency of the supplementation request area. In response to receiving the first user input and the second user input, the processor may change the transparency of the type of supplementation request area corresponding to the first user input to a value corresponding to the second user input and output the change on the display. Additionally, the processor may change the transparency of remaining teeth among the plurality of teeth that do not include the type of supplementation request area corresponding to the first user input to a predefined value and output the change on the display.

[0105] In one embodiment, the geometric shape may include a two-dimensional shape. In this case, the position of the two-dimensional shape may indicate the position of the generated oral scanner. Additionally, the direction orthogonal to the two-dimensional shape may indicate the direction of the generated oral scanner. Additionally, the size of the two-dimensional shape may be determined based on the size of the area requiring supplementation. The color of the two-dimensional shape may be determined based on the scan completion level of the area requiring supplementation.

[0106] In one embodiment, the processor may obtain third oral scan data for the area requiring supplementation from the oral scanner. Furthermore, the processor may calculate a third scan completion rate for the area requiring supplementation based on the third oral scan data. Here, the color of the geometric shape may be changed in real time based on the third scan completion rate.

[0107] The above-described method may be provided as a computer program stored on a computer-readable recording medium for execution on a computer. The medium may be one that continuously stores a computer-executable program, or one that temporarily stores it for execution or download. In addition, the medium may be various recording means or storage means in the form of a single or multiple hardware combinations, and is not limited to a medium directly connected to a computer information processing system, and may also be distributed over a network. Examples of the medium may include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, and those configured to store program instructions, including ROM, RAM, and flash memory. In addition, examples of other media may include recording or storage media managed by app stores that distribute applications, sites that supply or distribute various software, servers, etc.

[0108] The methods, operations, or techniques of the present disclosure may be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various exemplary logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software will depend on the particular application and the design requirements imposed on the overall information processing system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementations should not be construed as departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0109] In a hardware implementation, the processing units used to perform the techniques may be implemented within one or more ASICs, DSPs, GPUs, digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, a computer, or a combination thereof.

[0110] When implemented in software, the techniques may be stored on or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection is suitably made to a computer-readable medium.

[0111] While the embodiments described above have been described as utilizing aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter in one or more standalone computer information processing systems, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and may be implemented in conjunction with any computing environment, such as a network or distributed computing environment. Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in multiple processing chips or devices, and storage may be similarly affected across multiple devices. Such devices may include personal computers, network servers, and portable devices.

[0112] While the present disclosure has been described in connection with certain embodiments herein, various modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, which would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the claims appended to this specification.

[0113] 110: Oral Scanner

[0114] 120: Computing device

Claims

1. A method for providing a visual guide for an oral scanner, the method being performed by at least one processor, A step of acquiring first oral scan data from an oral scanner; A step of calculating the scan completion rate of a plurality of areas of the first oral scan data; A step of determining a supplementation-requiring area among the plurality of areas based on the above-described scan completion rate; A step of calculating the position and direction of the oral scanner for the above supplementary requirement area; and A method for providing a visual guide, comprising the step of outputting a visual guide generated based on the first scan completion level of the above-mentioned supplementary requirement area, the calculated position of the oral scanner, and the calculated direction of the oral scanner on a display.

2. In paragraph 1, A method for providing a visual guide, wherein the visual guide includes a geometric shape indicating at least one of the first scan completeness of the supplementation request area, the position of the generated oral scanner, or the direction of the generated oral scanner.

3. In paragraph 2, A method for providing a visual guide, wherein the visual guide further comprises a line indicating at least one of the position of the produced oral scanner or the direction of the produced oral scanner, and the geometric shape comprises a surface orthogonal to the line.

4. In paragraph 2, A step of acquiring second oral scan data for the supplementary requirement area from the oral scanner; and A step of calculating the second scan completion rate of the supplementation requirement area based on the second oral scan data. Including more, A method for providing a visual guide, wherein the size of the geometric shape is changed in real time based on the second scan completion level.

5. In paragraph 2, A step of visualizing the above supplementary requirement area and outputting it on the display; Including more, At least one of the type, color or pattern of the geometric shape is determined based on the type of the supplementary requirement area, A method for providing a visual guide, wherein the type of the above-mentioned supplementary requirement area includes at least one of a common area, a conflict area, or a change area.

6. In paragraph 1, A step of visualizing a plurality of teeth in the oral cavity and an outline of each of the plurality of teeth generated based on the first oral scan data and outputting the visualized images on the display; Including more, A method for providing a visual guide, wherein the color of the above visualized outline is determined based on the scan completeness associated with each area of ​​the plurality of teeth.

7. In paragraph 6, The step of visualizing the plurality of teeth and the outline and outputting them on the display is: A step of receiving a first user input selecting a type of the above supplementary requirement area; A step of receiving a second user input for selecting transparency of the above supplementary request area; and In response to receiving the first user input and the second user input, a step of changing the transparency of a type of supplementary request area corresponding to the first user input to a value corresponding to the second user input and outputting the change on the display; A method of providing a visual guide, including:

8. In paragraph 7, The step of visualizing the plurality of teeth and the outline and outputting them on the display is: A step of changing the transparency of the remaining teeth that do not include a type of supplementary request area corresponding to the first user input among the plurality of teeth to a predefined value and outputting the result on the display; A method of providing a visual guide, further comprising:

9. In paragraph 2, The above geometric shape includes a two-dimensional figure, The position of the above two-dimensional figure represents the position of the oral scanner produced above, A method for providing a visual guide, wherein the direction orthogonal to the above two-dimensional figure indicates the direction of the above-described oral scanner.

10. In paragraph 9, The size of the above two-dimensional shape is determined based on the size of the above supplementary requirement area, A method for providing a visual guide, wherein the color of the above two-dimensional shape is determined based on the scan completion degree of the above supplementary requirement area.

11. In paragraph 1, The above visual guide is, A first visual guide indicating the current position or direction of the oral scanner with respect to the above supplementary requirement area; and A method for providing a visual guide, comprising a second visual guide indicating a target location or direction of the oral scanner for additional scanning of the above supplementary requirement area.

12. In paragraph 2, A step of acquiring third oral scan data for the supplementary requirement area from the oral scanner; and A step of calculating a third scan completion rate of the supplementation requirement area based on the third oral scan data; Including more, A method for providing a visual guide, wherein the color of the geometric shape changes in real time based on the third scan completion level.

13. In paragraph 2, A method for providing a visual guide, wherein the outline color of the geometric shape is determined based on the current position or direction of the oral scanner.

14. Communication module; display; memory; and At least one processor connected to said memory and configured to execute at least one computer-readable program contained in said memory, At least one program above, Obtain first oral scan data from the oral scanner, Calculate the scan completion rate of multiple areas of the above first oral scan data, Based on the above-mentioned calculated scan completion rate, a supplementation-requiring area is determined among the multiple areas, Calculate the position and direction of the oral scanner for the above supplementary requirement area, A device comprising commands for outputting a visual guide generated based on the first scan completion degree of the above-described supplementary requirement area, the calculated position of the oral scanner, and the calculated direction of the oral scanner on the display.

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