Dental Arch Model Updating for Remote Aligner Detachment Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing orthodontic treatments require frequent patient visits for visual checks to ensure aligners fit properly, leading to inconvenience, additional costs, and treatment delays due to the need for new impressions or scans when detachments are detected.
Innovation Solution
A method for generating a three-dimensional digital model of a dental arch that allows for remote detection of aligner detachment by using updated images, leveraging intermediate models to update only non-compliant teeth, reducing the need for new scans and simplifying the treatment process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If frequent patient visits are conducted for visual checks to ensure aligner fit, then detection precision of aligner detachment is improved, but loss of time and treatment duration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses photogrammetry to create a digital copy (3D model) of the patient's dental arch and aligner from photographs taken during routine visits. This digital copy allows remote detection of detachments without requiring the patient to return for specialized scanning, thus maintaining detection precision while reducing treatment duration and visit frequency.
2Manufacturing precision
If new impressions or scans are taken when detachments are detected, then manufacturing precision of new aligners is improved, but loss of time and treatment interruptions increase
Solution Approach 1:
When a detachment is detected through photogrammetric 3D models, the system creates an updated digital copy of the current dental arch state. This digital copy is sufficient for manufacturing correction aligners, eliminating the need for time-consuming new physical impressions or scans and reducing treatment interruptions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary detection of detachments using photogrammetry during regular visits or at home. By detecting issues early and using digital models for immediate analysis, the system prepares the data needed for aligner manufacturing in advance, reducing the need for urgent re-visits and treatment interruptions.
3Measurement precision
If traditional visual check methods are used during patient visits, then detection precision of aligner detachment is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex specialized scanning equipment with standard photography devices (smartphones, cameras). By capturing ordinary photographs and processing them through photogrammetry software to create 3D models, the system achieves high detection precision while significantly reducing device complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes mechanical/scanned-based 3D acquisition systems with optical photography-based photogrammetry. This replacement uses light and image processing algorithms instead of mechanical scanners, simplifying the hardware while maintaining or improving detection capabilities through computational analysis.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for generating a 3D digital model of a dental arch for a patient, referred to as the 'updated model', in the course of treating the dental arch with an orthodontic aligner, referred to as the 'active aligner', the treatment having been simulated by means of a treatment scenario generated at a starting time t 1 and comprising a plurality of intermediate models, each intermediate model being a 3D digital model of the dental arch, the intermediate model being split into models of teeth and generated to represent the dental arch at a respective intermediate time subsequent to the starting time, the generation method comprising the following steps: 1) at an updated time t a in the course of treatment, acquiring at least one updated image, each updated image representing the active aligner attached, in the operating position, to the dental arch, or 'image with aligner', or representing the dental arch without an aligner, or 'image of uncovered teeth'; 3) searching in an updated image, referred to as the 'updated analysis image', for representations of teeth that are non-compliant with the treatment scenario; if one or more non-compliant teeth are identified, 4) determining, depending on the updated time, one of the intermediate models, or 'active intermediate model', then identifying one or more models of teeth representing the non-compliant tooth or teeth, respectively, in the active intermediate model; 5) deforming the active intermediate model until an updated model is obtained that is compatible with at least one of the updated images, which is referred to as the 'updated deformation image'.