U.S. patent application number 13/365117 was filed with the patent office on 2013-08-08 for virtually testing force placed on a tooth.
This patent application is currently assigned to Align Technology, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Sergei Brodsky, Vadim Matov, Fuming Wu. Invention is credited to Sergei Brodsky, Vadim Matov, Fuming Wu.
Application Number | 20130204599 13/365117 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48903674 |
Filed Date | 2013-08-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130204599 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Matov; Vadim ; et
al. |
August 8, 2013 |
VIRTUALLY TESTING FORCE PLACED ON A TOOTH
Abstract
Embodiments of the present disclosure include computing device
related, system, and method embodiments for virtually testing force
placed on a tooth are described herein. One method embodiment
includes receiving initial orthodontic data (IOD) of teeth, and
receiving a desired position of a tooth contained in the IOD. The
method embodiment can also include computing a desired force and
torque to be applied to the tooth to reach the desired position,
wherein the force and torque are applied using a dental attachment.
The method embodiment can include virtually testing and adjusting
the attachment iteratively to reach the desired force and torque,
and displaying the force and torque applied to the tooth via a user
interface.
Inventors: |
Matov; Vadim; (San Jose,
CA) ; Brodsky; Sergei; (San Jose, CA) ; Wu;
Fuming; (Pleasanton, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Matov; Vadim
Brodsky; Sergei
Wu; Fuming |
San Jose
San Jose
Pleasanton |
CA
CA
CA |
US
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Align Technology, Inc.
San Jose
CA
|
Family ID: |
48903674 |
Appl. No.: |
13/365117 |
Filed: |
February 2, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
703/11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G16H 50/50 20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
703/11 |
International
Class: |
G06G 7/60 20060101
G06G007/60 |
Claims
1. A computing device implemented method of virtually testing force
placed on a tooth, comprising: receiving initial orthodontic data
(IOD) including tooth data; receiving a desired position of a tooth
contained in the IOD; computing at least one of a desired force and
torque to be applied to the tooth to reach the desired position,
wherein the at least one of the force and torque are applied using
a dental attachment; virtually testing and adjusting the attachment
iteratively to reach at least one of the desired force and torque;
and displaying the at least one of the force and torque applied to
the tooth via a user interface.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein virtually testing and adjusting
the attachment includes virtually testing and adjusting the
attachment iteratively to reach at least one of the desired force
and torque for moving the tooth from an initial position to the
desired position.
3. The method of claim 1, where anchoring of a tooth is desired
virtually testing and adjusting the attachment includes virtually
testing and adjusting the attachment iteratively to reach at least
one of the desired force and torque for maintaining the tooth in an
initial position and a desired position that are the same.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the IOD includes at least one of
a gum structure and a mouth bone structure.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the attachment is chosen to
perform a particular movement with respect to the tooth positioning
in the IOD due to a particular malocclusion of the tooth.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the attachment is virtually
created for testing based on the computed at least one desired
force and torque.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating a center
of mass for the tooth and associating the at least one of the
desired force and torque with the center of mass.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising calculating a center
of resistance of the tooth based on the center of mass and
associating the desired force with the center of resistance.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining an actual
force generated by the attachment.
10. The method of claim 7, further comprising identifying a
possible placement area for the placement of the attachment on the
tooth based on the actual force generated by the attachment.
11. The method of claim 7, further comprising comparing the desired
force to the actual force and presenting the results on the user
interface.
12. A system for virtually testing force placed on a tooth,
comprising: initial orthodontic data (IOD) including tooth data of
a patient; a target virtual dental model of a tooth in the IOD; a
computation module configured to compute at least one of a desired
position, a desired orientation, and a desired relative magnitude
of point contact force of an attachment to achieve the target
virtual dental model of the tooth; a creation module configured to
virtually create the attachment; a verification module configured
to test the virtually created attachment and verify that the
virtually created attachment has the at least one desired position,
the desired orientation, and the desired relative magnitude of
point contact force; and a display module configured to display the
virtually created attachment and the point contact force.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the desired position, desired
orientation, and desired relative magnitude of the point contact
force are recomputed with a new constraint if the attachment is not
verified.
14. The system of claim 12, wherein the displayed relative
magnitude of point contact force is present on the user interface
as force and torque vector arrows showing a direction and magnitude
of a desired force and a desired torque.
15. The system of claim 12, wherein the system includes a library
of tooth shapes and treatment plan data, attachment shapes, data
regarding mounting materials, and data regarding aligner
characteristics and tooth and mouth structures.
16. A non-transitory computing device readable medium having
executable instructions that can be executed by a processor to
cause a computing device to perform a method of virtually testing
force placed on a tooth, comprising: receiving initial orthodontic
data (IOD) including tooth data; identifying a desired position of
a tooth contained in the IOD; computing at least one of a desired
force and torque to be applied to the tooth to reach the desired
position; creating a physical feature to deliver the at least one
of the desired force and torque to the tooth; computing at least
one of an actual force and torque applied to the tooth by the
physical feature; determining an area on the tooth where the
physical feature can be positioned; displaying the at least one of
the desired force and desired torque via a user interface;
displaying the at least one of the actual force and torque applied
to the tooth by the physical feature via a user interface;
comparing the at least one of the desired force and torque to the
actual force and torque; and virtually testing and adjusting the
physical feature iteratively within the area to reach at least one
of the desired force and torque.
17. The medium of claim 16, wherein creating the physical feature
includes at least one of creating an aligner and creating a dimple
for the tooth.
18. The medium of claim 16, wherein the physical feature is
editable by a user.
19. The medium of claim 16, wherein the executable instructions can
be executed by the processor to cause the computing device to
perform the method further comprising recreating the physical
feature with a different shape if the attachment is not
verified.
20. The medium of claim 16, wherein the executable instructions can
be executed by the processor to cause the computing device to
perform the method further comprising recalculating the actual
force after the desired force and actual force comparison and
displaying the recalculated actual force via the user interface to
show a revised force and torque delivered by the adjusted physical
feature.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for
virtually testing force placed on a tooth.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of
dental treatment. More specifically the present disclosure relates
to virtually testing force placed on a tooth.
[0003] Many dental treatments involve repositioning misaligned
teeth and changing bite configurations for improved cosmetic
appearance and dental function. Orthodontic repositioning can be
accomplished, for example, by applying controlled forces to one or
more teeth over a period of time.
[0004] An example of orthodontic repositioning that can occur
through a dental process that uses one or more positioning
appliances for realigning teeth. Placement of an appliance over the
teeth can provide controlled forces in specific locations to
gradually move the teeth into a new configuration. Repetition of
this process with successive appliances in progressive
configurations can move the teeth through a series of intermediate
arrangements to a final desired arrangement.
[0005] Appliances, or attachments, can have an already designed
shape. An attachment may be placed on a patient's tooth with the
theory that the attachment will act on the tooth to move it in a
particular direction. However, this treatment plan is typically
selected by a treatment professional based upon the treatment
professional's experience with the type of attachment. However, the
actual result based on the actual forces at work may result in a
different orientation than expected. This may result in providing
more, less, or different movement to achieve the desired result
than was initially predicted by the treatment professional.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1A illustrates a virtual initial dental model according
to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0007] FIG. 1B illustrates a target virtual dental model
corresponding to the virtual initial dental model illustrated in
FIG. 1A according to the present disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates an example tooth model and an exemplary
user interface for testing force placed on a tooth according to one
or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 3 illustrates an example tooth model and an exemplary
user interface for testing force placed on a tooth according to one
or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates a system for virtually testing force
placed on a tooth according to one or more embodiments of the
present disclosure.
[0011] FIG. 5 illustrates a method for testing force placed on a
tooth according to one or more embodiments of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Embodiments of the present disclosure include computing
device related, system, and method embodiments for virtually
testing force placed on a tooth. For example, one or more method
embodiments include, receiving initial orthodontic data (IOD) of
teeth, receiving a desired position of a tooth contained in the
IOD, computing a desired force and torque to be applied to the
tooth to reach the desired position, wherein the force and torque
are applied using a dental attachment, virtually testing and
adjusting the attachment iteratively to reach at least one of the
desired force and torque, and displaying at least one of the force
and torque applied to the tooth via a user interface.
[0013] In the following detailed description of the present
disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that
form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration
how a number of embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced.
These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable
those of ordinary skill in the art to practice a number of
embodiments of this disclosure, and it is to be understood that
other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made
without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0014] The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which
the first digit or digits correspond to the drawing figure number
and the remaining digits identify an element or component in the
drawing. Similar elements or components between different figures
may be identified by the use of similar digits. For example, 120
may reference element "20" in FIG. 1B, and a similar element may be
referenced as 420 in FIG. 4.
[0015] As will be appreciated, elements shown in the various
embodiments herein can be added, exchanged, and/or eliminated so as
to provide a number of additional embodiments of the present
disclosure. In addition, as will be appreciated, the proportion and
the relative scale of the elements provided in the figures are
intended to illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure,
and should not be taken in a limiting sense. As used herein, "a",
"at least one", "a number of" something can refer to one or more
such things.
[0016] Although the overarching term "orthodontics" is used herein,
the present disclosure may relate to treatments of an orthognathic
nature. For example, in cases including treatment of a patient's
underlying skeletal structure, teeth may be rearranged by
surgically repositioning underlying bones that hold the teeth in
order to achieve a desired final bite arrangement. In both
orthodontic and orthognathic treatment approaches, alignment of the
teeth may be evaluated pre-, mid-, and/or post-treatment.
[0017] Treatment professionals typically select a treatment plan
for a patient's teeth based upon experience with certain types of
physical features, attachments, and/or appliances. An assumption is
often made that the attachment or appliance will move the teeth or
a certain tooth in a particular direction based on the shape of the
attachment or appliance.
[0018] However, an actual result based on the actual forces at work
may result in a different orientation than expected, which may be
an undesired result. Embodiments of the present disclosure can
predict the forces of a dental appliance on a particular tooth of a
patient.
[0019] This can aid in understanding the forces provided by a
particular attachment on a particular tooth at a particular
position and/or orientation thereon, in isolation. Such information
can aid in the design of the appliance and/or treatment planning,
in some embodiments.
[0020] In various embodiments, with the use of computer graphic
software, a treatment professional can establish a custom treatment
target specific to a particular tooth of a particular patient
allowing, in some embodiments, custom dental appliance design. With
this treatment target in mind, a force applied to a tooth by an
appliance or attachment can be virtually determined and tested.
[0021] Virtual dental models from a scan of a patient's dentition
can be provided with computer-aided design and/or manufacturing
systems, including tooth-treatment systems. Initial orthodontic
data (IOD) representing an initial tooth arrangement may be
obtained in a variety of ways. For example, the patient's teeth may
be imaged to obtain digital data using direct and/or indirect
structured light, X-rays, three-dimensional X-rays, lasers,
destructive scanning, computer-aided tomographic images or data
sets, magnetic resonance images, intra-oral scanning technology,
photographic reconstruction, and/or other imaging techniques. The
IOD can include an entire mouth tooth arrangement, some, but not
all teeth in the mouth, and/or it can include a single tooth.
[0022] A positive model and/or negative impression of the patient's
teeth or a tooth may be scanned using an X-ray, laser scanner,
destructive scanner, structured light, and/or other range
acquisition system to produce the IOD. The data set produced by the
range acquisition system may be converted to other formats to be
compatible with the software which is used for manipulating images
within the data set, as described herein.
[0023] Referring now to FIG. 1A, there is illustrated a virtual
initial dental model 100 according to one or more embodiments of
the present disclosure. As described herein, the virtual initial
dental model 100 can be obtained prior to treatment or at an
intermediate state of treatment (e.g., before treatment has been
completed). One or more embodiments of the present disclosure
include receiving IOD and a desired position of a tooth contained
in the 10D. The virtual initial dental model (e.g., derived from
the IOD) can also include a model of an individual tooth (e.g.,
tooth 110-1) that is part of a full dental model, such as full
virtual dental model 100.
[0024] FIG. 1B illustrates a target virtual dental model 120
corresponding to the virtual initial dental model illustrated in
FIG. 2A according to the present disclosure. The target virtual
dental model 120 can be created by modifying the virtual initial
dental model 100 according to one or more treatment goals. The one
or more treatment goals can be case-specific (e.g., specific to the
particular patient on which the virtual initial dental model 100
was based).
[0025] In some embodiments, the target virtual dental model can
reflect an intermediate tooth movement within a treatment plan.
Such a tooth movement may be useful during a particular process
within the treatment plan (e.g., interproximal reduction (IPR),
extraction, etc.).
[0026] A target virtual dental model can also include a target
model of an individual tooth (e.g., tooth 110-2) that is part of a
full dental model similar to full target dental model 120. In some
embodiments, the IOD and the target virtual dental model can be
displayed via a user interface in three dimensions. In some
embodiments for example, the presentation in three dimensions can
include presenting one or more desired force and/or force movements
on the models as vector arrows showing direction and/or magnitude
of desired force, among other information about the force that may
be helpful to the user.
[0027] In various embodiments, the force and/or torque can be based
on a movement from a first position to a second position based on
the use of a particular attachment. However, in some
implementations, this movement can be a movement that would be
achieved through use of the attachment with multiple aligners
whereby a first aligner would work with the attachment to move the
tooth from the first position to a second position and where a
second aligner would be used with the attachment to move the tooth
from the second position to a third position. Additional aligners
could work with the attachment to move the tooth to other
subsequent positions. In some embodiments, the forces and/or torque
used to move the tooth to each of these positions could be
identified and/or utilized and/or the force and/or torque from the
first position to any subsequent position could be identified
and/or utilized.
[0028] As discussed above, virtual testing of a force applied to a
tooth by an attachment or physical feature can be utilized in the
design of dental appliances for use in the mouth of a patient, such
as anchors and other attachments, and potentially to aligner
surfaces (e.g., dimples, ridges, thickness, etc.), materials
properties, and their interaction with the teeth. Virtually testing
the applied force allows a user to identify the forces present on
one tooth that are provided by a particular dental appliance within
a set of teeth of the mouth.
[0029] Virtually testing an applied force to a tooth can also be
beneficial in determining how much force to apply to the tooth and
from what one or more directions. This information can be used to
determine the shape and/or positioning of the attachment to get
closest to the necessary force and/or direction desired for moving
the tooth.
[0030] FIG. 2 illustrates an example tooth model and an exemplary
user interface for testing force placed on a tooth according to one
or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In one or more
embodiments, a user can virtually test the shape and placement of
an attachment or other appliance structure (e.g., physical feature
208-2) and make adjustments to the shape and/or placement and retry
the movement until the best or most satisfactory result is
achieved. The model of tooth 244 includes arrows 204-1 and 204-2
representing a desired force and torque for movement of tooth 244.
For example, arrows 204-1 and 204-2 can represent an ideal force
and torque for movement. The model of tooth 244 includes tooth
surface feature 208-2 (e.g., attachment, dimple, etc.) and an arrow
208-1 that can represent a desired feature force direction and/or
magnitude, given a set of features. A feature (e.g., feature 208-2)
applies a force and/or torque to the tooth 244, which can be
represented by one or more arrows (e.g., arrow 206). Computing
device executable instructions can also be provided, in some
embodiments, to calculate an area for possible location (e.g., area
212) of a feature (e.g., feature 208-2) where the appliance can be
placed on tooth 244 (e.g., for potentially best results). The
tooth, as well as features of the attachment may be editable by a
user (e.g., via the user interface 230), as further discussed
herein.
[0031] FIG. 3 illustrates an example tooth model and an exemplary
user interface for testing force placed on a tooth according to one
or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments
a user can take data from an actual patient's mouth and determine
the forces desired during a portion of a treatment plan to move a
tooth from one position to another. The use of actual case data may
be useful, for example where an attachment may be desired to
perform a particular movement with respect to a particular tooth
positioning due to a particular malocclusion. A user can enter
physical parameters of an attachment (e.g., appliance, aligner,
dimple, etc.) to be created into a location and orientation window
342 of user interface 330.
[0032] In various embodiments, a user can enter such parameters as
a length 322, a width 324, a prominence 326, a depth 328 inside
tooth 344, an activation angle 332, and/or an activator offset on
inactive surfaces 334. In some embodiments, a user can also enter
more advanced settings, such as an iso-surface gradient width 336
and/or a voxel size 338.
[0033] In various embodiments, a user can choose to identify tooth
344 by a number or some other identifier and enter or choose the
identifier in a drop-down box such as box 314. In some embodiments,
a user can also choose to enter parameters for a center of the
attachment and an active surface (e.g., parameters 316 and
318).
[0034] Treatment plan case data can be analyzed to determine the
movement of a particular tooth from a first position to a
subsequent (e.g., desired) position. This information can then be
utilized in an analysis of forces with respect to proposed
attachments or other aligner related movement analysis.
[0035] In some embodiments, a user interface (e.g., model and user
interface 330) is provided where a virtual model of the tooth is
presented in three dimensions. Once the forces and/or moments of
the forces on the tooth are determined, they can be presented on
the user interface (e.g., they can be presented as vector arrows
showing direction and/or magnitude of desired force and/or stress)
among other information about the force that may be helpful to the
user. For example, vector arrows 304-1 and 304-2 can represent
desired (e.g., ideal) force and/or torque for movement of tooth
344, and vector arrow 306 can, in some embodiments, represent a
force and/or torque applied to tooth 344 by a feature, such as
feature 308-2. Vector arrow 308-1 can represent a desired (e.g.,
optimal) feature force direction and/or magnitude, given a set of
features (e.g., attachment, dimple, etc.).
[0036] Tools for the creation and/or alteration of the attachments
and/or other items related to the movement of the tooth can be
utilized to virtually test force placed on a tooth. These tools can
include one or more libraries of tooth shapes (e.g., typodonts)
and/or treatment plan data (e.g., actual patient tooth data and/or
other treatment planning data); attachment shapes; data regarding
mounting materials that could be used; and/or data regarding other
characteristics of an aligner, tooth, and/or mouth structure.
[0037] Editing tools can be provided to change the shape of the
attachments and/or other items related to the movement of the
tooth. For example, suitable tools could include those that are
provided with respect to drafting and/or computer aided design
software applications, among other tools.
[0038] In some embodiments, the desired forces and the actual
forces can be illustrated on the virtual model so that the user can
see the differences between the actual and desired forces (e.g.,
force and/or magnitude vectors for both the desired and actual
forces). This can be helpful, for example, by allowing the user to
see the differences and/or adjust the shape and/or position of the
attachment and/or other item related to the movement of the tooth.
The actual force can then be recalculated and then illustrated to
show the revised force of the revised shape and/or position.
[0039] In some embodiments, multiple calculated positions and/or
shapes can be illustrated (e.g., the forces generated from a first
position and a second position can be illustrated together and, in
some embodiments, with the desired forces). This can be beneficial,
for example, to identify how the change from a first to a second
position affected the forces. It can also be beneficial to identify
if the change from a first to a second position is adjusting the
forces created closer to those of the desired forces.
[0040] It should be noted that one force that may be quantified for
movement of the tooth is for total movement of the tooth from a
first position to a second position. However, forces from the
gingiva and bone interactions for some force calculations can also
be incorporated and, therefore, in some embodiments, forces for
different stages of movement can be determined, such as initial
force needed for bone breakdown versus force needed for movement
once the bone breakdown has occurred. For example, in some
embodiments, the movement from a first position to a second
position may be determined by calculating the force sufficient to
enable the tooth to begin to move (e.g., the first and second
positions could be relatively close or adjacent and therefore the
force to create that movement would be the force needed to begin
moving the tooth).
[0041] In some embodiments, a center of mass can be calculated for
the tooth, and the forces (e.g., desired forces) can be associated
with the center of mass. In some embodiments, a center of
resistance can be calculated, (e.g., based upon the center of mass,
and/or forces such as from the gingiva and/or bone attachment) and
the forces can be associated with the center of resistance.
[0042] In some embodiments, a possible placement area in which an
attachment can be positioned on a tooth can be identified (e.g.
area 312). This information can be obtained through experiential
data programmed into the software and/or entered by the user or
multiple users (e.g., using window 342). Additionally, this can be
calculated based upon the forces that are to be generated.
[0043] For example, in some embodiments, the forces generated can
be determined for an attachment that has been selected by the user
for placement on the tooth and a possible placement area 312 can be
identified for the placement of the attachment on the tooth. The
possible placement area 312 can, for example, be based upon where
the placement of the attachment would result in a certain result
that would be within a threshold proximity to the desired result.
In some embodiments, as the shape and/or orientation of the dental
appliance is changed, the possible placement area can be
recalculated.
[0044] The possible placement area 312 could, for instance, be
based on areas where attachment could actually be achieved (e.g.,
portions of the tooth where an attachment would be sufficiently
adhered to the tooth so that it does not come detached or
obstructed by a structure such as a tooth surface not being shaped
for attachment thereto or too far below the gingiva). This
calculation could be determined through experiential data or based
upon one or more characteristics of the tooth, and/or materials to
be used (e.g., adhesion characteristics of the tooth surface,
adhesion characteristics of the adhesion material, adhesion
characteristics of the dental appliance material, shape of the
adhesion surface of the attachment, and/or shape of the surface of
the tooth, etc).
[0045] For example, the possible placement area 312 may not include
the edge areas, overly curved surfaces, and/or contoured surfaces
of the tooth because adhesion to those surfaces may be difficult,
in some situations. It may not be reasonable to use some areas of
the tooth, as certain areas would not properly associate or connect
with a surface of an appliance, and as such, in some embodiments,
association information and/or surface information can be used in
determining possible placement areas. For example, improper
association can include, for instance, an appliance position that
is calculated to be undesirably close to or in contact with a
neighboring tooth, an appliance position that negatively impacts a
neighboring tooth and/or area surrounding the possible placement
area, a position that would not provide proper fit between the
attachment and another appliance such as an aligner, and/or
negatively impacting the area around an aligner and/or the
appliance, among others.
[0046] Improper connection with a surface of an appliance can
include, for instance, can include not having a tooth surface that
would provide a secure bonding surface for attachment of an
appliance thereon, among others.
[0047] In some embodiments, the possible placement area 312 may by
"dynamic" in that it can change as certain criteria (e.g., the
shape and/or type of appliance, bonding material, material of the
appliance, etc.) changes. For example, an attachment of a
particular shape may have more preferable results when placed on a
first area of a tooth than a second attachment having a second
shape, perhaps, with a different surface shape on the surface to be
bonded to the surface of the tooth and therefore, the possible
placement area can be changed so that the user interface can
indicate the changes to a user.
[0048] FIG. 4 illustrates a system for virtually testing force
placed on a tooth according to one or more embodiments of the
present disclosure. in the system illustrated in FIG. 4, the system
includes a computing device 450 having a number of components
coupled thereto. The computing device 450 includes a processor 452
and memory 454. The memory can include various types of information
including data 456 and executable instructions 458, as discussed
herein.
[0049] Memory and/or the processor may be located on the computing
device 450 or off the device, in some embodiments. As such, as
illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 4, a system can include a
network interface 460. Such an interface can allow for processing
on another networked computing device, can be used to obtain
information about the patient, and/or can be used to obtain data
and/or executable instructions for use with various embodiments
provided herein.
[0050] As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 4, a system can
include one or more input and/or output interfaces 462. Such
interfaces can be used to connect the computing device with one or
more input and/or output devices.
[0051] For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the
system can include connectivity to a scanning device 463, a camera
dock 464, an input device 465 (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, etc.), a
display device 466 (e.g., a monitor), a printer 467, and/or one or
more other input devices 465. The input/output interfaces 462 can
receive executable instructions and/or data, storable in the data
storage device (e.g., memory 454), representing a digital dental
model of a patient's dentition.
[0052] In some embodiments, the scanning device 463 can be
configured to scan one or more physical molds of a patient's
dentition. In one or more embodiments, the scanning device 463 can
be configured to scan the patient's dentition directly. The
scanning device 463 can be configured to input data into the
computing device wherein the data can be provided to the
application modules 470.
[0053] The camera dock 464 can receive an input from an imaging
device (e.g., a two-dimensional or three dimensional imaging
device) such as a digital camera, a printed photograph scanner,
intra-oral scanner, or other suitable imaging device. The input
from the imaging device can, for example, be stored in the data
storage device (e.g., memory 454).
[0054] The processor 452 can be configured to provide a visual
indication of a virtual dental model on the display 466 (e.g., on a
graphical user interface (GUI) running on the processor 452 and
visible on the display 466). The GUI can be configured to allow a
treatment professional or other user to input treatment goals, to
create a target virtual dental model 420, and/or enter desired or
actual attachment parameters. Input received via the GUI can be
sent to the processor 452 as data and/or can be stored in memory
454.
[0055] Such connectivity can allow for the input and/or output of
data and/or instructions among other types of information. Although
some embodiments may be distributed among various computing devices
within one or more networks, such systems as illustrated in FIG. 4,
can be beneficial in allowing for the capture, calculation, and/or
analysis of information discussed herein.
[0056] The processor 452, in association with the data storage
device (e.g., memory 454), can be associated with data and/or
application modules 470. The processor 452, in association with the
memory 454, can store and/or utilize data and/or execute
instructions to provide a number of application modules for
virtually testing force placed on a tooth. As used herein, a module
can be a stand alone program or portion of a program or can be a
set of code that provides a particular functionality and may not be
stand alone and may not even include instructions interspersed
within a set of code.
[0057] Such data can include the virtual initial dental model 400
and/or the target virtual dental model 420. Such application
modules can include a computation module 472, a verification module
474, a creation module 402, and/or a display module 476.
[0058] The computation module 472 can, for example, be configured
to compute a desired position, a desired orientation, and/or a
desired relative magnitude of point contact force of an attachment
to achieve the target virtual dental model 420. The creation module
402 can be configured to virtually create an attachment, and the
verification module 474 can be configured to test the virtually
created attachment and/or verify it has the desired position,
orientation, and relative magnitude of point contact force. The
display module 476 can be configured to display the virtually
created attachment and/or the point contact force. The display
module 476 can be configured to display the information on display
device 466.
[0059] FIG. 5 illustrates a method for testing force placed on a
tooth according to one or more embodiments of the present
disclosure. At 576, initial orthodontic data (IOD) of teeth,
including teeth data, is received.
[0060] The IOD may be received in a variety of ways and may contain
a variety of information. For example, the IOD can include one or
more of an initial single tooth model, an initial teeth set model,
a gum structure, and/or a mouth bone structure.
[0061] The patient's teeth may be imaged to obtain digital data
using direct and/or indirect structured light, X-rays,
three-dimensional X-rays, lasers, destructive scanning,
computer-aided tomographic images and/or data sets, magnetic
resonance images, intra-oral scanning technology, photographic
reconstruction, and/or other imaging techniques. The IOD can
include any portion of the mouth, from an entire mouth tooth
arrangement to a single tooth.
[0062] A positive model and/or negative impression of the patient's
teeth or a tooth may be scanned using an X-ray, laser scanner,
destructive scanner, structured light, and/or other scanning system
to produce data for the IOD. In some embodiments, the data set
produced by the scanning system may be converted to other formats
to be compatible with the software which is used for manipulating
images within the data set.
[0063] A desired position of a tooth contained in the IOD is
received at 578. The desired position may be the choice of a
treatment professional and/or the patient. The desired position can
also be a position that has been used for previous patients with
similar teeth positioning. In some embodiments, the desired
position may be the same as an initial position (e.g., the tooth is
to stay anchored in the same position as one or more other teeth
move).
[0064] At 580, at least one of a desired force and torque to be
applied to the tooth in order to reach the desired position is
computed. The at least one of a desired force and torque can be
applied using a dental attachment (e.g., appliance, dimple, anchor,
etc.).
[0065] Using this desired force and/or torque, an attachment can be
virtually created using a number of aforementioned creation tools,
which include editing tools to change the shape of the attachments
or other items related to the movement of the tooth. The attachment
can be virtually tested and adjusted iteratively at 582 until at
least one of the desired force and torque is reached.
[0066] In some embodiments, virtually testing and adjusting the
attachment can include virtually testing and adjusting the
attachment iteratively to reach at least one of the desired force
and torque for moving the tooth from an initial position to the
desired position.
[0067] In various embodiments, where anchoring of a tooth is
desired virtually testing and adjusting the attachment can include
virtually testing and adjusting the attachment iteratively to reach
at least one of the desired force and torque for maintaining the
tooth in an initial position and a desired position that are the
same.
[0068] In some embodiments, an actual force generated by an
attachment chosen by a patient, treatment professional, and/or
other user can be determined and/or estimated. Based on this actual
force, an area for the placement of the attachment on the tooth can
be chosen.
[0069] The area for the placement of the attachment on the tooth
can also be determined without the actual force determination. For
example, the desired force and/or torque to be applied to the tooth
can be compared to the determined actual force, and the results
can, for instance, be presented to a user via a user interface.
This can be helpful, for example, by allowing the user to see
differences and adjust the shape and/or position of the attachment
or other dental appliance related to the movement of the tooth.
[0070] In some embodiments, the force can then be recalculated and
illustrated to show a revised force of the revised shape and/or
position. For example, the desired position, desired orientation,
and/or desired relative magnitude of point contact force can be
recomputed with a new constraint if the attachment does not reach
the desired outcome, treatment goal, and/or model. In various
embodiments, the attachment can be recreated with a different shape
if desired outcomes are not met.
[0071] At 584, the at least one of the force and torque applied to
the tooth can be displayed via a user interface. Once the forces
and/or moments of the forces on the tooth are determined, they can
be presented on the user interface (e.g., they can be presented as
vector arrows showing direction and/or magnitude of desired force)
among other information about the force that may be helpful to the
user.
[0072] Virtually testing force placed on a tooth can be beneficial
for many reasons, including the utilization of real world force
information, tooth data, and/or other structural data to calculate
the position for placement and/or potential shape of an attachment
or other appliance feature without actually having to test all of
these iterations in an actual patient or group of patients. The
results can include more accurate movement of teeth, thereby
reducing the time of treatment and/or increasing patient
satisfaction, among others.
[0073] Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and
described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will
appreciate that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same
techniques can be substituted for the specific embodiments shown.
This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or
variations of various embodiments of the disclosure.
[0074] It is to be understood that the above description has been
made in an illustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one.
Combination of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not
specifically described herein will be apparent to those of skill in
the art upon reviewing the above description.
[0075] The scope of the various embodiments of the disclosure
includes any other applications in which the above structures and
methods are used. Therefore, the scope of various embodiments of
the disclosure should be determined with reference to the appended
claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such
claims are entitled.
[0076] In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are
grouped together in example embodiments illustrated in the figures
for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of
disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that
the embodiments of the disclosure require more features than are
expressly recited in each claim.
[0077] Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject
matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed
embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into
the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a
separate embodiment.
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