A method for segmenting a 3D model image of a patient's dentition obtains a first 3D model image of the patient dentition and obtains a first segmentation of the first 3D model image, wherein the first segmentation provides at least a tooth surface contour and a tooth label for one or more teeth of the first 3D model. A second 3D model image of the patient dentition is obtained. Each segmented tooth surface contour of the first 3D model is registered to corresponding tooth surface contour of the second 3D model. A second segmentation of the second 3D model image is obtained according to the registered tooth surface contour, wherein the second segmentation similarly provides at least tooth surface contour and a tooth labeling for one or more teeth of the second 3D model image. The segmented second 3D model image is displayed, transmitted, or stored.

According to the invention, a method and system are provided for scanning, and for facilitating scanning of, an intraoral cavity. The target parts of the intraoral cavity that it is desired to have scanned are identified, and the spatial s relationships between a scanning device and the target parts of the intraoral cavity suitable for enabling said target parts to be scanned by said scanning device, are also identified or otherwise determined. These relationships are then displayed, and the displayed relationships are used as a guide for scanning the intraoral cavity.

An identification apparatus includes an input interface to which position data including position information of each of a plurality of objects is input, and processing circuitry that is configured to identify at least one object among the plurality of objects based on the position data that is input from the input interface and an estimation model that is trained to estimate a type of each of the plurality of objects based at least on the position data of each of the plurality of objects, the position data including a relative positional relationship which is fixed inside the mouth.

Apparatus for powder-free intra-oral 3D imaging by using a projected texture pattern. A projector projects a random texture pattern of light to teeth to be imaged, and a digital image sensor receives the projected texture pattern from the teeth. The reflected pattern of light reflects and scatters from the teeth. The texture pattern can be a grid having clusters of bright and dark blocks in a pseudo-random arrangement and can provide for powder-free intra-oral 3D imaging by using the pattern to optically simulate powder applied to the teeth. Polarizers can be used in the optical path to transmit the directly reflected light to the image sensor and suppress or discard some of the unwanted scattered light.

An apparatus for measuring a surface topography of a patient's teeth may include an optical probe, a light source configured to generate incident light, and focusing optics configured to focus one or more wavelengths of the incident light to a fixed focal position external to the optical probe, wherein the fixed focal position is fixed relative to the optical probe. The apparatus may further include a light sensor configured to measure a characteristic of returned light generated by illuminating the patient's teeth with the incident light and a processing unit operable to determine the surface topography of the patient's teeth based on the measured characteristic of the returned light.

A method of generating a 3D model includes: determining a 3D surface comprising a preparation tooth using a first plurality of intraoral scans generated by an intraoral scanner at a first time; receiving one or more additional intraoral scans of the preparation tooth that were generated by the intraoral scanner at a second time; determining a change to one or more portions of the preparation tooth between the three-dimensional surface and the one or more additional intraoral scans; determining, based at least in part on the change to the preparation tooth, whether to use a) the 3D surface, b) data from the one or more additional intraoral scans or c) a combination of the 3D surface and the data from the one or more additional intraoral scans to depict one or more portions of the preparation tooth; and generating the 3D model comprising the preparation tooth.

The present application discloses a projection apparatus, a collection apparatus, and a three-dimensional scanning system with the same. The projection apparatus includes: a light emission portion, configured to emit multiple rays of preset light, wherein the multiple rays of preset light correspond to multiple preset wavebands, and the multiple preset wavebands are different from each other; and a light transmission portion, disposed on a transmission path of the rays of preset light, wherein the rays of preset light is transmitted via a preset pattern on the light transmission portion to generate target light projected to a target object in the form of color-coded fringes, and the light transmission portion transmits the rays of preset light corresponding to at least two different preset wavebands.

In a method of generating a virtual 3D model of a dental site, scan data comprising an intraoral image is received during an intraoral scan of a dental site. A representation of a foreign object is identified in the intraoral image based on a color analysis of the scan data. The intraoral image is modified by removing the representation of the foreign object from the intraoral image. Additional scan data comprising a plurality of additional intraoral images of the dental site is received during the intraoral scan. A 3D surface of the dental site is then generated using the modified intraoral image and the plurality of additional intraoral images.

A method includes receiving scan data of a tooth during a first mode of operation, the scan data of the tooth having been generated by an intraoral scanner. The method includes invoking a second mode of operation and presenting, in a GUI, an image of the tooth. The method includes presenting, in the GUI, indications of a plurality of color zones of the tooth, the indications comprising, for at least one color zone of the plurality of color zones, an indication that insufficient color information has been received, wherein each color zone represents a separate region of the tooth for which an approximately uniform color is to be used. The method includes categorizing, for one or more color zones of the plurality of color zones for which sufficient color information has been received, each of the one or more color zones according to a color pallet used for dental prosthetics.

A method and intraoral scanner are provided for detecting topography of the surface by at least partly superimposing a first and a second sub-topography. Each sub-topography is detected by projecting a total measurement pattern onto a respective sub-region of the surface by a projection device. The total measurement pattern has at least two different measurement patterns, each of which has parallel measurement lines, and each of the measurement patterns is assigned to a diffractive optical element, by means of which measurement lines can be generated by light diffraction. The method then provides a first and a second image of each sub-region, a first measurement pattern being projected onto the sub-region of the surface in the first image and a second measurement pattern being projected onto the sub-region of the surface in the second image, and detects the sub-topographies by triangulation in each case.