Laser Digitizer System for Dental Applications

Abstract

An intra-oral laser digitizer system provides a three-dimensional visual image of a real-world object such as a dental item through a laser digitization. The laser digitizer captures an image of the object by scanning multiple portions of the object in an exposure period. The intra-oral digitizer may be inserted into an oral cavity (in vivo) to capture an image of a dental item such as a tooth, multiple teeth or dentition. The captured image is processed to generate the three-dimension visual image.

1 . An intra-oral digitizer system comprising:
 a low coherence light source;   a coupler optically coupled to the low coherence light source, wherein the coupler is configured to split light received from the low coherence light source into a first portion of light sent along a first path and a second portion of light sent along a second path;   a scanner optically coupled to the low coherence light source via the coupler such that the scanner receives the first portion of light sent along the first path, the scanner configured to scan the first portion of light along at least two axes to generate a pattern across an object to be imaged such that a reflection of the pattern is reflected towards the coupler;   a reflector optically coupled to the low coherence light source via the coupler such that the reflector receives the second portion of light sent along the second path and reflects the second portion of light towards the coupler; and   an imaging system optically coupled to the coupler, wherein the coupler is configured to combine the reflection of the pattern and the second portion of light reflected from the reflector into a combined light path, the imaging system configured to receive the combined light path from the coupler and generate a three-dimensional image of the object based on the combined light path.   
     
     
         2 . The intra-oral digitizer of  claim 11  wherein the object comprises any one of: an in vivo dental item, a dental preparation, a dental model, a dental mold, or a dental casting. 
     
     
         3 . The intra-oral digitizer of  claim 11  wherein the low coherence light source comprises a laser light source. 
     
     
         4 . The intra-oral digitizer of  claim 11 , further comprising an optical delay line extending between the coupler and the reflector. 
     
     
         5 . The intra-oral digitizer of  claim 14 , wherein the optical delay line is controllable in order facilitate varying of a length of the second path. 
     
     
         6 . The intra-oral digitizer of  claim 11 , further comprising imaging optics positioned between the coupler and the scanner, the imaging optics configured to focus the first portion of light onto the scanner. 
     
     
         7 . The intra-oral digitizer of  claim 16 , wherein the imaging optics is positioned on a movable positioning device. 
     
     
         8 . The intra-oral digitizer of  claim 17 , wherein the movable positioning device is movable to alter a focusing position of the imaging optics. 
     
     
         9 . The intra-oral digitizer of  claim 18 , wherein the movable positioning device is movable to allow the intra-oral digitizer to operate in a confocal mode. 
     
     
         10 . The intra-oral digitizer of  claim 11 , further comprising imaging optics positioned between the coupler and the imaging system, the imaging optics configured to focus the combined light path onto the imaging system. 
     
     
         11 . An intra-oral digitizer system comprising:
 a light source for generating a beam of light;   a coupler optically coupled to the light source, wherein the coupler is configured to split the beam of light received from the light source into a first beam portion and a second beam portion, wherein the first beam portion is sent along an imaging path and the second beam portion is sent along a reference path;   a scanner optically coupled to the light source via the coupler such that the scanner receives the first beam portion sent along the imaging path, the scanner configured to scan the first beam portion along at least two axes to generate a pattern across an object to be imaged;   an optical delay coupled to the light source via the coupler such that the optical delay receives the second beam portion sent along the reference path and reflects the second beam portion back towards the coupler, the optical delay defining a path length of the reference path; and   an imaging system optically coupled to the coupler, wherein the coupler is configured to combine a reflection of the pattern from a surface of the object with the second beam portion reflected from the optical delay into a combined beam, wherein the imaging system configured to receive the combined beam from the coupler and generate a three-dimensional image of the object.   
     
     
         12 . The intra-oral digitizer of claim  21  wherein the object comprises any one of: an in vivo dental item, a dental preparation, a dental model, a dental mold, or a dental casting. 
     
     
         13 . The intra-oral digitizer of claim  21  wherein the light source comprises a low coherence light source. 
     
     
         14 . The intra-oral digitizer of claim  21  wherein the light source comprises a laser light source. 
     
     
         15 . The intra-oral digitizer of claim  21 , wherein the optical delay is controllable to adjust the path length of the reference path. 
     
     
         16 . The intra-oral digitizer of claim  21 , further comprising imaging optics positioned between the coupler and the scanner, the imaging optics configured to focus the first beam portion onto the scanner. 
     
     
         17 . The intra-oral digitizer of claim  26 , wherein the imaging optics is positioned on a movable positioning device. 
     
     
         18 . The intra-oral digitizer of claim  27 , wherein the movable positioning device is movable to alter a focusing position of the imaging optics. 
     
     
         19 . The intra-oral digitizer of claim  28 , wherein the movable positioning device is movable to allow the intra-oral digitizer to operate in a confocal mode. 
     
     
         20 . An optical coherence tomography based intra-oral digitizer system comprising:
 a low coherence light source for generating a beam of light;   a coupler optically coupled to the low coherence light source, wherein the coupler is configured to split the beam of light received from the light source into a first beam portion and a second beam portion, the first beam portion being sent along an imaging path and the second beam portion being sent along a reference path;   a scanner optically coupled to the light source via the coupler such that the scanner receives the first beam portion sent along the imaging path and scans the first beam portion along at least two axes to generate a pattern across an object to be imaged;   an optical delay coupled to the light source via the coupler such that the optical delay receives the second beam portion sent along the reference path and reflects the second beam portion back towards the coupler, the optical delay defining a path length of the reference path; and   
       an imaging system optically coupled to the coupler, the imaging system configured to receive a reflection of the pattern, receive the second beam portion reflected from the optical delay, and generate a three-dimensional image of the object based thereon.