Align Technology, Inc.

Other

Brian Freyburger

Muhammad Chishti

Kelsey D Wirth

Huafeng Wen

Andrew C Beers

Ross J Miller

Timothy N Jones

Phillips Alexander Benton

Apostolos Lerios

Elena I Pavlovskaia

Gregory P Bala

Richard Ridgley

Chishti Muhammad

Kelsey Wirth

A computer is used to create a plan for repositioning an orthodontic patient's teeth. The computer receives an initial digital data set representing the patient's teeth at their initial positions and a final digital data set representing the teeth at their final positions. The computer then uses the data sets to generate treatment paths along which the teeth will move from the initial positions to the final positions.

Computer automated development of an orthodontic treatment plan and appliance

Methods and corresponding apparatus for segmenting an orthodontic treatment path into clinically appropriate substeps for repositioning the teeth of a patient include providing a digital finite element model of the shape and material of each of a sequence of appliances to be applied to a patient; providing a digital finite element model of the teeth and related mouth tissue of the patient; computing the actual effect of the appliances on the teeth by analyzing the finite elements models computationally; and evaluating the effect against clinical constraints. The appliances can be braces, polymeric shells, or other forms of orthodontic appliance.

Defining tooth-moving appliances computationally

A system for repositioning teeth comprises a plurality of individual appliances. The appliances are configured to be placed successively on the patient's teeth and to incrementally reposition the teeth from an initial tooth arrangement, through a plurality of intermediate tooth arrangements, and to a final tooth arrangement. The system of appliances is usually configured at the outset of treatment so that the patient may progress through treatment without the need to have the treating professional perform each successive step in the procedure.

Method and system for incrementally moving teeth

Methods and corresponding apparatus for segmenting an orthodontic treatment path into clinically appropriate substeps for repositioning the teeth of a patient. The methods include providing a digital finite element model of the shape and material of each of a sequence of appliances to be applied to a patient; providing a digital finite element model of the teeth and related mouth tissue of the patient; computing the actual effect of the appliances on the teeth by analyzing the finite elements models computationally; and evaluating the effect against clinical constraints. The appliances can be braces, polymeric shells, or other forms of orthodontic appliance. Implementations can include comparing the actual effect of the appliances with an intended effect of the appliances; and identifying an appliance as an unsatisfactory appliance if the actual effect of the appliance is more than a threshold different from the intended effect of the appliance and modifying a model of the unsatisfactory appliance according to the results of the comparison. The model and resulting appliance can be modified by modifying the shape of the unsatisfactory appliance, by adding a dimple, by adding material to cause an overcorrection of tooth position, by adding a ridge of material to increase stiffness, by adding a rim of material along a gumline to increase stiffness, by removing material to reduce stiffness, or by redefining the shape to be a shape defined by the complement of the difference between the intended effect and the actual effect of the unsatisfactory appliance.

A method and apparatus for separate compilation of templates by creating an executable program from source programs having templates that include a source file having a template definition and one or more source files having a template instantiation, and by providing a compiled object file having the template definition as input to compilation processes for creating object files having the template instantiation upon object files are provided to a linker process for creating the executable program. In this way, compilation of the source programs may occur with the template definition occurring in only one source program.

Method for separate compilation of templates

A system for repositioning teeth comprises a plurality of individual appliances. The appliances are configured to be placed successively on the patient's teeth and to incrementally reposition the teeth from a initial tooth arrangement, through a plurality of intermediate tooth arrangements, and to a final tooth arrangement. The system of appliances is usually configured at the outset of treatment so that the patient may progress through treatment without the need to have the treating professional perform each successive step in the procedure.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Brian Freyburger