Align Technology, Inc.

Victor Chen

Chunhua Li

John Y Morton

Srinivas Kaza

Jun Sato

Allen R Boronkay

Yaser Shanjani

Bruce Cam

Orthodontic appliance cases configured to receive the orthodontic appliance and systems including them may include: a first antenna configured to receive the data from the sensor module via near field communication (NFC) when the orthodontic appliance including the sensor module is within the orthodontic appliance case, a data store configured to store the data; and a second antenna configured to transmit the stored data to an external computing device via Bluetooth communication when the external computing device is within communication range of the second antenna; and may also include an NFC to Bluetooth transmission circuitry.

Systems including orthodontic appliance cases and methods of use

Systems for determining patient compliance with an orthodontic treatment or retention plan may include a polymeric shell appliance for receiving the patient's teeth, a sensor module on the polymeric shell appliance having a temperature sensor, a proximity sensor, a power source, and a communication antenna for communicating with an external case, and a processor configured to determine that the polymeric shell is being worn by the patient based on temperature data from the temperature sensor and proximity data from the proximity sensor, by determining that a measured temperature is within a body temperature range and that a measured proximity value is within a threshold proximity to an intraoral target. Methods of manufacturing these dental appliances are also described herein.

Systems for determining patient compliance with an orthodontic treatment or retention plan

Detection of placement of dental aligners in patient mouth on teeth for indication of wearing compliance. Described herein are apparatuses and methods for detecting wearing, including compliance. In some variations these apparatuses and methods may include a sensor configured to detect deflection of the one or more deflectable structures. In some variations, these apparatuses and methods may include a proximity sensor coupled to the appliance shell and configured to generate sensor data when in proximity with intraoral tissue.

Intraoral appliances with proximity and contact sensing

Detection of placement of dental aligners in patient mouth on teeth for indication of wearing compliance. Described herein are apparatuses and methods for detecting wearing, including compliance, and for reliably transferring data, by wired or wireless direct or indirect communication of electronic compliance information to a smartphone. Also described herein are dental appliances that can detect physiological parameters related to respiration and sleep. Also described herein are aligner cases that enable NFC communication with electronic compliance indicator (ECI) devices and Bluetooth communication with smartphones.

Growing community of inventors

Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Victor Chen