The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 03, 2024
Filed:
May. 27, 2022
Lightforce Orthodontics, Inc., Burlington, MA (US);
Samuel VanNoy, Somerville, MA (US);
Dylan Winchell, Somerville, MA (US);
Kelsey A. Fafara, Watertown, MA (US);
Oisin Duggan, Somerville, MA (US);
Alfred Charles Griffin, III, Lynnfield, MA (US);
LightForce Orthodontics, Inc., Burlington, MA (US);
Abstract
Embodiments relate to the methodology of direct manufacture of a customized labial/lingual orthodontic tube by using a ceramic slurry-based additive manufacturing (AM) technology. For example, a method of manufacturing customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic tubes by additive manufacturing may comprise measuring dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient, based on the dentition data, creating a three-dimensional computer-assisted design (3D CAD) model of the patient's teeth, and saving the 3D CAD model, designing a virtual 3D CAD tube structure model for a single labial or lingual tube structure based upon said 3D CAD model, importing data related to the 3D CAD tube structure model into an additive manufacturing machine, and directly producing the tube with the additive manufacturing machine by layer manufacturing from an inorganic material including at least one of a ceramic, a polymer-derived ceramic, and a polymer-derived metal.