KR20230062444A - Intraoral scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

An intraoral scanner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a case which has one end formed with an opening part; a light source unit which is disposed inside the case, and emits light; a first optical system which is disposed in the opening part, and is configured to reflect the light emitted from the light source toward a subject located outside the case; a second optical system which is disposed to be adjacent to the first optical system, and reflects the light reflected from the subject into the inside of the case; and an image sensor unit which detects the light reflected by the second optical system.

Description

intraoral scanner {INTRAORAL SCANNER}

The present disclosure relates to an intraoral scanner, and more particularly, to an intraoral scanner configured to obtain a three-dimensional image of an oral cavity.

In general, an impression taking procedure is performed during diagnosis or treatment of a dental patient. Impression taking is a clinical procedure necessary to establish a patient's diagnosis and treatment plan by reflecting the condition of the teeth and tissues in the oral cavity to the impression material. Recently, as digital technology is applied to dental clinical and laboratory procedures, cases of using digital impressions that convert impression materials into digital data by scanning an impression in the mouth or an impression without using impression materials are increasing. In this way, as the importance of digital impressions increases in dental diagnosis and treatment, technical development of intraoral scanners is being actively performed.

An intraoral scanner is a device or system that is inserted into the oral cavity of a dental patient and scans the three-dimensional structure of teeth in a non-contact manner. In general, a recently developed intraoral scanner captures 2D image data of the oral cavity and performs 3D modeling of the oral cavity structure based on the 2D image data. An intraoral scanner having such a function has expanded its clinical application range and can be used not only for dental restoration treatment but also for manufacturing implants and orthodontic devices.

On the other hand, the accuracy of the impression is important for successful dental treatment. The digital impression through the intraoral scanner does not have the problem of deformation due to contraction or expansion of the impression material, so the impression accuracy is higher than that of the traditional impression taking method. However, in order for the intraoral scanner to continue to be used as a sophisticated dental treatment tool, it is necessary to improve the accuracy of scanning. In addition, since the intraoral scanner is used by being non-contactly inserted into the oral cavity of a dental patient, it is preferable to have a structure that allows the patient to feel comfortable while using the intraoral scanner.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide an intraoral scanner in which a plurality of optical systems are arranged to have a structure suitable for use by being non-contactly inserted into the oral cavity of a dental patient.

Intraoral scanner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a case having an opening at one end, a light source unit disposed inside the case and irradiating light, disposed in the opening, and directing light emitted from the light source unit to a subject located outside the case A first optical system configured to reflect the first optical system, a second optical system disposed adjacent to the first optical system and reflecting light reflected from the subject to the inside of the case, and an image sensor unit detecting the light reflected by the second optical system. .

According to an embodiment, the first optical system is configured to reflect light reflected from a subject toward the image sensor unit, and the image sensor unit is configured to further detect light reflected by the first optical system.

According to an embodiment, the positions and directions of the first optical system and the second optical system are reflected by the first optical system and the second optical system, respectively, so that a plurality of images of the subject detected by the image sensor unit do not overlap. , each phase is set to be fully visible.

According to one embodiment, the rear angle between the reflective surface of the first optical system and the reflective surface of the second optical system is configured to form a thermal angle.

According to one embodiment, the second optical system includes a first reflection surface and a second reflection surface for reflecting light reflected from a subject into the case.

According to one embodiment, the first reflective surface of the second optical system is adjacent to the reflective surface of the first optical system, and the rear angle between the first reflective surface and the reflective surface of the first optical system is configured to form a thermal angle.

According to one embodiment, the second reflection surface of the second optical system is adjacent to the first reflection surface, and the back angle between the first reflection surface and the second reflection surface is configured to form a hot angle.

According to one embodiment, the light source unit is configured to emit patterned light or structured light.

According to one embodiment, the image sensor unit is configured to acquire a plurality of stereo images from images of light reflected from the first optical system and the second optical system.

According to an embodiment, virtual center lines of the light source unit, the first optical system, the second optical system, and the image sensor unit projected on the plane of the case are aligned and arranged on the virtual center line projected on the plane of the case.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, since a driving unit for adjusting the angle of each of a plurality of optical systems disposed inside the case of the intraoral scanner is unnecessary, the optical systems can be densely arranged in optimal positions inside the case.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, since an intraoral scanner with a small volume can be implemented by disposing a plurality of optical systems in a dense structure inside the case, when the intraoral scanner is used, it is not only inserted into the oral cavity of a dental patient but also in the oral cavity. It is easy to move or change direction in the tooth scanning can be performed precisely.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, since two or more stereo images can be obtained from images of light reflected from a plurality of optical systems with only one image sensor unit, the manufacturing cost of the intraoral scanner is reduced and the internal configuration thereof is reduced. can be further optimized.

Effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration in which an oral scanner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is connected to an oral 3D modeling and visualization system.
2 is a perspective perspective view of an intraoral scanner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
3 is a perspective side view and a perspective plan view of an intraoral scanner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
4 is a perspective side view of an intraoral scanner according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a stereo image obtained according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, specific details for the implementation of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, in the following description, if there is a risk of unnecessarily obscuring the gist of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations will be omitted.

In the accompanying drawings, identical or corresponding elements are given the same reference numerals. In addition, in the description of the following embodiments, overlapping descriptions of the same or corresponding components may be omitted. However, omission of a description of a component does not intend that such a component is not included in an embodiment.

Terms used in this disclosure will be briefly described, and the disclosed embodiments will be described in detail. The terms used in this specification have been selected from general terms that are currently widely used as much as possible while considering the functions in the present disclosure, but they may vary according to the intention of a person skilled in the related field, a precedent, or the emergence of new technology. In addition, in a specific case, there is also a term arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the invention. Therefore, the terms used in the present disclosure should be defined based on the meaning of the terms and the general content of the present disclosure, not simply the names of the terms.

In this disclosure, expressions in the singular number include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates that they are singular. Also, plural expressions include singular expressions unless the context clearly specifies that they are plural.

In the present disclosure, when a part includes a certain component, this means that it may further include other components without excluding other components unless otherwise stated.

In the present disclosure, an upper portion of a figure may be referred to as a “top” or “upper side” of a configuration shown in the figure, and a lower portion thereof may be referred to as a “lower” or “lower side”. In addition, the portion between the upper and lower portions or the upper and lower portions of the illustrated configuration in the drawings may be referred to as “side” or “side”. Relative terms such as “upper” and “upper” may be used to describe relationships between components shown in the drawings, and the present disclosure is not limited by such terms.

In the present disclosure, a direction toward an internal space of a structure may be referred to as “inside” and a direction protruding into an open external space may be referred to as “outside.” Relative terms such as “inner” and “outer” may be used to describe relationships between components shown in the drawings, and the present disclosure is not limited by such terms.

Reference to “A and/or B” in this disclosure means A, or B, or A and B.

In the present disclosure, when a part is said to be connected to another part, this includes not only the case where it is directly connected but also the case where it is connected through another component in the middle.

Also, the term 'module' or 'unit' used in the present disclosure means a software or hardware component, and the 'module' or 'unit' performs certain roles. However, 'module' or 'unit' is not meant to be limited to software or hardware. A 'module' or 'unit' may be configured to reside in an addressable storage medium and may be configured to reproduce one or more processors. Thus, as an example, 'module' or 'unit' refers to components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processes, functions, properties, It may include at least one of procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, or variables. Functions provided within components and 'modules' or 'units' may be combined into a smaller number of components and 'modules' or 'units', or further components and 'modules' or 'units'. can be further separated.

Advantages and features of the disclosed embodiments, and methods of achieving them, will become apparent with reference to the following embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms, but only the present embodiments make the present disclosure complete, and the present disclosure does not extend the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It is provided only for complete information.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an oral scanning system 100 in which an oral scanner 110 is connected to an oral 3D modeling and visualization server 120 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the oral scanning system 100 includes an oral scanner 110 capable of scanning a three-dimensional structure inside the oral cavity of a dental patient, and an oral 3D modeling and visualization server 120 connected to the oral scanner 110 can include

The intraoral scanner 110, for example, may be inserted into the oral cavity of a dental patient by a dental medical staff to scan teeth in a non-contact manner to capture a plurality of two-dimensional image data. In addition, the oral scanner 110 may transmit a plurality of captured 2D image data to the 3D modeling and visualization server 120, or may perform 3D oral structure modeling based on the 2D image data itself.

The intraoral scanner 110 may be connected through a network configured to communicate with the 3D modeling and visualization server 120 by wire or wirelessly. Here, the network depends on the installation environment, for example, an electrical connection line such as a copper cable, a wired network such as Ethernet, a wired home network (Power Line Communication), a telephone line communication device and RS-serial communication, and a mobile communication network. , a wireless network such as WLAN (Wireless LAN), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee, or a combination thereof.

The oral scanner 110 may transmit and receive information and/or data such as 2D image data and 3D oral structure model data with the 3D modeling and visualization server 120 . The intraoral scanner 110 and the 3D modeling and visualization server 120 may be physically separated as shown, but are not limited thereto. For example, the intraoral scanner 110 and the 3D modeling and visualization server 120 may be integrated into one computing device.

The 3D modeling and visualization server 120 may perform 3D oral structure modeling based on at least two pieces of 2D image data or stereo images obtained from the oral scanner 110 . To perform these functions, the 3D modeling and visualization server 120 includes a processor capable of image processing and 3D modeling (eg, a CPU, GPU, AP, NPU, etc.) and 2D image data or 3D oral data. It may correspond to a computing device including a memory capable of storing structural model data. In one embodiment, the 3D modeling and visualization server 120, as shown, may include a communication unit 122, a control unit 124 and a display unit 126. The communication unit 122 may be configured to transmit and receive information and/or data to and from the intraoral scanner 110 . Specifically, the communication unit 122 may transmit a command signal of the control unit 124 to the oral scanner 110 and may receive image information of a target oral structure from the oral scanner 110 .

The controller 124 may control the oral scanner 110 to capture an image of a target oral structure. Specifically, the controller 124 may control at least one light source unit (eg, 220 in FIG. 2 ) installed inside the intraoral scanner 110 to radiate light toward at least one of a plurality of optical systems. In addition, the controller 124 may control the image sensor unit (eg, 250 in FIG. 2 ) installed inside the intraoral scanner 110 to detect light reflected by at least one of a plurality of optical systems. The controller 124 may control the image sensor unit to acquire at least two or more stereo images from the detected light image. The controller 124 may control the display unit 126 to display two or more stereo images received from the intraoral scanner 110. Alternatively or additionally, the control unit 124 may visualize the 3D oral structure model data calculated based on two or more stereo images and display the data on the display unit 126 .

The display unit 126 may display information and/or data transmitted from the intraoral scanner 110 or the controller 124. In this case, data displayed on the display unit 126 may include two stereo images or an image of a 3D oral structure model. In one embodiment, the display unit 126 may include a display panel device such as an LED display, an OLED display, an LCD display, a touch display, and the like.

2 is a perspective perspective view of an intraoral scanner 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the intraoral scanner 200 may include a case 210, a light source unit 220, a first optical system 230, a second optical system 240 and an image sensor unit 250.

The case 210 forms the outside of the intraoral scanner 200 and may be configured to accommodate the light source unit 220, the first optical system 230, the second optical system 240 and the image sensor unit 250 therein. there is. As shown in FIG. 2 , the case 210 may have a shape of a trapezoidal box extending substantially in one length direction, but is not limited thereto. For example, the case 210 may be formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a cylindrical shape, a streamlined shape, or any shape suitable for insertion into the oral cavity.

The opening 212 may be formed at one end of the case 210 . Specifically, the opening 212 may include an opening formed at one end of the case 210 . In this case, the opening of the opening 212 may be configured such that light generated or reflected inside the case 210 is irradiated to the outside and external light may be introduced into the case 210 . In one embodiment, when the intraoral scanner 200 is inserted into the oral cavity, the opening 212 may be configured to be positioned at the innermost part of the oral cavity.

The light source unit 220 may be configured to emit light toward the opening 212 , the first optical system 230 or the second optical system 240 . In this case, the light emitted from the light source unit 220 may correspond to patterned light or structured light. The light pattern may be a straight line pattern, a dot pattern, or a pattern of any shape. When pattern light is irradiated onto an object 260 such as a tooth in an oral cavity located outside a case, a corresponding pattern may be deformed according to a 3D structure of a surface of the object 260 . Accordingly, the 3D structure of the subject 260 may be identified and modeled based on the deformation of the pattern projected on the surface of the subject 260 or the position change information of feature points.

The light source unit 220 may be disposed inside the case 210 . Specifically, the light source unit 220 may be accommodated at the other inner end of the case 210 facing the one end of the case 210 in which the opening 212, the first optical system 230 or the second optical system 240 is formed. . For example, the light source unit 220 may be fixedly disposed above the other inner end of the case 210 .

In one embodiment, the light source unit 220 may be disposed at one end of the case 210, but is not limited thereto. For example, the light source unit 220 may be disposed at an arbitrary intermediate point between one end and the other end of the case 210 . That is, the light source unit 220 may be disposed at an arbitrary position within the case 210 to easily irradiate light toward the opening 212, the first optical system 230, or the second optical system 240.

The first optical system 230 may be configured to reflect light emitted from the light source unit 220 toward the opening 212 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the first optical system 230 may include at least one reflector. For example, the first optical system 230 may be at least one mirror. In one embodiment, the second optical system 240 may be disposed at or around the opening 212 . For example, the second optical system 240 may be fixedly disposed on an inner surface of the opening 212 . That is, the light emitted from the light source unit 220 may be reflected toward the opening 212 through the reflector of the first optical system 230 . Also, the first optical system 230 may be configured to reflect light reflected from the subject 260 into the case.

The second optical system 240 may be configured to reflect light emitted from the reflector of the first optical system 230 and reflected by the subject 260 into the case. The second optical system 240 may include at least one reflector. For example, the second optical system 240 may be at least one mirror. In one embodiment, the second optical system 240 is disposed adjacent to the first optical system 230 and may be disposed at or around the opening 212 . For example, as shown, the second optical system 240 may be disposed adjacent to a lower portion of the first optical system 230 and fixedly disposed on an inner surface of the opening 212 .

In one embodiment, the rear angle between the reflective surface of the first optical system 230 and the reflective surface of the second optical system 240 may be configured to form a thermal angle. In addition, the position and direction of the first optical system 230 and the second optical system 240 are reflected by the first optical system 230 and the second optical system 240, respectively, and the image detected by the image sensor unit 250 It may be set so that a plurality of images of the subject 260 are not overlapped on the image, and each image is entirely visible.

In one embodiment, the light source unit 220 , the first optical system 230 , the second optical system 240 , and the image sensor unit 250 may be axially aligned inside the case 210 . For example, virtual center lines of the light source unit 220, the first optical system 230, the second optical system 240, and the image sensor unit 250 projected on the plane of the case are on the plane of the case 210. It may be aligned and arranged on the projected imaginary center line.

In one embodiment, each of the first optical system 230 or the second optical system 240 inside the case 210 may be fixedly disposed at a predetermined position. In this case, a driving unit for adjusting the angle of the first optical system 230 or the second optical system 240 may not be installed inside the case 210 . In this way, since there is no need to dispose other electronic or mechanical components in the area where the first optical system 230 and the second optical system 240 are disposed inside the case, the components inside the case can be densely arranged. . Therefore, since the optimal structure of the case 210 can be designed from the compact structure of the first optical system 230 and the second optical system 240, the scanning motion is free in the oral cavity and the intraoral scanner 200 with a small volume can be implemented

The image sensor unit 250 may be configured to detect reflected or refracted light from the first optical system 230 and the second optical system 240 . In one embodiment, the image sensor unit 250 may be configured to acquire at least two stereo images from reflected or refracted light from each of the first optical system 230 and the second optical system 240 . Specifically, the image sensor unit 250 may obtain images of at least two lights respectively reflected by the first optical system 230 and the second optical system 240 together. In this way, since the intraoral scanner 200 includes a first optical system 230 and a second optical system 240 each including at least one reflector, at least two stereo images are obtained with only one image sensor unit 250. can do. At least two stereo images obtained from the image sensor unit 250 may be used for 3D oral structure modeling that is then executed by a processor.

In one embodiment, the image sensor unit 250 may be disposed on the other end of the case 210 . Specifically, the image sensor unit 250 is accommodated at the other inner end of the case 210 to face one end of the case 210 in which the opening 212, the first optical system 230 or the second optical system 240 is formed. can For example, the image sensor unit 250 may be fixedly disposed on the inner lower portion of the case 210 adjacent to the light source unit 220 .

3 is a perspective side view and a perspective plan view of the intraoral scanner 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 3 , configurations overlapping those of FIG. 2 will be briefly described based on the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 . In one embodiment, light may be irradiated from the light source unit 220 and reflected toward a subject located outside the case 210 by the first optical system 230 . In this case, light may pass through an opening formed on one side of the opening 212 . Light reflected from the subject may be reflected by the first optical system 230 and the second optical system 240 and irradiated toward the image sensor unit 250 .

In one embodiment, the light source unit 220, the first optical system 230, the second optical system 240, and the image sensor unit 250 disposed inside the case 210 may be arranged in axis alignment. For example, virtual center lines of the light source unit 220, the first optical system 230, the second optical system 240, and the image sensor unit 250 projected on the plane of the case are on the plane of the case 210. It may be aligned and arranged on the projected imaginary center line 270 . By configuring in this way, since two or more stereo images can be obtained from images of light reflected from a plurality of optical systems with only one image sensor unit, the manufacturing cost of the intraoral scanner can be reduced and its internal configuration can be further optimized.

4 is a perspective side view of intraoral scanner 400 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 4 , configurations overlapping those of FIG. 2 will be briefly described based on the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the light source unit 420 may be configured to emit light toward the opening 412 . The light source unit 420 may be accommodated at the other inner end of the case 410 facing the one end of the case 410 where the opening 412, the first optical system 430 or the second optical system 440 is formed. For example, the light source unit 420 may be fixedly disposed under the other inner end of the case 410 .

The first optical system 430 may be configured to reflect light emitted from the light source unit 420 toward a subject located outside the case 410 . In addition, the first optical system 430 may be configured to reflect light reflected by a subject and irradiated into the case 410 toward the image sensor 450 . Meanwhile, the second optical system 440 may be configured to reflect light emitted from the reflector of the first optical system 430 and reflected by the subject 470 into the case. In one embodiment, the second optical system 440 may include at least two reflectors. For example, as shown, the second optical system 440 may include a first reflective surface 442 and a second reflective surface 444 . In this case, the first reflective surface 442 of the second optical system 440 is adjacent to the reflective surface of the first optical system 430, and there is a gap between the first reflective surface 442 and the reflective surface of the first optical system 430. The dihedral angle may be configured to form a hot angle. In addition, the second reflective surface 444 of the second optical system 440 is adjacent to the first reflective surface 442, and the rear angle between the first reflective surface 442 and the second reflective surface 444 forms a thermal angle. can be configured to achieve

Although FIG. 4 shows the first optical system 430 including one reflector and the second optical system 440 including two reflectors, the number of reflectors included in each optical system may not be limited thereto.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a stereo image 510 obtained according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The image sensor unit (eg, 250 of FIG. 2 ) may be configured to detect light reflected from the first optical system and the second optical system (eg, 230 and 240 of FIG. 2 ). In one embodiment, the image sensor unit may be configured to acquire at least two stereo images 510 from light refracted from the first optical system and the second optical system. Specifically, the image sensor unit may obtain at least two stereo images in which light reflected by at least one reflector of the first optical system and at least one reflector of the second optical system is refracted by a prism, respectively. Based on the at least two stereo images obtained as described above, the processor may extract depth data and perform 3D modeling of the oral cavity structure, which is a subject, based on the extracted depth data.

5 shows an example of acquiring two stereo images, but is not limited thereto, and the image sensor unit may be configured to acquire two or more stereo images from light refracted from the first optical system and the second optical system.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention described above have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, and those skilled in the art with ordinary knowledge of the present invention will be able to make various modifications, changes and additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention, and such modifications, changes and additions should be regarded as falling within the scope of the claims.

Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. is not limited by

200: intraoral scanner
210: case
212: opening
220: light source
230: first optical system
240: second optical system
250: image sensor unit
260: subject

Claims (10)

As an intraoral scanner,
a case with an opening formed at one end;
a light source unit disposed inside the case and irradiating light;
a first optical system disposed in the opening and configured to reflect the light emitted from the light source toward a subject located outside the case;
a second optical system disposed adjacent to the first optical system and reflecting light reflected from the subject into the case; and
An image sensor unit detecting the light reflected by the second optical system
Including, intraoral scanner. According to claim 1,
The first optical system is configured to reflect light reflected from the subject toward the image sensor unit,
The image sensor unit is configured to further detect the light reflected by the first optical system, the intraoral scanner. According to claim 2,
The positions and directions of the first optical system and the second optical system are reflected by the first optical system and the second optical system, respectively, and the plurality of images of the subject detected by the image sensor unit do not overlap. , an intraoral scanner, in which each image is set to be fully visible. According to claim 1,
The oral scanner configured such that the back angle between the reflective surface of the first optical system and the reflective surface of the second optical system forms a thermal angle. According to claim 1,
The second optical system includes a first reflecting surface and a second reflecting surface for reflecting the light reflected from the subject into the inside of the case, the intraoral scanner. According to claim 5,
The first reflective surface of the second optical system is adjacent to the reflective surface of the first optical system, and the back angle between the first reflective surface and the reflective surface of the first optical system is configured to form an open angle. According to claim 5,
The second reflective surface of the second optical system is adjacent to the first reflective surface, and the back angle between the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface is configured to form a hot angle. According to claim 1,
The light source unit is configured to emit patterned light or structured light, the intraoral scanner. According to claim 2,
Wherein the image sensor unit is configured to obtain a plurality of stereo images from images of light reflected from the first optical system and the second optical system. According to claim 1,
The virtual center line of the light source unit, the first optical system, the second optical system, and the image sensor unit, projected on the plane of the case, are aligned and disposed on the virtual center line projected on the plane of the case. .

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