System and methods for analyzing tooth shades
US6206691A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 4, 1999 |
| Grant date | Mar 27, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 4, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01J3/508
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A digital camera connects to a tooth shade analyzer subsystem, e.g., a digital video processor, and a color display monitor for the electronic determination of the color of patient's teeth. Preliminarily, the camera captures series of digital color images of tooth shades corresponding to reference shade guides, and electronically compares the reference shades to an image of the patient's tooth. In a preferred embodiment the comparison is done over a set of pseudo-pixels, each corresponding to a group of pixels in an high-resolution camera. Once a match is found, it is communicated to a user of the system. In a specific embodiment the camera is equipped with a sleeve and illumination subsystems that help reduce the variations in the color of digital images due to external factors.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.