Patent ID: 11903794
Assignee: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 15:
16. A system comprising:
a dental tray shaped to at least partially surround a plurality of teeth of a dental arch;
a plurality of illumination devices attached to the dental tray, the plurality of illumination devices to project light onto the plurality of teeth;
a plurality of cameras attached to the dental tray, the plurality of cameras to capture a plurality of images consisting of image data of at least a portion of the dental arch;
one or more heating elements to heat the plurality of cameras;
a controller to:
activate two or more of the plurality of illumination devices;
cause the two or more of the plurality of illumination devices to project the light onto the plurality of teeth;
cause the plurality of cameras to capture the plurality of images consisting of the image data of at least the portion of the dental arch; and
cause the one or more heating elements to heat the dental tray to a temperature that at least one of a) prevents generation of fog on the plurality of cameras or b) removes accumulated fog from the plurality of cameras; and

a processing device to:
receive the plurality of images consisting of the image data of at least the portion of the dental arch;
stitch the plurality of images consisting of the image data of at least the portion of the dental arch together based at least in part on calibration data specifying predetermined image stitching parameters for combining the plurality of images, wherein the predetermined image stitching parameters are based on predetermined fixed relative positions and orientations of the plurality of cameras; and
generate a three-dimensional model of the plurality of teeth based on the stitched plurality of images.