Patent ID: 7471821
Filing Date: 2008-12-30
Classification: A61B,A61C,A61F,B33Y,G06T,H02K

Abstract:
1. A method of constructing a virtual three-dimensional model of an object, wherein said object comprises a first object attached to a second object, comprising the steps of: scanning said object; creating a scanned virtual three-dimensional model of said object from a point cloud obtained from said scanning step with the aid of a computer, said scanned virtual three-dimensional model having a first portion thereof corresponding to scanning of said first object, wherein said first object is of a known structure, said known structure of predetermined three-dimensional configuration, wherein said first portion is a less than an ideal three-dimensional representation of said known structure; retrieving a pre-existing three-dimensional digital model from a memory, said three-dimensional digital model corresponding to said known structure; registering said pre-existing three-dimensional digital model to a portion of said point cloud corresponding to said first portion to form a three-dimensional surface; wherein said registering step comprises calculating minimum distance vectors from every point in said portion of said point cloud to said pre-existing three-dimensional digital model and excluding those points from said three dimensional surface whose minimum distance vectors exceed a predefined value; and forming said virtual three-dimensional model of said object from said scanned virtual three-dimensional model of said object, said virtual three-dimensional model including said three-dimensional surface.