Patent ID: 7522764

Claim:
A method of imaging an object for dental purposes, comprising the steps of: (a) projecting using a projector a striped pattern on to the object to be imaged along an angle of projection, (b) recording the projected striped pattern as a basic image (R i ) with a picture receiver at an angle other than the angle of projection, (c) repeating steps (a) and (b) at a number of different positions of phase relation of the striped pattern to provide a plurality of basic images, and (d) computing using a computer an image of said object from the plurality of basic images that are out-of-phase with each other (R 1 . . . , R n ), wherein in order to suppress periodic disturbances, (d1) recording (n+2) basic images (R 1 , R 2 . . . , R n +2) of which successive basic images show a phase shift, (d2) forming first, second and third groups of basic images (R 1 , R 2 , . . . , R n ; R 2 , R 3 , . . . , R n +1; R 3 , R 4 , . . . , R n +2), (d3) computing using a computer a first phase related image (P 1 ) from the first group of basic images (R 1 , R 2 , . . . , R n ), a second phase related image (P 2 ) from the second group of basic images (R 2 , R 3 , . . . , R n +1), and a third phase related image (P 3 ) from the third group of basic images (R 3 , R 4 , . . . , R n +2), (d4) averaging using a computer the first phase related image (P 1 ) and the third phase related image (P 3 ) in order to obtain an intermediate image (Pz), and averaging the second phase related image (P 2 ) and the intermediate image (Pz) in order to obtain a phase related image (P) having a reduced amount of noise, n being an integer at least equal to 3, and (d5) computing using a computer an image of the object to be imaged from the phase related image (P) having a reduced amount of noise.