Patent ID: 8144336

Claim:
A digitizer, comprising: a light source configured to generate a beam of structured light; a reference arm configured to generate a reference beam of light based on the beam of structured light; a projector configured to project the beam of structured light toward an object and to detect a reflection of at least a portion of the beam, the beam being projected toward the object as a dot that traverses a two dimensional (2D) pattern across a three dimensional (3D) outer surface associated with the object to generate reflection data representing the 3D outer surface associated with the object; a coupler configured to combine the reference beam and the reflection to generate a superimposed interference light pattern; and a processor configured to generate a dataset representative of the three dimensional (3D) outer surface of the object based on the superimposed interference light pattern, wherein the dataset is generated from information consisting essentially of the reflection data; where the object is one of: an in-vivo oral structure, and an ex-vivo dental impression.