Oral appliance for delivering a medicament
Inventors
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-10076393-B2
Publication Date
2018-09-18
Expiration Date
Abstract
An oral appliance is provided for delivering a medicament to at least a portion of teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside a mouth. The oral appliance contains an interior surface having a medicament disposed in or on at least a portion of and/or the entire interior surface of the oral appliance. The interior surface of the oral cavity is formed to fit contours of at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity and is configured for holding the medicament in contact with at least the portion of the teeth and/or soft tissue areas inside the oral cavity to deliver the medicament to strategic areas in need of treatment. In some embodiments, computer, network and computer readable storage media are provided.
Core Innovation
A computer readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by a computer, receive a Base Image from an imaging device. The Base Image is a digitally stored topography of an oral cavity produced by the imaging device, and the computer generates first digital data representing an overlay or a first virtual layer overlying and conforming to the Base Image.
The computer generates second digital data by performing digital segmentation of at least a portion of the teeth and/or soft tissues areas or by defining at least one treatment surface area. The second digital data includes discrete regions of the oral cavity in need of treatment and is represented as a second virtual layer circumscribed by the treatment surface area and including a volume extending into the topography. The first digital data and the second digital data are combined to form third digital data.
The third digital data is configured to direct a 3D printer and is used from which an oral appliance can be produced. The third digital data comprises positions for at least one medicament to be placed at the discrete regions in the oral cavity in need of treatment, and the 3D printer is directed to produce an oral appliance containing the at least one medicament.
Claims Coverage
The provided content includes two independent claims with a common computer-implemented workflow: receiving a Base Image, generating overlay or virtual-layer digital data, segmenting to define discrete regions needing treatment, combining the data into third digital data configured for 3D printing, and specifying positions for at least one medicament.
Overlay and segmented treatment-region digital data defining medicament positions
Instructions cause the computer to receive a Base Image, generate first digital data representing an overlay of at least a portion of the teeth and/or soft tissues areas, generate second digital data by performing digital segmentation to determine discrete regions of the oral cavity in need of treatment, combine the first and second digital data to form third digital data from which an oral appliance can be produced, wherein the third digital data comprises positions for at least one medicament to be placed at the discrete regions in the oral cavity in need of treatment.
Virtual-layer generation and printer-directed oral appliance containing medicament at discrete treatment regions
Instructions cause the computer to receive a Base Image from an imaging device, generate first digital data representing a first virtual layer overlying and conforming to the Base Image, generate second digital data from the Base Image by performing digital segmentation defining at least one treatment surface area including discrete regions of the oral cavity in need of treatment, produce the second digital data to represent a second virtual layer circumscribed by the treatment surface area and including a volume extending into the topography, combine the first and second digital data to form third digital data representing the first virtual layer having a surface with the at least one second virtual layer added onto the surface and configured to direct a 3D printer, wherein the treatment surface comprises discrete regions where at least one medicament is to be placed, and direct the 3D printer to produce an oral appliance containing the at least one medicament.
Across the independent claims, the core claim coverage centers on generating overlay or virtual-layer digital representations from a Base Image, segmenting to define discrete treatment regions, combining the representations into third digital data configured to direct a 3D printer, and embedding medicament placement positions so the resulting oral appliance contains at least one medicament.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
Not explicitly described in patent.
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