Analysis of the morphology of oral structures from 3-D co-ordinate data

A non-intrusive method is described which can be used to determine the form s of oral structures. It is based on the digitising of standard replicas wi th a co-ordinate-measuring machine. Supporting software permits a mathemati cal model of the surface to be reconstructed and visualised from captured t hree-dimensional co-ordinates. A series of surface data sets can be superpo sed into a common reference frame without the use of extrinsic markers, all owing changes in the shapes of oral structures to be quantified accurately over an extended period of time. The system has found numerous applications . Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.