Application of a micro-CT scan to tooth crown dimensions measurement and CAD model construction for rapid prototyping

摘要

A feasibility study of tooth crown dimensions measurement and CAD crown model construction for Rapid Prototyping (RP) using low radiation micro-CT (Computed Tomography) and reverse engineering technology is presented in this paper. Reverse engineering technology was employed to construct a 3D CAD crown model from the data obtained using a CT scanner. Micro-CT was employed to scan a crown, slice by slice, to obtain the sliced crown boundary images. These CT images were reconstructed to calculate the crown dimensions and to construct a 3D CAD crown model. Then, a Model Maker RP system was adapted to fabricate the crown model. The feasibility of crown fabrication using a CT scan, reverse engineering, and RP is shown in this study.