OrthoClear Inc.

OrthoClear Inc. became the leading provider of Invisible braces only one year after its conception. The Algotrek team was instrumental in taking it from a small startup to 20 million dollars in sales in less than 2 years, after which, Align Technology bought the company along with its intellectual property in a settlement deal. It was one of the few companies involved in global mass production of customized products. Each OrthoClear appliance was unique and yet produced using mass-production techniques.

We developed all major software used by OrthoClear, designed and optimized the production line and helped to reduce the manufacturing cost to less than 50% of the competitors. The critical nature of the project and the importance of the intellectual property required the core team to work at all levels, so 3D graphics software, 3D scanning, virtual orthodontics, CNC coordinate generation for 5 axis CNC machines, ERP systems and web systems for the e-business, process development, software requirements, application architecture, IP development, software process integration, mechanical engineering solutions, cost structural and product launch were a few major areas we were involved in.

The team also developed the patent portfolio (more than 50 patents and patents pending) during OrthoClear’s lifetime.

OrthoClear Work Details

Our work at OrthoClear included the following.:

• OCModeller: A 3D graphics virtual orthodontics system for creating next set of stages interactively. Features included:
• Fully interactive 3D graphics viewer for jaw model
• Tooth movement tracker
• Simulated gingival with full editing capabilities
• Tooth Roots modeling
• Interproximal Reduction calculation based on collision engine
• Real time collision engine
• Export capabilities for Viewpoint based interactive web application for OrthoView
• Export capabilities for CNC drilling for manufacturing aligner
• Virtual modeling of CNC drilling pins
• Finer movements, tooth extraction and local coordinate system for teeth
• XML based data serialization
• 3D measuring tools
• Undo feature for 3D manipulation

  OCPrescription  A 3D graphics virtual orthodontics system for creating target virtual treatments interactively. Features included:

• Fully Interactive 3D graphics viewer for jaw model
• Interactive creation of final treatment setup of a jaw model
• Ability to load wax setup based scans for final treatment setup
• Tooth movement tracker
• Simulated gingival with full editing capabilities
• Tooth Roots modeling
• Interproximal Reduction calculation based on collision engine
• Real time collision engine
• Export capabilities for Viewpoint based Interactive web application for OrthoView
• Finer movements, Tooth extraction and local coordinates system for teeth
• XML based data serialization
• 3D measuring tools
• Undo feature for 3d manipulation

• OrthoView: OrthoView was an interactive 3D web application developed that used the ViewPoint SDK for high data compression. It allowed the doctors to interact with the 3D Jaw models and submit their treatment plans to OrthoClear, a feature not available from any other OrthoClear competitor. Developed conversion systems from the OrthoClear file formats to ViewPoint format. (C++, Xerces, ViewPoint SDK, ASP.NET, JavaScript)
• ERP System: Designed, developed and implemented the complete OrthoClear ERP and production system. The Web based system was used by over 1000 employees and handled the complete business cycle of the OrthoClear product, including web based order handling and shipping accepting online credit card payments, dataflow, production, QA, finance, resource planning, inventory management and reporting. The system handled millions of dollars of transactions per month, and never had a critical bug. The scalability of the design allowed the system to be modified rapidly along with the evolving requirements of OrthoClear. (C#.NET, SQL Server, XML, Credit Card Merchant APIs, Crystal Reports)
• Technology Infrastructure: The team designed and implemented the complete technology infrastructure of the OrthoClear facility. Our cost-effective and yet highly efficient and scalable architecture supported 1000+ employees.
• Stereo Vision: Designed a stereo vision system using two cameras for precise measurement of the 3D coordinates on jaw models. (Canon SDK, VC++, C#, IPL)
• Scribbler: Engineered a solution that formed the basis of the Orthoclear process for the 3D point selection on jaw models using the Microscribe device, a 6DOF digitizer. The data collected by the software was essential for the OrthoClear treatment system. (VC++, Vtk, MicroScribe SDK, Xerces)
• 3D Scanning R&D and Implementation: Analyzed, researched and recommended the complete system to scan and acquire 3D digital models from a jaw model to an accuracy of 5 microns. Developed protocols for accurate and time optimized data acquisition and object registration. Developed automation scripts to reduce scanner time usage per case by 50%. Collaborated with many scanner vendors before settling on 3D Alliance GmbH Germany due to their superior product quality, accuracy and support. (C++, RapidForm2004 API)
• CaseCreator: Software for integration of scanned 3D data of teeth and coordinate system registration and conversion between multiple 3D spaces (scanner/CNC/3D model). (VC++, Vtk, Xerces)
• CrownFixer: Software to fix tooth crown models to compensate for mechanical engineering inaccuracies. (VC++)
• MidCourse Correction: A critical functionality enabling mid-course correction of teeth treatment. This system was correcting any anomalies in teeth position at any stage of treatment. System included a RapidForm 2004 plugin and OCModeller integration in order to achieve mid course correction in the jaw model. (VC++, RapidForm API)
• WaxSetup: A RapidForm 2004 plugin used for loading matrices from wax setup using matching of full jaw model with separated teeth model.
• ToothFixer / Collision Remover: A RapidForm 2004 plugin used to correct mechanical engineering inaccuracies by using digital jaw models for correction.
• BiteSetter: A process used to establish the relationship between separately scanned jaw models. A RapidForm 2004 plugin to select points in scanned space is used in conjunction with a MicroScribe apparatus.
• Aligner Cutter: Research project to automate the cutting of aligners. Devised, implemented and tested a solution involving 3D cubic hermite splines to define a curve. This curve is then used as input to CNC machine to automatically cut the aligners.
• OrthoTouch: OrthoTouch was a revolutionary product in the Orthodontics industry that allowed the doctors to interact with teeth models in Virtual Reality, using 3D glasses, CyberGlove and 6DOF 3D trackers. We presented the product at the 2006 Annual AAO Session in Las Vegas, where we got an overwhelming response from the attendees. (VC++, ActiveX, Vtk, 5DT SDK, Polhemus Tracker API, CrystalEyes III 3D glasses)