ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 6 -- United States Patent no. 12,377,493, issued on Aug. 5, was assigned to Align Technology Inc. (San Jose, Calif.).
"Laser cutting" was invented by James C. Culp (Pleasanton, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Laser cutting systems and methods are described herein. Systems may include a laser, an optical component, a fixture for holding a dental appliance, and a controller. A cut path for trimming excess material from the dental appliance may be derived from a virtual cut path in a virtual version of the dental appliance. The excess material may be trimmed from the dental appliance along the cut path with the laser while adjusting a laser energy applied to the denta...