Virtual mask fitting system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9761047-B2
Application number	US-201414906836-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2014
Priority date	Mar 15, 2013
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

Apparatus and associated methods relate to determining a fit-quality metric for a mask/face combination based upon a calculated dead-space volume between a virtual mask and a virtual face virtually aligned so as to create an integrity seal circumscribing a mouth and nose region. In an illustrative embodiment, an interactive virtual fitting system may receive a three-dimensional (3D) virtual face associated with a person. The system may retrieve 3D models of various respirators selected by user determined criteria. The system may then compute a fit-quality metric for each of the retrieved 3D models. The potential wearer may then be presented with the metrics for review. The potential wearer may select a respirator based upon these computed metrics. A virtual fitting of many respirators may advantageously reduce the time needed for selecting a properly fitting respirator while simultaneously ensuring that the selected respirator may be comfortable and well fitting.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM) tangibly embodying a Graphical User Interface (GUI) program and containing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations to calculate a dead-space volume, the operations comprising:
receiving a three-dimensional facial model corresponding to a face of a person;
retrieving, from data memory locations, a three-dimensional mask model that includes a contacting interface configured to provide an integrity seal continuously circumscribing a nose and mouth region of the face;
superimposing the retrieved mask model onto the received facial model;
calculating a dead-space volume circumscribed by the contacting interface and located between the received facial model and the retrieved mask model when superimposed onto the received facial model;
associating a fit-quality metric with the calculated dead-space volume;
sending, for display on the display device, indicia representative of the associated fit-quality metric and indicia representative of the calculated dead-space volume.

2. The CRM of claim 1 , wherein superimposing the retrieved mask model onto the received facial model comprises:
rotating the retrieved mask model with respect to the received facial model; and,
translating the retrieved mask model with respect to the received facial model.

3. The CRM of claim 1 , wherein superimposing the retrieved mask model onto the received facial model comprises:
translating the retrieved mask model along a direction substantially toward or away from the facial model, wherein the translation distance is calculated to correspond with an actual translation of a mask subject to a force of a mask-securing device when securing a mask to a face.

4. The CRM of claim 1 , containing further instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:
storing the retrieved mask model in a mask-model database.

5. The CRM of claim 1 , containing further instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:
storing the received facial model in a facial-model database.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM) tangibly embodying a Computer Program Product (CPP) and containing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations to calculate a dead-space volume, the operations comprising:
receiving a three-dimensional facial model corresponding to a face of a person;
retrieving, from data memory locations, a three-dimensional mask model that includes a contacting interface configured to provide an integrity seal continuously circumscribing a nose and mouth region of the face;
superimposing the retrieved mask model onto the received facial model;
calculating a dead-space volume circumscribed by the contacting interface and located between the received facial model and the retrieved mask model when superimposed onto the received facial model; and
sending, for display on a display device, indicia representative of the calculated dead-space volume.

7. The CRM of claim 6 , containing further instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:
associating a fit-quality metric with the calculated dead-space volume; and
sending, for display on the display device, indicia representative of the associated fit-quality metric.

8. The CRM of claim 6 , containing further instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:
Sending, for display on a display device, image data representative of the face model with the mask model as superimposed onto the face model.

9. The CRM of claim 6 , wherein superimposing the retrieved mask model onto the received facial model comprises:
rotating the retrieved mask model with respect to the received facial model; and,
translating the retrieved mask model with respect to the received facial model.

10. The CRM of claim 6 , wherein superimposing the retrieved mask model onto the received facial model comprises:
translating the retrieved mask model along a direction substantially toward or away from the facial model, wherein the translation distance is calculated to correspond with an actual translation of a mask subject to a force of a mask-securing device when securing a mask to a face.

11. The CRM of claim 6 , containing further instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:
storing the retrieved mask model in a mask-model database.

12. The CRM of claim 6 , containing further instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:
storing the received facial model in a facial-model database.

13. The CRM of claim 6 , wherein superimposing the retrieved mask model, calculating a dead-space volume, and sending indicia representative of the calculated dead-space volume are each repeated for a plurality of retrieved three-dimensional mask models.

14. The CRM of claim 6 , wherein superimposing the retrieved mask model, calculating a dead-space volume, and sending indicia representative of the calculated dead-space volume are each repeated for a plurality of received three-dimensional facial models.

15. The CRM of claim 14 , containing further instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:
sorting the calculated dead-space volumes; and,
sending, for display on a display device, the sorted calculated dead-space volumes.

16. A method for calculating a dead-space volume, the method comprising:
receiving a three-dimensional facial model corresponding to a face of a person;
retrieving, from data memory locations, a three-dimensional mask model that includes a contacting interface configured to provide an integrity seal continuously circumscribing a nose and mouth region of the face;
superimposing the retrieved mask model onto the received facial model;
calculating a dead-space volume circumscribed by the contacting interface and located between the received facial model and the retrieved mask model when superimposed onto the received facial model; and,
sending, for display on a display device, indicia representative of the calculated dead-space volume.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein superimposing the retrieved mask model onto the received facial model comprises:
rotating the retrieved mask model with respect to the received facial model; and,
translating the retrieved mask model with respect to the received facial model.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein superimposing the retrieved mask model onto the received facial model comprises:
translating the retrieved mask model along a direction substantially toward or away from the facial model, wherein the translation distance is calculated to correspond with an actual translation of a mask subject to a force of a mask-securing device when securing a mask to a face.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
storing the retrieved mask model in a mask-model database.

20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
storing the received facial model in a facial-model database.

Assignees

• Honeywell Int Inc

Inventors

• Bai Hao
• Chen Henry
• Derby Paul
• Thiruvengada Hari

Classifications

• G06F30/00

  Computer-aided design [CAD] · CPC title

• G16B40/00

  ICT specially adapted for biostatistics; ICT specially adapted for bioinformatics-related machine learning or data mining, e.g. knowledge discovery or pattern finding · CPC title

• G16B5/00

  ICT specially adapted for modelling or simulations in systems biology, e.g. gene-regulatory networks, protein interaction networks or metabolic networks · CPC title

• G06T19/006

  Mixed reality (object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00) · CPC title

• A62B7/02

  with compressed oxygen or air · CPC title