ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 24 -- United States Patent no. 12,558,193, issued on Feb. 24, was assigned to Align Technology Inc. (San Jose, Calif.).
"Methods for fabricating layered appliances" was invented by Avi Kopelman (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Jeeyoung Choi (Sunnyvale, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Methods for fabricating layered appliances are provided. In some embodiments, a method includes generating a digital model of a polymeric shell including a plurality of tooth-receiving cavities shaped to receive and reposition a patient's teeth from a first arrangement toward a second arrangement. The polymeric shell can include an interior layer having a first stiffness, and an exterior layer ...