A spectroradiometrically calibrated spectrometer is helping dentists use curing lights more effectively when hardening resin composites.
The spectrometer, developed by Ocean Optics, is a key component of the Managing Accurate Resin Curing (MARC) system developed by Richard Price, B.D.S., D.D.S., M.S., and colleagues at Dalhousie University and commercialized through BlueLight Analytics.
Slightly larger than a mobile phone, Ocean Optics' fiber-optic USB4000 spectrometer uses a 3648-element Toshiba linear CCD array detector and high-speed electronics. For the MARC system, the spectrometer has been spectroradiometrically calibrated using Ocean Optics' NIST-traceable light source (300-1050 nm).
MARC also uses the CC3-UV Cosine Corrector to collect radiation over a 180° field-of-view. This collection device helps mitigate the effects of optical interference associated with light collection sampling geometry, such as the distance of the light to the restoration, according to Ocean Optics.
Dr. Price has used Ocean Optics equipment in his laboratory since 2002 to measure the output from dental curing lights, the companies said.
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