Dear Imaging & CAD/CAM Insider,
3D Imaging & Simulations (3DISC) is making its first foray into the dental market with a compact, affordable computed radiography system designed for dental practitioners who want to test the digital imaging waters without having to invest tens of thousands of dollars in the process.
The FireCR Dental Reader is compact, can take all sorts of images -- including bitewings -- and sells for less than $10,000. Read more about this new device in the latest Imaging & CAD/CAM Insider Exclusive.
In other Imaging & CAD/CAM Community news, two dose studies presented at the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology meeting last November are among the first to provide in-depth organ dose data following exposure to bitewing x-rays.
The first called into question the findings of a study published last April in Cancer that suggested a link between radiation from bitewing x-rays and the development of meningioma in adults, while the second focused on pediatric patients and provided quantitative support for using digital imaging and rectangular collimation to reduce radiation exposure.
In business news, the KaVo Group has acquired Aribex, developer and manufacturer of the Nomad handheld, portable x-ray system, marking the culmination of an entrepreneurial success story that started with a conversation between an engineer and his dentist.
In a related story, last month U.K. health officials issued warnings to dentists about cheap, handheld x-ray scanners from an Aribex competitor in China that could be potentially lethal.
Meanwhile, the ADA released updated recommendations for the prescription of dental radiographic exams -- the first time the recommendations have been revised since 2004. Read more.
And the process by which the ADA's Code on Dental Procedures and Nomenclature is revised has undergone a revamping itself, with a more broad-based maintenance committee and greater transparency. A number of coding changes are in place for 2013, many of them related to imaging.
Finally, a California dentist has embarked on a new venture that provides customized cone-beam CT training to dentists and their staff, with an emphasis on the principles of cone-beam CT and how to use the technology correctly in various clinical applications.
