School of Dentistry installs first dentomaxillofacial dedicated Cone-Beam CT in United States
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| Drs. Joseph Caruso, Suzanne McCormick, and Ivan Dus examine the NewTom QR-DVT-9000, a digital radiograph machine. |
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held May 10, 2001 for the NewTom QR-DVT-9000,
the first dentomaxillofacial dedicated Cone-Beam CT in the United States.
The system was acquired for LLU through the School’s orthodontic
department.
The digital radiograph machine, which is now in use in Italy
and Japan, received approval for use in the United States from the FDA
this year.
Manufactured by ZeroBase NIM, s.r.l., the digital radiograph
machine produces remarkably detailed images of the bony tissue of the
skull, jaw, and teeth.
During a 70-second scan time, 360 slides are produced and
raw data is stored on computer. Using three-dimensional mathematics, computer
software can reproduce two-dimensional slices, or three-dimensional images
of the desired location, in any direction.
“A benefit of this new technology,” informs Dr.
Caruso, “is that the patient receives 80 percent less radiation than
is delivered by a traditional test.”
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| Dr. Kandasamy Rengasamy,
assistant professor, ODRP (left), demonstrates how patients will be
positioned in the NewTom QR-DVT-9000. The imaging equipment is the
first of its kind in the United States. |
The equipment will be especially helpful to children 3 years
old and younger; the nerves in their brains have not fully developed and
radiation can delay or impair normal development. Use of radiation has
also been associated with malignancy and soft-tissue sarcomas.
Referring patients for a traditional CAT scan is more expensive—with
much more information collected than may be required by the referring
doctor. The NewTom is compact and has been optimized to record head and
facial information.
As soon as the equipment is running, referrals for tests will come from dentists (including orthodontists, prosthodontists, oral & maxillofacial surgeons, and implant specialists); plastic surgeons, and ENT physicians, among others.
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| (Pictured, from left): Dr. Charles Goodacre; Dr. Dus; Dr. Caruso; B. Lyn Behrens, MBBS, president, LLU, and Richard Hart, MD, chancellor, LLU, cut the ribbon to celebrate the arrival of the School’s NewTom QR-DVT-9000. |
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