Emmott On Technology: Taking X-rays Off the Wall and by the Hand

Emmott On Technology: Taking X-rays Off the Wall and by the Hand
Thursday, March 14, 2013

Which is better, a new iPhone 5 you carry with you or an old hard wired wall mounted telephone you have to run to whenever it rings?

The answer is obvious, and now we can get the same benefits we get from wireless hand held phones with new wireless hand held x-ray devices.

The NOMAD, a hand held x-ray unit from Aribex, looks like a big ray gun from an old sci-fi film. There is a body, a pistol grip and a cone or barrel that emits the x-rays. The operator aims the device and holds it steady while the radiograph is taken. The ability to stay in the room while you take the image and better yet hold the tube eliminates most of the problems we encounter when taking an x-ray.

If the little guy in your head is screaming, “Stay in the room! That’s nuts don’t you know x-rays are dangerous!” Of course NOMAD knows that and the device is perfectly safe, but more on that later.

Back to solving problems; problems such as the patient who can’t keep the sensor where you placed it. As soon as you turn away they shift their bite, swallow or move, and your perfectly positioned sensor is no longer perfect. When you are standing next to the patient you can see if the sensor moves and fix it.

If the patient squirms or shifts the sensor, it may be because he or she is uncomfortable or anxious. When you place a sensor in the mouth of an anxious patient, who feels he or she is about to gag, and then you run from the room, there is no doubt the anxiety increases. When you stay in the room, you can reassure the patient with words or even just with your presence.

Then there is the out-of-adjustment, over-extended generator arm that slowly creeps south whenever you place it on the lower right? Or the arm that just won’t allow you to align the cone parallel, so you have the patient twist in the chair, slump down, and turn his or her head just so.

Finally there are elderly or special needs patients who have limited mobility or may be confined to a wheelchair. With NOMAD you do not need to drag them to the treatment room and maneuver them into the dental chair. You can take an x-ray image anywhere. In fact, as the ultimate benefit of mobility you can use NOMAD in a nursing home or mobile clinic or on a humanitarian mission.

Back in the day of wall mounted telephones, if you wanted to use the phone in the kitchen and in the living room you needed two phones each mounted and wired in place. And you had to pay for each phone including installation. It is the same with wall mounted x-ray units.

With a hand held unit you only need to buy one and there are no installation costs. You can use NOMAD in the hygiene room for re-call, in the overflow room for emergencies, and in the doctor’s room for root canals. One device takes the place of three or four wall mounted units, making it much more cost effective than the old system.

Now back to that little guy in your head screaming at you to run from the room when you take an x-ray… Radiation safety is important, and Aribex takes it very seriously. The NOMAD is made in the USA, has FDA approval and has been studied meticulously to insure it is safe. Links to the actual studies can be found at the NOMAD website.

The past was on the wall, the future is off the wall. The future is coming and it will be amazing!

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