Dentalcompare
Clinical Director
It has always been a boon to dentists when technology from another field benefits their practice and their patients. The CEREC AC from Sirona is a great example, using a camera to capture a high-resolution surface map of a tooth eliminating the need for traditional impression material. Now advances in space technology have the potential to redefine our ability to diagnose and treat our patients.
I first heard of this device from a friend of mine who has more knowledge about aerospace science in his little finger than I have about the entire field of dentistry. The Scint-X scintillator is a device that converts x-rays into visible light. It works in similar way as a film panoramic x-ray: The x-rays strike an intensifying screen, emitting fluorescent light which exposes the film. The idea is to reduce the amount of radiation needed for the given scan, but the resolution is diminished as a result of scatter.
The Scint-X works in a similar way, but the difference is that it uses MEMS technology (micro-electro-mechanical system), similar to that accelerometer in that fancy iPhone you have. In other words, “SUPER TINY”.
This scintillator is constructed by Nanospace using the same facility that made an entire satellite propulsion system that was only 55 x 43.5mm in size. By shrinking the scintillator down to such a small size, it dramatically improves the resolution, potentially better than 5 microns. Put that in a Galileos Cone Beam CT, and you might even be able to take your digital impressions with an extraoral scan. (Sirona...give these guys a call...)
For a complete summary of the technology, jump over to SpaceDaily for the article.