MARCILAN

Educational Discount for iPhone apps

Wisam Al-Rawi — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:48:31 +0000

We’re pleased to announce the App Store Volume Purchase Program. Education institutions in the United States now have a new way to purchase iPhone apps in volume for distribution to their students and faculty.

The special pricing offer will be 50% of the listed price to education institutions when they purchase 20 or more copies of the same app. Marcilan will apply this special pricing to all of the current and future applications.

NVIDIA video cards to help lower Cone Beam CT radiation

Wisam Al-Rawi — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:45:40 +0000

Current Cone Beam CT reconstruction algorithms use the processor (CPU) to process the acquired data to generate an image. Graphics processors like NVIDIA Tesla can also process data but at 10-100 times faster than computer processors; however, programming for graphics processors is much harder and only recently it was made possible thanks to technologies from NVIDIA to help programmers do that.

Researchers from the University of California at San Diego were able reduce the amount of radiation to patients by ten folds or more thanks to a new approach for processing x-rays.

Cone Beam CT is not only used for scanning patients but also is used in image-guided radiation therapy (IGRP). Reducing total number of projections, mAs level per projection during a CT scan reduces the total radiation dose delivered to the patient. However, this results often in a noisy and mathematically incomplete data that takes hours to process through iterative processing via the computer’s processor. Because the Cone Beam is used for treatment, fast reconstruction is needed, explains the lead author Xun Jia, who is a post doctoral fellow at UCSD.

Follow the link for the full story

Via labspaces

ImageWorks closes agreement with Sleep Group Solutions for NewTom VGi Flex in mobile Cone Beam units within US and Canada

Wisam Al-Rawi — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:23:05 +0000

Sleep Group Solutions (SGS) today announced an agreement with ImageWorks whereby SGS will distribute and promote the NewTom VGi Flex mobile units for Sleep Disorders in the US and Canada. SGS is a leading provider of airway diagnostic technology which serves the needs of physicians and dentists interested in screening, diagnosing and treating sleep apnea and other upper airway disorders.

The NewTom VGi Flex is the only 3D Cone Beam CT system which carries a warranty for installation in mobile environments. Treatment of dental sleep disorders is becoming one of the most added procedures to the dental office. Having a patient treated for dental sleep disorder and providing a NewTom VGi 3D Cone Beam CT scan, the patient can expect a more accurate airway assessment and a quicker and more effective treatment plan.

Head for the link for the full press release.

Via Market Watch

Fusion of CAD/CAM dental digital impression with Cone Beam CT data set

Wisam Al-Rawi — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 23:30:52 +0000

Dental intraoral digital impression systems like CEREC AC , Lava C.O.S , and iTero allow the practitioner to take digital impression of the patient’s teeth and store them in the computer. The practitioner then can use the software to design and fabricate crowns, veneers, onlays and inlays either by sending the data to the lab or the milling machine in the office for on-site fabrication.

Cone Beam CT allows 3 dimensional imaging of the patient’s head and it stores the acquired data in a volumetric data set. There is no superimposition of anatomical structures and no magnification. Volumetric data set from the Cone Beam CT can be visualized in different ways like MPR slices, volume render, synthetic panoramic, or surface render. Cone Beam CT can be used to aid in diagnosis and treatment planning.

Metallic restorations induce streak and beam hardening artifacts in the CBCT data sets. With recent advancement of technology, it is now possible to fuse digital impressions from CAD/CAM systems with CBCT data set. This allows better rendering of teeth surfaces and allows more precise implant planning.

Via Dental Compare

Cone Beam CT imaging in dentistry

Wisam Al-Rawi — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 03:04:22 +0000

Inside Dentistry has published the article “3-D Imaging in Dentistry” that provides a short summary of Cone Beam CT and the recent development of 3D imaging in the dental field. It goes over the use of CBCT in different disciplines, the available guidelines, and the responsibility of the practitioner acquiring the 3D volume.

Hit the link to read the full story.

Via Inside Dentistry

Planmeca upgrades their V1 flat panel detector to V2: Offers resolution boost and dose reduction

Wisam Al-Rawi — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:32:37 +0000

Planmeca has just switched their flat panel detector to V2 sensor. The new sensor offers smaller voxel size compared with V1 sensor. It also features dose reduction – according to Planmeca -.

Newer ProMax CBCT units will come with the newer sensor pre-installed. Older units have the upgrade option available. Name remains the same.

Suni debuts Suni3D HD a small field of view Cone Beam CT

Wisam Al-Rawi — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:39:32 +0000

Suni Medical systems has introduced a small field of view CBCT for use in dental and endodontics. Debuted as Suni3D HD, the new CBCT can do 5×5 or 8×5 cm FOV at 0.08 mm voxel size. It should provide high-resolution images 3D images for teeth and surrounding structures.

“Suni has always been interested in the specialized needs of endodontists,” said Paul Tucker, vice president of marketing.

“The small field of view design is perfect for quadrant dentistry, while keeping radiation doses for patients at a minimum,” said Tucker. “The Suni3D HD system is one of the few systems on the market with a 5×5-cm focused field of view meaning lower doses of radiation for the patient and less liability for the doctor.”

So you wouldn’t go and scan a full arches with this machine. It can be considered an alternative for the Kodak 9000, Gendex CB500, or Planmeca ProMax Small just in case you are considering to buy one. As for the price, it is <$7500. That should be a good news. One last note, if you do research on radiation doses then we want to ask you for the radiation dose of this unit according to the ICRP 2007 recommendations. Hit the video for more information.

Follow the link for the full press release

[Read More]

New iPhone app for Cone Beam CT basics is coming… post your requests

Wisam Al-Rawi — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:53:09 +0000

I know… it’s been a long time since our last update. As we’re approaching the end of the semester, finally I have more time to dedicate to do some exciting new things in Cone Beam CT education. Well, we’re considering doing our second iPhone app which will be a simple yet pictures rich booklet that covers CBCT basics. The booklet will cover basics principles of action of Cone Beam CT, image quality factors, uses of CBCT, and the app will include different Cone Beam CT machines that are available on the market.

We’re asking the vendors for their help with that. But we would like to ask you too as you are the most important element in all of this, what would you like to see in an iPhone app that covers CBCT education? and if you happen not to know what to say, a simple thanks would suffice

Invivo 5.0.7 bring the long awaited fix for ATi cards and speed optimizations

Wisam Al-Rawi — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:26:07 +0000

The new update from Anatomage for Invivo marked 5.0.7 fixes rendering issue with ATi graphics cards in the volumetric rendering view. Previously, owners of ATi cards experienced rendering artifacts when the user stops interacting with the volume rendering.

In addition, according to what we’ve heard from Anatomage, the new update brings a good boost to the frame rates which translates to smoother user experience.

Get the update for your Invivo from http://www.anatomodel.com

iCBCT Anatomy 1.2: New quiz mode!

Wisam Al-Rawi — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:05:49 +0000

We’ve been working on the quiz mode for a while and we’re glad to inform you that it is now available to all of you. There are around 50 axial slices from high quality large FOV Kodak 9500 CBCT data set in this release and they cover different anatomical landmarks visible on CBCT. More slices will be added in the future to cover other projections. Slices in the quiz mode are randomized every time. This version can be downloaded for free to all current iCBCT Anatomy app users!

We’d like to thank you for supporting the app and the website. Get the update from your iPhone or iPod Touch or by visiting the iTunes link here.

If you like the app please rate the app and post some comments on the app page. Have fun!