Lab Tribune Asia Pacific No.1, 2017

18 BUSINESS Lab Tribune Asia Paciﬁc Edition | 12/2017 Stay CALM! Planmeca algorithm improves imaging quality 1 2 Fig. 1: Planmeca 3-D imaging specialist Mikko Lilja participated in the development of the algorithm. CALM analyses and compensates for patients’ movement during the scanning process, making dental imaging safer and quicker for patients and dentists alike. —Fig. 2: A Planmeca representative introducing the CALM algorithm at the Finnish Dental Congress and Exhibition in Helsinki in November, were the solution received a honourable mention. By DTI HELSINKI, Finland: Patient move- ment is among the most signid- cant challenges to CBCT imag- ingq producing artefacts that can compromise the quality of the image. According to Finnish manu- facturer Planmecaq an end-user solution to this problem was in the company’s sights for some time and has now dnally been ad- dressed with Planmeca CALM. The algorithm analyses and compensates for patients’ move- mentq eliminating the need for re- takes and thus improving the quality of and the time needed for imaging in dentistry. Recounting the development process of CALM (Correction Algorithm for Latent Movement)q Planmeca 3-D imag- ing specialist Mikko Lilja ex- plained the mechanism of the solution: “In tomographic recon- structionq the assumption is that the measurements—in this case the CBCT x-ray projection im- ages—are geometrically consist- ent with one anotherq but when a patient movesq the data no longer adds upq which shows in the recon- struction.” To avoid these disruptionsq Planmeca CALM restores the con- sistency of the X-ray measure- ments by tracking the movement of the patient. The algorithm works with all volume and voxel sizes and adds only between 10 and 60 seconds to the overall re- construction timeq the company stated. The function can be run ei- ther after the scan is complete or before exposure to ensure that the volumes are already corrected when they are accessed in the Planmeca Romexis software. “In the pastq dentists would send their unsatisfactory images to the manufacturer for recon- struction or just redo the entire scanq but with Planmeca CALM this is now a thing of the past. We are proud to be the drst dental manufacturer to provide a solu- tion for motion artefact correc- tion to the end-userq” Lilja said. For dentistsq the CALM fea- ture is especially valuable when imaging restless or livelier pa- tientsq such as childrenq individ- uals with special needs or elderly patients. “Even in cases where you might not typically think there has been signidcant move- mentq Planmeca CALM can no- ticeably enhance the image and enable seeing more detailsq” Lilja concluded. Western Australia to change restrictive CBCT ownership regulations for dentists ity of dental practitioners in Western Australia. Howeverq this regulatory framework is set to changeq according to the Austral- ian Dental Industry Association (ADIA). Although each state and terri- tory takes a different regulatory approach to owning CBCT equip- mentq in terms of outcomesq there is broad alignment across all of them—with the exception of Western Australia. “ADIA welcomes news that the Radiological Council of Western Australia looks set to remove the restrictions on CBCT ownership in that stateq” said ADIA CEO Troy Williams. Owning and operating CBCT equipment in Western Aus- tralia is currently limited to den- tists registered with the Austral- ian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) in the specialty of dentomaxillofacial radiology —a criterion that only very few dentists fuldl. In a senate commit- tee hearing on 9 Novemberq the ADIA CEO pointed out thatq of the about 1q780 registered dentists in the stateq almost none satisfy the requirement to own and operate CBCT equipment. Once in forceq the regulatory changes will allow AHPRA-regis- tered dentists who have success- fully completed a recognised CBCT course to be eligible for a licence to own and operate CBCT equip- ment. According to the ADIA re- leaseq the requisite courses are of- fered by the dental schools at the University of Queensland and the University of Adelaide and by a private provider. “This outcome is entirely con- sistent with what ADIA has argued for over many years. It’s actually dve years ago this month that ADIA met with the then Minister for Health to progress this reform and we’ve naturally discussed it in the past with the current Ministerq Roger Cookq” Williams commented. It has not yet been announced when the new legislation will be put into force. By DTI PERTH, Australia: CBCT imag- ing is changing the way dental practitioners can visualise the oral and maxillofacial complexq as well as teeth and the surround- ing tissue. Despite being regarded as benedcial for practitioners and patients alikeq owing to a restric- tive licensing policyq the technol- ogy is only available to a minor- © Planmeca© Messukeskus Helsinki© Wolﬁlser/Shutterstock.com

Lab Tribune Asia Pacific No.1, 2017

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