Nomad Hand Held X-Ray Unit Review

Well I am here in St. Kitts enjoying the morning sun and figured before everyone awakened I would write the review.

For those who don't know what Nomad is please check a my November 28th blog entry for pictures.

Basically Nomad is a hand held x-ray machine. The first thing that needed to be done was to see if my State had allowed this unit to be used. In NJ it was approved for use in October 2006. So that problem was dealt with. There maybe some restrictions on how it is used. Aribex (the maker of Nomad) can advise you about the monitoring restrictions if any exist for your state. The unit is a DC and is state of the art for dealing with digital radiography (both sensors and phosphor plates) along with conventional film.

The concerns most dentists voice are about size and weight. Well the unit is similar to an 8 pound cordless drill. It is a little a awkward at first but my staff adapted to it very quickly. In fact the Nomad became the x-ray unit of choice in the office. No complaints about the weight or the unit being difficult to handle. All the assistants and hygienists preferred the Nomad to the wall mounted unit.

One thing that came as a surprise was the staff members telling me it improved work flow. No longer did they have to walk out of the room. They were able to acquire radiographs much more efficiently.

So it was a very enjoyable week with a Nomad hand held x-ray unit. I will hear the complaints when I get back to the office that it is not there. So when I get back from vacation I will be purchasing this unit for my office.

If you are considering building a new office consider one or two Nomad's as they will save you money in the long run along with time and licensing fees.

Happy Holidays

I hope everyone has a marvelous holiday and a healthy new year.

My family is off to a nice sunny and white sandy holiday.

I promise the Nomad review as the next blog entry.

Free Skype Calls Ending

The Skype Free Internet Calling within North America is ending but they have a plan.

An Unlimited Plan offering a full year of unlimited calls to anyone, on any phone, within the US and Canada for just $14.95.
($29.95 after January 31st 2007)

More Information is available by clicking here.

I use this service when traveling in the Caribbean and it works great and saves me more then the $15 dollars.

Kavo Licenses DIFOTI

Electro-Optical Sciences, Inc.
(“EOS”) [NASDAQ: MELA], today announced that it has signed an exclusive
licensing agreement with KaVo Dental GmbH (“KaVo”), a leading dental
equipment manufacturer, to further develop and commercialize DIFOTI ® , a U.S.
Food and Drug Administration-cleared non-invasive imaging device developed by
EOS for the detection of dental caries.

In accordance with the terms of the agreement, KaVo will pay EOS an
undisclosed upfront sum as well as up to a double digit annual royalty based on
the number of systems sold per calendar year. KaVo has made a multi-million
dollar commitment to refine the DIFOTI product for commercial launch.

ScanX Duo

A single ScanX Duo can be operated by two users at the same time with different patients making it perfect for use in a shared X-Ray pass-through. ScanX Duo uses Phosphor Storage Plates that are ultra-thin, wireless and flexible allowing for accurate positioning within the oral cavity. Using PSPs minimizes image elongation, foreshortening and retakes. The plates are very inexpensive and can be used thousands of times.

More information is available on the Air Techniques Web Site

Print Greener Save Trees Paper and Money

GreenPrint eliminates wasteful pages in any printout automatically, saving you time and money, and maybe more importantly, saving trees, reducing greenhouse gasses, and decreasing waste.

GreenPrint does this by analyzing each page of every document sent to the printer and looking for typical waste characteristic (like that last page with just a URL, banner ad, logo, or legal jargon).

GreenPrint also incorporates an easy to use PDF writer, a fantastic print preview called GreenView, and a reporting feature which keeps track of the number of pages and the amount of money you have saved.

More information is available at the Printgreener.com web site

Latest Tounge Pierceing Complication

CHICAGO - The teenager said the stabbing pains in her face felt like electrical shocks that lasted 10 to 30 seconds and struck 20 to 30 times a day.

Her doctors diagnosed trigeminal neuralgia, a nerve disorder sometimes called “suicide disease” because of the excruciating and dispiriting pain it causes.

Doctors tried painkillers, then stronger medication, but in the end, a cure proved more simple: The young woman removed the metal stud from her pierced tongue. Two days later her pain vanished.

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To read the complete story on MSNBC click here

Goodbye Treo 650

As of today, the Palm Treo 650 is no longer alvailable from Palm. My trusty sidekick continues to occupy a space on my belt but those looking for a 650 are too late. Your choices are the Treo 700P or the sidegrade to a Treo 680. I know I will upgrade when Palm or someone else releases a significantly better smartphone then the Treo 650.

A Dentist Helped Develop Cell Phones

From the FCC web site:

1865 - Dr. Mahlon Loomis of Virginia, a dentist, may have been the first person to communicate through wireless via the atmosphere. Between 1866 and 1873 he transmitted telegraphic messages at a distance of 18 miles between the tops of Cohocton and Beorse Deer Mountains, Virginia. He developed a method of transmitting and receiving messages by using the Earth's atmosphere as a conductor and launching kites enclosed with a copper screens that were linked to the ground with copper wires. Congress then awarded Loomis a $50,000 research grant.

Digital Radiology Implementation

Last night I attended a digital radiology night with my local study club. The interest in digital radiography is high but most dental offices do not have the infrastructure in place to support it. Before considering digital radiography make sure that you have your operatories computerized and networked. This is the first step in successfully implementing anything digital in the operatories.

There were a few very early adopters who stopped using their digital radiology systems. The problem was they were using notebook computers in an effort to save money ( no computers networked in the ops). Most mid to low end notebook computers lack the contrast ratio ( minimum of 500:1) to diagnose caries. If you are having problems with digital radiography with your notebook consider buying an LCD monitor and attaching it to the notebook.