i-CAT™ FLX™: Clinically Driven Image and Exposure Control

For the past 24 years, John Russo, DDS, MHS, has lived in and held a private practice in the desirable location of sunny Sarasota, Florida. With the lure of the area bringing specialists of all types nearby, Russo, a periodontist, has needed to remain competitive and up-to-date with technology. “The main thing that has made me successful in staying current with technology is the i-CAT™ FLX™ Cone Beam 3D system,” Russo says.

The i-CAT FLX Cone Beam 3D system was designed to provide greater flexibility in scanning, planning, and treatment. This latest advancement of award-winning technology offers a range of innovative features that deliver increased clarity, ease-of-use, and control.

“This system offers flexible image control while minimizing radiation dose with a typical scan taking approximately 10 seconds,” Russo says.

Russo, like many other periodontists, is primarily using the i-CAT FLX Cone Beam 3D system for implant planning and diagnosis. “It allows me to make very accurate linear measurements and identify surgical and radiographic anatomy with minimal radiation exposure to the patient,” Russo says. i-CAT ’s SmartScan STUDIO™ provides an easy, customizable solution for a guided, controlled workflow in the practice. With its easy-to-use, touchscreen interface and integrated acquisition system, SmartScan STUDIO offers step-by-step guidance, allowing the clinician to select the appropriate scan for the patient with an ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) radiation dose.

“Without those features, I would be guessing on 2D film for implant placement. It is important for me to know specifically what size implant I can safely place or if I need to do any augmentation, or a bone graft before I can place the implant,” Russo adds. Visual iQuity™ advanced image technology delivers i-CAT’s clearest 3D and 2D images.

The i-CAT FLX’s TxSTUDIO™ software also adds another level of patient care to any practice and acts as an educational tool for patients to better understand what is and will be going on.

“Patients want to avoid pain and to feel reassured. Feeling safe comes from taking the scan and then patients being able to look over my shoulder as I plan their case,” asserts Russo. “When I can point to the lower jaw, identify the mandibular canal and nerve, do my virtual implant placement, and say, ‘Look how far away we are from the nerve,’ it really helps calm a patient and ease any anxiety they may have had.” The device also helps lower the need for retakes by offering the Ergonomic Stability System to minimize patient movement.

Typically, when traditional 2D x-rays are used, many patients are told they are not candidates for implant therapy when, in fact, they may be. Some examples on why they might be denied include a sinus being too low or an implant being needed in the lower site, which is too variable with 20% distortion in a panoramic x-ray. As a result, the dentist may be uncertain if an implant can be placed safely.

“With the cone-beam scan, many times we find out that yes, we can safely place implants especially with the very wide, short implants that are becoming more readily available now; more and more people are having successful procedures," Russo says.

Tx STUDIO provides the power of multiple software systems combined into one simple-to-use solution. Tx STUDIO leverages the best in anatomy imaging software and cone-beam 3D technology. It is the only software designed exclusively for i-CAT that enhances the efficiency of the clinician’s practice by providing immediate access to integrated treatment tools for implant planning, surgical guides, and other applications.

“In my practice, I’ve recently gone to 7-, 8-, 9-mm-wide implants, and I am having great success with those patients who supposedly could not have implants placed before. Each case is different. But in these situations, it is much easier to convince a patient who has been previously told that they can not have implants, when you show them exactly where their nerve, sinus, concavities, etcetera are and why you can in fact, help them,” Russo emphasizes.

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