Kodak unveils large field-of-view CBCT system

Dec 22, 2008

Editor's note: Allan Farman's column, Talking Pictures, appears regularly on the DrBicuspid.com advice and opinion page, Second Opinion.

One year ago, at the French Dental Association's 2007 annual meeting, Carestream Health/Kodak Dental Systems released a small field-of-view (FOV), high-resolution cone-beam CT (CBCT) system for dentistry, the Kodak 9000 D. It is a hybrid system that provides detailed 3D imaging of regions of the dental arches plus a conventional solid-state digital panoramic system.

2008 12 22 16 06 00 478 2008 12 23 Kodak9500b

The Kodak 9500 CBCT system combines one of the largest FOVs in the market with a relatively small footprint -- not much larger than some panoramic dental systems. Image courtesy of Kodak Dental Imaging/Trophy, Marne la Vallée, France.

In late November, the FDA approved another new CBCT system for dentistry, the large FOV Kodak 9500, which debuted at the recent Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting in Chicago.

The Kodak 9500 is a full maxillofacial FOV system that provides images up to 18.4 cm x 20.6 cm, or can be collimated to "full jaw mode" of 9 cm x 15 cm. It uses a voltage range of 60-90 kV in pulsed mode and tube current of 2-15 mA. Isotropic voxel resolution is down to 150 µm.

Because the Kodak 9500 CBCT system exports in DICOM file format, images can be imported into various third-party software programs for sophisticated evaluation of the imaged tissues and image guidance of treatment procedures such as dental implantology. With a total weight of 176 kg (just under 400 lb), the system combines one of the largest FOVs in the market with a relatively small footprint, not very much larger than some panoramic dental systems.

Until very recently, Kodak Dental Imaging was the exclusive dealer for the Imtec Iluma large FOV CBCT system. This exclusivity arrangement apparently ended with the acquisition of Imtec by 3M, as the unit was shown in more than one commercial booth during the ADA meeting in San Antonio.

Presumably, the Kodak 9500 will soon become the main offering of Kodak Dental Systems in terms of a large FOV CBCT system. Although it debuted at the RSNA meeting, the main market focus for sales of the Kodak 9500 will be the dental profession.

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