Lower doses are better for patients and make clinicians happy
Dr Gilad Wasserman is a Specialist in Oral Medicine at one of Israel’s most eminent hospitals. In his work, he encounters a variety of different kinds of cases and has found the Planmeca Viso® imaging unit to be beneficial when providing excellent and compassionate care.
Dr Wasserman initially studied dentistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at the recommendation of his neighbour. But he was also drawn to the medical field, so after graduating as a dentist he proceeded to complete a four-year oral medicine residency program.
“I was always interested in the medical side of things. That eventually led me to oral medicine. As a specialty it fit my interests even better, and I guess my personality as well,” Dr Wasserman recounts.
These days, Dr Wasserman works at the oral and maxillofacial surgery department of the Tel Aviv Medical Center, which is one of the largest hospitals in Israel. His main areas of focus are orofacial pain, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, as well as oral and maxillofacial radiology.
The Tel Aviv Medical Center serves a population of one million people, so the hospital is naturally equipped to handle a huge variety of cases. Its oral and maxillofacial surgery department offers all the treatments one would expect from a leading hospital in the country, including orthognathic, oncological, prosthodontic and dental surgeries.
To help provide the best possible care for patients, the hospital acquired a Planmeca Viso® CBCT imaging unit in November 2021. Dr Wasserman explains that there were three main reasons for choosing the unit.
“One key reason was the very big size of the field-of-view. Another was that we can take different types of images – CBCT, panoramic and cephalometric images. The final key reason was compatibility: We have been able to connect the system with the hospital’s main PACS [Picture Archive and Communications System],” he illuminates.
“Any image that we take now also goes to the main server of the hospital. So even if a patient is hospitalised at a different department of the hospital, their images can be accessed there, or even in an operating room anywhere in the hospital.”
The Planmeca Romexis® dental software platform has provided Dr Wasserman with several digital tools that support diagnostics and other imaging tasks.
“I use Romexis to do cross-sectionals for implants and extractions. It is fairly quick. I also use Romexis for medical interpretations, as I am in charge of writing radiography reports for images taken with Planmeca Viso at our hospital,” he explains.
A strong first impression
Dr Wasserman and the rest of the hospital’s staff noted how easy Planmeca Viso was to take into use. The unit has also proven to be as diverse as expected.
“So far, we have had a very good experience using Planmeca Viso, and also with the local service here in Israel. I was used to working on a different imaging platform during my residency, but was able to transition to Planmeca Viso quite quickly. It was straightforward and did not take a lot of effort,” Dr Wasserman comments.
Patients come in all shapes and sizes, and ideally an imaging unit has to be able to serve all of them. This means comfortably positioning patients with mobility issues, for example.
“Some of our patients are elderly or in a wheelchair. We are able to keep them in their wheelchair or otherwise sit them down rather quickly. We can then adjust the Planmeca Viso imaging system and capture the image without the patient having to move,” Dr Wasserman says.
So far, the most common images taken at the hospital with Planmeca Viso have been for basic dental surgeries, such as implant placements and tooth extractions, but the hospital also uses the unit for other purposes, such as operative planning before orthognathic and trauma surgeries.
Tel Aviv is a densely populated city with modern electric bicycles and e-scooters. Not everyone wears a helmet, so unfortunately the hospital sees a significant number of trauma cases that include fractures and corrective surgeries.
“If the trauma seems to be local, there is no need for a large multidetector CT scan that requires a higher dose, as a CBCT image provides a clear view at a low dose,” Dr Wasserman states.
Indeed, Planmeca Viso has quickly shown that it is very efficient at lowering patient doses. This is a benefit that Dr Wasserman considers to be of particular importance.
“I especially like that I am able to use two different features to reduce radiation. The first one is the unit’s video scout view. I do not usually need to take a radiographic scout image of the patient – I am able to use the unit’s screen and integrated cameras to position the volume,” he explains.
The other feature that has shown its value early and often is the Planmeca Ultra Low Dose™ imaging protocol. It allows reducing patient doses for CBCT images to exceptionally low levels.
“We are able to use Planmeca Ultra Low Dose for many, many indications. It is very good for young children and also for follow-ups. We use it for post-operative imaging as it allows us to check for any issues using a lower dose,” Dr Wasserman says.
“We also use the system to take CBCT images of ears and sinuses for the hospital’s ENT department. This is a new service we have been offering that everyone is happy about, because they are higher resolution images at lower doses.”
“When we can decrease the amount of radiation we expose our patients to, I am very happy,” Dr Wasserman concludes.
Copy: Daniel Purssila
Image: Danny Kitri
Planmeca Oy and Planmeca Group
Planmeca Oy is one of the world's leading dental equipment manufacturers, with a product range covering digital dental units, CAD/CAM solutions, world-class 2D and 3D imaging devices and comprehensive software solutions. Privately owned and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, the company offers a portfolio of products distributed in over 120 countries worldwide. Planmeca Oy is part of the Finnish Planmeca Group, which consists of several healthcare technology brands, each committed to innovation and design. With 4,500 employees worldwide, Planmeca Group companies achieved a combined pro forma turnover of EUR 1.2 billion in 2021.
www.planmeca.com
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