Scientific evidence on the effectiveness of the Planmeca Ultra Low Dose™ imaging protocol

A new scientific study on Planmeca Ultra Low Dose™ by Ludlow and Koivisto establishes that the low dose imaging protocol enables CBCT imaging with a significantly lower dose than standard imaging, without a statistical reduction in image quality. The study’s conclusion states as follows:

“An average reduction in dose of 77% was achieved using ULD protocols when compared with standard protocols. While this dose reduction was significant, no statistical reduction in image quality between ULD and standard protocols was seen. This would suggest that patient doses can be reduced without loss of diagnostic quality.” (Ludlow, John Barrett and Koivisto, Juha: Dosimetry of Orthodontic Diagnostic FOVs Using Low Dose CBCT protocol)

Download the poster for the study. The full study will be published at a later date.

As dental imaging continues to evolve, questions regarding reduced doses and patient safety are set to take on an ever increasing role. According to the well-known ALARA principle, imaging doses must be kept as low as reasonably achievable; Patients must not be exposed to a higher dosage than needed to acquire images of sufficient diagnostic quality. The findings in the study indicate that reduced patient doses can be achieved without a loss in diagnostic quality by using the Planmeca Ultra Low Dose protocol.

Dr. Ludlow is a professor in the radiology section of the Department of Diagnostic Sciences and General Dentistry at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry. He is renowned for his extensive radiology research.

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