Carestream Dental celebrated the 40th anniversary of RadioVisioGraphy technology which serves as the basis for intraoral sensor technology.
Carestream Dental is celebrating the 40th anniversary of RadioVisioGraphy, invented in 1982, and commercialized by Trophy Radiology (now part of Carestream Dental). RVG still serves as the basis of nearly all intraoral sensors on the market today.
In 1982 Dr Francis Mouyen, a French dentist with a passion for physics, was working on inventing a digital X-ray system that could be practical and small enough for dental applications and deliver instant results, a significant industry challenge at the time.
Mouyen eventually patented a way to convert X-ray energy into light and direct it toward a small light-sensitive sensor.
The ability to capture X-rays instantly on a monitor, without film processing, was a breakthrough. Mouyen went on to partner with engineers at Trophy Radiology to commercialize the sensor.
Since the 1980s, the sensor’s design has gone through several iterations: From initially requiring a large tabletop electronic unit with an embedded display screen to the small portable sensor it is today.
“We’ve been using RVG sensors from Carestream Dental since 1999,” said Miguel Stanley, DDS, of the White Clinic. “This device allows for less radiation but more importantly we get to see our X-rays instantly on the computer screen, and those files will last forever, so they’re not lost over time. It’s an awesome technology and the first step into digital dentistry.”
Beyond the benefit of being able to view X-rays on a screen instantly, advanced sensor technology has been able to reduce dosage to patients. Redesigns to the sensor head have also made it smaller and more comfortable for patients.
As the technology evolved, it became the first digital intraoral system to equal or exceed dental film resolution (20 lp/mm true resolution) and was eventually adapted for extraoral imaging systems.
Today, the Carestream Dental RVG sensor is a thin, lightweight, and durable device that’s used for everything from a standard check-up to confirming a crown has been seated correctly.
“Carestream Dental’s isn’t just an innovator, it’s the inventor of industry-changing technology,” said David Roudergues, product line manager for intraoral imaging at Carestream Dental. “That engineering spirit that started 40 years ago—seeing a need in the industry and inventing a dental-specific solution where none existed—continues to this day. We are constantly driving innovation forward, from the small RVG 6200 sensor to our biggest extraoral imaging system, the CS 9600, to new technologies currently in production.”
