X-Ray Sensors Built for Comfort and Compatibility

Dental Products Report, Dental Products Report September 2021, Volume 55, Issue 9

The Clio Prime and Clio Pedo offer high-quality images and durability.

At his Washington, Pennsylvania practice, Barry Bartusiak, DMD, sought an x-ray solution to provide high-quality images and comfort for his patients. He found it in the Clio Prime and Clio Pedo x-ray sensors from SOTA Imaging.

“I believe a comfortable patient is a patient who wants to come back to see us,” Dr Bartusiak says. “Anything that can bring that patient back without hesitation, without any reason to feel that ‘ouch,’ is something that really resonates with me.”

The Clio Prime and Clio Pedo feature a signature ComfyCorner design that eliminates sharp edges and angles. According to Dustin Johnson, SOTA’s director of engineering, the unique size of the sensors sets the Clio Prime and Clio Pedo apart.

“The size of the Clio Prime sensor is slightly smaller than a typical size 2, but it’s still capable of finding the apex of the root when you’re doing vertical bitewings, for example,” Johnson says. “With the Clio Pedo, we wanted something to fit in that happy medium, right in between those things that would fit for all pediatric age ranges. That’s the goal with the sizing.”

Dr Bartusiak was searching for an x-ray sensor with high-quality digital images that he could use to show patients what they need.

“That makes it easier for me to diagnose, easier for me to point out to the person in the chair [and say,] ‘Look, you can see this as well as I can from across the room [that] you have a cavity or a broken tooth,’ and seeing is believing,” Dr Bartusiak says. “A confused patient doesn’t make a decision. It’s a very clear image, so we don’t have those issues as much.”

Part of what bolsters this image quality is Clio Prime and Clio Pedo’s EveryShot X-Ray Capture technology. Underexposure or overexposure can be possible due to poor adjustment, low output, or any other number of technology errors, but the EveryShot technology offers consistent diagnostic digital images.

“The ability for our sensor to, regardless of the amount of exposure, provide you a diagnostic image is something that others on the market can’t say,” Johnson says. “There is a broader range of exposure levels, reducing the chance of underexposure or overexposure and giving the practitioner consistent diagnostic images.”

The sensor is compatible with most imaging software to provide a seamless transition into a practice. When a practice purchases the sensor, a support team will install the system as well as integrate it with the practice’s existing software.

“They’re with us throughout the day whenever we need them. The people are very easy to work with, which is the most important thing,” Dr Bartusiak says. “The learning curve is not steep in terms of adaptability into your practice.”

Comfort and durability may not always sound synonymous, but according to Johnson, they can be with the Clio Prime and Clio Pedo.

“In the development of this sensor, it went through a whole battery of tests. We have found that relative to other sensors on the market, we stand up well and above what we are seeing in our competition in durability,” Johnson says. “That’s everything from the special polyetherimide plastics that we use in the capsule, down to the Kevlar-reinforced cable woven around the sensitive wires inside.”

Dr Bartusiak is pleased with the enhanced durability as well. He has received positive patient feedback.

“Doctors want the best thing for their buck, and although we haven’t had the product for years and years, we’ve always had issues with the other sensors over the course of time,” Dr Bartusiak says. “There’s more value here, and that certainly goes a long way.”