Nomad handheld x-ray unit launched

Inline Systems, exclusive Australian agents for the Nomad portable battery-operated handheld x-ray unit, has officially launched the product at the American Club in Sydney. The evening was presided over by the Consol General of the United States, Mr Stephen T. Smith, who introduced Dr Clark Turner, the inventor of the device and managing director of its US manufacturer, Aribex.

Dr Turner, who has a PhD in chemistry, came up with the idea of the Nomad with his local dentist utilising technology he had developed while working on the battery-operated x-ray systems on the Mars Rover and for use in satellites. He also explained the innovative shielding system developed using a proprietary silicon rubber process to ensure the operator is not exposed to any radiation while holding the device.

Based in Utah, the Nomad began development in 2003 with the first prototypes produced in October 2004. Field-testing in Mexico was conducted in December 2004 and then in January 2005, the Asian Tsunami presented an "ideal" opportunity to put the Nomad to the test.

"It was the most horrific of circumstances and the most trying of conditions you could ever imagine," said Steve Kinney, Aribex's Asia Regional Manager based in Bangkok. "When the Tsunami struck, we realised that even though we only had prototypes available, the Nomad could make a huge difference."

Mr Kinney detailed how initially sceptical the forensic odontologists, including Australia's own Professor Chris Griffiths, were about the effectiveness, efficacy and safety of the device. However, it soon proved to be a Godsend in light of the massive task victim identification became and Aribex subsequently donated four prototypes to the victim identification teams.

Professor Griffiths, who was present on the night, gave a brief testimonial to the units' performance and reliability, explaining that they continued to perform time and again for hours on end with only sporadic recharging required. "The Nomad allowed the victim identification teams to work under very difficult circumstances and to move around very quickly," he said. "Having said that, we were all very conscious of our own safety and we went to great lengths to ensure the Nomad was safe for us to use." Of approximately 2,700 victim identifications, over 1,200 were done solely on dental matching and the Nomad contributed towards this number.

In the US, the Nomad received FDA clearance in July 2005 and distribution commended in August 2005. To date, some 800 units have been sold worldwide.

Dr Turner detailed the many uses of the Nomad for clinical dentistry particularly in endo, oral surgery and implants; forensics; and in military, hospitals, remote areas, nursing homes, homeless shelters and other humanitarian projects.

Inline Systems has so far gained approval for unrestricted handheld operation on live humans for the Nomad in Queensland, Victoria, the Northern Territory and New Zealand. All other Australian states have approved the live human, handheld use of the Nomad in principle but currently require a separate application from each user to justify their need for handheld use. For dentists working in paediatrics, domiciliary dentistry, GA dentistry, with special needs patients or many other areas, this application will be a simple formality. These approvals pave the way for the device to be used in a broad range of situations where access to, or the use of traditional dental x-ray equipment is impractical.

"The Nomad is designed to be a handheld unit and our intention from the outset has been for it to be used on live patients and not just limited to forensics or veterinary applications," said Mike Harman, Managing Director of Inline Systems.

"To gain approval for handheld use on live patients however, we had the unit extensively tested to ensure the safety of both the operator and the patient and to verify that the image quality produced by the Nomad was diagnostically equivalent, if not better than a standard wall mounted unit. We've worked closely with all the necessary state and federal bodies to fully satisfy their requirements that the device is safe and compliant."