Digital Intra Oral X-Ray Sensors

-Good Image Quality – Part 1
-Reliability – Part 2
-Price – Part 3
-Functionality – Part 4

Reviewed Sensors:
-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)
-Dixi 3-Planmeca
-Dexis Platinum-Dexis
-CDR Elite-Schick
-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Part 2: Reliability

Reliability seems like a very difficult item to judge. Digital X-Ray companies do not fall under the same systems that govern auto parts or other industrial items where the failure rate is known to a very good accuracy. After much research I found no way to actually determine how often a sensor needs repair or any statistics offered by the manufacturer.

Furthermore, even if we had good statistical data on number of failures vs number of sensors in the market that in and of itself would not necessarily be a measure of the sensors inherent reliability, but would be impacted by the use of the sensor itself by the client. There are many ways a sensors life can be shortened by the owner of the sensor. Using a sensor without a holder will often result in the sensor being bitten or the cable being bitten, which is a very fragile part of the sensor. Secondly, use of the sensor without a proper barrier shield will lead to excessive moisture getting inside the sensor housing and potentially corroding or shorting out its internal components not to mention the corrosive nature of saliva itself to break down the plastic that the sensor is made out of.

The most common information provided to doctors about most dental products is hearsay or through anecdotal evidence. Since, all dentists are part scientist by the very nature of their profession they know that there are no facts in hearsay and that it is a very unreliable method for determining even a version of the truth. As for anecdotal evidence it can be very beneficial if there is enough anecdotal evidence provided in a manner where the source can be distinguished that you can map a trend.

The problem with anecdotal evidence in a small industry, such as dental, is that there is never enough of it to properly map trends and to overcome the idea that people are far more likely to take the time to relay information about a product that dissatisfies them then to relay information about a good experience and even less likely to say something about an experience that was just mediocre or okay. This can greatly skew the evidence. Also, it is often found that products which are seen as luxury or superior to other products and that caused the user to pay a higher cost are less likely to elicit the owner to speak poorly of the product. For example Lamborghini owners are rarely heard complaining of how often they suffer break downs or problems with their vehicles because they paid so much for them that saying anything negative about them can feel as if they are making themselves appear ignorant in their purchasing decisions. This same rule applies to very popular items where users feel like the problems are either a rarity that they had the misfortune of suffering or even that the user themselves were at fault. This can often happen when making large purchasing decisions because the buyer feels deeply invested in their decision to purchase.

These ideas all lead me down a road of confusion as to how I was going to pursue measuring the reliability of these products. I will lay out my methods here and hope that I can come to some method of giving useful information on the sensors.

With anecdotal evidence, hearsay, and statistical analysis unavailable I pursued the topic in this manner.

First, I assume that the warranty of a product and the cost and coverage of that warranty displays the manufacturers belief in the reliability of their product. If the warranty is very short or if their is only a warranty when associated to a high price then I will use that information to draw conclusions as to the manufacturers believe in their own product.

Secondly, there is very little actual technical data available for sensors such as wiring diagrams and component disclosure, but their are things that we can see and draw conclusions from the actual physical makeup of the sensor

Finally, there is my unfiltered opinion. Probably the least valuable of the three, but I felt like I needed three things to go by and I couldn’t think of a third.

I will go through the sensors in no particular order.

Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)

Warranty-
The Eva Sensor comes with a 2 Year Parts and Manufacturer Service agreement.

They advertise an “Eva Guard” protection plan with no questions asked, but I can not find any listed pricing for this service. So I am going to give the warranty life of the product at 2 years. If they assumed on average that the sensor would last longer in comparison with its price I assume they would have offered a longer warranty.

Physical Inspection -
The casing is plastic as are all sensors now which I believe to be the best method for a sensor casing. Any type of metal casing would be very difficult to bond together, but this is a moot point seeing as how all sensors now have plastic casings.

The sensor uses an inexpensive interface to attach to the computer. The sensor on one end has a half egg like light plastic piece that plugs into its half egg like interface that you would need to have in each room. This interface is powered by the usb bus and plugs in through a usb 1.1 or usb 2.0 port on your computer. The connectors at the interface are keyed so as not to be able to be plugged in incorrectly and are very durable. The interface also provides a location to hang the sensor when not in use. The interfaces although adding an extra cost are sold for roughly 300$ last time I saw a quote, making them a fairly inexpensive edition.

The sensor cable is attached with some strain relief at both the sensor and the interface, but the cable, sensor and interface are all one piece. Damaging any of the three will result in a fairly expensive repair if not a need for a replacement.

The sensor seems to be well constructed, the cabling between the interface box and the sensor is reinforced at both ends and appears to be sturdy. The connector at the interface is not a standard connector so their is no technical data to fall back on, but based on its looks I would say that it will most likely not fail, but any connector that open will be more likely to suffer some type of corrosion do to its increased surface area.

SuniRay – Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)

Warranty-
2 Year Standard Manufacturers Warranty
45$ temporary sensor provided during warranty work if requested
At the time of purchase you can spend an additional $1,995 to extend the warranty an additional 3 years to a 5 year warranty.

Given that the suggested retail value of the sensor is $6,995 I assume that they expect roughly 1/3 of sensors to fail between year 2 and year 5. This would recoup that loss by charging $1,995 to warranty these units for that time period.

Physical Inspection-
The Suni Ray has a roughly 3 foot long cable between the sensor and the sensor interface. The sensor interface being small and light. The sensor interface plugs in through a 16 foot USB A to Mini B Cable. The sensor is powered across the usb bus and must be plugged into a USB 2.0 port that provides a steady 500ma. The sensor, when sold, is recommended to have one of these suni provided usb cables for each room and to only move the sensor around. This means that the port you are plugging in and unplugging is mini B vs B or A. Mini B has an expected disconnect life of 10,000 disconnects vs A plugging into B which has an expected live of 1,000 disconnects. This should extend the life of the sensor when moving from computer to computer.

The cable is properly reinforced at both ends, but is one solid cable, meaning that damage to the cable, sensor or interface will result in the need for warranty repair or replacement.

I believe the Suni to have an expected life of 2 years at $6,996 a sensor, but viewed as an $8,995 priced sensor it has a 5 year life expectancy.

Dixi 3-Planmeca

Warranty –
The planmeca sensor comes with some type of warranty but after reading many user manuals and product brochures I found that they offer what they call a 5 year warranty program, but based on it being called a warranty program I assume their is a fee involved or that the warranty covers less of the sensor as time goes by.

Physical Inspection –
The sensor cable is strengthened with Kevlar, and inside the cable there are only two wires.
The sensor can be fully immersed in disinfectant for effective infection control and prevention.
The sensor interface can be used with a network cable and does not need to be tethered to the usb port on a computer.

I can not see the full details of the sensor warranty and thus find it difficult to make a full determination on this sensor, but I can say that it appears  that planmeca has made huge efforts to promote the durability of this sensor. It also uses what is called induction to be the connection between the sensor and its interface. This is essentially a connector with no connector. Its magnetic.

Based on all of this the sensor is likely to be very reliable given that they do not suffer any data transmission problems coming from the use of induction as their primary sensor connection. This technology is by no means new, but has only recently been put into production for digital xray technology. Although the theory would say that this connection is reliable their is no history in digital xray technology to prove out this idea.

Dexis Platinum Sensor-Dexis

Warranty - (Contact Your Sales Rep)
Well I personally know what their warranty is; they don’t have one. Dexis requires you to pay roughly $2,000 a year to be a part of their sensors support plan. This means they must not expect their sensors to last at all.

You can talk to several companies that manufactur CCD and CMOS chips and find out that you could have your very own sensor with drivers manufactured by them for about $1,800 (if you have enough cash to buy 600 sensors-Which maybe 300 dentists should just get together and have their own sensor made for them. Then resell it to other dentists as well for about $4,000 grand a sensor and make a nice profit.)

The warranty information was so terrible I moved on to physical makeup.

Physical Inspection –
Physically the sensor is similar in design to the XDR. Plastic composite sensor casing, single data cord coming directly from the sensor to a USB A plug. The sensor is powered across the USB bus and seems to have only one primary source of failure. The USB A plug. This connector is rated for 1,500 connections.  (USB life cycle resource)

If you move this sensor 8 times a day from room to room as you have patients who need xrays then your sensor connector will last for 187 work days. I see this as a huge problem. There is a simple solution which would be to use a very short A to A extender that you plug into your sensor once and use it to unplug and replug into your usb powered hub. Then replace the extension when it fails. This is my idea though and many Dexis sensors are being sold and the doctors are not hearing anything about needed to protect the connector.

My opinion on this is obvious. The Dexis sensor is the most expensive sensor on the market, with the most expensive warranty, and I have yet to figure out why people like them. Ive’ seen the image quality and it is good, but it is very similar to sensors you can purchase at nearly half the price.

CDR Elite-Schick
Warranty -
Schick offers a 2 year limited warranty. They then offer the PTC warranty Service Club where you pay $864 a year to get what appears to just be discounted pricing on their sensors.

CDR Elite Size 2 Sensor – 3’ $2,875 n/a
CDR Elite Size 2 Sensor – 6’ $2,875
CDR Elite Size 2 Sensor – 9’ $2,875 n/a
CDR Elite Size 1 Sensor – 3’ $2,625 n/a
CDR Elite Size 1 Sensor – 6’ $2,625 $7,075
CDR Elite Size 1 Sensor – 9’ $2,625 n/a
CDR Elite Size 0 Sensor – 3’$1,835 n/a
CDR Elite Size 0 Sensor – 6’ $1,835 $4,735
CDR Elite Size 0 Sensor – 9’  $1,835 n/a
CDR Elite Single Cable Kit – 3’ $749 n/a
CDR Elite Single Cable Kit – 6’ $749 n/a
CDR Elite Single Cable Kit – 9’ $749 n/a
CDR Elite Remote B2270000R $1,478

So it looks like even after taking a 860$ a year from you you would end up paying close to 3 grand to replace your sensor.It looks like your service club fees pay the profit and they have you buy the sensor at cost plus. The standard warranty of 2 years is pretty good so you can expect 2 years of life out these sensors.

Physical Inspection –
The CDR Elite is much like all of the other sensors on the market. Plastic casing, wire going to specialized interface, interface connecting to computer through USB connection.

There is one specialization of the schick, the cable going to the sensor is removable and if it is damaged can be replaced. The replacement cost is by no means free though. If you are willing to pay the 72$ a month to be a part of the customer care plan a replacement cable will only run you $749 I think this is an absurd price, but it is less than a $9,000 new sensor from schick or a $2,800 replacement sensor if you carry the schick support plan.

The Molex connector used to attach the sensor to the interface looks reliable and because you are not moving the interfaces themselves you are not likely to suffer any usb connection problems. Based on the warranty and estimated replacement costs schick looks like it is anticipating the same costs and possible failure rates on their sensors as the other manufacturers. I anticipate the life to be 2 to 5 years. Although sensor interfaces are expensive and I do not know how long they will last and the cost of replacement sensor interfaces are close to $1,500 with the service plan. It seems like there could be a lot of potential additional costs if you have warranty problems, but in my experience schick sensors are reliable pieces of equipment but can be fairly expensive.

Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Warranty Information - I have no idea

Physical Inspection -
The RVG is a direct to USB sensor. It appears to have no default manufacturers warranty that I can find in any of the product information sheets. The sensor has a connected cable and inline interface with similar possible issues as the Dexis Platinum when it comes to needing to plug the sensor directly into a USB port.

If anyone has more information on this sensor I apologize but I am grossly lacking information. I would love to know more from an actual kodak customer who has experience with the pricing of both the sensor and warranty pricing.

Recap
If you are considering the reliability of a sensor you can assume that they are all going to have similar life spans except for possibly the Planmeca unit that has a casing that is so well constructed that it can be fully submerged in water. As a doctor I would look at the overall cost of the initial sensors and interfaces and imagine that given a possible 15% difference in life expectancy they all are going to have fairly similar lifetimes. So look at your costs over five years and anticipated costs of replacement sensors and if there is more than a 15% price difference from one to the other and the image quality is similar I would utilize the less expensive sensor option.

Digital Intra Oral X-Ray Sensors

-Good Image Quality – Part 1
-Reliability – Part 2
-Price – Part 3
-Functionality – Part 4

Part 3 is a very simple premise. It is an attempt to give doctors an opportunity to see digital X-Ray sensor pricing before they talk to sales reps from all of these companies.

Reviewed Sensors:
-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)
-Dixi 3-Planmeca
-Dexis Platinum-Dexis
-CDR Elite-Schick
-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Part 3: Price

This is an easy blog to do except that it is going to require an incredible amount of Anecdotal data which is my least favorite kind of data. Sadly in this case it is the only data I am legally allowed to use. It seems that salesmen do not appreciate you taking sales sheets at a dental show and then listing all of the show prices on a website. So I am going to use figures that are rounded and if anyone has any more current corrections that are coming from actually seeing the numbers on an invoice or an estimate please comment on my blog and I’ll make the corrections. None of this data has come from any of my sales experience or personal price knowledge. All of this data has come from doctors that have been willing to show me estimates or invoices they were given for sensor pricing. I would never use actual sales data provided to me while I was working for a company.(It just wouldn’t be right and I am pretty sure it might be illegal)

-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)

$15,500- 2 Sensors, 2 Interfaces and AFP Imaging’s Image Software

0$ -3 Year Warranty
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)
$15,595  Sensors With Inline Interfaces Comes with Profsuni and one License Additional licenses are 250$ per computer you want to be able to take or view Xrays from

0$-2 Year Warranty

-Dixi 3-Planmeca

At this point the only information I have is a single sensor price quote of $9500

Dexis Platinum-Dexis
I have seen Dexis sold at different price ranges all from about $11,000 to $14,000 new

The software I have seen a variety of pricing but it looks like it runs from $8,000 to $11,0000

The warranty on the sensor is a per year warranty that is about $1,800 a sensor

-CDR Elite-Schick

Sensors run about $9,000 and interface boxes run at about $1,900 The warranty package is actually like a support package. It is a 160 a month or so per sensor and it doesn’t get you a free replacement sensor necessarily. From reading the document it actually provides you with just cheaper prices on replacement sensors but a replacement would still run you about $3,000. They are a good company though so I assume manufacturers defects would be covered and replaced at no charge.
-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Pricing from $8,000 to $9,000 a sensor, this sensor can be integrated into Xrayvision if you do no want Kodak Image

There are some large price differences here but I choose not to make any comments on them. If you read part 1 and part 2 you’ll see that you will not take an image quality hit going with the less expensive options and in some cases the warranties are much better in the less expensive options. I have personally called about warranty service on all of these products and have had no problems getting service if the product is covered under its warranty. Though in some cases you will pay substantially more for warranties on some sensors as I have listed above.

If you have any questions or comments please either comment on the post or visit http://www.sodiumsystems.com/dental-technology-integrators-contact-us/

Digital Intra Oral X-Ray Sensors

-Good Image Quality – Part 1
-Reliability – Part 2
-Price – Part 3
-Functionality – Part 4

Part 4 Functionality

Reviewed Sensors:
-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)
-Dixi 3-Planmeca
-Dexis Platinum-Dexis
-CDR Elite-Schick
-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Part 4: Functionality

In this article I wish to discuss how a sensor can be connected into your computer systems, what software the sensors will work with and any particular data that might be of interest as far as the sensors use.
-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)

This sensor connects to an inexpensive and durable interface that can be mounted on the wall or under a counter. The interface connects to your computer through USB. The interface in this design is not intended to be moved from room to room and because of this the interface is sold rather inexpensively at around $300. The interface itself can be 16 feet from the computer because of the limitations of USB. I have not had good luck with attaching this interface through a powered extension. To be sure of good reliability I would advise to limit yourself to mounting the interface within the 16ft limitation. The sensor then plugs into the interface and give you roughly 6 feet of cable to work with. If your room has pass through xray tube heads I would advice running the usb cable through the wall or floor into your pass through so that when you plug in the sensor, the sensor and sensor cable follow the same path as the xray tube arm. This will prevent you from tripping over the cable and damaging your sensor during use. If 16 feet will not get you to the pass through you may need to mount the unit at your 12 o’clock. If you do not have a pass through than try to route your usb cable over to the xray tube wall mount and locate your interface there. The idea is that if you are using the sensor, the tube head is pulled out and the arm of the tube head keeps you from walking across where your sensor cable is.

The sensor is of similar size to a Suni Ray or Schick sensor and has rounded corners. I would expect this sensor to be as comfortable as most sensors on the market.

Eva sensors come with their own included imaging software that is okay to use or if you would like they also work great in Xray Vision. I prefer Xray Vision in most cases, because of its ability to work with lots of different sensors, panos and phosphor plate systems.
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)

The Suni Ray is a direct in line USB sensor similar to the Kodak sensor. The sensor is attached to its own in line interface and has about 3 feet of cable here. The small interface about the size of a tin of mints has a mini USB female connection and comes with a 16 foot usb cable to plug into the interface. This sensor design is intended to be plugged into a powered hub located near your computer. In most of my installs I suggest having enough USB cables to have one plugged in in every room and simply move the sensor with its short cable and interface around. This is much easier than using the long 16 foot usb cable and moving it from room to room.

The sensor has rounded corners and a composite body. I have found the sensor to be comfortable to use and position.

Suni Ray sensors work in Prof Suni and Xray Vision. This is kind of redundant because Prof Suni is an OEM release of Xray Vision

-Planmeca ProSensor

The Planmeca sensor has an interface that the actual sensor plugs into. The interface has many different ways to be connected to the computer including USB and a network interface. The network interface is an excellent choice because you can place your interface any distance from the computer you choose. If you used the correct wireless device in conjunction with the interface and you know a computer guy who can set it up you wouldn’t even need to run a cable from your network to the interface.

The sensor itself is waterproof and of similar size to the other sensors in this review except for the Dexis which is smaller.

Planmeca sensors work in their own Dimaxis software and can also be utilized in Xray Vision

PLANMECA CORRECTIONS

“

Its called the Planmeca ProSensor…. The picture you use even shows that. Dixi was replaced by it.

The warranty program is 10 years. 3 years 100% 3 years 50% 4 years 40% no fees. We have a 24 hour replacement after a dealer tech has confirmed the problem with our support (or even the office with them on the phone depending on the issue)

We are integrated directly into Romexis (our SW that replaced Dimaxis awhile ago for 2D and 3D in one) Eaglesoft, MacPractice, Dolphin, and others.

The images are on a few of our websites. Also I have posted images on Dentaltown in the past comparing it to SUNI sensors in MacPractice. From the same office, same computer, tubehead, anatomy, etc. If you would like some images let me know.

The pricing is adjustable. We have trade-ins for current digital users, we bundle them with Pans, we bundle them with Intra X-Rays, we offer buy 2 get one… etc. Also Pricing is determined by the dealer, and we do have a few distribution partners therefore we cannot post pricing.”

-Anonymous

-Dexis Platinum-Dexis

The new Dexis Platinum has no interface. It has a cable that comes directly out of the sensor and ends in a standard USB B Connection that can be plugged into the computer USB ports. The downside of this is that the connector is only good for about 1000 disconnects meaning after about 1000 patients you will probably start having problems with the sensor plug if you are unplugging it and moving it after each patient. The cable is pretty long and most likely would need to be plugged in wherever your computer is and draped across the floor to your patient when in use.

Dexis sensors only work in Dexis Image from what I have been told although I know that drivers were made for it to work in Xrayvision for when the sensor is used in conjunction with the US military.

-CDR Elite-Schick

Schick Sensor Plug For Interface

This sensor plugs in through its own interface that has another cable that comes out of it and plugs in through USB to the computer. As far as placement of the sensor you will probably want to place the interface at the computer location because you wouldn’t want to damage the cable going to the interface by running it through your walls. The interfaces for these schick sensors are close to $2K a piece so be careful with them.

Schick sensors work in Dentrix Image through a module you download, through eaglesoft image and with xray vision. I have only used the sensor in eaglesoft and xray vision. If you use eaglesoft image you may want to go into the settings and change the acquisition timer. By default I believe it is set to less than a minute so if you hit the acquire button before positioning the sensor the acquisition may time out before you take the xray.

-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Kodak RVG 6100 Sensor

Kodak sensors are very similar to the Suni Ray as to how they plug in. They have an interface that is very small that is attached directly to the sensor through a cable. Then you use a USB cable to plug into the interface. As far as functionality the Kodak works similar to the Suni Ray.

Kodak sensors work in Kodak Image and in Xray Vision. Kodak only recently released the drivers to interface with Xray Vision so if you have Kodak Image and don’t like it feel free to buy Xray Vision and switch over.

If you have any questions or comments please either comment on the post or visit http://www.sodiumsystems.com/dental-technology-integrators-contact-us/

We have been having a lot of my clients come to me with the issue of getting rid of their old working equipment when they make the move to digital.

There are a whole bunch of options and few of them work well.

Craigslist, Ebay, Hoping and Praying and donating.

I know of lots of offices that have tried all four options. The problem in most cases is the dentist does not have time to sit around answering the constant craigslist and ebay questions that come through every day.

Questions like:

“Will you guarantee it working when I get in my office?”

“Will this unit work with XYZ other unit or software?”

“Can I pick up the unit at your office?”

The problem with it is that you have to keep up on these questions or you will never sell the item because everyone has a question even good purchasers. Also, no one wants someone showing up at your practice after the sale to complain this or that doesn’t work. Charities are also often difficult to donate to because they will often need  you to bring the equipment to them which can be very inconvenient for the doctor, because it means he has to pay to get rid of the equipment.

I don’t know how many other companies do this, but we have started offering the service of helping dentists resell their equipment. We certify the equipment in a working state and handle the sale through our office so that all of the question and possible complaints come to us and don’t show up at the dental offices door. We think the fairest way to do this is to handle the whole sale and take a percentage of the sale. We then handle all the packing and shipping of the items. In some cases we are able to get much more value for the equipment by offering installation services with the sale.

We started doing this because far too many usable pieces of equipment were just getting scrapped. For dentists that need parts to repair their existing equipment or are just in a location where the practice can’t support new equipment purchases these sales can save a practice.

We feel this can be the best solution to recycling your old equipment. Taking a perfectly good film pano and turning it back into a lump of steel is no way to get the value back out of your old equipment.

We also provide this service for digital X-Ray units, Intra Oral Camera Units, film processors and other high tech devices.

Call 800-821-8962 Ext 2 and ask for refurbished equipment and they can take care of you.

Digital Intra Oral X-Ray Sensors

-Good Image Quality – Part 1
-Reliability – Part 2
-Price – Part 3
-Functionality – Part 4

Reviewed Sensors:
-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)
-Dixi 3-Planmeca
-Dexis Platinum-Dexis
-CDR Elite-Schick
-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Part 2: Reliability

Reliability seems like a very difficult item to judge. Digital X-Ray companies do not fall under the same systems that govern auto parts or other industrial items where the failure rate is known to a very good accuracy. After much research I found no way to actually determine how often a sensor needs repair or any statistics offered by the manufacturer.

Furthermore, even if we had good statistical data on number of failures vs number of sensors in the market that in and of itself would not necessarily be a measure of the sensors inherent reliability, but would be impacted by the use of the sensor itself by the client. There are many ways a sensors life can be shortened by the owner of the sensor. Using a sensor without a holder will often result in the sensor being bitten or the cable being bitten, which is a very fragile part of the sensor. Secondly, use of the sensor without a proper barrier shield will lead to excessive moisture getting inside the sensor housing and potentially corroding or shorting out its internal components not to mention the corrosive nature of saliva itself to break down the plastic that the sensor is made out of.

The most common information provided to doctors about most dental products is hearsay or through anecdotal evidence. Since, all dentists are part scientist by the very nature of their profession they know that there are no facts in hearsay and that it is a very unreliable method for determining even a version of the truth. As for anecdotal evidence it can be very beneficial if there is enough anecdotal evidence provided in a manner where the source can be distinguished that you can map a trend.

The problem with anecdotal evidence in a small industry, such as dental, is that there is never enough of it to properly map trends and to overcome the idea that people are far more likely to take the time to relay information about a product that dissatisfies them then to relay information about a good experience and even less likely to say something about an experience that was just mediocre or okay. This can greatly skew the evidence. Also, it is often found that products which are seen as luxury or superior to other products and that caused the user to pay a higher cost are less likely to elicit the owner to speak poorly of the product. For example Lamborghini owners are rarely heard complaining of how often they suffer break downs or problems with their vehicles because they paid so much for them that saying anything negative about them can feel as if they are making themselves appear ignorant in their purchasing decisions. This same rule applies to very popular items where users feel like the problems are either a rarity that they had the misfortune of suffering or even that the user themselves were at fault. This can often happen when making large purchasing decisions because the buyer feels deeply invested in their decision to purchase.

These ideas all lead me down a road of confusion as to how I was going to pursue measuring the reliability of these products. I will lay out my methods here and hope that I can come to some method of giving useful information on the sensors.

With anecdotal evidence, hearsay, and statistical analysis unavailable I pursued the topic in this manner.

First, I assume that the warranty of a product and the cost and coverage of that warranty displays the manufacturers belief in the reliability of their product. If the warranty is very short or if their is only a warranty when associated to a high price then I will use that information to draw conclusions as to the manufacturers believe in their own product.

Secondly, there is very little actual technical data available for sensors such as wiring diagrams and component disclosure, but their are things that we can see and draw conclusions from the actual physical makeup of the sensor

Finally, there is my unfiltered opinion. Probably the least valuable of the three, but I felt like I needed three things to go by and I couldn’t think of a third.

I will go through the sensors in no particular order.

Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)

Warranty-
The Eva Sensor comes with a 2 Year Parts and Manufacturer Service agreement.

They advertise an “Eva Guard” protection plan with no questions asked, but I can not find any listed pricing for this service. So I am going to give the warranty life of the product at 2 years. If they assumed on average that the sensor would last longer in comparison with its price I assume they would have offered a longer warranty.

Physical Inspection -
The casing is plastic as are all sensors now which I believe to be the best method for a sensor casing. Any type of metal casing would be very difficult to bond together, but this is a moot point seeing as how all sensors now have plastic casings.

The sensor uses an inexpensive interface to attach to the computer. The sensor on one end has a half egg like light plastic piece that plugs into its half egg like interface that you would need to have in each room. This interface is powered by the usb bus and plugs in through a usb 1.1 or usb 2.0 port on your computer. The connectors at the interface are keyed so as not to be able to be plugged in incorrectly and are very durable. The interface also provides a location to hang the sensor when not in use. The interfaces although adding an extra cost are sold for roughly 300$ last time I saw a quote, making them a fairly inexpensive edition.

The sensor cable is attached with some strain relief at both the sensor and the interface, but the cable, sensor and interface are all one piece. Damaging any of the three will result in a fairly expensive repair if not a need for a replacement.

The sensor seems to be well constructed, the cabling between the interface box and the sensor is reinforced at both ends and appears to be sturdy. The connector at the interface is not a standard connector so their is no technical data to fall back on, but based on its looks I would say that it will most likely not fail, but any connector that open will be more likely to suffer some type of corrosion do to its increased surface area.

SuniRay – Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)

Warranty-
2 Year Standard Manufacturers Warranty
45$ temporary sensor provided during warranty work if requested
At the time of purchase you can spend an additional $1,995 to extend the warranty an additional 3 years to a 5 year warranty.

Given that the suggested retail value of the sensor is $6,995 I assume that they expect roughly 1/3 of sensors to fail between year 2 and year 5. This would recoup that loss by charging $1,995 to warranty these units for that time period.

Physical Inspection-
The Suni Ray has a roughly 3 foot long cable between the sensor and the sensor interface. The sensor interface being small and light. The sensor interface plugs in through a 16 foot USB A to Mini B Cable. The sensor is powered across the usb bus and must be plugged into a USB 2.0 port that provides a steady 500ma. The sensor, when sold, is recommended to have one of these suni provided usb cables for each room and to only move the sensor around. This means that the port you are plugging in and unplugging is mini B vs B or A. Mini B has an expected disconnect life of 10,000 disconnects vs A plugging into B which has an expected live of 1,000 disconnects. This should extend the life of the sensor when moving from computer to computer.

The cable is properly reinforced at both ends, but is one solid cable, meaning that damage to the cable, sensor or interface will result in the need for warranty repair or replacement.

I believe the Suni to have an expected life of 2 years at $6,996 a sensor, but viewed as an $8,995 priced sensor it has a 5 year life expectancy.

Dixi 3-Planmeca

Warranty –
The planmeca sensor comes with some type of warranty but after reading many user manuals and product brochures I found that they offer what they call a 5 year warranty program, but based on it being called a warranty program I assume their is a fee involved or that the warranty covers less of the sensor as time goes by.

Physical Inspection –
The sensor cable is strengthened with Kevlar, and inside the cable there are only two wires.
The sensor can be fully immersed in disinfectant for effective infection control and prevention.
The sensor interface can be used with a network cable and does not need to be tethered to the usb port on a computer.

I can not see the full details of the sensor warranty and thus find it difficult to make a full determination on this sensor, but I can say that it appears  that planmeca has made huge efforts to promote the durability of this sensor. It also uses what is called induction to be the connection between the sensor and its interface. This is essentially a connector with no connector. Its magnetic.

Based on all of this the sensor is likely to be very reliable given that they do not suffer any data transmission problems coming from the use of induction as their primary sensor connection. This technology is by no means new, but has only recently been put into production for digital xray technology. Although the theory would say that this connection is reliable their is no history in digital xray technology to prove out this idea.

Dexis Platinum Sensor-Dexis

Warranty - (Contact Your Sales Rep)
Well I personally know what their warranty is; they don’t have one. Dexis requires you to pay roughly $2,000 a year to be a part of their sensors support plan. This means they must not expect their sensors to last at all.

You can talk to several companies that manufactur CCD and CMOS chips and find out that you could have your very own sensor with drivers manufactured by them for about $1,800 (if you have enough cash to buy 600 sensors-Which maybe 300 dentists should just get together and have their own sensor made for them. Then resell it to other dentists as well for about $4,000 grand a sensor and make a nice profit.)

The warranty information was so terrible I moved on to physical makeup.

Physical Inspection –
Physically the sensor is similar in design to the XDR. Plastic composite sensor casing, single data cord coming directly from the sensor to a USB A plug. The sensor is powered across the USB bus and seems to have only one primary source of failure. The USB A plug. This connector is rated for 1,500 connections.  (USB life cycle resource)

If you move this sensor 8 times a day from room to room as you have patients who need xrays then your sensor connector will last for 187 work days. I see this as a huge problem. There is a simple solution which would be to use a very short A to A extender that you plug into your sensor once and use it to unplug and replug into your usb powered hub. Then replace the extension when it fails. This is my idea though and many Dexis sensors are being sold and the doctors are not hearing anything about needed to protect the connector.

My opinion on this is obvious. The Dexis sensor is the most expensive sensor on the market, with the most expensive warranty, and I have yet to figure out why people like them. Ive’ seen the image quality and it is good, but it is very similar to sensors you can purchase at nearly half the price.

CDR Elite-Schick
Warranty -
Schick offers a 2 year limited warranty. They then offer the PTC warranty Service Club where you pay $864 a year to get what appears to just be discounted pricing on their sensors.

CDR Elite Size 2 Sensor – 3’ $2,875 n/a
CDR Elite Size 2 Sensor – 6’ $2,875
CDR Elite Size 2 Sensor – 9’ $2,875 n/a
CDR Elite Size 1 Sensor – 3’ $2,625 n/a
CDR Elite Size 1 Sensor – 6’ $2,625 $7,075
CDR Elite Size 1 Sensor – 9’ $2,625 n/a
CDR Elite Size 0 Sensor – 3’$1,835 n/a
CDR Elite Size 0 Sensor – 6’ $1,835 $4,735
CDR Elite Size 0 Sensor – 9’  $1,835 n/a
CDR Elite Single Cable Kit – 3’ $749 n/a
CDR Elite Single Cable Kit – 6’ $749 n/a
CDR Elite Single Cable Kit – 9’ $749 n/a
CDR Elite Remote B2270000R $1,478

So it looks like even after taking a 860$ a year from you you would end up paying close to 3 grand to replace your sensor.It looks like your service club fees pay the profit and they have you buy the sensor at cost plus. The standard warranty of 2 years is pretty good so you can expect 2 years of life out these sensors.

Physical Inspection –
The CDR Elite is much like all of the other sensors on the market. Plastic casing, wire going to specialized interface, interface connecting to computer through USB connection.

There is one specialization of the schick, the cable going to the sensor is removable and if it is damaged can be replaced. The replacement cost is by no means free though. If you are willing to pay the 72$ a month to be a part of the customer care plan a replacement cable will only run you $749 I think this is an absurd price, but it is less than a $9,000 new sensor from schick or a $2,800 replacement sensor if you carry the schick support plan.

The Molex connector used to attach the sensor to the interface looks reliable and because you are not moving the interfaces themselves you are not likely to suffer any usb connection problems. Based on the warranty and estimated replacement costs schick looks like it is anticipating the same costs and possible failure rates on their sensors as the other manufacturers. I anticipate the life to be 2 to 5 years. Although sensor interfaces are expensive and I do not know how long they will last and the cost of replacement sensor interfaces are close to $1,500 with the service plan. It seems like there could be a lot of potential additional costs if you have warranty problems, but in my experience schick sensors are reliable pieces of equipment but can be fairly expensive.

Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Warranty Information - I have no idea

Physical Inspection -
The RVG is a direct to USB sensor. It appears to have no default manufacturers warranty that I can find in any of the product information sheets. The sensor has a connected cable and inline interface with similar possible issues as the Dexis Platinum when it comes to needing to plug the sensor directly into a USB port.

If anyone has more information on this sensor I apologize but I am grossly lacking information. I would love to know more from an actual kodak customer who has experience with the pricing of both the sensor and warranty pricing.

Recap
If you are considering the reliability of a sensor you can assume that they are all going to have similar life spans except for possibly the Planmeca unit that has a casing that is so well constructed that it can be fully submerged in water. As a doctor I would look at the overall cost of the initial sensors and interfaces and imagine that given a possible 15% difference in life expectancy they all are going to have fairly similar lifetimes. So look at your costs over five years and anticipated costs of replacement sensors and if there is more than a 15% price difference from one to the other and the image quality is similar I would utilize the less expensive sensor option.

Digital Intra Oral X-Ray Sensors

-Good Image Quality – Part 1
-Reliability – Part 2
-Price – Part 3
-Functionality – Part 4

Part 3 is a very simple premise. It is an attempt to give doctors an opportunity to see digital X-Ray sensor pricing before they talk to sales reps from all of these companies.

Reviewed Sensors:
-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)
-Dixi 3-Planmeca
-Dexis Platinum-Dexis
-CDR Elite-Schick
-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Part 3: Price

This is an easy blog to do except that it is going to require an incredible amount of Anecdotal data which is my least favorite kind of data. Sadly in this case it is the only data I am legally allowed to use. It seems that salesmen do not appreciate you taking sales sheets at a dental show and then listing all of the show prices on a website. So I am going to use figures that are rounded and if anyone has any more current corrections that are coming from actually seeing the numbers on an invoice or an estimate please comment on my blog and I’ll make the corrections. None of this data has come from any of my sales experience or personal price knowledge. All of this data has come from doctors that have been willing to show me estimates or invoices they were given for sensor pricing. I would never use actual sales data provided to me while I was working for a company.(It just wouldn’t be right and I am pretty sure it might be illegal)

-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)

$15,500- 2 Sensors, 2 Interfaces and AFP Imaging’s Image Software

0$ -3 Year Warranty
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)
$15,595  Sensors With Inline Interfaces Comes with Profsuni and one License Additional licenses are 250$ per computer you want to be able to take or view Xrays from

0$-2 Year Warranty

-Dixi 3-Planmeca

At this point the only information I have is a single sensor price quote of $9500

Dexis Platinum-Dexis
I have seen Dexis sold at different price ranges all from about $11,000 to $14,000 new

The software I have seen a variety of pricing but it looks like it runs from $8,000 to $11,0000

The warranty on the sensor is a per year warranty that is about $1,800 a sensor

-CDR Elite-Schick

Sensors run about $9,000 and interface boxes run at about $1,900 The warranty package is actually like a support package. It is a 160 a month or so per sensor and it doesn’t get you a free replacement sensor necessarily. From reading the document it actually provides you with just cheaper prices on replacement sensors but a replacement would still run you about $3,000. They are a good company though so I assume manufacturers defects would be covered and replaced at no charge.
-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Pricing from $8,000 to $9,000 a sensor, this sensor can be integrated into Xrayvision if you do no want Kodak Image

There are some large price differences here but I choose not to make any comments on them. If you read part 1 and part 2 you’ll see that you will not take an image quality hit going with the less expensive options and in some cases the warranties are much better in the less expensive options. I have personally called about warranty service on all of these products and have had no problems getting service if the product is covered under its warranty. Though in some cases you will pay substantially more for warranties on some sensors as I have listed above.

If you have any questions or comments please either comment on the post or visit http://www.sodiumdental.com/dental-technology-integrators-contact-us/

Digital Intra Oral X-Ray Sensors

-Good Image Quality – Part 1
-Reliability – Part 2
-Price – Part 3
-Functionality – Part 4

Part 4 Functionality

Reviewed Sensors:
-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)
-Dixi 3-Planmeca
-Dexis Platinum-Dexis
-CDR Elite-Schick
-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Part 4: Functionality

In this article I wish to discuss how a sensor can be connected into your computer systems, what software the sensors will work with and any particular data that might be of interest as far as the sensors use.
-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)

This sensor connects to an inexpensive and durable interface that can be mounted on the wall or under a counter. The interface connects to your computer through USB. The interface in this design is not intended to be moved from room to room and because of this the interface is sold rather inexpensively at around $300. The interface itself can be 16 feet from the computer because of the limitations of USB. I have not had good luck with attaching this interface through a powered extension. To be sure of good reliability I would advise to limit yourself to mounting the interface within the 16ft limitation. The sensor then plugs into the interface and give you roughly 6 feet of cable to work with. If your room has pass through xray tube heads I would advice running the usb cable through the wall or floor into your pass through so that when you plug in the sensor, the sensor and sensor cable follow the same path as the xray tube arm. This will prevent you from tripping over the cable and damaging your sensor during use. If 16 feet will not get you to the pass through you may need to mount the unit at your 12 o’clock. If you do not have a pass through than try to route your usb cable over to the xray tube wall mount and locate your interface there. The idea is that if you are using the sensor, the tube head is pulled out and the arm of the tube head keeps you from walking across where your sensor cable is.

The sensor is of similar size to a Suni Ray or Schick sensor and has rounded corners. I would expect this sensor to be as comfortable as most sensors on the market.

Eva sensors come with their own included imaging software that is okay to use or if you would like they also work great in Xray Vision. I prefer Xray Vision in most cases, because of its ability to work with lots of different sensors, panos and phosphor plate systems.
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)

The Suni Ray is a direct in line USB sensor similar to the Kodak sensor. The sensor is attached to its own in line interface and has about 3 feet of cable here. The small interface about the size of a tin of mints has a mini USB female connection and comes with a 16 foot usb cable to plug into the interface. This sensor design is intended to be plugged into a powered hub located near your computer. In most of my installs I suggest having enough USB cables to have one plugged in in every room and simply move the sensor with its short cable and interface around. This is much easier than using the long 16 foot usb cable and moving it from room to room.

The sensor has rounded corners and a composite body. I have found the sensor to be comfortable to use and position.

Suni Ray sensors work in Prof Suni and Xray Vision. This is kind of redundant because Prof Suni is an OEM release of Xray Vision

-Planmeca ProSensor

The Planmeca sensor has an interface that the actual sensor plugs into. The interface has many different ways to be connected to the computer including USB and a network interface. The network interface is an excellent choice because you can place your interface any distance from the computer you choose. If you used the correct wireless device in conjunction with the interface and you know a computer guy who can set it up you wouldn’t even need to run a cable from your network to the interface.

The sensor itself is waterproof and of similar size to the other sensors in this review except for the Dexis which is smaller.

Planmeca sensors work in their own Dimaxis software and can also be utilized in Xray Vision

PLANMECA CORRECTIONS

“

Its called the Planmeca ProSensor…. The picture you use even shows that. Dixi was replaced by it.

The warranty program is 10 years. 3 years 100% 3 years 50% 4 years 40% no fees. We have a 24 hour replacement after a dealer tech has confirmed the problem with our support (or even the office with them on the phone depending on the issue)

We are integrated directly into Romexis (our SW that replaced Dimaxis awhile ago for 2D and 3D in one) Eaglesoft, MacPractice, Dolphin, and others.

The images are on a few of our websites. Also I have posted images on Dentaltown in the past comparing it to SUNI sensors in MacPractice. From the same office, same computer, tubehead, anatomy, etc. If you would like some images let me know.

The pricing is adjustable. We have trade-ins for current digital users, we bundle them with Pans, we bundle them with Intra X-Rays, we offer buy 2 get one… etc. Also Pricing is determined by the dealer, and we do have a few distribution partners therefore we cannot post pricing.”

-Anonymous

-Dexis Platinum-Dexis

The new Dexis Platinum has no interface. It has a cable that comes directly out of the sensor and ends in a standard USB B Connection that can be plugged into the computer USB ports. The downside of this is that the connector is only good for about 1000 disconnects meaning after about 1000 patients you will probably start having problems with the sensor plug if you are unplugging it and moving it after each patient. The cable is pretty long and most likely would need to be plugged in wherever your computer is and draped across the floor to your patient when in use.

Dexis sensors only work in Dexis Image from what I have been told although I know that drivers were made for it to work in Xrayvision for when the sensor is used in conjunction with the US military.

-CDR Elite-Schick

Schick Sensor Plug For Interface

This sensor plugs in through its own interface that has another cable that comes out of it and plugs in through USB to the computer. As far as placement of the sensor you will probably want to place the interface at the computer location because you wouldn’t want to damage the cable going to the interface by running it through your walls. The interfaces for these schick sensors are close to $2K a piece so be careful with them.

Schick sensors work in Dentrix Image through a module you download, through eaglesoft image and with xray vision. I have only used the sensor in eaglesoft and xray vision. If you use eaglesoft image you may want to go into the settings and change the acquisition timer. By default I believe it is set to less than a minute so if you hit the acquire button before positioning the sensor the acquisition may time out before you take the xray.

-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Kodak RVG 6100 Sensor

Kodak sensors are very similar to the Suni Ray as to how they plug in. They have an interface that is very small that is attached directly to the sensor through a cable. Then you use a USB cable to plug into the interface. As far as functionality the Kodak works similar to the Suni Ray.

Kodak sensors work in Kodak Image and in Xray Vision. Kodak only recently released the drivers to interface with Xray Vision so if you have Kodak Image and don’t like it feel free to buy Xray Vision and switch over.

If you have any questions or comments please either comment on the post or visit http://www.sodiumdental.com/dental-technology-integrators-contact-us/

We have been having a lot of my clients come to me with the issue of getting rid of their old working equipment when they make the move to digital.

There are a whole bunch of options and few of them work well.

Craigslist, Ebay, Hoping and Praying and donating.

I know of lots of offices that have tried all four options. The problem in most cases is the dentist does not have time to sit around answering the constant craigslist and ebay questions that come through every day.

Questions like:

“Will you guarantee it working when I get in my office?”

“Will this unit work with XYZ other unit or software?”

“Can I pick up the unit at your office?”

The problem with it is that you have to keep up on these questions or you will never sell the item because everyone has a question even good purchasers. Also, no one wants someone showing up at your practice after the sale to complain this or that doesn’t work. Charities are also often difficult to donate to because they will often need  you to bring the equipment to them which can be very inconvenient for the doctor, because it means he has to pay to get rid of the equipment.

I don’t know how many other companies do this, but we have started offering the service of helping dentists resell their equipment. We certify the equipment in a working state and handle the sale through our office so that all of the question and possible complaints come to us and don’t show up at the dental offices door. We think the fairest way to do this is to handle the whole sale and take a percentage of the sale. We then handle all the packing and shipping of the items. In some cases we are able to get much more value for the equipment by offering installation services with the sale.

We started doing this because far too many usable pieces of equipment were just getting scrapped. For dentists that need parts to repair their existing equipment or are just in a location where the practice can’t support new equipment purchases these sales can save a practice.

We feel this can be the best solution to recycling your old equipment. Taking a perfectly good film pano and turning it back into a lump of steel is no way to get the value back out of your old equipment.

We also provide this service for digital X-Ray units, Intra Oral Camera Units, film processors and other high tech devices.

Call 800-821-8962 Ext 2 and ask for refurbished equipment and they can take care of you.

Just stumbled onto this, Patrick is right, your prices are incorrect. I've got a Dexis quote and the RETAIL price for a Platinum sensor is $10,495, but who pays retail, right? I don't think I'm getting an "outrageous deal", but discounted over a $1000 off the retail price. Still expensive, but not your $12k and in my opinion a better solution. Being shown x-ray images is one thing, come to my office and acquire an image and then compare – I've found over many years of digital x-ray use – and a couple of bad purchases on cheap systems that claimed to be as good, that you truly are paying for a better system. And for their extended warranty on 3 sensors I pay a total of $1295 a year.

Pete,

Thank you for the comment, we greatly appreciate it!

David,

I think you are confused when you are reading your estimate. An ADDITIONAL Dexis Platinum costs $10,496. But the initial Dexis Platinum purchase price is $14,495.

I don't feel comfortable posting the entire Schein estimate on the website, but I will post the snippet that shows the Dexis Platinum pricing. View it at the bottom of the post above.

I completely disagree with you as far as quality. We repair and refurbish sensors every day all day, I have seen the insides of probably 250 Dexis Platinum sensors just last year and their components are no different than most other sensors on the market. We've taken hundreds of thousands of xrays with every sensor on the market and I can tell you that there is no justification to spend twice as much on a Dexis sensor when you have other sensors on the market that produce comparable images for literally half the price.

Just like Quickray, XDR, etc are made by E2V Technologies (http://www.e2v.com/)….Dexis sensors and the new Gendex GXS700 are made by Fairchild Imaging (http://www.fairchildimaging.com/applications/medical.htm). Two different technology companies, almost identical components.

I know quality of a website doesn't necessarily determine quality of a company….but c'mon, Fairchild Imaging website is from the 1980's, E2V is obviously aware of their technological surroundings.

Also, your extended warranty for 3 sensors is a total of $1,295 per sensor per year… Thats $3,885 per year for the chance to possibly get a replacement sensor. Keep in mind that if there are absolutely any marks on the housing that would indicate even the slightest chance that a patient bit on the sensor, they won't honor the warranty. If you are saying that you are getting all three sensors under warranty for $431 per year than I call BS. Please email us a copy of your quote/invoice so we can post it up here.

These are just a few things that you learn after you make the ridiculous investment into Dexis, or if you are a company that specializing in taking these sensors apart and fixing them. We've received over 200 Dexis Platinum sensors for repair last year, all within 1 or 2 years of purchase date however Dexis wouldn't honor their warranty because of nicks or scratches. I'm not saying that other companies would replace a broken sensor if there are marks on the housing but if they didn't…$5,000 for a replacement sure beats $10,000.

Am I right? $5,000 better than $10,000?

David,

Please show me the deal where you are getting your yearly Dexis warranties at 400$ per sensor because I simply don't believe it. We have lots of Dexis customers who can tell you they pay $1,500 per sensor per year for their warranties or more. Feel free to email us a copy of an invoice where you paid much cheaper than $10,495 for a Dexis Platinum new and you are getting your support for 495$ a year per sensor. You can say whatever you like, but without evidence I don't believe it.

Patrick,

Feel free to prove me wrong, send us an invoice and block out your personal information and I will post it on this page. Proof is in the pudding.

Dental Tech guy, nice work on the Dexis breakdown, it is spot on. In addition, if you have ever waited 20 minutes to work your way to a customer service agent, that approx 20k investment for 1 sensor, stings. I traded in my Dexis Platinum for the new Schick 33 sensors. The support from Patterson's Technology Center has been really great
Plus, we could not work with a single size sensor, the Size 1 and 2 from Schick are working well for us, 1 year later. .

Can you suggest a specific regulated usb power hub to use with dexis platinum?
I also like the short USB extension idea to protect the connector.
Can anything else be done to extend the life of the sensor besides preventing physical abuse.
Your website is great! I am with you….. Dexis just wants our $.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the comment! A simple standard powered USB hub will work. It doesn't have to be anything expensive, just make sure it's a powered hub. A powered hub and the short extension is about the most you can do. Please do not use "cable protectors", in our experience they seem to cause more stress on the cable and cables connections than they do good.

This is a very good article. My name is Raul Sciaky and I work with RF America IDS and we are a Dental Technology company. As a distributor for the QuickRay digital sensor we have been conveying this same message to all of our digital X-Ray clients. We just can't justify that kind of price tag for a sensor when there are alternative options out there that offer comparable results with half the price tag. Apteryx is also a fantastic imaging program as it was designed to work well with most intraoral cameras and digital x-ray systems. It is simple to use and also very comprehensive.

Thanks Raul! We're a distributor of the Quickray sensor too!! Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.