25 October 2022

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Carestream Dental celebrates history of industry-innovating technology

Company commemorates 40 Years of RVG Sensor Technology

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Carestream Dental is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the invention of RadioVisioGraphy (RVG), the fundamental technology behind digital intraoral sensors, which is still used in most sensors today.  

In 1982, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” was a box office hit and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was a worldwide sensation. That same year, Dr. Francis Mouyen, a visionary French dentist with a passion for physics, was hard at work 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 patented a way to convert X-ray energy into light and direct it toward a small light-sensitive sensor, according to a Carestream Dental news release. 

The ability to capture X-rays instantly on a monitor, without film processing, was a breakthrough. Dr. Mouyen went on to partner with engineers at Trophy Radiology — now owned by Carestream Dental — 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. 

Dr. Miguel Stanley, world-renowned dentist of the White Clinic, said he has been using RVG sensors from Carestream Dental since 1999. 

“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,” he said. “It’s an awesome technology and the first step into digital dentistry.” 

According to the news release, redesigns to the sensor head have 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 it was even adapted for extraoral imaging systems.

Today, the Carestream Dental RVG sensor is a thin, lightweight — yet durable — device that’s used for everything from a standard check-up to confirming a crown has been seated correctly. RVG sensors are often the first and last step in treatment and care. The sensors are also often used on mission trips, in mobile clinics visiting underserved communities and even as part of the Global Mercy’s, the world’s largest NGO hospital ship, mission in Africa.

“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.”

To celebrate the 40th anniversary, Carestream Dental is offering special promotions and limited-edition memorabilia to commemorate this distinctive milestone. To learn more about the history of the RVG sensor and see all the ways Carestream Dental is celebrating, visit its website.

About Carestream Dental

Carestream Dental is committed to transforming dentistry, simplifying technology and changing lives. In this pursuit, we focus on providing cloud solutions and technology for practice and clinical management for dental practices, groups, DSOs and partners.