by Maribeth Marsico
More laboratories around the country are investing in CBCT scanners in order to scan implant patients in-house, but along with the technology comes the need for more precautions. For example, Laboratory Owner Darin Throndson, who installed a CBCT imaging center right next door to his new laboratory, planned for the walls in the imaging center to be eight inches thick and lined with lead to prevent radiation from being leaked into the lab. In the lab, the milling machines are set up against the other side of that wall to ensure nobody is working in proximity to the imaging center all day. Per OSHA requirements, employees who work in the imaging center also have to wear dosimeter badges that measure radiation exposure; the badges can be plugged into a computer’s USB port to obtain exposure data.
“We also added an external light in the lab to alert us when the machine is in use next door so nobody walks in when a scan is in process,” says Throndson, Innovative Dental Technologies, Memphis, TN. “Unlike traditional X-rays which are a pretty quick press of a button, CBCT scans take a little bit of time.”
