Dental Precision
WhiteFox by Acteon
Going to the dentist for a check up is bad enough for most people, but for those needing surgery the experience can be harrowing before even going under the knife. That’s because the traditional method of capturing a clear scan of teeth, jaws, and facial bones means stepping into a bulky, highly mechanical, complex, and claustrophobic machine. The French company Acteon asked frog to help them transform the patient and dentist experience during these diagnostics, and the result was the WhiteFox Dental Tomography System, the first compact 3D imaging system made specifically for dental and facial surgery practices.
“Acteon asked frog to create a compact dental scanning machine that would relax patients and give dentists more accurate results.“
Patient Comfort
Having a calm patient makes a doctor's job much easier—and his work much more precise. That's because a relaxed patient is less likely to make involuntary, nervous movements, which typically cause poor image quality.
To ensure as much patient comfort as possible, frog designed the WhiteFox system to be comfortably used by standing patients ranging from a 6-year-old child to people well over six feet tall. Even patients outside this range (such as wheelchair-bound, pregnant, and obese patients) can be comfortably accommodated in a seated position.
The frog team also deemphasized the physical appearance of the machine to make it less intimidating and more friendly to nervous patients. WhiteFox is simple, clean, and light. The openness of the design encourages a friendly dialogue between dental workers and patients who can see each other face to face. The scanning machine's chin rest, patient hand grips, and transparent head-support structure were improved to provide excellent stability without giving people a trapped feeling.
The whole design was created to help the patient feel in control and the professionals feel as though they were able to get what they needed as efficiently as possible.
Construction Details
As is the case when designing and building any medical device, frog and Acteon had to meet rigorous industry standards for safety, rigidity, and precision, all while maintaining the light and elegant look and feel needed to keep patients relaxed. frog was able to maintain this balance by leaving much of the structure exposed and using a combination of custom extrusions, castings, and machined parts. This avoided the need for the additional covers that most systems of this size use to hide unsightly structural frames. WhiteFox is also fully self-supporting, which means there's no need to use structural walls for safety and rigidity.
The Acteon WhiteFox Dental Tomography System is clearly a statement of style, elegance, and precision in the dental clinic, allowing both patients and dentists a sigh of relief.
