Dental CT (DentiScan), first Thai-made prototype of computerized X-ray machine for dental treatment, is a product of a collaboration between MTEC (National Metal and Materials Technology Center) and NECTEC (National Electronics and Computer Technology Center) for their hardware and software development, respectively. The machine has
gone through a clinical trial in mid 2011 with more than 170 volunteers. It has obtained the Radiation Control Certification from Department of Medical Science, Ministry of Public Health, and has been certified by the Electrical and Electronic Product Testing Center (PTEC) of Thailand for its safety.
Currently there are two machines built in this collaboration. A black color cone beam was projected on a flat panel detector installed on the opposite site of the X-ray tube. The equipment rotates around the patient head to collect the raw data from all angles. These data are then processed to derive a cross-cutting 3D image using image translation software. It helps eliminate problems of image distortion found from regular 2D X-ray machine. The 3D image helps dentists diagnose problems with teeth, jaws and facial bones more precisely. It also facilitates better analysis and effective planning for dental surgery such as removal of wisdom tooth, root canal treatment, mouth, jaw and facial surgery. In addition, imported CT scans are found to generate higher radiation, bulkier in size and costlier than the one made in Thailand.