Oral cancer: How discovery devices assist screenings

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Nick Efthimiadis, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, LED Dental Inc. As the intense media attention surrounding Michael Douglas’s illness clearly demonstrated, oral cancer is increasingly in the news these days. With the unfortunate growth in the number of relatively young people contracting the disease due to exposure to the sexually-transmitted human papilla virus — specifically, the HPV-16 strain — oral cancer will only become a bigger concern for both patients and dental practices over time. In fact, the Oral Cancer Foundation recently announced that HPV-16 has now replaced tobacco as the leading cause of this disease. Sadly, one North American dies every hour of every day from oral cancer, and many of those who survive the disease are forced to deal with lengthy, painful treatment and permanent disfigurement. The main problem is that oral cancer is typically discovered in late stages, when the five-year survival rate is only around 30%. The good news: when discovered early, the survival rate leaps to 80%-to-90%. The key to early discovery is the dental practice. Ideally, each and every practice should be conducting a two-step oral cancer screening on all adult patients as part of their annual or semi-annual hygiene checkup. The first step consists of a conventional “white light” exam comprising visual inspection and palpation. The second step consists of examination with an adjunctive screening device. Fortunately, the two steps should take no more than five minutes combined. For the past several years, the adjunctive device that has [...]

VELscope named one of top 100 products

Source: www.oralhealthjournal.com Author: press release LED Dental Inc. announced today that its VELscope system was named one of Top 100 Products of 2009 by Dentistry Today. Ralph Green, D.D.S., M.B.A., president and CEO of LED Dental's parent, LED Medical Diagnostics, said, “When you consider that there are over 50,000 products in the dental industry, to be named one of the top 100 products for three consecutive years is quite an honor." Since its introduction, over 4,500 systems have been sold worldwide, and over 4.5 million VELscope examinations have been conducted. LED Dental estimates that over 3 million examinations will be conducted in 2009 alone. The tissue fluorescence visualization technology platform on which the VELscope system is based is the culmination of over $50 million in research funded by the National Institutes of Health and other respected institutions and conducted by such leading organizations as the British Columbia Cancer Agency and the University of Texas's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The VELscope system also helps clinicians discover precancerous lesions and many other types of oral mucosal abnormalities. Independent surveys of dental practices using the VELscope system indicate extremely high satisfaction among clinicians and patients alike. Clinicians report satisfaction levels of 90% and higher for the VELscope system’s ability to detect lesions that otherwise would have been missed, for ease of incorporation into the practice, and for patient comfort and convenience. Surveys also indicate that VELscope exams take only 2-to-3 minutes, and that patients appreciate the fact that no distasteful rinses or messy [...]

VELscope System Called the World’s Leading Oral Cancer Screening System

Source: LED Dental Inc Writer: John Pohl WHITE ROCK, British Columbia—February 27, 2009—LED Dental Inc. claimed today that its VELscope system is used for more oral cancer examinations than any other adjunctive technology in the world. Impressive Milestones Passed According to Dr. Ralph Green, president and CEO of LED Dental's parent, LED Medical Diagnostics, "Since our mid-2006 launch, we have sold over 4,000 VELscope systems worldwide. Based on an independent survey of VELscope users, we estimate that these devices have been used to conduct over 4 million VELscope exams to date." Dr. Green added, "What's more, we estimate that over 3 million additional VELscope exams will be conducted in 2009 alone. Based on sales information reported by our leading competitor, it is clear that their product is currently being used for a much lower number of exams." Powerful Supporting Research The tissue fluorescence visualization technology platform on which the VELscope system is based is the culmination of over $50 million in research funded by the National Institutes of Health and other respected institutions and conducted by such leading organizations as the British Columbia Cancer Agency and the University of Texas's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Translating this highly sophisticated, breakthrough technology for use in an efficacious device to examine the oral mucosa was the brainchild of LED Dental and the British Columbia Cancer Agency. Launched in 2006 as the first tissue fluorescence device made commercially available to the dental community, the VELscope system revolutionized the dental practitioner's ability to visualize the oral mucosal [...]

2009-02-27T20:19:09-07:00February, 2009|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|
Go to Top