Download - Harting

tec.News 17: Kaleidoscope
Sven Erdmann & Dr. Jens Krause
Greetings from the
Tooth Fairy
HARTING supplies MID technology for
dental diagnostic equipment
The use of early-detection systems is becoming increasingly
important in dental caries diagnosis. Diagnosis devices,
such as DIAGNOdent® pen 2190, have to be used in tiny
spaces causing minimum stress to the patient. HARTING has
helped to develop a MID-based switching solution for the
operating element of the DIAGNOdent® pen 2190.
The DIAGNOdent® pen 2190 developed by the KaVo
corporation can be used to detect very early-stage
caries in areas that are not accessible to normal
diagnosis methods. Intensification of both dental
diagnostics and professional dental cleaning
has resulted in great changes to the dental
practice’s diagnosis spectrum. There
is an increasing shift towards early
diagnosis for the detection of hidden
and not yet visible dental decay. Fine
lesions and non-cavity early-stage caries
are detected allowing early treatment and the introduction
of suitable countermeasures.
DIAGNOdent® pen 2190 uses the fluorescence of diseased
dental substance for diagnosis. Laser fluorescence
measurement is employed as detection method. A laser diode
with a wavelength of 655 nm is used as excitation light; this
is transported to the tooth via a fiber optic cable. A fiber
optic bundle detects the fluorescent light of the tooth. The
evaluation electronics convert the fluorescent signal into a
numerical value between 0 and 99. Four stages in the range
between 0 and > 30 are relevant for early diagnosis; the
diagnosing dentist can use these to establish the necessary
treatment or develop further diagnosis suggestions.
The procedure is aimed at safe and reliable diagnosis without
damaging the patient’s teeth. Invasive, tactile or conventional
visual diagnostic methods can be reduced considerably. The
diagnosis reliability increases to approximately 80 percent and
far exceeds the detection rate of conventional techniques.
Pain free
The diagnosis is pain free for patients. The dentist uses a
small, hose- and cable-free handpiece with integrated display.
In addition, the acoustic display also alerts the patient when
caries has been detected.
KaVo has been marketing the previous version of
DIAGNOdent® pen 2190 since 1997. The second generation
with type designation DIAGNOdent® pen 2190 has been
available on the market since 2005. In a further enhancement
of the switch application featured in the first development
stage of DIAGNOdent® pen 2190, an MID solution developed
with the help of HARTING has now been realized.
In principle, for the first marketable variant of the
DIAGNOdent® pen 2190, KaVo had already decided on a silicon
switch with six vulcanized carbon disks as make-contact
element on two contact paths.
The previous solution for the ring switch was based on a PEEK
carrier ring with two gold-plated contact rings. Each of the
rings was secured with a hollow rivet, which also served as
contact. The PEEK carrier ring was secured with a plastic
pin. The wires were soldered using the hollow-rivet method.
For the developer, this solution carried the least development
risk in order to launch the DIAGNOdent® pen 2190 on the
market as planned.
However, at an early stage, KaVo started to develop a further
variant in which an MID component as carrier ring with
integrated contact paths was to replace the component part
assembly solution. In this variant, the connecting wires were
also to be soldered on plated through-hole contacts.
44 harting tec.News 17 (2009)