Dentsply Professional has an interesting new high speed handpiece on the market under the Midwest brand. Called the Stylus ATC (Adaptive Torque Control), it is being marketed as a hybrid air/electric handpiece.
What does that mean – hybrid air/electric?
Midwest’s marketing material says that the handpiece combines the small size, speed, and light weight of a traditional air turbine handpiece, coupled with the torque and power of an electric.
How is this accomplished?
Make no mistake, the Stylus ATC is an air driven handpiece. It differs from a traditional air turbine powered handpiece in two ways. First, Midwest recommends that the handpiece air pressure be set at 75psi, instead of the traditional 39 to 45psi of traditional handpieces like a Kavo 635B or W&H TA98 (Midwest says the handpiece will work fine at 60psi). Obviously, you could dramatically increase the cutting power of any handpiece by doubling the drive pressure, but you would also seriously reduce the life of the turbine.
Midwest adds sensors to the handpiece that transmit speed sensors to an electronic control box. The control box continuously samples the speed of the bur (hundreds of times a second) and adjusts the power of the handpiece. In addition, the handpiece has the ability to idle the handpiece when not cutting to increase turbine life.
Will this idea take off?
It’s certainly a new technology in the dental marketplace. The key to success lies in two areas.
First, can you actually get 60psi – 75psi of pressure from your dental delivery system? Theoretically it’s possible, but many dental units run into a wall at around 50psi – 55psi. Increasing the pressure in the floor box could cause other problems, especially on older units. Newer delivery systems are more likely to be able to achieve higher pressures.
The second factor is the reliability and longevity of the dental handpiece and turbine. If the electronics prove reliable, and don’t seem to be negatively affected from being banged around and run through the sterilizer (no electrical items on electric dental handpieces actually go into a sterilizer, while the sensors in the ATC appear to be inside the handpiece itself) the product has great potential.
There are a lot of Dentists that could benefit from a technology like this. You can learn more at http://www.stylusatc.com
Tags for this article :Dental Equipment Dental Handpieces Dental Instruments Dentsply Stylus ATCTags: Dental Equipment, Dental Handpieces, Dental Instruments
