280 Theories and techniques of oral implantology

tails, and the fixer solution is squeezed along until it reaches the x-ray. After another minute or two, both halves of the plastic covering are separated to obtain the developed x-ray.

Diapulse machine. To reduce postoperative complications after a traumatic surgical procedure, Diapulse therapy may be used.* The Diapulse machine is a pulsed, high-frequency, short-wave generator (Fig. 7-57). It delivers short (65-µsec.) bursts of energy through a movable treatment head. The electrical energy induces a pulsated magnetic field. There is a 1,665-µsec. pause between each burst of energy, which allows for the dissipation of any heat in the tissues.

Pulsed, high-frequency, short-wave therapy appears to increase the inflammatory response and the rate of collagen deposition during the initial phase of healing. Cameron found an increase in the number of leukocytes in the thigh wounds of dogs treated with pulsed short-wave therapy.- Nadasdi produced chemical arthritis in the legs of rats and then followed this with pulsed short-wave therapy. Clinic-ally, the treated limbs showed less edema and inflammation than did the nontreated controls.$

Before surgery is performed, pulsed short-wave therapy is given to the liver region for 10 minutes. The surgical area of the head is treated for 10-minute periods immediately before and after surgery (Fig. 7-58). Treatment of the head region may be continued a few days postoperatively.

Oral scanner. Through the use of fibrooptics, formerly inaccessible sites can be viewed, magnified, and clearly lit for more accurate evaluation. For example, the floor and walls of an artificial socket made in bone by a helical bur can be visualized as never before (Fig. 7-59), enabling the operator to detect small perforations of a buccal or lingual plate of bone. In cases where a small portion of a screw type implant has broken off during its insertion, the oral scanner can pinpoint its exact location, allowing it to be removed with the proper instrument while viewing the procedure through the eyepiece of the scanner. The oral scanner may also be used during the removal of root tips left in sockets or of the apical portions of nerves in cal-

*Diapulse Corporation of America, Lake Success, N. Y. 'Cameron, D. A.: Experimental acceleration of wound healing, Amer. J. Orthop., November, 1961.

$Ibid.

§MManufactured by Vicon Products Corp., Mamaroneck,

Fig. 7-58. The head of the Diapulse machine emits short waves. (Courtesy Diapulse Corporation of America.)

Fig. 7-59. Two artificial sockets viewed through the oral scanner. It is possible to detect bony spicules, cortical plate perforations, or debris with the oral scanner.