VELscope Mantis has Arrived - the Latest Light Aided Oral Cancer Screening Device

 

Here is some big news.  Starting today the VELscope Mantis is available for purchase.  I was notified about this recently and thought I'd let you all know the day it was available for ordering.

Today's post will cover details on  the newest device from VELscope to help provide state of the art oral cancer screening.  However, before I get to the new Mantis, I want to spend a little bit of time explaining why I think using a special light to help with oral cancer screening is such a great idea.

For years now I've had a big interest in oral cancer.  It's one of those problems that I feel oral health professionals should do all we can to help find at it's earliest stages.  I've used light assisted means for performing oral cancer screenings for at least the last 20 years and I wouldn't practice without it.  

Areas of concern can be difficult to identify using only white light.  Oral cancers can appear in many colors and they can be very difficult to see.  A doctor often sees a small discrepancy and has to run through a diagnostic checklist in their mind.  "Is that area whiter than normal?  Is that purple area a little bit darker than the surrounding purple tissue?"  That's just a small example of what is taken into consideration.

The advantage to using light assisted screening is that when viewed under a certain wavelength of light and with the proper filter used by the device, areas of concern appear black to the clinician.  This makes areas of concern much easier to identify.

In the simplest terms, injured tissues in the mouth are much easier to identify under certain wavelengths of light.  I tell my patients that the light is not a diagnostic device, it's a screening device.  I explain that it doesn't tell me if they have cancer, but it does tell me if there is any area of their mouth that is in some way traumatized.  The trauma could be from an accidental cheek bite, a burn, or any other type of injury.

The light allows me to better evaluate things.  If an area I notice might be due to trauma, an exam two weeks later will look different as it is healing.  If it looks the same or more injured, I then refer to an expert.  Patients appreciate the extra care a light assisted exam provides.

If found at an early stage, oral cancers can be dealt with, but unfortunately when discovered in their late stages, five year survival rates are extremely low.  Also, even if the patient survives, late stage cancer surgeries can be disfiguring.  Those are just two of the reasons I'm such a proponent of light assisted screening.

Now, let's get to the info about the new Mantis from VELscope.

The new VELscope Mantis is named after the mantis shrimp, a creature with one of the most advanced visual systems in nature, capable of detecting ultraviolet, infrared, and polarized light beyond human perception. Inspired by its namesake, the Mantis enhances fluorescence visualization, empowering dental professionals to identify oral abnormalities earlier with exceptional clarity, precision, and depth.

The device has a rotating wheel that allows the operator to quickly and easily switch between lighting modes.  

Mantis integrates three visualization modes into one device.

• Traditional white light - Non-polarized white light visualization is the traditional method for examining tissue, providing a combination of surface reflections that highlight texture and topography, along with color variations that indicate the state of the underlying tissue.
• Polarized white light - Polarized white light visualization excels at showing subtle colour tissue changes by improving colour response and eliminating surface reflections than can be distracting and obscure underlying tissue
• Enhanced fluorescence visualization - The new VELscope Mantis builds upon its predecessors by increasing field of view and enhancing filtering for a brighter, improved image with increased yellow/orange spectral content.

For the best documentation, photos should be used and the new VELscope Mantis makes taking those photos incredibly easy.  

The device has been designed so that the user can attach an iPhone or iPod into the device and use the camera to take clear and crisp photos.  To make the photo process even easier, the Mantis can be paired with the photo taking device via Bluetooth.  The handle on the Mantis has a trigger button that can activate the camera.  The operator gets the area clearly into the frame, pushes the button on the Mantis device, and the iPhone or iPod takes the image.  Those photos can then be downloaded and stored in the patient's digital chart as part of the permanent patient record.  These images can then be used to compare at a follow-up appointment, if needed.  They can also be sent to an office if the patient needs to be seen for further diagnostic procedures or surgery.  This gives the doctor providing further treatment images of the area as it appeared initially and at further appointments from the referring office.

Mantis also comes with Cloud storage for the images via  SOTA Cloud.  While it's a nice way to backup the images, the service does require a subscription.  The first month is free, but after that there is a monthly charge.  You can find out more about the SOTA Cloud storage with this link.  

Light assisted screenings can save lives.  The scientific literature on light assisted screening is pretty clear on the advantages.  There are several devices on the market and I highly recommend getting and using one.  Your patients will appreciate the effort and will be grateful for the extra care you provide.  At the end of the day, caring for our patients in the number one goal of our profession.  Light assisted screenings is a great way to do that.