Align Technology Wins Software - Healthcare Technology Category in SBR Technology Excellence Awards 2022 - Recognising its iTero Element 5D Plus Imaging System

Align Technology continues to be the leader in the evolution of digital dentistry.

The company focuses on expanding its end-to-end digital platform and producing new innovative technology to improve patient care in dentistry. This year, it was awarded the SBR Technology Excellence Awards 2022 in the Software - Healthcare Technology category, for its latest development in intraoral scanning, the iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system. 

The iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system is recognised for its innovative features that aid in oral health assessment and improve practice productivity for Invisalign treatment workflow¹. It became available in February 2021 and is built upon the success of the award-winning iTero Element family of intraoral scanners, offering all the existing orthodontic and restorative digital capabilities doctors have come to rely on. The technology now provides faster processing times², detailed visualisation capabilities, and simplified workflows.

The annual awards programme highlights technological innovations, recognising exceptional companies in Singapore that are riding the digital disruption wave and leading the technological revolution and digital journeys of their respective industries.

"We are thrilled to be recognised by industry peers for our accomplishments and welcome this prestigious win," said Moez Attia, vice president, Global iTero Restorative General Practitioner (GP). “iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system is an integral part of our Align Digital Platform - an integrated suite of proprietary technologies and services delivered as a seamless end-to-end solution to customers - to transform smiles and change lives.”

In just one scan, the iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system enables diagnostic, restorative, and orthodontic workflows. The all-in-one scan simultaneously records 3D, intra-oral colour, Near Infra-Red Imaging (NIRI) images, and enables comparison over time using iTero TimeLapse technology³. This removes the need to re-scan or change scanning tips, developing a more efficient workflow for doctors and improved patient experience.

The iTero NIRI technology has the potential to change the way dentists conduct routine hygiene appointments, providing a proactive approach to oral health management thereby improving patient education and acceptance. By integrating the iTero Element 5D imaging system into their professional practice, the doctors surveyed reported an increase in interproximal caries (decay between adjacent teeth) detection by 56%⁴, increase in business revenue by 34%⁵, and increase in patient acceptance by 71%⁶. iTero NIRI technology works by scanning the tooth structure, helping find early hard-to-detect decay between the teeth, which is not easily visible to the naked eye. Supporting this technology, a recent study published in the Journal of Dentistry said that the iTero NIRI technology of the iTero Element 5D imaging system was 66% more sensitive than the bitewing X-ray (BWX) for proximal lesions detection⁷, working without harmful radiation, scanning the internal structure of a tooth, enamel, and dentin, in real-time. 

From the diagnostic space to the orthodontic space, the new iTero Element 5D Auto-Upload feature streamlines Invisalign clear aligner case submissions by cutting out several manual steps, saving doctors an estimated 10 minutes per case⁸. It streamlines the Invisalign case submission workflow by automatically uploading iTero scan images in place of intraoral photos.

With these achievements combined, the innovative features of the iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system support an improved scanning experience, show significant increases in practice productivity, and drive higher patient treatment acceptance for doctors. “Align Technology has 25 years of innovation in digital orthodontics and dentistry, and we have been continuously focused on bringing the latest technology to doctors and their patients,” says Raj Pudipeddi, Chief Product & Marketing Officer, EVP & Managing Director APAC. “Today, as practices across every region are embracing digital dentistry in new ways more purposefully than ever before, we are helping to modernise today’s practices by enabling enhanced digital orthodontic and restorative workflows to help improve patient outcomes and practice efficiencies.”

1 Certain features discussed in this article may only be available with the purchase of a service plan from iTero.

2 The iTero Element Plus series processing time is 20% faster compared to previous generation. On average, based on scan processing time comparison of 40 Invisalign scans and 40 restorative scans with 3 prep teeth processed by the iTero Element 2/iTero Element 5D computing units and the iTero Element Plus series computing unit.

3  Data on file at Align Technology, as of December 4, 2018.

4  Based on a survey in May of 2019 of n = 15 practitioners who participated in a global limited market release, working with iTero Element 5D for an average period of 6 months, representing both GPs and Orthos in CAN, UK, IT, FR, DE, AU, NZ, HK, who were presented with a level of agreement scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree with the following statement: : “Incorporating the iTero Element 5D scanner into my current diagnostic protocol, I’ve diagnosed a higher number of interproximal caries above the gingiva, on my patients at my practice”. Data on file at Align Technology, as of November 15, 2019.

5  Based on a survey in May of 2019 of n = 15 practitioners who participated in a global limited market release, working with iTero Element 5D for an average period of 6 months, representing both GPs and Orthos in CAN, UK, IT, FR, DE, AU, NZ, HK, who were presented with a level of agreement scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree with the following statement: with the following statements: “Incorporating the iTero Element 5D scanner into my current diagnostic protocol, I experienced an increase in treated interproximal caries cases on my patients at my practice”, and then asked to estimate the average increase in revenue for the practice. Data on file at Align Technology, as of November 15, 2019.

6 Based on a survey in May of 2019 of n = 15 practitioners who participated in a global limited market release, working with iTero Element 5D for an average period of 6 months, representing both GPs and Orthos in CAN, UK, IT, FR, DE, AU, NZ, HK, who were presented with a level of agreement scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree with the following statement: with the following statements: “Incorporating the iTero Element 5D scanner into my current diagnostic protocol,, I experienced an increase in the number of accepted caries treatments by my patients at my practice”, and then asked to estimate the average increase. Data on file at Align Technology, as of November 15, 2019.

7 Based on a subset of 59 cases where iTero Element 5D imaging system was compared against the clinical evaluation of posterior proximal carious lesions above the gingiva as observed during caries debridement, reported as part of a multisite clinical study conducted in real-world settings with patients in five clinics across Germany and Canada comparing iTero NIRI technology (Near Infra-red imaging) of the iTero Element 5D imaging system to bite-wing x-rays (BWX) (n= 3,502 posterior proximal tooth surfaces out of 5,796 proximal surfaces in 102 patients). Study sponsored and financed by Align Technology, Inc. iTero NIRI technology is only available on iTero Element 5D and iTero Element 5D Plus (excluding Lite software configuration) imaging systems. Data on file at Align Technology, as of September 2, 2021.

8 Based on a survey in August, 2021 of n = 39 doctors who participated in a global limited market release, working with iTero Element 5D imaging systems for an average period of 1.5 months, representing both GPs and Orthos in NA, EU, APAC, and LATAM who were presented with a level of agreement scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree with the following statement: “ Submitting Invisalign cases leveraging iTero Element 5D system auto-upload functionality is faster than the conventional Invisalign case submission process (including manual capture and upload of intraoral photographs)” and then asked to estimate the amount of time saved in minutes per case. 10 minutes was the median of all responses.

Watch the interview below to know more about their winning project: