HOUSTON, TEXAS, August 5, 2013 — Eighteen months ago, Forward Science set out to create an efficient and affordable oral screening device based on feedback from clinicians. The result is OralID, which uses fluorescent technology that helps practitioners save lives by identifying cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions at their early stages. OralID’s low cost and lack of per-patient disposables make it the most affordable screening light among those currently available.[1]
OralID emits visible light that enhances a dentist’s ability to identify tissue abnormalities. When OralID’s blue light shines on healthy oral tissue, it fluoresces. In contrast, abnormal tissue appears dark due to a lack of fluorescence. What sets OralID apart from other devices is not only it’s affordability, but also how portable and simple it is to use. Additionally, OralID is the only FDA cleared device that requires no consumable. Now every dentist can afford to “Shine Light. Save Lives.” while performing routine oral exams.
“Our primary goal as a company is to help save lives. When we designed OralID, we went to the clinicians and asked what they wanted in a product. With that feedback, we designed a device around the user’s needs: portable, simple to use, no per-patient cost, and under $1,000. OralID can now be incorporated into every dental office and everyone can be screened, thus saving more lives,” said Robert Whitman, co-founder of Forward Science and one of the biomedical engineers behind OralID’s streamlined design
There are other things that set OralID apart among the limited selection of oral screening devices in the market. Forward Science understands the importance of training for successful implementation of a new device into a practice, therefore each OralID office is provided with a private and live team training webinar. This free training can be repeated at any time.
“We want practitioners to feel confident about interpreting what they might see when they use OralID, and education is an important part of that. It’s empowering to know that OralID highlights premalignant and malignant lesions that may not visible when doing a routine oral exam with the naked eye using white light,”[2] said company co-founder Brian M. Pikkula, who has a PhD in bio-optics. Pikkula brought 15 years of biomedical research and medical device development to the OralID design table.
Unfortunately, the mortality rate for oral cancer has not changed significantly in 30 years.[3] Some 63 percent of oral cancers are found at Stage III and IV, which have a less than 50 percent survival rate. However, early discovery has an 80 to 90 percent survival rate. A two-minute oral exam with OralID could literally save a patient’s life, and it’s why Forward Science has made it the most affordable device available.
Adjunct devices such as OralID should be standard practice at every dental clinic; and every dental patient — regardless of age and lifestyle — needs an oral exam that screens for abnormal tissue. “Those infected with HPV [human papillomavirus] represent the fastest growing oral cancer population,”[4]Whitman explained. Oral cancers from HPV have increased 225% in the past three decades.[5
The OralID Kit includes an OralID device, two pairs of filtered eyewear, batteries and patient brochures. The company also offers a variety of patient literature and accessories for clinical documentation, including a SmartFilterID™ for imaging with smart phones
If you’d like more information or wish to attend a free OralID training session, please visit www.oralid.com. You may also call (855) MY ORALID or email info@oralid.com.
[1] As compared to: DentLight DOE, $2,495; VELscope Vx, $3,495; Identafi®, $3,995. (Source: MSRP from each company’s website.)
[2] Vigneswaran et al.: Incidental detection of an occult oral malignancy with autofluorescence imaging: a case report. Head & Neck Oncology (2009), 1:37.
[3] Oral Cancer Foundation.
[4] American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures 201.2
[5] Ramqvist, T and Dalianis T, Oropharyngeal Cancer Epidemic and Human Papillomavirus. Emerging Infectious Disease, Vol. 16, No. 11, Nov. 2010 (accessed online on Aug. 1, 2013; wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/16/11/10-0452_article.htm).