Thursday, March 15, 2007

2007 Dolphin Meeting held in Destin Florida






The 2007 Dolphin Meeting was held in Destin Florida on March 1-3, 2007

Understandably, the Dolphin Meeting is geared specifically for the orthodontist and his or her staff, yet there was plenty of pertinent information for the imaging center. Here is an outline of the program that applied to dental imaging:

TECH SUPPORT: Dolphin technical support has been drastically revamped to improve customer service. The support calls are now routed directly to a live support technician. In the first month since the new system was implemented, two thirds of the calls were being resolved immediately by the first available support team member, and wait times overall were reduced dramatically.

DOLPHIN AQUARIUM was introduced. (Ships June 2007). Aquarium is Dolphin’s slick new education and case presentation library which includes full 3D graphic animation for explaining common and complex clinical topics. The comprehensive library contains detailed movies and stills to visually demonstrate various procedures, Invisalign, TADs, TMD, hygiene, teeth eruption and more. The system allows dual monitor support: show movies on one monitor while the patient’s own images display simultaneously on another. Aquarium integrates with Dolphin Imaging and Management.

Dolphin meets Mac: Imaging 10.5 has been verified to run on Intel-based Mac computers using either Apple’s Boot Camp software or Parallels Desktop software.

NEW in 3D: The Dolphin Team introduced some neat new features to its 3D module. The Nerve Marking tool lets you easily locate and isolate the mandibular nerve canal in the panoramic projection, and then view in the corresponding cross sections to detect position of the nerve.
The TMJ Viewing System allows visualization in the sagittal, coronal and new (patent pending) circular view. Easily change thickness, width, direction and number of cuts viewed.
Dolphin 3D is now a fully integrated feature of Dolphin 10.1 and supports DICOM data from most cone beam, medical and even MRI systems! Dolphin 3D stores all the volumetric data in the central Dolphin database. This means all your data is now in one place, making it easier to search, archive, collate, etc. Dolphin 3D also supports scripting, previewing, generating and saving of 3D movie clips that animate Dolphin 3D data.
Any scripted sequence of views can be saved to use for future patients.

AnywhereDolphin.com is officially out of the free trial period and allows the sharing of specified images with referrals and patients. The system uses 128 bit encryption through SSL, which means secure transmissions that are HIPAA-compliant. There is no cost or hardware requirements for your referral or patient to access and view the shared records. However, they must have Dolphin Imaging Premier or Dolphin Viewer to download the images.

Dr. Arnett showcased the latest from Dolphin, including a form and treatment document software designed to use on a Tablet PC. Medical history, patient motivation, dental exam, periodontal exam, bite exam, TMJ exam, facial analysis, cephalometric analysis, airway analysis are now all easy to input, access, generate reports and print out. He also demonstrated usage of Dolphin 3D in his oral surgery practice. Further discussions on TMD stabilization medication, post-operative medication and other surgical and planning techniques were presented.

Robert Maurer, PhD, gave an insightful presentation titled “How Successful People Succeed,” in which he discussed the essential skills and strategies required to sustain excellence and enthusiasm in health, relationships and work. During his presentation, Dr. Maurer had the audience participate in verbal exercises which allowed us to truly comprehend his perspective. Fear, depression, risk, support, awareness, types of attention, appreciation, visions, goals, and expectations were topics that he explained with a systematic approach. Dan Halpert, Judy Hurt, Marie Martinez and I came away with a clear sense of purpose that emphasizes the emotional state one is striving for, in the pursuit of goals.

Ellen Grady presented on “10 Keys to Practice Success.” This presentation applied to any business, including imaging centers. According to Ms. Grady, success is 90 percent behavioral skills and 10 percent clinical savvy. Ms Grady had a wonderful explanation about the differences between the various generations that coexist and interact within our current business world: traditional (1900-1945), baby boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980) and Millennial (1981-1999). Did you know that Generation X has the best dental health ever recorded? The Millennial kids are very tech savvy and skeptical which requires high technology to keep the youth interested. In her presentation, Ms. Grady explained in great detail the keys to success as she categorizes them: Leadership, Team Morale, Systems & Training, Scheduling, Facility and Décor, Communication, Patient Cooperation, Marketing, Financial Performance and Statistical Benchmarks. Included in the presentation was a Practice Assessment Review which will be utilized in my next staff meeting.

Ken Gladstone discussed what is new in Dolphin Imaging 10.5 Premium versus standard Dolphin. There are several new “finder” features that include a “Basic vs. Advanced” mode, and a new page layout option that lets you choose from “single image vs. no image.” The “Records” tab allows searching for 3D data by either demographics or diagnostics, in addition to finding specific patients who had a particular record (ceph, pan etc). Dolphin 10.5 adds a “Show More” button that instantly surrounds the current patient with a list of the handful of alphabetically prior and following patients. There are now more search options. Dolphin Premium Securities Utilities has a non-intrusive Pre-Backup system that allows the user to backup the SQL database WITHOUT shutting down the SQL server, so you no longer need to exit Dolphin at all machines on the network prior to running a Pre-Backup.

Dr. Paul Thomas presented on Overlay Digitizing and Custom Analyses. The ability to superimpose is dependent on identical magnification, exact landmark recognition, adjusting for different x-ray machines, target/object/film variables, and landmark recognition errors. Dr. Thomas demonstrated the steps necessary to perform a beautiful overlay and he explained that Dolphin Version 10 digitizing features include: tracing scaling/overlays, landmark/structure transfer and PowerPoint integration.

The Computer Lab was open the entire three days of the conference. Both the Support Team and the Development Team were available to solve any issues, give detailed explanations, and assist with advanced training of any Dolphin products. This alone made the trip worth the attendance fee. The lab allowed Dolphin users to work one-on-one with the technical support team in a relaxed, personal environment.

The Hilton Sandestin Hotel Gold Resort & Spa in Destin, Florida, was a superb location for the 2007 Dolphin Meeting. Imagine where emerald water and sugary white sand meet as the setting sun dips below the horizon. The landscape colors and lighting are unique to Destin because of its geography: the sand is made up of ground quartz crystal washed from the Appalachians more than 10,000 years ago!

The meetings ended at 4:30 p.m., allowing sufficient time to take a long walk on the beach and build up an appetite for the festive Dolphin party on Friday night. Think platefuls of crab claws and gulf shrimp as a first course, followed by a choice of exquisitely prepared beef, chicken and grouper (a local specialty) for a main course. Key Lime pie and decadent chocolate cake finished the feast. On the other nights, some of us dined at the four star Seagars restaurant located right in the hotel, where we had succulent aged prime bone-in rib eye steak that was cooked to perfection, and huge lobsters which were steamed then barely kissed on the grill for a truly distinctive flavor. The chocolate soufflé and banana foster (prepared table-side) made our palates sing with delight. There was a shuttle that crossed the highway to the northern portion of the resort where we discovered a quaint New Orleans town with a beautiful lake, shops and restaurants. There, I dined on oysters on the half shell and two pounds of Dungeness crab! For the shopaholics, the SilverSands Factory outlets were only just a few miles away and had over 100 stores! The people at Dolphin go to great lengths to find these unique meeting locations, booked with wonderful speakers filled who impart pertinent information to our businesses. Start planning now for next year in San Diego, as it’s bound to sell out!

2 Comments:

Blogger Duane said...

Eric, thanks so much for your great reader's digest of the Dolphin meeting. I appreciate your input. Thanks again and have a great week-end.

Duane

2:56 PM  
Blogger devery said...

Eric, Upon reading your details of the meeting I was impressed by the quality of the program. I appreciate you taking the time to inform all of us who did not have the opportunity to attend.
Your animated and obvious heightened taste bud enticements put me over the edge. I am envious for good reason.

9:05 PM  

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