iTero Element 5D Scanner Price

iTero Element 5D Scanner

The iTero Element 5D is the latest release by Align Technology, the parent company of the iTero intraoral scanners (IOS). The Element 5D was released in early 2019, first being showcased at the International Dental Show. iTero are not new to the intraoral scanner market, their first IOS was launched in 2007 and since then they have released a number of scanners under the Element brand including the iTero Element (2015), Element Flex and Element 2 (2017) and now the Element 5D.

Align Technology is a leader in clear aligner orthodontics, creators of the widely popular Invisalign system. As a direct result, the iTero scanners have been seen for a long time as the “invisalign scanners”. This is also due to the fact the company heavily marketed the scanner and the Invisalign system side by side. With their latest scanner release, there seems to be push for the Element 5D to be seen as a full range scanner for diagnostics, CAD/CAM and aligners much like the competition, rather than just an Invisalign tool.

• 3D impressions for restorative and orthodontic work
• Analysis instruments, such as the occlusal clearance tool
• NIRI imagery
• Intraoral camera imagery
• iTero TimeLapse technology
• Invisalign Outcome Simulator
• Invisalign Progress Assessment

iTero Element 5D Scanner

New iTero Element 5D Plus Series-for sale is an exciting announcement as it has been a while since we have heard about a new product, with most updates in the market being focused on software rather than hardware.

The release of this new iTero Element 5D scanner cart is a welcomed change and it looks much better than the older version. It is said to be engineered with wider viewing angles, to aid in treatment plan discussions with your patients. It also has a built-in sleeves container for the scanner on the back of the cart which is a nice quality of life addition.

iTero claim that the Plus Series options will enhance visualization for an optimized patient experience, with higher brightness, plus clearer and more vivid images. They also claim faster and more seamless scanning with a 20% decrease in waiting time for scans to process. Additionally, there is a dedicated AI chip in these computers, which is said to enable future AI-based features. We will have to wait to see if these claims are true.

According to Yuval Shaked, Align Technology, senior vice president and managing director, iTero scanner and services business, “With over 20 years of innovation in digital orthodontics and dentistry, including intraoral scanners and digital workflows, we are focused on bringing the latest technology to doctors and their patients. We engineered the iTero Element Plus Series with the latest computing power, a dedicated AI chip, and new AI-based features as well as an easy upgrade path  making it right for today’s needs and ready for tomorrow.”

Part of this new Plus Series, is the portable version of the iTero Element 5D – the Plus Mobile configuration. This is a medical grade, compact portable scanner. The iTero scanner wand and computing unit are sold and supported by Align Technology, with a dedicated cabin size trolley case. It also has a VESA mounting, possibly enabling to be fixed to a dental chair.

Although there has always been portable scanner-only option for the iTero scanners that enabled use with any laptop, this custom built mobile computing unit is a great idea and ensures that the scanner will perform as the engineers at iTero have intended. At this stage the mobile unit is not available in all regions.