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Spinoff story
Active Pixel Sensors Lead Dental Imagery into the Digital Age
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors invented at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have taken over the digital imaging industry, but one of their earliest applications was in dental radiology. When the technology was new, Long Island City, New York-based Schick Technologies, now part of Sirona Dental, obtained an exclusive license to use it for dental imagery, which it still retains. CMOS allows for much more energy-efficient X-ray imagers than were possible with previous digital imaging technology.