Posted on April 16, 2025 by Armen Mirzayan — Leave a comment

Proving the Accuracy of Shining Elite Intra-Oral Photogrammetry Scanner

Here is a quick introductory video of how the process works and the subsequent cases provide a lot more detail and information

Quick Overview

Case 1

In this video we detail how the process works and how you capture everything you need for your full arches with one scanner.

Details of Case in the Overview

Precision, Trueness, and Accuracy

A common property that is oftentimes used to describe how well scanners perform is how accurate, precise, or true it is. A lot of people use this incorrectly to describe intraoral scanners and it is utilized in poor judgment because there are too many variables in the input of the equation to ascertain any conclusion from the output file. But these characteristics CAN be used to study photogrammtery.

In this chart, the bullseye represents the true value (true location of the object), while black dots represent measurements (the estimated 3D locations of the object based on the 2D images) from this source. To measure the precision, we took 3 random arrangements of the dominos and found the output files to be identical. To measure its accuracy and trueness, we related it to a desktop scan of the same model

Precision Test04:08

Accuracy Test with Desktop Scan02:50

Accuracy Test vs ICAM04:44

iCAM to iCAM testing02:12

you can download these models and test them out for yourself: compare elite to icam and desktop scan

When is image capture complete?

A frequent question we field is how does an operator know how much of the dominos / scanflags to capture. The manufacturer recommends a specific scan path and to completely capture the suprastructure. Our internal testing shows that there is no difference between the results as long as you allow the software to spit out the scanflag geometry while you are scanning. See this video for an explanation

How Well does the Intraoral Scanner Work on Soft and Hard Tissue?

lots of people ask about the intra oral scanning experience with the shining elite device. please note that this is COMPLETELY different technology than the intraoral photogrammetry unit. it has performed on par with every other scanner i use, if not better. it has such a huge field of view it picks up a lot of data at once. It is prone to every issue that all ios have, ranging from double models to introducing errors over long edentulous and symmetric spans, etc… so scan path is still important.

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Intra Oral Scanning Performance

Case 2

The first video in this series shows a quick overview of a multi unit case and the subsequent videos goes into more detail

Quick Overview

01:31

Case in Detail08:44

Radiograph of the delivered case

Case 3 – Managing and immediate case with bone reductio

This video shows how to manage immediate conversion cases and compares and IPG with an extra-oral Photogrammetry Machine

How to load libraries into Shining 3D Elite Intra-Oral Photogrammetry Software

This should be done by an experienced person. Here we load a dess MUA library into the equation in the first video. In the second video we import Jonathan Abeneim’s Xcell libraries, followed by Danny Domingue Vortex library import

01:23

Xcell Scanbody Import00:45

Vortex Folder Import01:42

Scanner Tip Dimensions

Posted on March 14, 2025September 25, 2025 by Armen Mirzayan — Leave a comment

Everything You Need to Know about Capturing Full Arch Impressions and Designing / Fabricaing All on X Restorations

In this article we detail everything you need to capture to design and all on x type of restoration so you can quickly print a prosthesis and deliver it to your patient as quickly after surgery as possible. We think it is best to start with the end in mind and work backwards to the models you need to capture.

Models Needed to Design

These are the models you need to bring into exocad per arch. Of course, you can bring in more information into the equation if you chose to:

Tissue scan (ideally when sutured and not a bloody field). This is usually captured with an intra-oral scanner. Some take an alginate of the arch and scan it with a desktop scanner.
Implant locations, which are the multi-unit abutment margins. These are captured in a variety of ways, all of which have to address the limitations of scanning edentulous flat and symmetric surfaces which introduce Veersing Errors. These options include extra-oral photogrammetry, intra-oral photogrammetry, and/or implant suprastructures that reduce or eliminate scanning errors, like the Scan Ladder, io connect from TruAbutment, etc…
Preop Scan, or more ideally a wax up scan to the correct vertical dimension
A designer also ideally would want the opposing model and buccal bites as well.

All of these models need to be properly related to each other which is an endeavor in itself. All of the models listed above are also disciplines of their own and many chapters could be devoted to each topic. Assuming you have this information imported into CAD software correctly, you can design the temps very quickly and get them into the printer for a temporary

Rapid Design of All on X with exocad

Merging Models to Each Other

The traditional approach to these cases required a model of the arch with some suprastructure that could be used to relate it to the photogrammetry scan. This process can be quite arduous and involves lots of steps. Other current systems, like the Shining Elite allow you to merge models in the native scanning software. Alternatively, you must make sure you have common stitching abutments to related models to each other in CAD software. You can use common landmarks that are found in both models to accomplish this like in this demonstration

Using Common Landmarks to Relate Models to Each Other

Managing Surgical Cases Where Stitching Landmarks are Removed to Accommodate Space for the Prosthesis

The approach to these get much more complicated when you don’t have those landmarks available to you from one model to the next, usually because the they have been surgically removed. You must:

Capture the pre-op or wax up and relate it to the tissue scan
capture the tissue scan and relate it to the implant location models.

One way to do this is to place arch trackers in areas away from the crucial areas of the arch, namely the retromolar pad area on buccal to the mental foramen. The Shining Elite Scanner allows you to do this in their own native imaging software. In the first video you will see how the arch tracker allows you to relate the iPG scans with your tissue scans.

Arch Tracker used to Relate the iPG and Ios Models to each other

You have to leave the arch tracker in place from the very beginning to the very end. If possible, we recommend you remove them only after you have placed the temporaries as it leaves you a back up in case something goes awry in the process. You will use it to relate the preop to the tissue to the iPG models.

Scanbody vs Scancap for the Shining Elite Device

The BIGGEST issue most people have with digital impression for full arch cases is how to keep track of relating models to each other, namely relating the preop to the tissue scan and to the domino scans.

In healed cases, this is much easier to manage. you have landmarks that are immobile in the tissue that you can use for this purpose, so make sure to capture data beyond your pre-existing prosthetic/teeth so that you can easily merge them later. relating the tissue scan to the dominos are also easy as the unaltered tissue between the two models can readily aid in that process

the degree of difficulty skyrockets when you have a surgical field with flaps moving and blood everywhere and you have many choices. my preference is to use a arch tracker that you place in bone and that stays in place throughout the whole process. the trouble with the arch tracker is that i can be in the way of surgical guides if you use them, or that they may move during the procedure if you bump into them. you’re ultimate savior then is the scancap. it is hard coded by shining to let you merge the dominos (scanbodies) with the scancaps.

Alternate methods include using proprietary material from sources that are very well versed in this matter, like Jonathan Abeneim’s Excel Protocol, which he highlights in this webinar. He used his THS caps to not only related these models to each other but also perfectly mount your models to the opposing arch

THS Caps by Dr. Johnathan Abeneim

Posted on November 21, 2024November 27, 2024 by Armen Mirzayan — Leave a comment

How to Use the Shining Photogrammetry and Elite Intra-Oral Scanner in Immediate Cases

Stitching Abutments
One of the most important things to keep in mind when imaging with scanner is to keep a stitching abutments in tact between various models. In dentate cases, we usually keep a few teeth and extract them at the very end. Other times, some surgeons prefer to extract all the teeth, place the implants, and then scan the multi unit abutments. In that situation, it is imperative that you add adjuncts to the equation like bone screws or arch trackers.
This must be applied to relating the preop jaw scan with the jaw scan AND also the tissue scan and domino scan flags in the equation.

If you do not have the stitching landmarks to relate his tissue scan and the domino scan. What gets even more complicated is that the software forces you capture the tissue and merge it to the dominos before you proceed.

The first video explains the software requirements, and the second video demonstrates how you can bypass that requirement for an immediate case

Case Set-Up

How to Image Immediate Extraction and Fixture Placement

Comparing the results of this case between the icam scan and the shining intra-oral photogrammetry machine
You can download these models and compare them for yourself:

icam vs shining elite

Category: Photogrammetry

Proving the Accuracy of Shining Elite Intra-Oral Photogrammetry Scanner

Case 1

06:47

the surgical plan01:59