Case Study: An AREC a Day Makes the Dentist Say Hooray!

Dear ADENA Partners, our case study this month comes from a respected dental practice in the UK, Lodge Dental. Delivered by system integrator Spartan Audio through our distributor, the CUK Group / Tukans, this project is a perfect example of how professional healthcare institutions can use AREC devices to create impressive presentations and recordings – without requiring any training.

Lodge Dental is a private dental practice located in the picturesque town of Abergavenny, Wales. This award-winning institution is known for providing the highest standard of care, thanks to its highly trained team. Due to its strong reputation, Lodge Dental has become a hub for sharing industry knowledge and showcasing new technologies in that part of the UK, regularly welcoming guest practitioners who perform demonstration surgeries and deliver guest lectures.

To make the training and guidance sessions held at the clinic more visually engaging and easier to manage, Lodge Dental began exploring professional AV solutions. The key requirement was simplicity – practitioners without a technical background needed to be able to present and record lectures effortlessly. At the same time, the solution had to deliver visually appealing results that would make presentations enjoyable to watch. From a hardware perspective, it also needed to support multiple HDMI inputs from across the building, including Mac and Windows laptops, Canon cameras, and surgical cameras. Spartan Audio, a leading system integrator in Wales, delivered just what the doctor ordered with a system based on AREC technology and a selection of other complementary brands.

LS-860(N) Media Station

The AREC LS-860 Media Stations fully met all of these requirements and became the foundation upon which the entire solution was built. These powerful devices offer four HDMI inputs, allowing a wide range of hardware to be connected with ease. The Media Stations handle several key tasks – firstly, they are used for source switching, enabling smooth transitions between various camera and laptop inputs. They also provide custom video layouts, combining video sources in split-screen, picture-in-picture, and other formats, while adding graphic effects and branding for a polished look. Presenters at Lodge Dental can easily choose which source  – or combination of sources – to display, thanks to the Media Station’s versatile outputs.

What’s more, the LS-860 enhances the visual flow with built-in production features, such as customisable fade-in and fade-out transitions. These not only contribute to a more professional presentation but also help mask camera movement. When sessions need to be recorded, the LS-860 handles that too – capturing both the mixed video output with custom graphics and layouts, as well as all individual video sources separately.

The stations at Lodge Dental were configured for easy control through multiple methods. One of the primary solutions is the Symetrix Prism, which provides access to key LS-860 functions as requested by the clinic, while also managing audio routing – including background music, the outdoor terrace speaker system, and wireless microphones. Additional control is available through the LS-860’s Online Director web interface, offering more options for graphical customisation and source previews. A mobile-friendly version of this interface is also available and requires no special software – users can access it directly through a standard web browser.

The video sources at Lodge Dental are connected to the LS-860 using Blustream’s HDBaseT products – specifically, HEX11WP-TX transmitters and HEX70CS-RX receivers. Multiple pairs of these devices are installed throughout the clinic to ensure near-zero latency in content transmission. The resulting video is displayed on Optoma 86” Interactive Flat Panels, with an additional monitor located in the surgery room. This setup allows dentists to monitor their work in real time while adjusting the cameras as needed.

Lodge Dental is very pleased with the implemented system and continues to use it regularly with great success. Is your clinic or hospital looking for a solution that makes training and capturing procedures easier than ever? Contact us at www.a-dena.com – we’ll be happy to discuss how we can help.

Special thanks to the Spartan Audio team for providing the materials!

• Dave Morgan | LinkedIn 

• Sean Hales | LinkedIn 

• Emma Kingman | LinkedIn