Footin' the Bill

Found an interesting product online. It's a footpedal created by Beckmer called the Dental RAT (Remote Access Terminal). It appears to be a foot pedal that is used primarily to enter periodontal chartings in your software. There are four buttons...click one of them to enter probings from 1-4, hold each one for probings of 5-8. There are also joystick and left/right click buttons.

I can see how this would be a nice solution for hygienists or dentists who work without an assistant. A couple of hesitations: As a periodontist, I'm well aware that the probings don't end at 8 mm, so I don't know how they allow you to enter numbers great than 8. Also, from their installation video online, it appears that the system requires use of a PS/2 port, something that most Dells no longer have (they use USB for keyboard and mouse). Finally, the name...although it takes the place of a mouse, I'm not sure if the name "rat" would have been my first choice :-) But, the system is certainly worth exploring. No idea on pricing.