Implant X-Ray Identifier

It finds each implant on the X-ray, reads its outline (the body shape, the threads, the collar and the tip) and scores it against our library of reference images. The score then leans toward makers we estimate are common on US lab cases, and toward the most common kind of implant (tapered body, internal connection, V-threads). That lean doesn't come from your X-ray, and on most of our test X-rays it changed the first answer. You get the five top-scoring systems for each implant, with a picture to compare wherever we have one we've checked.

Likely is 70% or more, Possible 50 to 70%, and Best guess under 50%. No answer reached Likely in our tests and only a handful reached Possible, so almost everything you see will be a Best guess. The percentage next to a model is the chance that the implant is that model or one of its look-alikes from the same maker, and it usually covers three or four models, not just the name you see. It was measured on X-rays with known answers. Best guesses read about 25%, and how often they were right ran from 8% to 43% depending on the test set. Manufacturer percentages run a little high: on mixed test sets they read about 30% and were right about 25% of the time. Treat every answer as a lead to confirm.

Each percentage stands on its own, so they don't add up to 100%.

It is sent to our secure server, waits in line for its turn, and is deleted the moment it has been matched. The answer is shown only in your browser and is deleted from the server as soon as your page has it, or after five minutes if the page was closed. Nothing is saved, and the file's name never leaves your computer.

The original file from the sensor or imaging software, taken straight on, with the whole implant in view from the collar to the tip. A DICOM file carries the true scale, so the implant's size can be measured. Crowded panoramic X-rays, cropped implants, screenshots and photos of a monitor all lower the match.

If you have more than one X-ray of the same implant, send them together for one answer from all of them.

Matching takes our server about 5 to 20 seconds per X-ray, so X-rays are matched one at a time, in the order they arrive. The page shows your place in line and an estimate of the time left.

Often you can't tell from the answer. Almost every answer is a Best guess with a low percentage, even when the system is in our library, so a low number doesn't mean it's missing. Some systems aren't in the library at all, and others are in it but almost never come back. The tool still gives five answers for those, and they will be wrong. Check the patient's records or ask the placing clinician.