Frequently asked questions
Find answers to our customers' questions.
General
Around three billion people worldwide suffer from dental caries. Yet analyzing X-ray images is not always easy, even for experienced specialists. By helping increase the «hit rate», Nostic Solutions’ CE-certified software helps improve the quality of X-ray diagnostics.
Our web-based software analyzes an X-ray image in a matter of seconds and immediately graphically displays any suspicious areas found. This enables dentists to focus on assessing risk areas that are not immediately seen by the naked eye. It also allows for the timely, exact, and reliable detection of tooth disorders, which is in the interest of patients.
Our software offers a consistently high detection rate for early carious lesions. If we compare Nostic’s detection rate with that of dentists in studies, the sensitivity of our software is in some cases significantly higher. When it comes to specificity, our software achieves similarly high values to those achieved by very good and experienced dentists.
The best results are achieved by dental practices that use our software to support their existing processes. Our software’s extreme sensitivity is an ideal complement to dental experience.
How Nostic.Caries affects the treatment process
No, not at all. The system provides an immediate, digital second opinion. This means that no transparent areas are overlooked, even in hectic times. In addition, the program is easy to use and can be integrated into most standard software used in dental practices. The program is approved as a medical device in Switzerland and the EU.
No, it does not. The purpose of the software is to make practitioners aware of suspicious areas and, in doing so, support them in their decision-making process. No software is a substitute for practitioners and their experience. However, the software offers very helpful support in diagnosing caries.
Dentists do not need to change the way they communicate with their patients when using Nostic in their dental practice. Nostic is designed to be used just like any other software or tool that dentists use in their clinical practice.
However, our experience shows that it is worth involving patients more in planning their treatment. Nostic software displays findings graphically, allowing practitioners to explain the analysis to patients in a clear and simple way. This establishes additional trust.
Use and mode of operation
It is possible to connect Nostic’s software to most standard X-ray sensors and imaging programs. Depending on the type of integration, a patient’s X-ray images are automatically and anonymously transmitted to Nostic’s system as soon as they have been made. In a matter of seconds, the results of the analysis are displayed on the screen in the dental practice. X-ray images can also be transmitted manually to Nostic’s system via an easy-to-use web application.
Yes, it is possible to integrate Nostic’s software with the most common software used in dental practices. And our software works with the most common X-ray sensors and imaging programs. If Nostic’s software is not supported by your systems, you can always use a basic drag-and-drop version.
The amount of time that Nostic’s software requires to complete an analysis depends on the speed of your internet connection and an image’s size. Normally, however, it takes less than five seconds. The maximum image size should not exceed 5 MB.
Nostic’s software is able to read all digital, two-dimensional X-ray images (bitewing). It can analyze standard image formats such as JPEG, PNG, and TIFF.
We recommend analyzing X-ray images in JPEG or PNG format. X-ray images of good quality (no overlapping and good contrast) improve the results of the analysis. We recommend a minimum image resolution of 800 x 1280 pixels.
Nostic’s software analyzes digital, two-dimensional dental X-ray images of the human dentition (upper and lower jaw). It improves the detection of caries and provides a digital second opinion. The software is not able to analyze orthopantomograms.
An algorithm compares the X-ray images to be analyzed with tens of thousands of images in Nostic’s database. As a result, it is able to detect and display any suspicious patterns. We worked together with several dental practices to create our database. The data used was analyzed and evaluated by several experts independently of each other. Because the algorithm is continually provided with new, analyzed images, it is constantly improving.
Data Protection
No. The only patient data transmitted to Nostic’s system is a patient’s X-ray. All X-ray images are transmitted in encrypted and anonymized form.
Legislation and our profession’s code of ethics require that we keep an image and the results of our software’s analysis for at least 20 years. Moreover, we save the results in anonymous and encrypted form.
Support
The amount of time it takes to receive the results of an analysis after transmitting an X-ray depends mainly on your network access. The analysis of an X-ray image on Nostic Solutions Ltd.’s server usually takes between one and three seconds. If you find yourself waiting awhile, it may be worth checking your internet connection. You can also check your internet provider’s website to see if any disruptions are listed there.
In the event that you receive an error message, please contact our support team. You can reach us by email at