DentalAir

BM Toyo Corporation

DentalAir makes it more efficient to shoot intraoral photographs of facial features, which are important for full dental treatment. Using the application installed on your iPad, you can perform real-time preview of photographed pictures, as well as transferring from camera to storage, adjusting the picture size, and even sorting the folder for each patient. To realize the real-time preview functionality, FlashAir is adopted as a photographing camera.

FlashAir Developers visited Demachi Trust Dental & Orthodontic (open on April 1, 2016) where DentalAir is fully adopted and is taking intraoral photographs and facial features. Mr. Masayoshi Nakatani Representative Director BM Toho Co., Ltd., Project MTK Representative Mr. Masayoshi Front, who oversaw development, Mr. Yoshimi Hirata Dental Hygienist Yamamoto Dental Clinic, Medical Corporation Initiative Creation Division were all present.

Note: DentalAir uses OEM version wireless LAN SD memory card with similar function, not FlashAir. For the sake of clarity, we do not specifically distinguish it in sentences, but please be careful.

FlashAir Developers（below, —）：Please give me an overview of the system.

BM Toyo Nakatani (below, Nakatani): DentalAir is a system that can semi-automatically perform the work of adjusting photo size, sorting folders for each patient, and saving to storage after photographing intraoral and facial expressions photographs.

Medical corporation Souseikai Yamamoto Dental Clinic Mr. Hirata (below, Hirata): In our hospital, to diagnose treatment, we shoot intraoral and facial features photographs. Since our hospital focuses on orthodontics, the number of photographs per person can be as high as 20. With Dental Air, taking pictures with a digital single-lens camera, changing the file name and sorting it into folders for each patient / date, and saving them in a clinic storage system is done for each patient.

Project MTK Mr. Mae（below, Mae）: Photos taken with a camera are transferred to the operation iPad equipped with the DentalAir application in real time. Upon completion of shooting, the application will resize the photos, sort the folders and transfer them to the file server in the hospital all at once by operating the "Upload" button on the application. Real-time transfer to the iPad uses FlashAir's web server function. Resizing photo is done by iPad and sorting by Raspberry Pi.

—: How much improvement did you have?

Hirata: There are dozens of patients every day -- which when sorting conventionally -- took more than 30 minutes, but with DentalAir you simply push the transfer start button; it ends up taking 2 seconds (lol). Additionally, when the process was done manually, there were times when a worker could make a mistake, but that has now been completely eliminated.

—: A hospital that adopts an IT system such as this is a bit of a rare occurrence.

Hirata: Yamamoto, our hospital director, has a policy to increase work efficiency by actively adopting advanced medical technology and digital technology, and to spend more time on staff for patients. Digitization is wonderful.

Nakatani: Since Mr. Yamamoto is a teacher who is holding a seminar with orthodontic medical technology at orthodontics, we are actively working on advanced technology of IT.

—: It is wonderful. Is the effort to digitize from DentalAir?

Hirata: No, in cooperation with BM Toyo, we tried various workflow efficiency trials and eventually settled on DentalAir. For example, at first, the data recorded on the CF card was manually transferred to the PC. After that, I used another wireless LAN SD card.

Mae: I was using another wireless LAN SD card around 2012, but as the product lineup changed, I began looking for another product. Eventually I learned about FlashAir and since I knew that the API was quite robust, I opted to use it. The timing worked well in my favor as other elemental technologies such as Raspberry Pi had just begun emerging. The development period of DentalAir itself is about half a year.

—: What sort of issues did you encounter during development?

Mae: With respect to FlashAir, it is the stability of wireless LAN. On the DentalAir system, FlashAir is set to AP mode when connecting the preview iPad to FlashAir. When using STA mode, iPad and FlashAir can always connect to the in-hospital LAN, so we examined the use. However, since the connection tends to be unstable via the router, it is not known whether it is connected or not, so it was not adopted in the end.

—: Is there anything you still want to improve with the system?

Hirata: I want to delete unnecessary pictures with camera side operation.

Mae: Because the transfer is done in real time, even if you delete it later with the camera, it has already been transferred.

—: Is it possible to detect deletion if you see the difference in the list?

Mae: Good idea. I will think about it.

—: Do you have any functionality requests of FlashAir?

Mae: Since the stability of the wireless LAN is key, because it can be an OEM exclusive item, is it not better to attach an external antenna for embedded applications?

—: Are you planning to expand DentalAir more in the future?

Nakatani: Yes, I am thinking about deployment, but it is a secret (lol).

Hirata: DentalAir is also employed at Yamamoto Dental Clinic, my main work place, and our hospital will be used for second development. I am training staff at our hospital how to use it, but it is still difficult for medical staff who are not IT experts to understand the technology. It is good when you can use it without problems, but if it comes to using specialized technology, corresponding knowledge is needed.

Nakatani: Lectures, etc. will be examined.

—: Thank you for today.

Hirata, Nakatani, Mae: Thank you very much.

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For inquiries: FlashAir Developers