Interview: “This software will be revolutionary”

At the recent 2019 Greater New York Dental Meeting (GNYDM), Dental Tribune International spoke with Edward Im, sales manager at DIGIRAY, about the company’s products and services and how it is integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its software.

Mr. Im, this is DIGIRAY’s first time exhibiting at the GNYDM. How has it gone so far?
Well, this is the biggest dental show in the U.S., so we were very excited to be able to attend this year for the first time. So far, we have been more than happy with how the show has gone. We’re here to look for new distributors for our products, especially in the South American region, which is a new market for DIGIRAY.

What is DIGIRAY highlighting here in New York?
We are showing the FireCR Dental Reader, which efficiently delivers high-quality digital images for dental practices. It comes with reusable phosphor dental imaging plates that can be used with conventional radiographic machines in a way that is cheaper and faster than traditional film methods—once inserted into the reader, it only takes about 6 seconds for a high-resolution digital image to be created.

We’ve also developed industry-first universal imaging plates that are cross-compatible with most of our competitors’ devices at a relatively lower price, which makes radiographic image scanning much more convenient.

What sort of imaging software is required for this machine, then?
The software that powers the FireCR Dental Reader is designed in-house, is updated automatically and is very powerful. It is available in a variety of languages including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Czech, Russian, Turkish, Korean, Bulgarian, Danish, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian and Ukrainian and has an intuitive workflow that allows dental professionals to easily enhance images and diagnose more precisely.

DIGIRAY is also investigating how AI can be used in its software. Could you please explain something about this?
Of course. Our AI-backed software will be launched in March 2020, and a beta version will be released in January for our existing customers in the veterinary sector to test it out first. This software will be able to identify hidden or invisible cavities in patients’ teeth, cavities that cannot be seen with the eye or even with current radiographic images. It will also be able to detect cysts in the root of the tooth, making this part of diagnosis easier for dentists without them having to first acquire qualifications regarding professional radiographic image reading and interpreting.

This software will be revolutionary, a market first, and even compatible with DR [digital radiographic] oral sensors. The AI feature will help it to keep learning and improving, assisting dental practices as never before. We also have a strong technical support team at DIGIRAY—our European and American service centers will be running next year—to assist our customers with any issues or questions they might have.