Using Open Dental for Xray Imaging.

[bpcomp]

Currently in our office we bridge to Patterson Imaging but we would really love to have imaging all handled by OpenDental. I'm trying to think about what features we need from an imaging program. Seems to me that most imaging solutions do more than most offices use or require. The basics as I see it are as follows:

Xray support features for open dental

*Mounts for xrays. Example is mount for 4 bitewings. Could probably implement in the sheet framework for ultimate customization.

*Capture multiple xrays into a template without having to initiate each individual capture. I know the common method for this is direct support for the xray sensor. I think most functionality could be accomplished through TWAIN which that majority of xray softwares support. Could be accomplished with multipage capture on a timer but not going to a pdf?

*Print patient information option when printing out. Would have options to include multiple images on one page and include patient name, DOB, office info, etc. Should also include option to print horizontally.


*Email xrays. Should have option to email xrays and images to another office. Current functionality is that email option is only available if patient has email address entered. You can then select from the non-descriptive images out of the A-Z images folder. Would be better to select on screen and then attach in email.

*Better imaging tools. Rather than reinventing the wheel, I wonder if you could include/bridge to another opensource program like http://www.gimp.org and use that for advanced image processing. From some quick looking, gimp can open and save as DICOM.

*Storage of original unmodified file and enhanced one. Original xray image should never be permanently edited. Rather create an edit overlay or a new image.

*Side by side comparison. It would be great to bring up two images and compare them, example would be BW’s from a year ago and BW’s from today.

[jordansparks]

We already do keep the original image unmodified for our current crop, brightness, and contrast tools. Many of the items you list are already feature requests. Some of them are partially done, such as mounts. Image editing tools is the hardest and would probably be the last thing on this list that we tackle.