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Osstell 2015 – A New Beginning

Dec 22, 2015

By Jonas Ehinger, CEO Osstell

With a few more days to go before the holidays are upon us, it is natural to spend a few minutes thinking about the past year. For us here at Osstell, 2015 has been a year with an unusual amount of changes. On top of the list is the completely new and unique Osstell IDx. The IDx concept has been in the works for a few years, but the actual product development was accelerated in 2013/14, and is the result of the effort involving customers and all Osstell team members. The IDx is much more than just an instrument or a simple measurement device – it has lots of horsepower behind its new user interface and modern looks. Things that we believe will be very important facilitators for our current and future users in the years to come.  

 

The Reasons We Went in This Direction

Like many others in the dental implant industry we also believe that the market will change; digitalization, patient empowerment and more dentists coming into the field with less experience and know-how initially. The Osstell IDx is part of a new strategy to ensure that we help our customers and their patients be confident in key aspects of the implant treatment. The IDx is securing that the only objective diagnostic method to assess osseointegration evolves at the same pace as the rest of the world and our reality. The long-time users of the previous Osstell instruments have provided valuable feedback over the years, pointing out some of the deficiencies or shortcomings of the previous instrument generations. The actual technical capabilities are less important compared to the ease of use, and clinical confidence when relying on the Osstell diagnostic technology. We are confident that the IDx fulfills these things and allows you to utilize it in a simple yet efficient way with, or without things like digital workflow, paperless office, cloud based and online services. We have also made sure your ISQ data is always safe, so you will never risk losing it. We feel it is our responsibility to ensure that you have access to all these capabilities but do not have think about it – you can instead focus your time and expertise on the patients and the clinical outcome.

With that said, the current IDx and Osstell Connect, is just the first step in a journey of evolutionary steps, as we continuously improve the platform based on our users’ needs.

Osstell Connect

Reactions from Key Opinion Leaders, Customers & Partners

So how did it go – how was the IDx received? Was it a textbook success or a “learning experience”? Actually, we are still early in our launch – it will take an additional year or two before it is fully launched in all the markets we are active in. There are certainly some things that we should have included in the platform from day 1. And perhaps the time schedule was a bit too optimistic. But overall, the reactions from our users, clinical advisors, KOL’s and partners have been clear – this is the way to go. Many of you have made suggestions, both for the present and for the future – such input is very valuable to us, and allows us to improve and shape the Osstell technology into what it you really need it to be.

Other Highlights

As part of our launch, we ran a social media contest where Dr. Zeljco Popadic (Croatia) was randomly selected as the winner of an Osstell IDx. You can watch (or read) the interview here.

At AO in San Francisco, we hosted a well-received Corporate Forum. The speakers were Prof. Peter Moy, Dr. Jeff Ganeles, and Dr. Scott Ganz (a special thank you for helping us making this into a success!). It was a first in the way the event was structured, with clinical case presentations and an interactive discussion between the panelists and the audience. The lectures are of course available for you here.

In September, another major event took place – EAO 2015 and the Osstell Scientific Symposium in Stockholm. For us it was a very special occasion since it was 25 years ago the Osstell technology was born, it took place in Sweden, and we introduced a new product generation. We wanted to make sure that this event was a valuable experience for all participants. We did so primarily with the help of Prof. Peter Moy (LA, USA), Prof. Daniel Buser (Bern, Switzerland) and Dr. Marcus Dagnelid (Gothenburg, Sweden) who also moderated the session. This time we wanted to increase the interactivity and ability for the audience to join in the discussion by using sli.do. This allowed the audience to actively participate in the presentations, by voting in polls, and by posing questions to the speakers before, during and after the actual event. With close to 300 participants, and the amount of engagement from the audience, it is safe to say that the symposium was a success! See for yourself by looking at our videos from the symposium, by clicking here.

Prof Daniel Buser Prof Peter Moy & Dr Marcus Dagnelid

As part of this event, we also ran a contest where Dr. Colin Neil (UK) was randomly selected as the winner of an Osstell IDx. By registering to our Corporate Forum at AO, you too can enter for a chance to win an Osstell IDx! Learn more >

So What’s Next?

There are many highlights from the year we are soon putting behind us. However, we are now looking forward to the year(s) to come. We think that one very important trend that we will see more and more manifestations of is the digitalization of health care. This transformation has already happened in other aspects of our lives. A very interesting summary from MedTech Views that I recently came across describes the strongest trends in this development and how those trends affect technology innovation. Personally, I found it very interesting! Another trend is that dental care is a good place to be in – due to demographics and economic growth, the market will expand as dental care spending will grow with 60% in the coming decade! (Read more here.)

For Osstell, 2016 will mean new products and partnerships , expansion of the IDx “smartness”, upgrades to the Osstell Connect service, and more clinical knowledge in the use of Osstell technology (there are now well over 700 studies published using the Osstell, see our Scientific Database.

Really close in time is our 2nd Corporate Forum at AO 2016 in San Diego. It will be a very interesting event with our speaker line-up of Dr. William Martin, Director, Center for Implant Dentistry at the University of Florida, College of Dentistry., Dr. Pamela McClain and Dr. Rachel Schallhorn, Private practice, Aurora, CO. The forum presentations will again be very case and decision oriented. In a recent interview, Dr. William Martin described the role of the Osstell ISQ technology for patients with complications, but also how they are using it daily on all patients, as well in the education of young clinicians.

We look forward to seeing you in 2016, and at our Corporate Forum at AO if you can make it – it will be a great event! We will soon be back with more news and useful content for you!

Happy Holidays from all of us at Osstell!