Reference

JawAtlas frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions people ask before and after installing the app. For hands-on instructions see the how-to pages; for the imaging background see Learn.

How much does JawAtlas cost?

Nothing. JawAtlas is free, with no in-app purchases, no subscriptions, no ads and no accounts. There is no paid tier, and the app will stay free. You can get it from the download page.

Which devices and iOS versions does it support?

Any iPhone or iPad that runs iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or newer. Rendering uses Metal and the whole scan lives in a single 3D texture, so newer devices with more memory handle large fields of view more comfortably, but the demo scan runs well on everything that meets the iOS 18 requirement. The app is in English only.

Is there an Android version?

No. JawAtlas is built on Metal for rendering and ARKit for the AR view, both Apple-only frameworks. There is no Android version, no web version, and none is planned. If you are on Android or a PC, the viewer comparison lists free desktop and browser alternatives.

Does it work offline, and what happens to my scans?

JawAtlas works entirely offline. It contains no networking code at all, and an audit script in the build enforces that; there are no analytics, no crash reporting and no cloud sync. Scans are stored on the device under iOS data protection, and an optional Face ID or Touch ID lock can be turned on in Settings. The importer reads only a whitelist of technical DICOM tags, so patient name, ID and birth date never reach storage. Details are on Offline and private and the privacy page.

What scans can it open?

DICOM series with at least four slices, imported from a folder in the Files app or from a ZIP archive sent by AirDrop or any share sheet. Supported transfer syntaxes are Implicit and Explicit VR Little Endian, Deflated, RLE Lossless and JPEG Lossless (processes 14 and 70). Lossy JPEG, JPEG 2000 and JPEG-LS files are rejected per file with a clear message, so export your scan uncompressed or losslessly compressed. Multi-frame files, MONOCHROME1 inversion and missing rescale tags are handled, and slices are sorted by their physical position with gap and duplicate detection. See Import a DICOM folder.

Where does the demo scan come from?

The bundled scan is case M29 from "Adults' dental cone beam computed tomography images dataset for detecting and classifying missing teeth" by Feng, Li, Gu, Wang and Yu, published on Science Data Bank under CC BY 4.0 (doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.26465). The dataset is published de-identified. It is a 480 x 480 x 320 voxel volume at about 0.27 mm, a large-FOV mandible with a full arch, both rami, a left posterior edentulous site and a traceable inferior alveolar canal. It is seeded on first launch and can be restored from Settings with "Restore Demo Scan". More on the demo scan page.

Is JawAtlas a medical device?

No. JawAtlas is an education and training aid for learning to read CBCT anatomy and for exploring scans in teaching and research. It is not a medical device and must not be used for diagnosis or treatment decisions. The app says so on first launch, in Settings, in the AR view and in the footer of every exported PDF page. It has no implant libraries, no nerve safety metrics and no bone density classification, and never will.

How accurate are the measurements?

Length and angle are computed from the voxel spacing in the DICOM header, so the arithmetic is exact to the voxel. The uncertainty is in the geometry: a structure measured on a slice it does not lie in reads too long or too short, and voxel size (about 0.27 mm on the demo scan) sets a floor below which decimals mean nothing. Read Measure length and angle before trusting a number, and never use one for a patient.

What do I need for AR slice-through?

A physical iPhone or iPad; the AR view does not run in the iOS Simulator and tells you so. You also need camera permission, a flat surface with some texture and reasonable light. The camera is used only for tracking; nothing is recorded or sent. The walkthrough is on Use AR slice-through.

Can I share a case?

Yes. Long-press a case in the library and choose "Share Case". The archive contains the scan, the saved moments and marks, the arch curve and the case notes, and the recipient opens it in JawAtlas with one tap. A folder of shared cases can be batch-imported. You can also export a PDF summary of your marked views for people without the app. The app never stores identifiers, but it cannot see what is in a label, a note or a photo, so never share a scan that carries patient information. See Share a case and export a PDF.

What is different on iPad?

The MPR stage shows a 2x2 grid with axial, sagittal, coronal and a live 3D pane whenever the app is wide enough, and falls back to the single-pane layout in a narrow Split View. The app supports Split View and screen mirroring like any other iPad app, and Apple Pencil works as a touch input for marks. See JawAtlas on iPad.

How do I report a bug?

Email [email protected] with the device model, the iOS version, what you did, what you expected and what happened instead. A screenshot or a short screen recording helps. If the problem is with a particular scan, describe the export (scanner, software, compression) rather than attaching it, and never send a scan that contains patient information.

Is the source code public?

No. The app is free to use, but the source code is private. The demo dataset is open under CC BY 4.0 and credited in the app's Settings, and the website's about page explains who makes JawAtlas and why.

JawAtlas is an education and training aid. It is not a medical device and must not be used for diagnosis, treatment planning or any clinical decision.

Last reviewed 2026-10-13