JawAtlasFeature
The whole jaw, rendered on the GPU
A Metal ray marcher draws the full CBCT volume on the device at 60 frames per second, with the presets students actually use and nothing that pretends to be a clinical tool.
How it is drawn
The volume lives in a single 3D texture on the GPU. For every pixel on screen, a fragment shader marches a ray through the texture, accumulating opacity and colour according to the chosen transfer function and shading the surface with gradients computed from neighbouring voxels. The MPR panes, the panoramic and the AR mode all sample the same texture, which is why switching stages is instant.
Presets and shading
- Bone shows the cortical and trabecular bone with teeth, the view most students start with.
- Teeth raises the threshold so enamel and dentine stand out and bone fades.
- Soft tissue lowers it to show the skin surface and the airway.
- MIP replaces accumulation with a maximum intensity projection, so the result reads like a radiograph. What MIP shows and hides.
- Shaded toggles surface lighting on and off.
Why 3D comes last when you learn
The 3D view is the most impressive and the least informative. It shows surfaces, and a surface depends on a threshold you chose. Reading the slices is where you learn; the 3D view is where you check that what you found makes sense in space. The reading routine puts it at the end on purpose.
From 3D to AR
The same plane mathematics that cuts the volume in the Slice stage also drives the AR slice-through, where the camera pose becomes the plane. Nothing is re-rendered or converted; the scan simply sits on the table.
Questions students ask
Does 3D rendering need an internet connection or a server?
No. Everything is rendered on the device's GPU with Metal. The app has no networking code at all.
What is the MIP mode?
Maximum intensity projection: along each line of sight only the brightest voxel is shown, which produces an image that looks like a radiograph. It is useful for seeing dense structures at a glance, and it hides depth, which is exactly why it is worth learning.
Can I measure on the 3D view?
No. Measurements live in the 2D views, where they are calibrated from the slice spacing. The 3D view is for orientation and overview.
Which devices run it smoothly?
Any iPhone or iPad that runs iOS 18 or later. The renderer targets 60 frames per second and the demo volume is 480 by 480 by 320 voxels.
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