Placing implant templates
Templates are scaled overlays of real implants, drawn from the manufacturer’s own dimensions. Once placed, the overlay represents the implant’s footprint at the scale you set when you calibrated the radiograph. That is the whole dependency: the overlay is only as accurate as the calibration behind it, so check the calibration before you rely on a fit.
Why won’t the app let me place a template?
Calibrate the radiograph first. The Implants tab will refuse to arm a template without a scale set.
How do I place an implant template?
- Open the Implants sidebar tab.
- Search or filter by brand, system, and screw diameter.
- Click the template you want. A translucent ghost appears on the cursor.
- Move to the position you want and click to commit.
Every plate arrives standing up — its long axis vertical — in the list, on the ghost and where it lands, whichever way the manufacturer’s drawing was laid out. The ghost is screen-aligned during placement — it doesn’t rotate with the X-ray. Once placed, the implant becomes anchored to the bone: if you later rotate the radiograph to view the leg differently, the implant rotates with it.
How do I cancel a placement?
- Press Escape while the ghost is showing — cancels without placing.
- Right-click the canvas — same effect.
- Click the armed template’s sidebar button again — unarms.
How do I compare or swap plate sizes?
When an implant is selected, a swap panel appears in the bottom-left corner of the films. From here you can:
- Switch sister variants — slide between hole counts and sizes within the same family.
- Toggle Left/Right for side-specific implants.
- Toggle front/side view of the implant.
- Delete the placed implant (trash icon).
The implant on the film changes as you drag a size slider, so you can judge the fit against the bone as you go, and the whole drag is still a single undo step. Use the − / + buttons to step one size at a time. The implant’s centre position and the way it points are preserved across swaps, so you can iterate on size without re-aiming.
The panel keeps the same rows for every size of an implant. Where some sizes offer a choice that others don’t — a second length, say — that row stays for every size and is greyed out where there is nothing to choose, so the size slider and its − / + buttons never move under your pointer.
If a placed implant has no sister variants to swap to, the panel shows just its name and the delete button.
Where does the implant panel sit, and can I move it?
- Drag it by its header to anywhere over the films. It stays where you leave it.
- Put it in the sidebar with the button in its header. It then sits at the top of the Implants tab, pinned above the implant search, and selecting an implant opens the sidebar on that tab. The button beside its delete icon floats it back out over the films.
- Close it with the ×, which deselects the implant.
The app remembers both choices on each browser. On a phone, or any window too narrow to keep the sidebar open beside the films, the panel always sits in the tools drawer.
How do I move, turn or delete a placed implant?
- Move: click and drag the body of the implant.
- Rotate: drag either of the cyan circles at the implant’s two ends. The implant turns about the other end, which stays where it is.
- Delete: select it and press Delete or Backspace, or use the trash button in the swap panel.
Where are the implants I used last?
The Implants tab floats your most-used implants to the top in the Recently Used section — useful when planning multiple cases in the same family.
How accurate are the templates?
- Overlay dimensions reflect the manufacturer’s specifications encoded in the template library. If a template’s dimensions look off, report it — it’s almost certainly a library data issue, not a calibration issue.
- Screw hole positions are derived from manufacturer drawings where available. Visual screw placement is a planning aid, not a substitute for intraoperative judgement.