Ten Years of SICAT - 3D Planning and Treatment Solutions

In November, SICAT, the specialist in dental 3D planning and treatment solutions, celebrated its tenth birthday - "a success story from conception to startup to a valuable member of the Sirona family," describes Stefan Hehn, Vice President of Imaging Systems at Sirona, at the anniversary reception.

The business idea had its origin in medicine. Jochen Kusch and Dr. Joachim Hey were working as engineers at Siemens, where they were responsible for developing and marketing the world's first 3D C-arm for navigated trauma and spinal surgery. They both had a 3D solution for the dental field in mind – and they found a partner in Sirona and the „Center for Advanced European Studies and Research" in Bonn (caesar). „Our aim was to use imaging techniques to plan safe surgical procedures in the oral and maxillofacial region and with the help of templates, make it even more predictable," explains Kusch.

Market Leader in Drilling Templates

A milestone in the development of the company came in 2007 with the launch of GALILEOS, the first 3D X-ray unit and accompanying GALAXIS 3D software from Sirona and the SICAT CLASSICGUIDE drilling templates. Integrating the GALILEOS Implant software makes it possible to plan the patient's implant on the computer starting with the imaging procedure. In a few steps, the positioning of the implants and abutments from numerous manufacturers can be planned and a SICAT drilling template ordered. Based on annual software installations, SICAT, with the GALILEOS Implant software and templates, is the world leader today.

The latest innovation, SICAT Function, supports dental practitioners and orthodontists in diagnosing and treating a widespread disease pattern, craniomandibular dysfunction (CMD). Together with the new SICAT Air software for analysis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea that will be launched in the coming year, SICAT underscores its innovative leadership in this area.

Integration into Clinical Workflow

The company collaborates closely in development with the dental clinic at the University of Cologne amongst others. For example, they jointly developed the clinical requirements for 3D X-ray units. "It's important to clinicians that the entire craniofacial region is visualized and that they have software support for diagnostics," explains Hey. "In addition, we focus on ease of integration into the clinical workflow."

For SICAT, the trend towards digitization of the dental industry confirms the original idea that the field of prosthetic design (CAD/CAM), as well as X-ray diagnostics and treatment planning are coming ever closer together and are already merging when it comes to software solutions. It's reality at CEREC, the system for computer-aided ceramic restorations. Continuing to advance integration of functions is the aim of managing directors Kusch and Hey. "We feel that our company, which started in 2004 with twelve employees and now has 100, is in a good position for this."

ABOUT SICAT

SICAT is an innovative company which was established in 2004 as a joint venture between HICAT GmbH – a spin-off of the caesar research center - and Sirona Dental Systems GmbH. Active in three-dimensional imaging with a selection of products and solutions for dental implantology, functional diagnostics and therapy as well as oral and maxillofacial surgery, SICAT concentrates on the development of user-friendly and cost-efficient software and hardware.

ABOUT SIRONA DENTAL SYSTEMS, INC.

Sirona, the dental technology and innovation leader, has served dealers and dentists worldwide for more than 130 years. Sirona develops, manufactures, and markets a complete line of dental products, including CAD/CAM restoration systems (CEREC), digital intra-oral, panoramic and 3D imaging systems, dental treatment centers and handpieces.