Plan an implant case in Studio

Cympha Studio places implants from the catalog against a CBCT and saves the plan as an .imp, a file you can drop into a case or open in GuideMia dental implant software on the desktop.

Audience: Clinicians and implant designers placing implants directly in Cympha Studio against a CBCT. Whether you're sketching a single implant for a colleague to refine, or doing a full multi-tooth plan you'll save and send out, this is the doc for the native Studio workflow.

You'll come away knowing: how to open the Implant toolbox, pick an implant from the catalog, place it on a tooth using the 3D view or an MPR slice, fine-tune position with the gizmo, save the plan to an .imp file (locally or to cloud), and notify a colleague.

Time required: Around fifteen minutes for the first single-implant case. Add roughly two minutes per additional implant once the workflow is muscle memory.

Before you start

You need:

A DICOM CBCT loaded in the Studio session. The Implant icon on the left strip is gated on this — no CT, no implant tools. If your CBCT is sitting in your Cympha cloud, open it in Studio first; if it's a local zip, use the hamburger menu's Open DICOM… action.
A tooth number in mind for each implant you plan to place. Studio's tooth numbering follows FDI except in US locales, where Universal numbering is used.
The implant brand + dimensions you intend to use. The embedded catalog covers most major systems; if your brand isn't represented you can still enter diameter, length, and apical diameter manually.

If you want to round-trip the plan with GuideMia Implant Software on the desktop, see Implant interoperability — .pie round-trip instead. This doc covers the in-browser flow with .imp files.

Step 1 — Open the Implant toolbox

In Studio's left strip, click the Implant icon. The Implant panel docks open on the left. You'll see:

Open catalog… at the top.
A row of input fields for tooth number, diameter, length, apical diameter, brand, and catalog ID.
The Add and Update buttons below the fields.
Export and Import for both local (.imp file on disk) and cloud (saved to your Cympha cloud).
Notify by email… for sending a prefilled note to a colleague.

If the panel reads "Load a CT volume first", your DICOM didn't finish loading — use the hamburger menu's Open DICOM… and wait for the slices to render.

Step 2 — Pick the implant from the catalog (optional)

Click Open catalog…. A dialog lists every implant in the embedded library, grouped by brand and system. Browse or search for the implant you want.

Selecting a catalog row fills the panel's diameter, length, apical, brand, and catalog ID fields automatically. You can still edit each field after — the catalog is a starting point, not a lock.

If your brand isn't in the catalog, skip this step and type the numeric fields manually. The plan still saves and loads correctly; it just won't carry a catalog ID.

Step 3 — Set the tooth number and arm placement

Type or confirm the tooth number. Verify the numeric fields against your plan.

Click Add. The status line below the button updates to prompt you: "Click in 3D or a slice view to place." The cursor in both views becomes a placement target.

If you try to add an implant to a tooth that already has one, an alert explains the conflict. Pick a different tooth number or delete the existing implant from the Models browser in the top toolbar before retrying.

Step 4 — Place the implant

Click the site in either:

The main 3D view — useful when you have a clear soft-tissue or bone view.
An MPR slice (axial, coronal, sagittal, or panoramic) — usually preferable for precise bone-level placement.

The implant geometry appears at the click site. The gizmo opens around the implant for fine-tuning.

Step 5 — Fine-tune with the gizmo

Use the gizmo to adjust position and angulation:

Drag the gizmo's translation handles to move the implant.
Drag the rotation rings to adjust angulation.
Double-click the implant in the 3D view to open the movement panel for keyboard-driven fine adjustment.
Use the slice gizmos in the MPR views for axis-aligned nudges along the bone.

If you change a numeric field in the panel (e.g. a longer implant), click Update to regenerate the geometry. Update is disabled while a placement is still pending — finish the placement click first.

Step 6 — Add more implants (optional)

Repeat Steps 3 through 5 for each additional tooth. Each implant is independent; you don't have to re-open the catalog if you're placing the same family. Just change the tooth number, click Add, click the site.

Step 7 — Save the plan

You have two save destinations:

Export (local) — downloads an .imp file (e.g. implant-plan.imp) to your computer. The .imp is XML metadata, not mesh blobs, so it's small and human-readable. Send it via email, drop it in a Cympha case, or hand it to GuideMia Implant Software on a colleague's desktop.
Export (cloud) — saves the plan to your Cympha cloud, associated with the loaded CBCT series, so Import (cloud) can bring it back later when the same scan is open — no filenames to remember.

Click your preferred destination. The button label flips to "Exporting…" briefly, then back.

Step 8 — Notify a colleague (optional)

Click Notify by email…. A prefilled email opens in your default mail client with the patient name, the CBCT description, and instructions to import the plan. Add the colleague's address and send.

For a stronger handoff, share the file from your cloud instead — you keep an audit trail in Cympha.

What success looks like

Every implant you placed shows in the Models browser at the top.
Each implant's tooth number, brand, and dimensions match what you entered.
The .imp file (or cloud slot) holds the plan; importing it back into a fresh Studio session reproduces every implant at the same position.

What happens next

Round-trip to the desktop. A .imp exported here imports cleanly into GuideMia Implant Software. The reverse also works — see Implant interoperability — .pie round-trip.
Sleeves. If implants ever show without their sleeves, re-import the .imp — Import plan re-adds placements and sleeves.
Share with a colleague for review. Drop the .imp into a Cympha case or share it directly from your cloud folder — both paths preserve the same XML metadata.

Troubleshooting

The Implant icon on the left strip is greyed out. No DICOM CT is loaded. Use the hamburger menu's Open DICOM… action (or open a cloud DICOM in Studio) and wait for the slices to render before clicking the Implant icon.

After Add, clicking in 3D doesn't place anything. The status line should say "Click in 3D or a slice view to place." If it doesn't, Add wasn't actually armed — re-check the tooth number and click Add again.

The catalog is missing a brand we use. Type the numeric fields manually; the plan still saves and loads. If the brand should be in the catalog, file feedback through Cympha — the catalog is updated periodically.

Import (cloud) buttons are greyed out. Cloud export/import writes to your Cympha cloud, so it needs a signed-in Cympha account. If you can't sign in here, use Export (local) and share the .imp file directly.

An implant won't update after I changed its diameter. Make sure the implant is selected in the Models browser at the top, then edit the fields in the Implant panel and click Update. If Update is disabled, a placement is still pending — click in 3D first to finish it, then try again.

I can't find the implant I just placed. Open the Models browser in the top toolbar; every implant has a row there. Select it to focus the gizmo on it.

Last updated 2026-05-30.