Cephalometric Tracing on macOS

Cephalometric tracing starts from an already imported lateral cephalometric radiograph. OrthoKit guides point placement, calculates measurements and lets you expand the tracing with new structures or analyses.

Before You Start

• Import the patient’s lateral cephalometric radiograph first.
• Check that the radiograph includes a calibration ruler.
• Use tracing as a supervised clinical tool: the result must be reviewed by a professional.

Start the Tracing

1. Open the patient and go to radiographs.
2. Locate the lateral cephalometric radiograph you already imported.
3. Click Trace in the upper-right corner.
4. In the configuration window, review the analysis column and the structures column.
5. Select the analysis you want to perform, for example Steiner.
6. Leave the mandatory structures selected. They appear in gray and cannot be deselected.
7. Click Start Tracing.

Calibrate and Mark Points

1. Start with calibration points 0 and 20 on the radiograph ruler.
2. Adjust those two points precisely, because the calculated linear measurements depend on them.
3. Continue by marking the point selected in blue in the list on the left.
4. Use each point’s description to locate it if you are unsure.
5. If a point is misplaced, correct its position before finishing.
6. After you mark the last point, OrthoKit saves the analysis and opens the review screen.

Review and Expand the Analysis

1. Use the top controls to show or hide the radiograph, structures, points and tracing.
2. Switch between essential points and all points if you need to adjust a structure more precisely.
3. For advanced curve adjustments, double-click a point and use the additional controls.
4. Open the analysis, for example Steiner, to review the calculated measurements.
5. Export the analysis if you need to save it outside OrthoKit.
6. If you need more structures, click Add Anatomical Structure and mark the new requested point.
7. If you need another analysis, add it; OrthoKit will reuse existing points and ask only for the missing ones.
8. Use Share All if you want to export several analyses from the same radiograph in a single PDF.
9. Use Measurement Calculation to obtain distances or angles that do not belong to a specific analysis.

Clinical Recommendations

• Do not validate a tracing without professional review.
• The 0-20 calibration must be precise for linear measurements to make sense.
• If the Trace button does not appear, open Annotations and confirm that the radiograph is classified as a lateral cephalometric radiograph.
• If the radiograph does not allow points to be located clearly, document that limitation before using the measurements.