AIDENTIS — a startup that uses AI to improve diagnostics in dentistry

Asylzat Isataeva, city — Almaty, CEO and co-founder of AIDENTIS, @isatayeva

How It All Started

My mathematical background and experience working in Big 4 firms, as well as in IT companies dealing with big data, laid the foundation for creating this project.

I have always been interested in medicine, as my parents work in this field. While studying my father’s dental business, I identified a key problem: diagnosing oral conditions requires a high level of medical expertise, since dental X-rays display numerous structures such as teeth, gums, roots, and bones, among others. Examining all these elements demands not only time from the specialist but also careful attention to detail to avoid missing potential complications, including the proximity of vital structures such as facial nerves.

AIDENTIS offers an innovative service that uses artificial intelligence to analyze X-rays and detect oral diseases. Our tool helps reduce the time dentists spend on routine tasks by up to one hour. We aim not only to ease the workload of dentists but also to improve the quality of their diagnostics, especially for junior specialists, helping them become experts more quickly.

At the launch stage, I received support from my partners, who have over 10 years of experience in IT entrepreneurship, including in MedTech. Their knowledge and investments helped us assemble a team and release the first version of the product.

Target Audience

Our first product version is targeted at orthodontists. It helps conduct high-quality diagnostics for correcting patients’ bite alignment. The AI-generated presentation demonstrates the dentist’s and clinic’s professionalism already during the first visit.

To date, our clients include dental clinics in Kazakhstan. Additionally, we have coordinated the integration of our product into the curricula of dental faculties. This will allow students to learn how to work with AI while still at university and later apply these skills in their professional practice.

Incubation Programs

In 2022, we won the startup battle organized by MOST Ventures, receiving $20,000 through Digital Bridge. We participated in dental and IT conferences in Kazakhstan and the Middle East, which provided opportunities to establish contacts with potential partners. We also completed the FoundHer acceleration program by Plug and Play and became participants in the Silicon Valley Summit. This was an incredibly valuable experience: we gained insightful feedback from analysts and partners of the largest U.S. venture capital fund, and we also became more familiar with the venture investment and startup ecosystem in the United States.

Challenges

In startups, challenges are a constant reality, and it is important to learn how to handle them. The most valuable lesson I have learned is the importance of people in our project. Along the way, you meet different kinds of people, and it is crucial to learn how to evaluate them correctly. Some individuals can provide a huge boost to development after just one conversation, while others may interfere without proper expertise or understanding of the project. If this is not recognized in time, resources can be wasted and the development process slowed down.

Achievements

We are developing the AIDENTIS diagnostic module: data has been selected, the neural network is being trained, and initial results have already been obtained. Beta testing will begin shortly. We have the support of Dana Seitenovna Ospanova, President of the Dental Association of Kazakhstan, and we have also raised part of the Seed Round funding. We are in the final stage of signing a memorandum of cooperation with Semey Medical University, which is interested in training students to work with AI.

Plans

We plan to scale the diagnostic module in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Middle Eastern countries, where there is already demonstrated interest. By the end of the year, we aim to complete beta testing, strengthen the product offering, and continue attracting investment.