Comparison

AO Surgery Reference vs Implant Identifier

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

AO Surgery Reference

Access a comprehensive online repository of surgical knowledge for fracture management. It provides detailed guidance on diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare for numerous fracture types, supported by extensive illustrations and expert review.

Highlights
  • 353 fracture types covered
  • 172 surgical approaches
  • 1222 surgical procedures
  • Over 30,000 illustrations
  • Feline, canine, and equine fracture care
  • Powerful search function
Features
Read full description

QUICK ONLINE REFERENCE IN CLINICAL LIFE Gain easy access to the award-winning AO Surgery Reference. AO Surgery Reference is an online repository for surgical knowledge. It describes the complete surgical management process from diagnosis to aftercare for all fractures of a given anatomical region, and also assembles relevant material that the AO has published before. It gives access to:   • aid in surgical decision making for 353 fracture types • 172 approaches • 1222 surgical procedures • all richly illustrated with more than 30'000 Illustrations and much more. To ensure the quality of the content, it is authored, edited, and peer reviewed by experienced AO Faculty from all over the world, some of which are also well-known textbook authors/editors. This is a relaunch of the AO Surgery Reference app utilizing the same responsive user interface that was released February 2020. The highlights are: • Consistent navigational logic and user experience on all screen sizes • Inclusion of feline, canine, and equine fracture care • Combination of Preparation – Approach – Reduction and Fixation – Aftercare into one step called treatment. • Introduction of a powerful search function, allowing simplifications of the user interface as it replaces previous shortcuts.

About

Implant Identifier

Instantly identify orthopedic and spine implants from X-rays using AI. This app helps medical professionals recognize unknown implants, access a community of experts, and contribute to a growing library of implant data. Features include AI identification for hips, a community feed for assistance, and a filterable implant library.

Highlights
  • AI-Identify for Hips
  • Community Feed for Expert Help
  • Filterable Implant Library
  • Submit New Implants
  • My Implants History
  • X-ray Recognition
Features
Read full description

Implant Identifier is the fastest way to identify unknown orthopedic and spine implants from x-ray. Now you can instantly identify spine, hip, knee, and shoulder implants with AI. Join our mission to create the world’s most intelligent implant identification platform—powered by AI, built by the community. The new app includes: AI-Identify for Spine, Hip, Knee, and Shoulder – Snap an x-ray and let AI suggest the closest matching implants. Home Feed (Community) – Can't find a match? Ask expert's in our community of surgeons and reps worldwide. Library with Filters – Browse and filter hundreds of common spine and orthopedic implant x-rays. Submit New Implants – Contribute to the growing AI-library and help others in the community. My Implants- Access your previously identified and unidentified implants and share them with your colleagues.

Screenshots

AO Surgery Reference4 screens
Implant Identifier4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Implant Identifier at every 3 weeks against AO Surgery Reference's every 6 months. Implant Identifier also leads on ratings volume (189 vs 14). AO Surgery Reference's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (82% vs 63%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Implant Identifier holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Implant Identifier has 189 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 82% of AO Surgery Reference's written reviews are positive against 63% of Implant Identifier's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, Implant Identifier every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
AO Surgery Reference versus Implant Identifier: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAO Surgery ReferenceImplant Identifier
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (14 ratings)4.6 (189 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.2% of reviews — better63.3% of reviews
Number of ratings14189 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB128 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperAO FoundationDevise Health

Customer experience

AO Surgery Reference

All ratings14 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive82.2%
Neutral4.4%
Negative13.3%

Implant Identifier

All ratings189 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral2.1%
Negative8.5%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive63.3%
Neutral3.3%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

AO Surgery Reference

No in-app purchases

None

Implant Identifier

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AO Surgery Reference free?
AO Surgery Reference is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Implant Identifier free?
Implant Identifier is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AO Surgery Reference or Implant Identifier?
Implant Identifier is rated higher. AO Surgery Reference averages 4.4 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Implant Identifier averages 4.6 from 189 ratings.
Do AO Surgery Reference or Implant Identifier have ads?
Neither AO Surgery Reference nor Implant Identifier shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AO Surgery Reference or Implant Identifier?
AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, and Implant Identifier every 3 weeks. Most recently, AO Surgery Reference was updated on September 18, 2026 and Implant Identifier on September 22, 2026.

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