The analysis of facial beauty: an emerging area of research in pattern analysis

Much research presented recently supports the idea that the human perception of attractiveness is data-driven and largely irrespective of the perceiver. This suggests using pattern analysis techniques for beauty analysis. Several scientific papers on this subject are appearing in image processing, computer vision and pattern analysis contexts, or use techniques of these areas. In this paper, we will survey the recent studies on automatic analysis of facial beauty, and discuss research lines and practical application

Image processing for plastic surgery planning

This thesis presents some image processing tools for plastic surgery planning. In particular, it presents a novel method that combines local and global context in a probabilistic relaxation framework to identify cephalometric landmarks used in Maxillofacial plastic surgery. It also uses a method that utilises global and local symmetry to identify abnormalities in CT frontal images of the human body. The proposed methodologies are evaluated with the help of several clinical data supplied by collaborating plastic surgeons

The building of an accurate 3D physical model of the skull and maxillary dentition.

3D rapid prototyping is a useful tool for the production of 3D models of the human skull taken from cone beam computed tomography scans. Although the accuracy of these models is acceptable the dentition is distorted. The aim of the study is to replace the inaccurately reproduced dental arch of a 3D printed skull model with accurate, correctly proportioned plaster teeth, obtained from a dental impression. 6 dried human skulls were scanned using a Faro laser arm scanner. Impressions of the dentition were taken using silicone impression material. Plaster dental casts were produced using dental stone. Following removal of the inaccurate dentition from the 3D printed skull model, the corresponding plaster dental cast was attached to the 3D printed skull model using a custom designed technique. The six modified 3D printed skull models with replaced dentition were laser scanned using a Faro arm. VRmesh software was used to superimpose the laser scanned skull images

Nasal Airway and Septal Variation in Unilateral and Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

Cleft lip and palate (CLP) affects the dentoalveolar and nasolabial facial regions. Internal and external nasal dysmorphology may persist in individuals born with CLP despite surgical interventions. 7–18 year old individuals born with unilateral and bilateral CLP (n = 50) were retrospectively assessed using cone beam computed tomography. Anterior, middle, and posterior nasal airway volumes were measured on each facial side. Septal deviation was measured at the anterior and posterior nasal spine, and the midpoint between these two locations. Data were evaluated using principal components analysis (PCA), multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and post-hoc ANOVA tests. PCA results show partial separation in high dimensional space along PC1 (48.5% variance) based on age groups and partial separation along PC2 (29.8% variance) based on CLP type and septal deviation patterns. MANOVA results indicate that age (P = 0.007) and CLP type (P ≤ 0.001) significantly affect nasal airway volume and septal deviation. ANOVA results indicate that anterior nasal volume is significantly affected by age (P ≤ 0.001), whereas septal deviation patterns are significantly affected by CLP type (P ≤ 0.001). Age and CLP type affect nasal airway volume and septal deviation patterns. Nasal airway volumes tend to be reduced on the clefted sides of the face relative to non-clefted sides of the face. Nasal airway volumes tend to strongly increase with age, whereas septal deviation values tend to increase only slightly with age. These results suggest that functional nasal breathing may be impaired in individuals born with the unilateral and bilateral CLP deformity

Evaluation of a custom made anatomical guide for orthognathic surgery

Orthognathic surgery is a routinely used surgical technique for the correction of dento-facial deformities. During a Le Fort I orthognathic procedure the maxilla is surgically separated from the skull and the surgical positioning wafer is placed between the occlusal surfaces of the upper and lower dentition. However, the physiological response to general aesthesia results in loss of muscle tone in the mandible, which has a profound influence on the correct amount of maxillary advancement required. The expertise and visual judgement of the surgeon is relied upon to foresee and eliminate this potential source of error. However, this may not be possible to achieve in all cases, therefore there is a need for a device to guide the surgical position of the maxilla independent of the mandibular dentition. The aim of this study was to design and validate a custom made anatomical repositioning surgical framework for accurately repositioning the maxilla independently of the mandible during a Le Fort I osteotomy. A single plastic anatomical skull was scanned using a helical Computed Tomography (CT) scanner. Utilising 3D manipulation software, forty-three Le Fort I orthognathic surgery movements were planned. A custom made anatomical repositioning guide was designed and 3D printed for all movements. Each guide was used to reposition the maxilla of the physical skull and then laser scanned using a GOM blue light scanner. GOMinspect software was used to compare the planned and physical position of the repositioned maxilla. The results of the experiment were statistically evaluated.Orthognathic surgery is a routinely used surgical technique for the correction of dento-facial deformities. During a Le Fort I orthognathic procedure the maxilla is surgically separated from the skull and the surgical positioning wafer is placed between the occlusal surfaces of the upper and lower dentition. However, the physiological response to general aesthesia results in loss of muscle tone in the mandible, which has a profound influence on the correct amount of maxillary advancement required. The expertise and visual judgement of the surgeon is relied upon to foresee and eliminate this potential source of error. However, this may not be possible to achieve in all cases, therefore there is a need for a device to guide the surgical position of the maxilla independent of the mandibular dentition. The aim of this study was to design and validate a custom made anatomical repositioning surgical framework for accurately repositioning the maxilla independently of the mandible during a Le Fort I osteotomy. A single plastic anatomical skull was scanned using a helical Computed Tomography (CT) scanner. Utilising 3D manipulation software, forty-three Le Fort I orthognathic surgery movements were planned. A custom made anatomical repositioning guide was designed and 3D printed for all movements. Each guide was used to reposition the maxilla of the physical skull and then laser scanned using a GOM blue light scanner. GOMinspect software was used to compare the planned and physical position of the repositioned maxilla. The results of the experiment were statistically evaluated

Computer analysis of face beauty: a survey

The human face conveys to other human beings, and potentially to computer systems, information such as identity, intentions, emotional and health states, attractiveness, age, gender and ethnicity. In most cases analyzing this information involves the computer science as well as the human and medical sciences. The most studied multidisciplinary problems are analyzing emotions, estimating age and modeling aging effects. An emerging area is the analysis of human attractiveness. The purpose of this paper is to survey recent research on the computer analysis of human beauty. First we present results in human sciences and medicine pointing to a largely shared and data-driven perception of attractiveness, which is a rationale of computer beauty analysis. After discussing practical application areas, we survey current studies on the automatic analysis of facial attractiveness aimed at: i) relating attractiveness to particular facial features; ii) assessing attractiveness automatically; iii) improving the attractiveness of 2D or 3D face images. Finally we discuss open problems and possible lines of research

Anatomical curve identification

Methods for capturing images in three dimensions are now widely available, with stereo-photogrammetry and laser scanning being two common approaches. In anatomical studies, a number of landmarks are usually identified manually from each of these images and these form the basis of subsequent statistical analysis. However, landmarks express only a very small proportion of the information available from the images. Anatomically defined curves have the advantage of providing a much richer expression of shape. This is explored in the context of identifying the boundary of breasts from an image of the female torso and the boundary of the lips from a facial image. The curves of interest are characterised by ridges or valleys. Key issues in estimation are the ability to navigate across the anatomical surface in three-dimensions, the ability to recognise the relevant boundary and the need to assess the evidence for the presence of the surface feature of interest. The first issue is addressed by the use of principal curves, as an extension of principal components, the second by suitable assessment of curvature and the third by change-point detection. P-spline smoothing is used as an integral part of the methods but adaptations are made to the specific anatomical features of interest. After estimation of the boundary curves, the intermediate surfaces of the anatomical feature of interest can be characterised by surface interpolation. This allows shape variation to be explored using standard methods such as principal components. These tools are applied to a collection of images of women where one breast has been reconstructed after mastectomy and where interest lies in shape differences between the reconstructed and unreconstructed breasts. They are also applied to a collection of lip images where possible differences in shape between males and females are of interest

Computer Aided Morphological Analysis for maxillo-facial diagnostic: a preliminary study

This article compares most of the three-dimensional (3D) morphometric methods currently proposed by the technical literature to evaluate their morphological informative value, while applying them to a case study of five patients affected by the malocclusion pathology. The compared methods are: conventional cephalometric analysis (CCA), generalised Procrustes superimposition (GPS) with principal-components analysis (PCA), thin-plate spline analysis (TPS), multisectional spline (MS) and clearance vector mapping (CVM). The results show that MS provides more reliable and useful diagnostic informatio