Depth accuracy of the RealSense F200 : Low-cost 4D facial imaging

The RealSense F200 represents a new generation of economically viable 4-dimensional imaging (4D) systems for home use. However, its 3D geometric (depth) accuracy has not been clinically tested. Therefore, this study determined the depth accuracy of the RealSense, in a cohort of patients with a unilateral facial palsy (n = 34), by using the clinically validated 3dMD system as a gold standard. The patients were simultaneously recorded with both systems, capturing six Sunnybrook poses. This study has shown that the RealSense depth accuracy was not affected by a facial palsy (1.48 ± 0.28 mm), compared to a healthy face (1.46 ± 0.26 mm). Furthermore, the Sunnybrook poses did not influence the RealSense depth accuracy (p = 0.76). However, the distance of the patients to the RealSense was shown to affect the accuracy of the system, where the highest depth accuracy of 1.07 mm was measured at a distance of 35 cm. Overall, this study has shown that the RealSense can provide reliable and accurate depth data when recording a range of facial movements. Therefore, when the portability, low-costs, and availability of the RealSense are taken into consideration, the camera is a viable option for 4D close range imaging in telehealth

Cosmetic appreciation and emotional processing in patients with a peripheral facial palsy : a systematic review

Background; The goal of this review is 1) to summarize the studies assessing PFP by casual observers, patients themselves and the cosmetic appreciation of the PFP and 2) to summarize the studies assessing whether there is a difference in emotional recognition/processing of facial emotions and/or cognitive tasks in patients with a PFP. Materials and Methods; A multi-database systematic literature search was performed using the following databases: Pubmed, Embase, Medline, and The Cochrane Library from the earliest date of each database up to December 2019. Population of interest consisted of patients with a PFP and studies that investigated cosmetic appreciation and/or emotional recognition and/or emotional processing in these patients. Two authors rated the methodological quality of the included studies independently using the 'Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale' for nonrandomised studies' (NOS). Two authors extracted the outcome data regarding cosmetic appreciation and/or emotional recognition/processing from the included studies. Results; Twelve hundred and thirtytwo studies were found of which eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were assessed to be of 'fair' to 'good' methodological quality. The Cohen's kappa (between author RL and SP) was 0.68. Two studies investigated emotional processing and/or emotional recognition. Nine studies investigated cosmetic appreciation in both patients and casual observers. Important findings of this systematic review are that there is a correlation between the perceived severity of the PFP of the patients and the ratings by casual observers. Secondly there seems to be a laterality difference in cosmetic appreciation and thirdly there might to be a decreased emotional recognition and processing in patients with a PFP. Conclusion; Emotional recognition and cosmetic appreciation in patients with a PFP is an under investigated area, in which further studies are needed to substantiate the findings in current literature

Association between duration of peripheral facial palsy, severity, and age of the patient, and psychological distress

BACKGROUND: Peripheral facial palsy (PFP) (paralysis) can be a devastating condition that has been shown to have associations with increased depression and worse quality of life. The aim of the present study is to better understand the complex association of psychological distress with the duration, severity, and age of patients with PFP. We hypothesize that a shorter duration of PFP is associated with higher levels of psychological distress. METHODS: Fifty-nine patients with PFP that existed longer than 3 months were included in this study. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess the presence and severity of anxiety and depressions. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to determine correlation between psychological distress, duration, severity of the PFP, and age. RESULTS: Fifty-nine patients were included in this study, of whom 22 were male and 37 were female. The mean age was 55.6 ± 14.6 years and mean duration of PFP from onset ranged from 3 months to 35 years (with a mean duration of 5.39 ± 6.06 years). Twenty-eight patients had left-sided PFP, 30 patients had right-sided PFP, and one patient had bilateral PFP. The majority were caused by Bell's palsy (50.8%). In the group with a duration less than 5 years, there were five (12.8%) patients having a score between 11 and 15 (on HADS) compared to two (10%) patients in the group with a duration of 5 years or more(p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: There seems to be an association between moderate depression and duration of the PFP. Further studies need to substantiate our findings