A computerized non-invasive method for the assessment of human facial volume

Abstract

The three-dimensional coordinates of 22 standardized soft-tissue facial landmarks were used in the definition of a three-dimensional model of the adult human face. The model allows the estimation of the volume of the face in toto and of its parts (upper, middle and lower thirds, nose). Landmark coordinates were collected in 80 healthy young adults (40 men and 40 women selected according to criteria of dentofacial normality) by infrared photogrammetry by an automated instrument, and facial volumes calculated. Sample variability was larger in women than in men; the nose and the upper third of face had the largest variability regardless of gender. On average, all volumes computed in men were significantly larger than the corresponding values computed in women. Also the lower-to-middle third face ratio was significantly higher in men than in women. The sexual dimorphism in human facial volume did not involve the different parts of the face to the same extent: a large part of male facial volume preponderance was explained by the lower third of face. The proposed facial model could adequately represent the human face in all those research and clinical fields where noninvasive surface measurements could be employed alone or in support of conventional radiographic data.