Estimating Morphological Nose Features for Craniofacial Reconstruction: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Abstract Background: Craniofacial reconstruction is one of the techniques used in forensic sciences to rebuild the probable antemortem face of unknown human skulls. Considering the soft-tissue thickness, the skull is covered with clay or similar material. After covering, facial features such as lips, ears, eyes, and nose should be added. The nose has considerable diversity. This variety makes it have substantial importance for facial recognition. Aims and Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the morphology of the nose of the Anatolian population and develop regression formulas to estimate the nose shape using the measurements of the skull. Materials and Methods: The current study was conducted on three-dimensional computed tomography cranial images. The images belonging to 50 adult patients (25 males, 25 females) were taken from the Radiology Department of Bursa Uludag University Medical Faculty Hospital. Eighteen parameters on bony structure and twenty-four parameters on soft tissue were measured using ImageJ software. SPSS 22.0 was performed for statistical analyses. Results: The regression formulas were developed to estimate the nose morphology belonging to the skull using the correlated parameters between the bony structure of the skull and soft tissue. Conclusion: Accurate nasal shape prediction means increasing the identification of the unknown skull. We believe that the regression formulas, developed with this idea could be helpful in craniofacial reconstruction.