Large-scale Chinese FSTT Database for Finite Element Modeling

Abstract

Facial soft tissue thickness (FSTT), together with the representive 3D headform, is of great importance to develop finite element models (FEM) for virtual simulation of head worn products to achieve safety as well as comfort experience. The FEM is a widely used approach for numerically solving differential equations arising in engineering and mathematical modeling, which can be used to determine the distribution stresses and deformations between the wearables and the human body, as well as providing strong support for ergonomics product design. Although several countries around the world have established FSTT databases, to the best of our knowledge, no large-scale dataset or analysis has ever been reported in China.In this paper, FSTT was measured at 17 anthropological landmarks on heads using computerized tomography (CT) of 1174 Chinese adults aged between 18 to 90, which were collected and processed from the First Hospital of Changsha in China. All landmarks were located in 17 craniofacial anthropological regions. For each landmark, basic descriptive statistics were calculated. FSTT values classified by gender and age groups were analyzed to assess the variation in FSTT within these categories.The results indicate that certain FSTT values are correlated with age and gender categories. For example, it was found that men generally have higher FSTT than women at certain landmarks, while regions around the temporal bone show opposite results. For age categories, quite a few landmarks show a general decrease with age.