Craniofacial anthropometry using laser scanning technique

Abstract

Craniofacial (or simply human face) is an important part of human anatomy. Human face is a complex surface, with different depth and texture. In craniofacial anthropometry, human faces need to be modelled and measured accurately. Most surgeons are still relying on laborious traditional contact method (for example, calipers) for measuring anthropometric landmarks on human face. However this traditional method only give the information in 2-dimensional and it is difficult to understand the three-dimensional (3D) configuration of human face. As the results of the lack of 3D information obtained using traditional method, several methods and instruments (e.g. CT-Scan or MRI) are required to record the complex 3D surface structures of the human face.