An Objective Evaluation Method for Facial Mimic Motion

This technique was designed to establish a simple, objective evaluation system for facial paralysis through the use of a personal computer. A total of 24 marks were placed on the faces of subjects for the following procedures. Movements of the face were photographed with a video-camera and fed continuously into the computer. Ten frames per movement representing facial movement from rest to maximum movement were selected for analysis. By means of a digital image-processing technique, only the marks placed on the face were extracted, and the movement of these marks was quantitatively analyzed. A total of 44 healthy subjects with no history of facial paralysis were used as a normal control group. The patients with facial paralysis consisted of nine subjects with Bell's palsy and three with Ramsay Hunt syndrome. In the eye-closing motions, no significant differences were found between the sum of the movement distances on the left and right sides in each normal subject. However, the patients with facial paralysis showed distinct differences from those obtained in the normal subjects. The improvement process was also evaluated with a ratio of affected- and normal-side facial movements.