Towards patient specific, anatomy based simulation of facial mimics for surgical nerve rehabilitation

Nerve rehabilitation in cases of facial paralysis is an important issue in plastic and reconstructive surgery. However, surgeons need to know which muscles of the mimic musculature are most suited for reinnervation to achieve an optimal rehabilitation of a patient’s physiognomy. We present results of our work on the simulation of anatomy based, muscle driven facial mimics on basis of an elaborate volumetric facial tissue model and a physics based tissue modelling approach, that could meet the demands for such a surgery planning task.