Digital Three-Dimensional Photogrammetry: Craniofacial Applications to Facial Growth, Orthognathic and Reconstructive Surgery, and Morphometrics

Three-dimensional (3D) surface imaging systems have been extensively used in the past three decades by orthodontists and maxillofacial surgeons. The principal advantages of these devices are their quick image acquisition time, non-invasiveness and ease of application, which make them particularly suitable for children and patients with disabilities. In addition, they have been validated against anthropometry for precision, accuracy, bias and reproducibility. The generated models are easy to store and manipulate, making them a unique tool for diagnosis, treatment planning, surgical evaluation and longitudinal studies. Three-dimensional photogrammetry has multiple applications: The creation of average faces has been described and allows age, gender and racial comparison. Monitoring and quantitation of post-surgical changes in reconstructive surgery and orthognathic interventions is also possible using surface imaging. Moreover, it is a powerful morphometrics method used to identify phenotypic markers associated with genetic risk for a particular condition such as non-syndromic cleft lip and palate. Finally, a virtual face can be created by combining surface imaging with cone beam computed tomography.