Evaluation of a 3D clinical facial imager

Three-dimensional surface imaging of the face using visible light can play a valuable role in orthomorphic facial surgery and orthodontic treatment. To provide such data we have constructed a clinical facial imager that is (1) completely safe for patients, (2) permits full facial data acquisition in less than two seconds, (3) provides resolution better than 0.5 mm in x, y, and z coordinates. The equipment uses a moire fringe technique developed at the National Engineering Laboratory (UK) by which data for each side of the face is acquired by two separate cameras. Once generated the two half-face images are fused using an internal calibration technique and the full 3-D facial image exported to a work station for rendering, and display. Patients representative of a broad range of skin tones and facial shape have been imaged and the results are discussed in relation to the clinical application of the equipment.