New virtual tool for accurate evaluation of facial volume

The objective assessment of patients is fundamental both in the preoperative stage regarding planning and postoperative evolution for following up surgical results. Anthropometric measurements may be conventionally obtained through direct measurement, photography or radiography. Volumetric calculation of soft tissues may be obtained through computed tomography (CT) scanning, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US). However, ionizing radiation present in CT, horizontal positioning as a requirement in MRI, non-portability in both, and the need for technical interpretation of US images are factors that make these methods unfeasible in a routine, repeated basis, besides their entailing costs.