Precision, repeatability and validation of indirect 3D anthropometric measurements with light-based imaging techniques

Currently, two-dimensional photographs are most commonly used to facilitate visualization, assessment and treatment of facial abnormalities in craniofacial care but are subject to errors because of perspective, projection, lack metric and 3-dimensional information. A variety of methods are available to generate 3-dimensional facial images such as laser scans, stereo-photogrammetry, infrared imaging and even CT, however each of these methods contain inherent limitations and as such no systems are in common clinical use. In this paper we will focus on the validation of indirect 3-dimensional landmark location and measurement of facial soft-tissue with light-based techniques. Precision, repeatability and validation of a light-based imaging system will be analyzed in this paper.