Development of an automatic method for findings facial landmarks.
Katsuaki Mishima, Toshio Sugahara, Yoshihide Mori, Katsuhiro Minami, Yuichi Tsukamoto, Tomoaki KAWAMOTO, Masayoshi SAKUDA · Japanese Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery · 1992
Determination of facial landmarks is an essential process in facial measurement. In this investigation, this process, usually performed by hand, was accomplished automatically using a computer program in which landmarks were re-defined in a form allowing for computer analysis.Further more, the stability and reliability of this method were compared with the manual technique. Data for a three-dimensional wire frame model, obtained from facial plaster models by 1 mm mesh automatic measuring by a contact-type, high accuracy, three dimensional measuring system, were sent to a personal computer.The landmarks were then determined by a computer program which was written in “BASIC”, The results demonstrated that the landmarks can be obtained automatically except for a few special conditions. The standard deviations of almost all landmarks obtained by this automatic method were within 0.3-0.5 mm. In contrast, the corresponding values obtained manually were within 2-3 mm. Consequently, the usefulness of this method was demonstrated.