Vol. 124 No. 3 (2019)
Original Article

3D surface acquisition systems and their applications to facial anatomy: let’s make a point

Daniele Gibelli
LAFAS, Laboratorio di Anatomia Funzionale dell’Apparato Stomatognatico, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
Annalisa Cappella
LAFAS, Laboratorio di Anatomia Funzionale dell’Apparato Stomatognatico, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
Claudia Dolci
LAFAS, Laboratorio di Anatomia Funzionale dell’Apparato Stomatognatico, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
Chiarella Sforza
LAFAS, Laboratorio di Anatomia Funzionale dell’Apparato Stomatognatico, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy

Published 2020-05-20

Keywords

  • 3D optical scans,
  • stereophotogrammetry,
  • laser scanner,
  • direct anthropometry

How to Cite

Gibelli, D., Cappella, A., Dolci, C., & Sforza, C. (2020). 3D surface acquisition systems and their applications to facial anatomy: let’s make a point. Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology, 124(3), 422–431. https://doi.org/10.13128/ijae-11671

Abstract

In the last decades 3D optical devices have gained a primary role in facial anthropometry, where they find several applications from the anatomical research to clinics and surgery. With time the number of articles focusing on 3D surface analysis has raised, as well as validation studies which aim at verifying the reliability of different devices and methods of acquisition in comparison with other methods or direct anthropometry. This review aims at making a point in the field of 3D surface acquisition systems, describing the most used types of available devices and comparing the relevant outcomes in acquiring 3D facial models. Results show that currently stereophotogrammetric devices represent the gold standard, further improved by the diffusion of portable models. Caution should be given to the use of low-cost devices, more and more frequently described by literature, as often they do not meet the basic criteria for being applied to the anatomical study of face.

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