Application of a novel automatic method for determining the bilateral symmetry midline of the facial skeleton based on invariant moments

Authors

Rodrigo Dalvit Carvalho da Silva, Western University
Thomas Richard Jenkyn, Western University
Victor Alexander Carranza, Western University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2020

Journal

Symmetry

Volume

12

Issue

9

URL with Digital Object Identifier

10.3390/sym12091448

Abstract

© 2020 by the authors. Assuming a symmetric pattern plays a fundamental role in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of facial asymmetry, for reconstructive craniofacial surgery, knowing the precise location of the facial midline is important since for most reconstructive procedures the intact side of the face serves as a template for the malformed side. However, the location of the midline is still a subjective procedure, despite its importance. This study aimed to automatically locate the bilateral symmetry midline of the facial skeleton based on an invariant moment technique using pseudo-Zernike moments. A total of 367 skull images were evaluated using the proposed technique. The technique was found to be reliable and provided good accuracy in the symmetry planes. This new technique will be utilized for subsequent studies to evaluate diverse craniofacial reconstruction techniques.