Improvement of Reconstructed Facial Model of the Computerized Orthognathic Surgery

Abstract

This paper will present our work on a computerized system for the planning and simulation of postoperative facial soft tissue prediction in the area of orthognathic surgery with focus given on the improvement of the generated facial model. In order to predict and simulate the postoperative facial appearance of a malformed faced patient, different methods of image processing, geometrical modeling and finite element analysis were combined. The three-dimensional facial reconstructions adopted the surface-based models. Prediction of the facial soft tissue is done through movement of the underlying bone by employing the finite element analysis. The surgical planning system describes various pre-processing steps for the generation of 3D facial model and the surgery planning procedures involved. A number of procedures such as triangle reduction, smoothing and mesh reconstruction which are employed for the improvement of the generated facial models are discussed. The prediction of the facial soft tissue is described based on finite element analysis through the linear elastic model. The surgical simulation results are shown, validated and discussed