| Popis: |
Jaw deformity is a growth and developmental disorder that indicates malocclusion accompanied by deformity of the upper and lower jaw, which both areas of oral and maxillofacial surgery concern. The malocclusion affects the quality of lives of people, especially with respect to chewing, swallowing, phonating, and the motion of jaws themselves. Adjustment of jaw positions in surgery has been based on the hard tissue such as mandible and teeth, which was suitable for incorporating tomographic imaging technologies that brought tangible surgery simulation for improving the efficacy and accuracy. On the other hand, the cooccurred changes in the soft tissues that cover the repositioned jaw bones and teeth vary among individuals, which is hard to estimate beforehand and has ended up with being left to the empirical knowledge or hunch of the surgeons. Possible problems in the facial appearance after surgery, however, throw even greater negative impact on the quality of the life. More accurate treatment on the soft tissues need be considered. This research proposes an automated image analysis method that is capable of quantitatively measuring the effect of jaw alignment surgery over soft tissues. It captures a profile image of the face of the patient's before and after repositioning the maxilla by surgery, locates the cheek region, and measures both the amount and the direction of cheek due to changes of soft tissue. Experimental results demonstrate the ability of the proposed method in quantitatively evaluating the surgery. |
