Challenges in developing a quantitative method of measuring breast development using 3D imaging: An example of a novel method for use in induced breast development with exogenous oestrogen.

Objective: Optimal breast development is an essential part of exogenous oestrogen treatment in females undergoing pubertal induction. We set out to develop a novel technique using three-dimensional (3D) imaging to determine change in breast volume that is applicable when no pre-existing breast contours are present.

Design: A prospective observational study.

Variability of response to early puberty induction demonstrated by transverse uterine diameter measurement and a novel method of 3D breast imaging.

Objective: Induction of puberty with exogenous oestrogen results in considerable variability in final uterine and breast volumes. We set out to quantify the variability of these two outcome measures with a view to establishing monitoring methods that could be used to individualise treatment protocols.

Design: A prospective observational study.

Using principal component analysis to describe the midfacial deformities in patients with craniofacial microsomia.

Purpose: Craniofacial microsomia (CFM) is the result of a disturbance in embryologic development and is characterised by an asymmetric, mostly unilateral facial underdevelopment. The aim of this study is to understand the midfacial involvement in CFM using principal component analysis (PCA).

Materials And Methods: Pre-operative data from 19 CFM and 23 control patients were collected.

A comparative study to investigate the effect of orthodontic treatment on the uniqueness of the human anterior dentition.

Aim: The human dentition contains many features which can be used to identify an individual from the dentition or from bite marks created and bite mark evidence may be used to link a suspect to a crime. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of orthodontic treatment on the uniqueness of the human anterior dentition by comparison of the number of dental shape matches between pre- and post-treatment dental casts for a group of patients who have undergone orthodontic treatment (dental braces) to improve the alignment of their teeth.

Method: This comparative study utilised pre- and post-orthodontic treatment dental casts from 36 patients.

The Role of Bipartition Distraction in the Treatment of Apert Syndrome.

Apert syndrome is characterized by hypertelorism, a negative canthal axis, and central midfacial hypoplasia, resulting in a biconcave face. Bipartition distraction partially corrects these facial anomalies. This study investigates limitations of bipartition distraction using linear, angular, and geometric morphometric analysis.

Evaluating the Efficacy of Monobloc Distraction in the Crouzon-Pfeiffer Craniofacial Deformity Using Geometric Morphometrics.

Background: Crouzon-Pfeiffer syndrome is caused by mutations predominantly in the FGFR2 gene leading to syndromic craniosynostosis and midfacial hypoplasia. Monobloc distraction aims to correct both functional and aesthetic disharmony as a result of midfacial hypoplasia. This study evaluates the corrective effects and effectiveness of monobloc distraction in Crouzon-Pfeiffer patients.

An Automatic 3D Facial Landmarking Algorithm Using 2D Gabor Wavelets.

In this paper, we present a novel approach to automatic 3D facial landmarking using 2D Gabor wavelets. Our algorithm considers the face to be a surface and uses map projections to derive 2D features from raw data. Extracted features include texture, relief map, and transformations thereof.

Describing Crouzon and Pfeiffer syndrome based on principal component analysis.

Unlabelled: Crouzon and Pfeiffer syndrome are syndromic craniosynostosis caused by specific mutations in the FGFR genes. Patients share the characteristics of a tall, flattened forehead, exorbitism, hypertelorism, maxillary hypoplasia and mandibular prognathism. Geometric morphometrics allows the identification of the global shape changes within and between the normal and syndromic population.

Assessing the corrective effects of facial bipartition distraction in Apert syndrome using geometric morphometrics.

Unlabelled: Apert syndrome is a congenital disorder characterized by craniosynostosis and midface hypoplasia. This study looks to identify to what extent bipartition distraction corrects the morphological abnormalities of this condition. Preoperative and postoperative three-dimensional computed tomography (3DCT) scans of 10 patients with Apert syndrome (12-21 years) were identified from the Great Ormond Street Hospital database.