Three-dimensional motion analysis of facial movement during verbal and nonverbal expressions in healthy subjects.

Functional impairments of facial expressions alter the quality of life and their quantitative analysis is key to describing and grading facial function and dysfunction. The aim of this investigation was to quantify 3D lip movements in a group of healthy young subjects. Lip movements during five repetitions of common and random sequences of vowels and nonverbal expressions were recorded using an optoelectronic 3D motion analyzer.

Kinematic analysis of mandibular motion before and after orthognathic surgery for skeletal Class III malocclusion: A pilot study.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to detect the changes in 3D mandibular motion after orthognathic surgery for skeletal Class III malocclusion.

Method: Using a 3D motion analyzer, free mandibular border movements were recorded in nine patients successfully treated for skeletal Class III malocclusion and in nine patients scheduled for orthognathic surgery. Data were compared using Mann-Whitney non-parametric U-test.

Double-powered free gracilis muscle transfer for smile reanimation: A longitudinal optoelectronic study.

The choice of the motor donor nerve is a crucial point in free flap transfer algorithms. In the case of unilateral facial paralysis, the contralateral healthy facial nerve can provide coordinated smile animation and spontaneous emotional expression, but with unpredictable axonal ingrowth into the recipient muscle. Otherwise, the masseteric nerve ipsilateral to the paralysis can provide a powerful neural input, without a spontaneous trigger of the smile.

Facial reanimation with masseteric to facial nerve transfer: a three-dimensional longitudinal quantitative evaluation.

Facial paralysis is a severe pathological condition, negatively affecting patients' quality of life. The altered tone and mobility of the mimetic musculature provoke both functional and morphological deficits. In the present study, we longitudinally measured facial movements in 14 patients (21-69 years) affected by unilateral facial paralysis not lasting longer than 23 months.

Quantification of facial movements by optical instruments: surface laser scanning and optoelectronic three-dimensional motion analyzer.

The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy of displacements of tracing landmarks in standardized facial movements. Forty healthy persons were evaluated in 2 different groups (20 men and 20 women, aged 18-30 years) with optoelectronic motion analyzer and surface laser scanning. The displacements of tracing landmarks in brow lift and smile were calculated, and the 2 methods (optoelectronic motion analyzer and surface laser scanning) were compared in healthy persons.

Body movements during the off-ice execution of back spins in figure skating.

Using an optoelectronic motion capture system, we quantitatively assessed the arrangement of body segments and the displacement of the horizontal projection of the center of mass (CM) in seven skaters performing off-ice back spins on a rotating device (spinner). The position of the CM at the beginning of the spins was not a determining factor, but its rapid stabilization towards the center of the spinner, together with the achievement of a stable arrangement of trunk and limbs, was crucial to get the dynamic equilibrium, necessary for a lasting performance. At full spinning, however, there was an indicative variety of individual body postures.

Mandibular kinematics and masticatory muscles EMG in patients with short lasting TMD of mild-moderate severity.

Mandibular kinematic and standardized surface electromyography (sEMG) characteristics of masticatory muscles of subjects with short lasting TMD of mild-moderate severity were examined. Volunteers were submitted to clinical examination and questionnaire of severity. Ten subjects with TMD (age 27.

Soft tissue facial morphometry before and after total oral rehabilitation with implant-supported prostheses.

The objective of the current study was to assess a low-cost, noninvasive facial morphometric digitizer to assist the practitioner in three-dimensional soft-tissue changes before and after oral rehabilitation. Twenty-two patients aged 45 to 82 years, all with edentulous maxilla and mandible, were assessed both before and after receiving their definitive complete implant-supported prostheses (each received 4-11 implants in each dental arch; full-arch fixed prostheses were made). The three-dimensional coordinates of 50 soft-tissue facial landmarks were collected with a noninvasive digitizer; labial and facial areas, volumes, angles, and distances were compared without and with the prostheses.

Facial movement before and after masseteric-facial nerves anastomosis: a three-dimensional optoelectronic pilot study.

To quantify the effects of facial palsy reanimation, 14 patients aged 17-66 years were analysed. All patients had unilateral facial paralysis, and were candidates for surgical masseteric to facial nerve anastomosis. Two patient groups were measured: seven patients were waiting for surgery, the other seven patients had already been submitted to surgery, and had regained facial mimicry.