High resolution 3D non contact morphometry

In previous work, tracking of isophase lines in a structured light pattern projected on the human face was used to acquire the 3-D coordinates of the face in real time (1/30th of a second) (see K. Cheung and M.D. Fox, Proc. IEEE EMBS 11th Ann. Conf., p.1655-6, June 1989). In the present work, the author automated tracing of an isophase line to achieve submillimeter 3-D resolution. In contrast to work previously reported, the results obtained here indicate that a fully automated high-resolution system for non-contact morphometry with submillimeter resolution is feasible using readily available hardware and software. Preliminary experimental results suggest that average resolution on the order of .5 mm can be readily obtained through this approach, which should be adequate for many important surgical procedures, including craniofacial and plastic surgical planning and following the healing of facial surgery and trauma.