Hollywood Tech To Revolutionize Facial Reconstruction

Researchers are combining conventional medical imaging with some of the same 3-D modeling techniques being used in Hollywood movies to offer new hope to victims of serious facial injuries.

Results of a new study on human face transplantation revealed by specialists at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) demonstrate that the same 3-D imaging technology used in movies can be combined with traditional restoration tactics to assist doctors in all aspects of facial reconstruction. Under existing techniques, severe facial injuries are almost impossible to repair to a wholly satisfactory level. It is an intricate process that requires facial tissue from a donor to be matched and transferred to a patient in order to re-establish life sustaining functions like chewing, breathing, and speaking. Until now, permanent disfigurement has been almost all too certain of a reality.

The new technique calls for combining information from multiple imaging exams and creating a sophisticated 3-D computer model of the patient’s head. Perhaps the most surprising aspect is the fact that the technology being leveraged has been refined and revolutionized by Hollywood. The CT angiography, MRI and high-definition tractography used to create a 3-D model of the patient’s head anatomy is the very same modeling technology often used to animate the computer-generated characters seen in big budget blockbusters with detailed three-dimensional human features. The integration of multiple imaging sources into a single 3-D image enables real-time interaction and modification, making it possible for doctors to assess patients to such a degree of individuality that they can literally piece them back together as they would a puzzle. Researchers employing these tools report that they were able to more easily recognize facial structure and contours, underlying bone, muscles, nerves and vessels, as well as the overall extent of damage.

In the end, the effects of serious facial injury may be traumatic initially but the psychological pains associated with permanent disfigurement may be the most difficult to cope with. Dr. Gorantla, one of the key scientists involved in this process, spoke on the topic of his research:

The goal of face transplantation is not just structural. It is about restoring function, so that patients are once again able to chew their food, smile and regain the most important aspect of a normal face – to look human.

The implications of this type of technology in the medical field are vast. Beyond the clear benefits offered to patients, technology like this saves time and could also reduce the costs associated traditional MRIs and so on. The success of its integration may also open the door for doctors to consider the ways technology from other fields could be adapted to their own.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

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