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Project

Biomechanical modelling of facial expressions

Besides the functional aspect of teeth positioning, the underlying motivation of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment is often the pursuitof an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Consequently, the focus of an orthodontic treatment should not only cover the functionality of the dentition but in a broader aspect, the appearance of the whole face. The expectations of orthodontic patients and the physically feasible outcome of the treatment are not always on the same line. The field of orthodontics is strongly experience-based and initial setups of dental wires are often corrected based on the observed response of the teeth to the applied loads. This makes it a difficult task for the orthodontist to give thepatient an accurate idea of the final outcome of the treatment during the first consult.</>
This PhD thesis aims to develop an interactive planning environment that can predict the final appearance of the patientafter treatment in advance. This will help to improve the orthodontist-patient communication and help to settle agreement in expectations for the outcome of the treatment. An important step in predicting the appearance of the patient is the simulation of the tooth-lip contact and its impact on facial expressions. The development of a patient-specific numerical head model that allows the simulation of the main facial expressions(smile, happiness, sadness...), will contribute to this goal. Some of the described functionalities are currently available in commercial packages that mainly use digital image manipulation. But the development of the numerical head model and the insights gained during this PhD thesis will provide more biomechanical background to the field of facial expression simulation.</>
Date:24 Nov 2008 →  23 Sep 2012
Keywords:facial expressions
Project type:PhD project