Photogrammetric surveys of human faces for medical purposes

The maxillo-facial or plastic surgeon needs knowledge about the average, i.e. the standard form or size or size-relation of the human face as a whole or of parts of it, not only of the lateral or frontal profile, and control on any changes with time. Stereophotogrammetry offers a means to uniquely define, measure and compare size and form of any visible part of the human face, but the living and mooving and changing object man causes difficulties for the photogrammetrist. He therefore applies different and special methods and tricks for special tasks. Two of these methods and their basic ideas are presented: 1.) A single camera method for stereomeasurements of precisely rotated objects, specially of the muscles of facial expression on fresh male head specimens in order to facilitate the planning of corrective interventions in plastic surgery, and to offer information on the required size and measurements of donor muscles. 2.) A stereo camera method enabling maxillo-facial surgeons to exactly determine changes of the facial surface coordinates by using convergent non metric cameras, analytical photogrammetry and the well ripened methods of digital surface (terrain) models.