Computer-aided morphological analysis for maxillo-facial diagnostic: a preliminary study

This article compares most of the three-dimensional (3D) morphometric methods currently proposed by the technical literature to evaluate their morphological informative value, while applying them to a case study of five patients affected by the malocclusion pathology. The compared methods are: conventional cephalometric analysis (CCA), generalised Procrustes superimposition (GPS) with principal-components analysis (PCA), thin-plate spline analysis (TPS), multisectional spline ( MS) and clearance vector mapping (CVM). The results show that MS provides more reliable and useful diagnostic information. (C) 2008 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.