title: Accuracy and reproducibility of a 3-dimensional stereophotogrammetric imaging system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the accuracy and reproducibility of a 3-dimensional (3D) stereophotogrammetric imaging system for measuring the facial soft tissues of healthy subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three-dimensional soft tissue facial landmarks were obtained from the faces of 10 adult subjects, by use of a 3D stereophotogrammetric imaging system (Vectra; Canfield Scientific, Fairfield, NJ). Sixteen linear measurements were computed. Systematic and random errors between operators, calibration steps, and acquisitions were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No systematic errors were found for all performed tests (P > .05, paired t test). The method was repeatable, and random errors were always lower than 1 mm, except for the distance from cheilion to cheilion. Repeated sets of acquisition showed random errors up to 0.91 mm, without systematic biases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 3D stereophotogrammetric imaging system can assess the coordinates of facial landmarks with good precision and reproducibility. The method is fast and can obtain facial measurements with few errors.
authors.affiliation: Functional Anatomy Research Center, Laboratorio di Anatomia Funzionale dell'Apparato Stomatognatico, Dipartimento di Morfologia Umana e Scienze Biomediche Città Studi, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Menezes
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosati
authors.forename: Virgilio F
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Ferrario
authors.forename: Chiarella
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sforza
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000379:methods*; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D010780:Photogrammetry / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult