Potential Applications of 3D Laser Scanning:

Biomedical Applications

Science and technology have always offered enormous promise for advances in biology and medicine. With the development of 3D laser scanning technology, complete and accurate visualization and quantification of the human topography is now possible. The applications for such technology include examination of the body for asymmetries, skeletal alignment. rehabilitative engineering and obesity determination, to name only a few

Body Asymmetries

Fluctuating asymmetry, or FA, may be defined as the differences in degrees of bilateral symmetry within organisms. Most organisms. including humans, are bilaterally symmetric, with the right half of the body a mirror image of the left half. Perfect symmetry between bilaterally paired morphological traits such as shapes and sizes of limbs and facial features is common in nature. Deviations from symmetry may occur during development due to environment or genetic stress resulting in fluctuating asymmetry. FA is the main measure of developmental instability used in biology. Fluctuating asymmetry is a topic of interest to biologists, because of the possibility that developmental instability is a meaningful component of an individual’s fitness. Anatomical asymmetries are linked with individual differences in cerebral organization with right- or left-handedness in humans an obvious example. Other claims advance FA as a predictive tool for intelligence, attractiveness, and athletic ability.

Current methods of quantifying FA are not easy and require subtracting the measurement of the tight side of a trait from that of the left side. The opportunities for observer bias and human error in measurement are great Laser scanning makes possible accurate and objective measurements for assessing bilateral morphologic traits in humans by eliminating human subjectivity.

Scoliosis is defined as a structural lateral curvature of the spine that presents itself in humans at the onset of puberty and for which no cause has been established. Currently it is diagnosed by the visual presence of body asymmetries. Examination of the patient in the standing position may reveal asymmetries in shoulder height, shoulder blade prominences, chest prominences and other spinal abnormalities. Images generated by body scanning have enormous potential for precise and repeated measurement of a host of conditions which demonstrate deviation from symmetry.

Rehabilitative Engineering

The design of a properly fitting prosthesis requires an examination of the biomechanical interaction at the interface between the limb and the prosthetic device .The subject’s comfort, acceptance and potential for ambulation are dependent upon the quality of fit of the prosthesis. Laser scanning allows the 3D image generated by scanning the body to be a useful tool in the design, development and fitting of prostheses for patients without limbs. Two factors contribute to the comfort of fit of a prosthetic: matching the limb to the prosthesis surface and providing stability to the remaining bone structure of the limb. Laser scanning has been found to provide rapid and accurate description of the skin surface of the limb residua.

Obesity Determination

Anthropometric measurements have long been used as a means for assessing nutritional status and health asks. Health risk has been shown to be highly correlated with body habitus in the young and the old alike. Body habitus refers to ones body shape, size and disposition as well as one’s perception of the body. The increasing trend towards obesity and its complications have prompted investigations from the cellular to the environmental levels with regards to prevention, intervention and care of persons suffering from the complications of obesity. Assessing body habitus has become the standard way of identifying and intervening in the population at large in hopes of curtailing the burden of rising health care costs as the population ages.

Traditional methods for assessing the body include circumference measurements like the waist to hip ratio, waist circumference, thigh girth, neck girth, maximal hip girth and mid-arm muscle circumferences. Such measures have been used for predicting health risk based on large scale epidemiological trials. One of the problems with such measures however, is the inaccuracy with which the measures are made. Traditional methods of collecting anthropomorphic data are time-consuming, fraught with observer errors and inaccuracies and require physical touching of the subject.

Laser scanning technology offers the health professional a fast, reliable, accurate and cost effective device for body habitus assessment. The major advantages of the laser scanner are that it is easy to use, non-invasive, safe, fast and possesses the potential to provide anthropomorphic data with increased validity, reproducibility and overall generalizability. Extensive body measurements can be made on a subject in a matter of seconds with no touching of the subject whatsoever. The obesity epidemic warrants investigation into novel technologies such as laser scanning that foster the assessment of body habitus in large numbers of persons.