# Novel digital measurement system for predicting surgical outcomes in patients with primary non-syndromic craniosynostosis

## TL;DR

A new digital system is introduced to predict surgical outcomes and assess quality of life in children with craniosynostosis.

## Contribution

A novel digital measurement tool integrated into clinical practice for predicting surgical outcomes in craniosynostosis patients.

## Key findings

- The digital measurement system enables efficient and comparable pre- and postoperative assessments.
- Patients with craniosynostosis showed significant preoperative deviations from controls but improved post-surgery.
- Quality of life in operated patients tended to be better than in the control group.

## Abstract

With the aim of further optimizing the care of patients with primary non-syndromic craniosynostosis, we describe a novel and clinically feasible measurement method to predict postoperative outcomes and provide an analysis of quality of life.

76 patients with primary non-syndromic craniosynostosis were treated by one surgeon. 47 healthy patients without craniosynostosis formed the control group. All patients had an age between 3 months and 18 years.

Based on manual measurement using callipers, x-ray-imaging and 3-D-photographs of the head, various detailed symmetry and aesthetic indices were collected using a novel digital measurement tool that was integrated into a clinically established programme. These are compared with a healthy control group without craniosynostosis. In addition, perioperative data, a clinical visual assessment of the scars and quality of life were evaluated using a standardised questionnaire.

Individual values show statistically significant deviations from the control group preoperatively and immediately postoperatively, which are typical for the respective form of craniosynostosis. Overall, there were good results in terms of symmetry, aesthetics and satisfaction. Interestingly, the quality of life of operated patients tended to be rated better overall than in the control group.

The detailed measurement technique presented is easy to use and enables an individual, efficient and internationally comparable assessment of the pre- and postoperative findings of patients with primary non-syndromic craniosynostosis. The additional survey of quality of life provides a valuable contribution to the analysis of affected patients.

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