Evaluating the utility of a novel 3D mobile imaging application in the surgical management of craniosynostosis

TL;DR

This paper evaluates a new 3D mobile imaging app for tracking head shape changes in children with craniosynostosis before and after surgery.

Contribution

The study introduces and validates MirrorMe3D, a novel mobile imaging application for surgical monitoring of craniosynostosis.

Findings

MirrorMe3D enabled efficient generation of 3D skull models within 5 minutes.

The app showed measurable depth changes of 3.01 mm and 3.12 mm in two patients post-surgery.

3D models provided clear visualizations of skull contour changes for both clinicians and families.

Abstract

Craniosynostosis is one of the most common craniofacial defects. It is typically treated with surgical intervention to correct abnormal head shape. Currently, there is no standard method for evaluating treatment effectiveness. We aim to assess the utility of MirrorMe3D, a novel three-dimensional mobile imaging application, in monitoring the head shape changes of two patients with craniosynostosis.

We implemented the application in the surgical management of a 22-month-old with mild metopic craniosynostosis and a 19-month-old with severe trigonocephaly. Using the application, scans were taken preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. Three-dimensional models were generated from these scans then compared qualitatively through visualization of the skull contour and quantitatively using depth and volume analysis features of MirrorMe3D.

The application was easily integrated into the surgical workflow. Scanning and generating models took no more than 5 min. Comparing preoperative and postoperative models, we found a 22% volume reduction and a depth change of 3.01 mm in the metopic ridge of the 22-month-old and a depth change of 3.12 mm in the area of interest for the 19-month-old. The models also provided a clear way to visualize changes of the skull contour for clinicians and families.

MirrorMe3D provides an efficient and inexpensive method of evaluating changes in head shape by generating 3D models and enabling quantitative measurements. Not only can these images contribute to intraoperative decision-making and inform the current family about changes made during surgery, but they can show future families what to expect and help guide decision-making.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00381-026-07124-z.

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