A statistical model of head asymmetry in infants with deformational plagiocephaly

Abstract

Deformational plagiocephaly is a term describing cranial asymmetry and deformation commonly seen in infants. The purpose of this work was to develop a methodology for assessment and modelling of head asymmetry. The clinical population consisted of 38 infants for whom 3-dimensional surface scans of the head had been obtained both before and after their helmet orthotic treatment. Non-rigid registration of a symmetric template to each of the scans provided detailed point correspondence between scans. A new asymmetry measure was defined and was used in order to quantify and localize the asymmetry of each infant's head, and again employed to estimate the improvement of asymmetry after the helmet therapy. A statistical model of head asymmetry was developed (PCA). The main modes of variation were in good agreement with clinical observations, and the model provided an excellent and instructive quantitative description of the asymmetry present in the dataset. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.