Quantification, Analysis and Simulation of Facial Mimics Movements

The SIMOVI project is a collaboration between our Department of Maxillofacial Surgery (CHU Amiens) and the Biomechanical bioengineer Research Department and Roberval Labs (Technological University of Compiègne). The question raised is the extent to which a facial mimic can be evaluated objectively. In today's clinical practice, the investigators use grading systems based on muscular scale or testing, in order to evaluate a facial muscular disorder. This assessment remains subjective because the investigators are deducing from surfacing cutaneous deformations the movement quality of the solicited muscle.

This qualitative approach is therefore an approximate approach and deserves to be better thought to plan a surgical treatment which involves mimic facial muscle (as rehabilitation of facial palsy, cleft palate for example), to monitor the results, and to follow the recovery and progress in physiotherapy care.

The aim of this study is to correlate external soft tissue movement (essentially cutaneous) during facial mimic with internal movement (essentially facial mimic muscle) using qualitative and QUANTITATIVE indicators, and to perform a biomechanical model of selected mimic face's movement using the precedent data.