Design, Construction, and Testing of a Stereo-Photogrammetric Tool for the Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in Infants

• Published in: IEEE transactions on medical imaging Vol. 28; no. 9; pp. 1448 - 1458
• Main Authors: Mutsvangwa, T., Smit, J., Hoyme, H.E., Kalberg, W., Viljoen, D.L., Meintjes, E.M., Douglas, T.S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01-09-2009; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Anthropometry; Anthropometry - instrumentation; Anthropometry - methods; Birth disorders; Calibration; Child; Child, Preschool; Control systems; Costs; Digital cameras; Equipment Design; Face - pathology; facial landmark; Female; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - diagnosis; Fetal alcohol syndrome; Head; High-resolution imaging; Humans; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Infant; Interpolation; Models, Biological; morphometrics; Pediatrics; photogrammetry; Photogrammetry - instrumentation; Photogrammetry - methods; Pregnancy; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; System testing
• ISSN: 0278-0062; 1558-254X
• DOI: 10.1109/TMI.2009.2017375

Stereo-photogrammetry provides a low cost, easy to use, and noninvasive alternative to traditional facial anthropometry for the diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). We describe such a system for use in obtaining 3-D facial information in infants. The infant is photographed using three high resolution digital cameras simultaneously while seated in a car seat. The subject's head is enclosed in a control frame during imaging. Technical system tests, namely control frame interpolation, camera calibration reliability, and camera synchronization delay assessments were performed. Direct and stereo-photogrammetric measurements of a doll were compared. Of 275 inter-landmark distances, 100% were within a 1.5 mm error range and 92.36% within a 1 mm error range when the two modalities were compared. Stereo-photogrammetry proved to be highly precise with submillimeter error in landmark placement for all landmarks on the doll. An intra-modality comparison of inter-landmark distances using two sets of images of five subjects showed the stereo-photogrammetric system to be highly reliable, with an average 72.25% of distances within a 1 mm error range. The system has potential for large scale screening and surveillance studies for FAS.