In Vivo Delineation of Facial Fractures: The Application of Advanced Medical Imaging Technology

Advanced medical imaging technology has important advantages over ordinary skull radiography and conventional tomography in the study of facial fractures. Computer-based imaging methods, including computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, provide exquisite soft tissue contrast, superior geometrical accuracy, and freedom from overlapping shadows, and permit computer reformating of images. The advantages of computer-based medical imaging for study of facial fractures are identified and illustrated with computed tomographs. Three-dimensional surface reconstruction methods applied to serial high-resolution computed tomography scans of facial fractures are described and evaluated.