Virtual reconstruction of paranasal sinuses from CT data: A feasibility study for forensic application

Pierre Gach (1) , Lucile Tuchtan-Torrents (2) , Clémence Delteil (2) , Pascal Adalian (2) , Marie-Dominique Piercecchi (2) , Lars C. Ebert (3) , Guillaume Gorincour (1)

1 LIIE - Laboratoire d'Imagerie Interventionnelle Expérimentale
2 ADES - Anthropologie bio-culturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé
3 UZH - Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich

Purpose The purpose of this study was to report the feasibility of computed modelization and reconstitution of the paranasal sinuses, before and after trauma, from CT data. Materials and methods We modeled and reconstructed the paranasal sinuses of two patients (A and B), before and after trauma, using two different softwares (3DSlicer® and Blender®). Both patients had different numbers and locations of fractures. The 3DSlicer® software was used to create a 3D model from CT data. We then imported the 3D data into the Blender® software, to reconstruct and compare the dimensions of the paranasal sinuses before and after trauma. Results The 3 fragments of patient A and the 7 fragments of patient B could be repositioned in the pre-traumatic configuration. Distance measurements proved to be similar between pre- and post-traumatic 3D volumes. Conclusion After simple trauma, bone facial anatomy reconstruction is manually feasible. The whole procedure could benefit from automatization through machine learning. However, this feasibility must be confirmed on more severely fractured paranasal sinuses, to consider an application in forensic identification.

Mots clés: Paranasal sinuses; Modelization; Reconstitution; Facial trauma; Computed tomography (CT)

Domaines: Anthropologie biologique

Pierre Gach, Lucile Tuchtan-Torrents, Clémence Delteil, Pascal Adalian, Marie-Dominique Piercecchi, et al.. Virtual reconstruction of paranasal sinuses from CT data: A feasibility study for forensic application. Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, 2019, 100 (3), pp.163-168. ⟨10.1016/j.diii.2018.11.011⟩. ⟨hal-02047942⟩