Surgical simulation of facial paralysis

We are developing a prototype of a surgical simulation system for restoring facial expression lost in cases of facial paralysis. Correcting facial paralysis requires careful planning of surgery procedures and accurate prediction of the surgical results. So far techniques to perform this task largely relied on the physician's experience, and there were few quantitative data to refer to. The system we propose is finally aimed at helping the surgeon plan the surgery and predict the results. The 3D model of the face used in our system is generated directly from the CT scan of the patient. The face model consists of skin, skull and selected facial muscles based on anatomy. The mass and spring lattice approach is used to give physical attributes to the face model. The present prototype system lets the user directly manipulate graphical representations of facial expression.