Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 7, 2025
Analysis of Craniomaxillofacial Malformations in Mice Using Three-dimensional Microcomputed Tomography
Published on: January 17, 2025
Average Models and 3-dimensional Growth Patterns of the Healthy Infant Cranium
Kosuke Kuwahara1,1, Makoto Hikosaka2, Ako Takamatsu2
1Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
This study visualizes healthy infant cranial growth in 3D, revealing early expansion and a tendency towards brachycephaly. These findings establish crucial morphologic standards for treating infant cranial deformities like craniosynostosis.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric medicine
- Craniofacial surgery
- Biomedical imaging
Background:
- Cranial deformities in infants, such as craniosynostosis and deformational plagiocephaly, require timely treatment.
- Establishing morphologic standards is essential for effective treatment planning.
- Understanding typical cranial growth patterns is key to identifying and managing deformities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the three-dimensional (3D) cranial growth patterns of healthy infants.
- To create average cranial models for establishing morphologic standards.
- To provide a basis for understanding and treating conditions causing cranial deformity.
Main Methods:
- Collected craniofacial computed tomographic data from 120 healthy infants (1-17 months).
- Utilized homologous modeling to create 120 individual 3D models.
- Generated six average 3D models representing different age groups to analyze growth patterns.
Main Results:
- Successfully created six average 3D cranial models and visualized growth patterns.
- Observed significant cranial growth from 1 to 5 months, excluding the occipital region.
- Noted a trend towards brachycephaly (cephalic index 87.1-97.3) in infants aged 4-5 months, with localized growth thereafter.
Conclusions:
- Clarified the 3D growth patterns of healthy infant cranium.
- Findings provide essential data to support the understanding and treatment of cranial deformities.
- This study represents the first visualization of entire healthy infant cranial growth patterns in 3D.
Abstract:
Treatment of cranial deformity is often performed during infancy in cases such as craniosynostosis and deformational plagiocephaly. To acquire morphologic standards for the treatment goals of these conditions, we created cranial average models and elucidated the growth patterns of the cranium of healthy infants in 3-dimension (3D) using homologous modeling.
Methods:
Homologous modeling is a technique that enables mathematical analysis of different 3D objects by converting the objects into homologous models that share the same number of vertices with the same spatial relationships. Craniofacial computed tomographic data of 120 healthy infants ranging in age from 1 to 17 months were collected. Based on the computed tomographic data, we created 120 homologous models. Six average 3D models (20 individuals each for 6 different age groups) were created by averaging the vertices of the models. Three-dimensional growth patterns of the cranium were clarified by comparing the 6 average models.
Results:
We successfully created 6 average models and visualized the growth patterns of the cranium. From 1-month-old to 5-month-old infants, the entire cranium except for the occipital region grows, and the cranium tended to be brachycephalic (cephalic index at 4-5 months: 87.1-97.3), but the growth was thereafter localized to specific areas.
Conclusions:
Three-dimensional growth patterns of the cranium of healthy infants were clarified. These findings will support the understanding and treatment of the conditions that cause cranial deformity. To our knowledge, this is the first report to visualize the growth patterns of the entire cranium of healthy infants in 3D.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View
The frontal bone is the single bone that forms the forehead. At its anterior midline, between the eyebrows, there is a slight depression called the glabella. The frontal bone also forms the supraorbital margin of the orbit. Near the middle of this margin is the supraorbital foramen, the opening that provides passage for a sensory nerve to the forehead. The frontal bone is thickened just above each supraorbital margin,...
01:22Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
01:08Overview of the Skull
The cranial vault surrounds and protects the brain and houses the middle and inner ear structures. This cavity is bounded superiorly by the rounded top of the skull, which...
01:29Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into ...
01:27Cranial Bones: Lateral View
The temporal bone forms the lower lateral side of the skull. The temporal bone is subdivided into several regions. The flattened upper portion is the squamous portion of the temporal bone. Below this area and projecting anteriorly is the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, which forms the posterior portion of the zygomatic arch. Posteriorly is the mastoid portion of the temporal bone. Projecting...
01:24Bone Formation by Endochondral Ossification