Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 8, 2026
A Test Bed to Examine Helmet Fit and Retention and Biomechanical Measures of Head and Neck Injury in Simulated Impact
Published on: September 21, 2017
Natural-Course Evaluation of Infants with Positional Severe Plagiocephaly Using a Three-Dimensional Scanner in Japan:
Takanori Noto1,2, Nobuhiko Nagano1, Risa Kato1
1Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan.
Insights
Positional plagiocephaly often does not improve naturally. Cranial helmet therapy (CHT) significantly improves cranial asymmetry (CA) in infants, suggesting CHT is recommended for severe cases.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric medicine
- Biomedical engineering
Background:
- Positional plagiocephaly is a common condition in infants.
- Accurate measurement of cranial asymmetry is crucial for diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the natural progression of severe positional plagiocephaly.
- To evaluate the efficacy of cranial helmet therapy (CHT) for treating positional plagiocephaly.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a 3D scanner (Artec Eva) to measure cranial asymmetry (CA) in 100 infants with severe plagiocephaly (CA >12 mm).
- Compared natural improvement over two months with outcomes from CHT in a case-control study.
- Defined improvement as CA reduction to <12 mm.
Main Results:
- 66% of infants with severe positional plagiocephaly showed no natural improvement after two months.
- The CHT group experienced a three-fold greater improvement in CA compared to the natural-course group (-4.6 mm vs. -1.55 mm).
- Statistical significance was observed (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
- Severe positional plagiocephaly frequently fails to resolve spontaneously.
- Cranial helmet therapy is an effective treatment for reducing cranial asymmetry in infants.
- CHT should be strongly considered for infants diagnosed with severe plagiocephaly (CA >12 mm).
Abstract:
This study aimed to clarify the natural course of positional plagiocephaly using a three-dimensional (3D) scanner and investigate the effectiveness of cranial helmet therapy (CHT). One hundred infants with severe plagiocephaly who visited our institutions between April 2020 and March 2021 were included. Cranial shape was measured using an Artec Eva 3D scanner. A cranial asymmetry (CA) >12 mm was diagnosed as severe plagiocephaly. An infant whose CA subsided to <12 mm was considered to have improved naturally or by CHT. The difference in CA between the second and initial scans was defined as the improvement value (median scan interval was two months). In the natural-course group comprising 56 infants with severe plagiocephaly, 37 (66%) with a median CA of 15.6 mm exhibited no improvement after two months. In the scan age- and evaluation interval-matched case-control study, the CA value in the CHT group improved by three times that in the natural-course group (-4.6 mm [n = 33] vs. -1.55 mm [n = 24], p < 0.001). Severe plagiocephaly did not improve naturally in 66% of the cases. Therefore, CHT should be considered if the CA is >12 mm on the initial evaluation.
