How surgeons at North Manchester General Hospital are putting a new handheld facial scanner through its paces

“In the last few years, we have tried to move from traditional methods of mould making to using 3D scanners, which has enabled this process to become quicker, cleaner and more convenient for the patient,” explained Oliver Burley - Reconstructive Scientist and Lab Manager at North Manchester General Hospital (NMGH). “The facial scanning technology we had access to in the past was suitable for some applications - such as burn splint manufacture - however the level of detail captured left a lot to be desired. Their ability to capture the intricate detail of the patient’s face was not as precise as we’d want it to be. A high level of accuracy is essential for creating maxillofacial devices and facial prostheses that are aesthetically pleasing, fit well, and blend seamlessly with the patient’s own features.”

Burley and his team at NMGH have recently been trialling the iReal 2S face scanner from The 3D Measurement Company (T3DMC) which has allowed them to capture fine features such as hair, eyebrows, skin folds, wrinkles and eye position, including pigments and colours, without irritating the patient’s skin or eyes.

“Thanks to the blue and the infrared light settings we can scan a person’s face in thirty seconds and produce a high-quality scan,” Burley explained. “The scanner is light and portable which allows us to easily travel with it between different hospital sites. Furthermore, there’s minimal post-processing required and the resulting stl. and obj. files can be used depending on the need, such as for printing the 3D models."

“The fundamental difference against traditional techniques of taking moulds and impressions is that it's far quicker, it's far less painful, and it's less intrusive on the patient,” Adam Stanley, Director at T3DMC added. “It's a more pleasant experience for them, and fundamentally, we can get far more accurate data so any downstream processes for creating the prosthetic means that it's going to fit better and it's going to be more comfortable to wear.”

The iReal 2S is said to be one of the most affordable 3D body scanners on the market and can capture data at 550,000 measurements per second in high-definition and in colour without reference markers or dots. It’s designed so that “the patient barely knows they are being scanned,” according to Stanley. It also features a built in HD camera which directly captures full colour images of the scanned object, overlaying them onto the 3D mesh structure to give realistic colour representation, and a visual guidance system which ensures ease of use for nontechnical users.

“That's a huge thing that's often overlooked,” Stanley shared. “You can have a very comprehensive, very accurate system, great data capture but if it's difficult to use and not very user-friendly, then it often will not get used as a piece of technology because it actually makes the process for the operator more difficult, even if it does give better data downstream.”

That ease of use has been essential for the NMGH team and Burley added that they're now looking to use the scanner for more complex cases as a volume measurement tool for tissue reconstruction on other areas of the body. Further to that, the data captured can also be used to create 3D printed models and prototypes for prosthetics.

“The ease of use is critical to the success of a system like the iReal,” Stanley said. “This is a tool that is in the arsenal of consultants, surgeons, practitioners, whoever needs to collect information about a patient so that they can review it at a later date, when the patient is no longer there. To do that in a digital space in 3D is a very powerful concept. The iReal allows you to capture precise, clean data very quickly, so that you can get on with your day, and let the patient carry on with their day as well.”