Computation of Breast Ptosis from 3D Scans of Torso

Abstract

Ptosis is an important morphological parameter for characterizing breast aesthetics and is frequently assessed before breast surgery. It refers to the extent to which the nipple is lower than the inframammary fold (the contour along which the inferior part of the breast attaches to the chest wall). Current clinical assessment of ptosis involves qualitative visualization by observers, which is subject to inter-and intra-observer variability. Alternatively, ptosis can be measured anthropometrically directly by manual measurements from the patient or indirectly from manual or computerized measurements on clinical photographs. Although functional, these methods are subject to operator bias and can be practically limiting. As stereophotography is now finding its niche in clinical breast surgery, in this study we investigated and evaluated the utility of three-dimensional (3D) features such as surface curvature, coronal projection and surface normal for the assessment of breast ptosis using 3D scans of the torso. Experimental results suggest that 3D features are successful for objectively categorizing breast ptosis with high accuracy and precision.