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UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health

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Research


Our research focuses on advancing our understanding of craniofacial morphology and biomechanics in children born with skull/face abnormalities, in order to design and implement new treatments and devices for less invasive and more predictable craniofacial surgery.


 

Craniofacial Morphology

Definition of 3D craniofacial morphology in the normal and affected populations based on advanced 3D medical images. Shape modelling techniques are implemented on pre and post-operative 3D images of reconstructed skull/face to identify specific anatomical shape features.

 

Craniofacial Biomechanics

A combination of experimental and computational methods to investigate the response of the infant skull to forces applied during craniofacial treatments. Physical properties of the paediatric cranium are analysed and integrated to the 3D reconstructed patient skull to create realistic computational models.

 

Distractor Devices

Design of new distractor devices which can be employed in minimally invasive surgery to achieve the desired shape change of skull/face. Patient specific computational models are used to optimise the device and test the skull/device interaction before prototypes are made.