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In Legal medicine (Tokyo, Japan)

Facial reconstruction (otherwise known as facial approximation) is an alternative method that has been widely accepted in forensic anthropological and archaeological circumstances. This method is considered useful for creating the virtual face of a person based on skull remain. Three-dimensional (3-D) traditional facial reconstruction (known as sculpture or manual method) has been recognized for more than a century; however, it was declared to be subjective and required anthropological training. Until recently, with the progression of computational technologies, many studies attempted to develop a more appropriate method, so-called the 3-D computerized facial reconstruction. This method also relied on anatomical knowledge of the face-skull relationship, divided into semi- and automated based computational method. The 3-D computerized facial reconstruction makes it more rapid, more flexible, and more realistic to generate multiple representations of faces. Moreover, new tools and technology are continuously generating fascinating and sound research as well as encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration. This has led to a paradigm shift in the 3-D computerized facial reconstruction to a new finding and new technique based on artificial intelligence in academia. Based on the last 10-years scientific-published documents, this article aims to explain the overview of the 3-D computerized facial reconstruction and progression as well as an issue relating to future directions to encourage further improvement.

Navic Pagorn, Inthasan Chanatporn, Chaimongkhol Thawanthorn, Mahakkanukrauh Pasuk

2023-Mar-15

Computer-assisted, Facial approximation, Facial reconstruction, Forensic anthropology, Review, Three-dimensional