Hallgrimsson/Klein/Spritz. Developing 3D Craniofacial Morphometry Data and Tools to Transform Dysmorphology

Dysmorphology is the branch of pediatrics and clinical genetics concerned with structural birth defects and delineation of syndromes. More than 1500 syndromes that include orofacial dysmorphia have been described. Today, dysmorphology remains largely descriptive, with diagnoses based on subjective or semi-quantitative clinical impressions of facial and other anatomic features. Over the past decade, dramatic technological advances in imaging, quantification, and analysis of variation in complex three-dimensional (3D) shape have revolutionized the assessment of morphologic variation, permitting robust definition of quantitative morphometric phenotypes that can distinguish patients from controls in a variety of syndromes. The goal of this proposal is to develop systems that will enable diagnostic application of craniofacial 3D morphometrics in clinical practice. We aim to define specific quantitative measures that characterize the aberrant facial shapes in a large number of human dysmorphic syndromes. We anticipate that 3D photomorphometric “deep-phenotyping”, in conjunction with the rapid advent of exome and genome sequencing in clinical medicine, will transform dysmorphology from a clinical art into a medical science.