In collaboration with the Department of Plastic Pediatric Surgery and the
Dept. of Plastic Surgery, Burns and Wound Healing of the University Hospital
Lapyeronie of Montpellier, France.
The aim of this project is to build a 3D geometric and
mechanical model of the skin/subcutaneous complex
(SSC) which could be adapted to the different parts
of the body and to the morphological parameters
of the patient. Initially, a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance
imaging study on subcutaneous tissue showed the
existence of a common pattern of organization of
the SSC in the various parts of the body studied [1].
Three-dimensional reconstructions were obtained by
post-processing the MRI images and gave parameters
which were related to the different localizations
and morphologies of the human body. We subsequently
proposed a three-dimensional geometrical
and biomechanical model which combines volume,
membranous and unidimensional models [2]. This
model is adjusted to the human body by using the
measured parameters. The complex internal structure
composed of fat lobules is automatically created
by an innovative procedural process. We performed
several preliminary experiments which showed that
this hybrid method can realistically model some
geometrical and physical behaviors, such as that of
cellulite. We plan to use this method for simulation
and planning of fat injection surgical procedures.
[1] C. Herlin, A. Chica-Rosa, G. Subsol, B. Gilles, F. Macri, J.P. Beregi, G. Captier.
"Three-dimensional study of the
skin/subcutaneous complex using in vivo whole body 3 Tesla MRI: review of the literature and
confirmation of a generic pattern of organisation".
Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy, Vol. 37, Issue 7, p. 731-741, September 2015.
[2] C. Herlin, B. Gilles, G. Subsol, G. Captier.
"Generic 3D Geometrical and Mechanical Modeling of the Skin/Subcutaneous Complex by a Procedural
Hybrid Method".
6th International Symposium on Biomedical Simulation, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 8789, p. 173-181, Springer, Strasbourg (France), October 2014. Best Paper Award.