Shape Descriptors and Automatic Severity Quantification for Deformational Brachycephaly

Deformational brachycephaly is a non-synostotic (or positional) flattening of the head that has largely been regarded as a cosmetic disease by clinicians. It is closely related to deformational plagiocephaly, both of which, being positional diseases, have increased in frequency considerably since the introduction of the “Back to Sleep” campaign, a largely successful attempt to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Most studies to date have been concerned with mapping the asymmetric deformations of brachycephaly and plagiocephaly, rather than quantifying their severity. As such, the attempts to determine whether positional skull deformations negatively impact an infant’s neurocognitive development have largely been unsuccessful, as they have lacked the standard of an objective measurement with which to correlate severity and outcome. This study proposes just such a standard for quantification, which could provide a tool not only for further research into severity and cognitive outcomes, but also for diagnosis and treatment monitoring, both of which currently are achieved largely through clinician observation and review of patient history.