Modular optical topometric sensor for 3D acquisition of human body surfaces and long-term monitoring of variations.

Optical topometric 3D sensors such as laser scanners and fringe projection systems allow detailed digital acquisition of human body surfaces. For many medical applications, however, not only the current shape is important, but also its changes, e.g., in the course of surgical treatment. In such cases, time delays of several months between subsequent measurements frequently occur. A modular 3D coordinate measuring system based on the fringe projection technique is presented that allows 3D coordinate acquisition including calibrated color information, as well as the detection and visualization of deviations between subsequent measurements. In addition, parameters describing the symmetry of body structures are determined. The quantitative results of the analysis may be used as a basis for objective documentation of surgical therapy. The system is designed in a modular way, and thus, depending on the object of investigation, two or three cameras with different capabilities in terms of resolution and color reproduction can be utilized to optimize the set-up.