PREDIT4FACE

Facial pathologies are common and represent a significant functional handicap when they affect facial movements. The rehabilitation of facial movements, such as expressions in disfiguring pathologies, is of great importance for improving the quality of life and social interactions of patients. Based on the movements of the superficial muscles, whose anatomy has been known and described for a long time, and on their relationship with the skin tissues, facial expression still remains insufficiently understood. Facial paralysis, for example (approximately 18,000 cases per year in France), is a condition that could benefit from the project, such as the recovery of facial allotransplants or other facial pathologies involving movement. However, understanding facial expression remains a challenge. It will contribute to improving surgical treatments or functional rehabilitation. Indeed, for reconstructive and regenerative surgery, understanding the interactions between agonist and antagonist muscle effectors involved in facial expressions will help overcome certain obstacles to facial recovery and rehabilitation and will advance the analysis of facial muscle synergies. PREDIT4FACE aims at reaching novel frontiers by proposing a multiscale digital twin of the subject-specific human face for facial expressions.

PREDIT4FACE will be created using advanced medical imaging, multiscale characterization of biological facial tissue, and hybrid computational modeling techniques, including finite element modeling, deep learning, and model reduction. The ultimate goal is to enhance predictive and preventive care in personalized facial treatments from diagnosis to treatment (surgical and / or rehabilitation) and patient monitoring.