Digital camera and printer manufacturer Canon SA has partnered with the University of Pretoria's Department of Genetics to work on a facial screening project that will assist with the early diagnosis of disorders in children.
According to Canon SA, the company will be sponsoring ten EOS 1200D cameras that will be used to build a 3D camera for the university's Facial Morphology Research Group. The ten cameras will be triggered simultaneously and the images will be used to build 3D models of children's faces.
These 3D models will be used to identify specific facial features associated with syndromes such as Down syndrome, Prader-Willi, Fragile X and Marfan syndrome in children, specifically African infants.
The Facial Morphology Research Group says their main focus is to identify the facial features associated with health and disease.
The research group studies the associations between facial appearance (both shape and colour) and direct measures of health. In the past, the group has found associations between facial appearance and body mass index, hormonal profile, and antibody response.
Dr Vinet Coetzee, head of the Facial Morphology Research group, says SA needs more research to identify the specific facial features associated with disorders such as Down syndrome specifically in African infants.
"We need accurate facial photographs of children with and without the disorder, 3D images are ideal because they contain information on a range of different dimensions.
"An accurate 3D camera will enable us to precisely capture and identify facial features more accurately," she explains.
According to the University of Pretoria's Department of genetics, around 700 disorders have characteristic facial features associated with them. These facial features can play an important role in the initial diagnosis of disorders, but they differ between the different populations.
The department says many of the disorders are more difficult to recognise in African children because so little is known about the specific facial features associated with them in African populations. For example, Down syndrome, which is easily recognised in Western infants, is often difficult to recognise in Black African infants.
Through the camera images, the research group will be able to identify the facial features associated with a range of disorders in African children. Once these features have been identified, facial screening tools will be developed to help doctors identify the specific disorders more easily.
Michelle Janse van Vuuren, marketing director at Canon SA, says Canon is excited to be involved in this project.
"We are pleased to be in a position to sponsor the necessary equipment to facilitate the building of a 3D camera for the facial morphology research project.
"This initiative has great potential to empower the early diagnoses of syndromes in African children, allowing for timely treatment to be effected and improving prognoses," says Van Vuuren.
The department of genetics says the first project will focus on identifying the features associated with Down syndrome in African children and infants.
Once the groundwork has been laid, the project will include more researchers and more conditions such as autism, mitochondrial disorders, Prader-Willi, Marfan and Fragile X syndrome, says the department.
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