Modification of facial morphology in children aged between 6 and 10 years: a pilot study for a new model of face aging

Every year a high number of missing people includes subadults: among 24111 missing persons recorded in Italy in 2010, 9336 were subadults (38.7% of all missing people). Missing subadults in time are more difficult to recognize since their facial morphology is still changing – and growing; photos taken before they went missing will therefore loose identification potential with time, since the face of the missing subject changes with age. In these cases, great importance is given to the so-called “face aging” models, which are supposed to develop the hypothetical face of the missing subadults several years after they went missing. In some cases, the face aging procedure is stressed up to the adult age. In most cases, face aging processes are based on aesthetical and subjective criteria, without a scientifically valid base. The few methods based on mathematical models are developed from cranial measurements taken on subjects recruited within different age ranges. Face aging is therefore considered a procedure of adjustment of the original facial morphology to a hypothetical standard, specific for each age. However this approach does not take into account the individual modification of facial characteristics, and does not consider the real facial changes observed with growth in the same individual. An experimental has been developed in order to verify the progressive modifications of facial morphology in a samples including 11 children aged between 6 and 10 years: 24 cranial measurements were taken on each subject. A 3D acquisition of the face with a 3D optical digitizer was performed, and the same measurements were taken on the 3D facial model. The craniometric analysis and 3D acquisition were repeated on each individual taking part in the experimental project at regular time intervals (twice a year) for several years. This study presents the results of a re-evaluation of face aging through the comparison of facial changes examined on the 3D facial models and in vivo on the same individuals at different times and proves that much scientific data still has to be acquired before reliable face aging images can be guaranteed.