Morphological analysis of the skull shape in craniosynostosis

Craniosynostosis represents premature suture fusion of the fetal and neonatal skull. Pathogenesis of craniosynostosis is complex and probably multifactorial. Growth of skull bones is strictly connected with the expanding growth of the brain and cranial malformations or prematurely fused sutures cause abnormal head shape. In order to diagnose the craniosynostosis, physical examination, plain radiography, and computed tomography with 3D reconstructions are indispensable. Engineering software such as Mimics v.13.1 and 3-matic v.5.0 enables a 3-dimensional model of head to be generated, based on the pictures obtained from CT. It is also possible to indicate the distances between the characteristic anatomical points. These measures are helpful during planning the neurosurgical correction of the skull, because the possibility of strictly specifing incisions before surgery, which is very important to provide the maximal safety of a child.