Topography of Surface and Spinal Deformity

The Department of Photogrammetry Warsaw University of Technology has been involved in use of in industrial and biomedical applications moiré topography for over ten years. Most of this effort has been inspired by a particular application, namely, the determination of the surface topography of the human back for the detection and diagnosis of spinal deformity. The moiré technique is recommended for mass screening and early detection of postural deformities among children and young people. It also proved to be invaluable for the assessment of treatment and rehabilitation results, especially in the cases when making X-ray pictures and/or their frequent repeating is contraindicated. In this paper a few typical examples of an application of the moiré technique in solving different medical problems, will be presented. Determination of the shape of the back of the human body can be readily automated using the phase methods for analysing the fringe patterns. Specialised medical software for studying the deformity of the back and front of the human body illustrated by clinical examples, will be presented.