Patent Document ID: 8834391
Application ID: 12319635
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A computer-implemented method for simulating breast appearance of a woman after a breast surgery, the method comprising the steps of: generating a three-dimensional (3-D) representation of an upper front torso of said woman including an original breast, wherein said original breast includes a right original breast, a left original breast, or both said right original breast and said left original breast; performing a 3-D contour analysis from said 3-D representation by recognizing and analyzing contours and the rate of change in said contours on said 3-D representation, said 3-D contour analysis automatically recognizing and analyzing a 3-D representation of a breast fold corresponding to said original breast and recognizing and analyzing 3-D chest parameters of said upper front torso of said woman, wherein said breast fold is defined as an unclosed curve along a 3-D surface of said 3-D representation defining a lower part of said original breast; constructing a virtual 3-D chest wall from said contoured 3-D representation by including a soft tissue envelope and skin color, said constructed virtual 3-D chest wall providing a realistic image of the upper front torso of the woman including said original breast; determining a volume value of said original breast present on said constructed virtual 3-D chest wall; and simulating a resultant 3-D breast shape on said constructed virtual 3-D chest wall, the simulation including calculating said resultant 3-D breast shape from said original breast present on said constructed virtual 3-D chest wall, whereby a lower boundary of said resultant 3-D breast shape is located near or at a breast fold line, and said resultant 3-D breast shape is defined by width, height and projection parameters, wherein said simulation is an outcome of an addition of a breast implant to said original breast, thereby simulating breast appearance of said woman after said breast surgery.