Evaluation of facial palsy by moir6 topography index

We investigated the usefulness of moir ~ topography for evaluating facial nerve function in 51 patients with facial palsy and 10 normal volunteers. This method visualizes the shape of objects in three dimensions. We devised three moir ~ indexes as a simple method of quan-tifying the severity of facial palsy: the nasolabial groove moir ~ index, the oral angle moir~ index, and the inner canthus moir( ~ index. We compared the results obtained by the moir(~ indexes with findings obtained using the House-Brackmann grading system and found that they were highly correlated. These three moir( ~ indexes included all the standard factors of the l-louse-Brackmann grading system, allowing us to develop the total moir( ~ index. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1997;117:567-72,) O b j e c t i v e evaluation of facial nerve function is a complex procedure. However, several visual assess-ment methods have been proposed and widely accepted as simple and useful. Unfortunately, their objectivity and reproducibility are limited. Thus we introduced moir6 topography as a more precise and objectiv