AMFaces: Advanced Additive Manufacturing of User-Focused Facial Prostheses with Real-Life Colour Appearance
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Abstract
Facial prostheses are needed when patients are treated for certain cancers or accidental injuries affecting, for example, the nose, lips, eyes, ears, or skin. The quality of prostheses is naturally very important for patients, both protecting the affected area and giving them confidence, self-esteem, and an improved quality of life.
The demand for facial prostheses is growing rapidly, with increases in cancer rates, an ageing population, and rising patient expectations. Within the UK, there are currently over half a million people with facial disfigurement, and each year about 2,500 new patients need facial prostheses. Compounding the problem, prostheses need to be renewed every 12-18 months as they degrade and discolour.
At present the production of facial prostheses is technically demanding and lengthy, with the end-product depending on the skill of only a few highly experienced maxillofacial prosthetists. Their number is likely to diminish further with 20% of the workforce due to retire over the next 5 years.
A new approach is needed urgently to deliver consistent high-quality prostheses to patients in a timely and cost-effective manner. There are, though, significant challenges. To date, no modern manufacturing method has managed to control medical grade silicone to reproduce facial skin tissue with the necessary softness, colour, surface texture, and flexibility, all in high fidelity. In fact, there is no good computer model for 3D facial skin appearance, even with the latest digital imaging techniques.
To meet these challenges, we have brought together a multidisciplinary team of experts and early career researchers (ECRs) from five universities whose expertise is essential for a successful outcome: clinicians in maxillofacial and oral surgery, scientists and engineers in 3D printing (additive manufacture or AM), reconstructive science, biomaterials, colour science, and imaging. The multidisciplinary nature of this project will allow ECRs to gain broader knowledge, skills, and leadership training in different research areas, mentored by researchers at the forefront of their fields.
Our work entails several innovations:
- introducing 3D hyperspectral imaging and computer modelling of facial skin colour, texture, 3D shape, and translucency for all ethnicities
- developing hybrid AM systems for manufacturing medical silicone parts with micron-level modelling of skin surface colour and texture
- transforming physical modelling data to digital pipeline AM printer control
- formulating new medical silicones and colorants with improved longevity
- maintaining throughout a patient-centred approach, with patient feedback incorporated at every stage of the manufacturing process.
The tight integration of these advances is central to achieving our goal, enabling the prompt delivery of bespoke ultra-realistic facial prostheses on demand.
The results of the research will be delivered mainly through two NHS Foundation Trusts (Manchester University and Guy's and St Thomas', London) and will support regional NHS networks for prosthetic services and charities. We will work with local SMEs to facilitate sustainable research development and further investment. We will share our technological innovations with the clinical, scientific, and engineering communities, especially with developing countries with limited resources.
The demand for facial prostheses is growing rapidly, with increases in cancer rates, an ageing population, and rising patient expectations. Within the UK, there are currently over half a million people with facial disfigurement, and each year about 2,500 new patients need facial prostheses. Compounding the problem, prostheses need to be renewed every 12-18 months as they degrade and discolour.
At present the production of facial prostheses is technically demanding and lengthy, with the end-product depending on the skill of only a few highly experienced maxillofacial prosthetists. Their number is likely to diminish further with 20% of the workforce due to retire over the next 5 years.
A new approach is needed urgently to deliver consistent high-quality prostheses to patients in a timely and cost-effective manner. There are, though, significant challenges. To date, no modern manufacturing method has managed to control medical grade silicone to reproduce facial skin tissue with the necessary softness, colour, surface texture, and flexibility, all in high fidelity. In fact, there is no good computer model for 3D facial skin appearance, even with the latest digital imaging techniques.
To meet these challenges, we have brought together a multidisciplinary team of experts and early career researchers (ECRs) from five universities whose expertise is essential for a successful outcome: clinicians in maxillofacial and oral surgery, scientists and engineers in 3D printing (additive manufacture or AM), reconstructive science, biomaterials, colour science, and imaging. The multidisciplinary nature of this project will allow ECRs to gain broader knowledge, skills, and leadership training in different research areas, mentored by researchers at the forefront of their fields.
Our work entails several innovations:
- introducing 3D hyperspectral imaging and computer modelling of facial skin colour, texture, 3D shape, and translucency for all ethnicities
- developing hybrid AM systems for manufacturing medical silicone parts with micron-level modelling of skin surface colour and texture
- transforming physical modelling data to digital pipeline AM printer control
- formulating new medical silicones and colorants with improved longevity
- maintaining throughout a patient-centred approach, with patient feedback incorporated at every stage of the manufacturing process.
The tight integration of these advances is central to achieving our goal, enabling the prompt delivery of bespoke ultra-realistic facial prostheses on demand.
The results of the research will be delivered mainly through two NHS Foundation Trusts (Manchester University and Guy's and St Thomas', London) and will support regional NHS networks for prosthetic services and charities. We will work with local SMEs to facilitate sustainable research development and further investment. We will share our technological innovations with the clinical, scientific, and engineering communities, especially with developing countries with limited resources.
Publications
Nascimento SMC
(2023)
Misidentifying illuminant changes in natural scenes due to failures in relational colour constancy.
in Proceedings. Biological sciences
Foster DH
(2023)
Little information loss with red-green color deficient vision in natural environments.
in iScience
Foster D
(2025)
Frequency of mismatching surface colors in the wild
in Journal of the Optical Society of America A
| Title | Development of photo-registration protocol for improved realism and colour precision of 3D facial images. |
| Description | This research method enhances 3D facial model construction by integrating colour-calibrated photographic images with 3D geometric data from an Artec 3D scanner. A bespoke reference accessory kit was designed to facilitate accurate alignment of the photographic (feature known as photo-registration) images with the 3D model. |
| Type Of Material | Physiological assessment or outcome measure |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The developed protocol significantly improved the realism and colour accuracy of 3D facial models compared to the initial control output (raw colour data from Artec 3D). This advancement addresses limitations in previous methods by enhancing the visual fidelity of scanned models, making them more suitable for applications requiring high precision in both geometry and colour representation. |
| Description | 3D scanning service to PhD student |
| Organisation | Henry Royce Institute |
| Department | Henry Royce Institute – University of Manchester Facilities |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Se Hun Chung, PDRA at King's College London (KCL), conducted a facial scan on Joseph Lynch, PhD student at the University of Manchester on 2 November 2023 using the Artec Spider 3D scanner funded by the project. Joseph needed the morphology of the outer ear. The scan provided a 3D image of an ear for Joseph to input into the scanner at Manchester. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Joseph agreed to undergo a facial scan which enabled Se Hun to test his developing facial scanning protocol and to make any adjustments to the procedure. |
| Impact | Joseph Lynch presented the image taken at KCL at a Tissue and Cell Engineering Society (TCES) UK - The Society of Life Support Engineering (SLSE) Japan online workshop in a short presentation on 1st February 2024 (https://tces.org/). |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | 'I'm Still Me' at St James Hospital |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Russell Harris and Dr Keith Winwood were invited to attend the opening of 'I'm Still Me' at St James Hospital, an exhibition of portraits and stories of cancer rehabilitation with facial prostheses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | A poster presentation at the World Cancer Day event in Manchester Cancer Research Centre/ the Christie NHS FT (18 February 2025). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Kinjiro Amano (Research CoI, KA) took part in the open day event "United by Unique" at Manchester Cancer Research Centre/ the Christie NHS FT Manchester (18 February 2025) as part of the World Cancer Day activities. KA introduced AMFaces project with a poster presentation and promoted our interdisciplinary approach to this clinical application, particularly for cancer patients. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/united-by-unique-tickets-1112648273939?contact_organizer=1 |
| Description | EPSRC Engagement Presentation at Manchester Metropolitan University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | Overview presentation of AMFaces, the EPSRC awarded project, to the EPSRC Head of Regional Engagement Northwest England and the Portfolio and Senior Portfolio Manager of the EPSRC Manufacturing and the Circular Economy Theme who were visiting Manchester Metropolitan University. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | EPSRC Healthcare Technologies strategy launch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof Harris was invited to present some of our research, particularly including this project, at the EPSRC Health Technologies strategy launch at Manchester's Industry & Science Museum. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | FormNext 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Some of our research was showcased by Fraunhofer at FormNext in November 2024. There were 34,404 visitors over the course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Invited presentation to the "Symposium on color vision and facial skin color", Chiba University, Japan, 18-19 June 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Kinjiro Amano was invited to present the research topics in AMFaces at "the Symposium on color vision and facial skin color" at Chiba University, Japan, supported by Formation of a Strategic Base in Asia Creating and Developing Global Minded Imaging Science (BAGIS), JSPS Research Center Formation Project-B: JPJSCCB20220006. Audience (approx. 50) consisted of international academics (JP: Chiba, Saitama, Tokyo Inst Tech; UK: UoM, PT: Minho), healthcare and cosmetic industries (Shiseido, L'Oréal), who have expertise in facial skin colour research, and PG students. Kinjiro presented the research topics in AMFaces, namely, human colour vision, hyperspectral imaging, facial skin imaging, followed by intensive discussions with the academic and industrial experts of facial colour imaging. Kinjiro was invited to a laboratory tour followed by intensive discussion of the research activities in human colour vision and skin colour perception. Kinjiro exchanged research ideas and outcomes and discussed potential future collaborations and grant applications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Research discussion with researchers (Prof Shin'ya Nishida, Kyoto University and Prof Keiji Uchikawa, Kanagawa Institute of Technology) at Dr Takehiro Nagai's laboratories, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan (23 June 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Kinjiro Amano visited Dr Takehiro Nagai and his research laboratories at the Department of Information and Communications Engineering (Human Centered Science and Biomedical Engineering/ Information and Communications Engineering), Institute of Science Tokyo (then Tokyo institute of Technology), Japan, with distinguished researchers, Prof Shin'ya Nishida (Kyoto University) and Prof Keiji Uchikawa (Kanagawa Institute of Technology) to discuss colour vision research. The discussions were held along with five PG students' demonstrations, involving colour perception, Shitsukan perception, skin colour perception with psychophysical experiments., which could be applicable to AMFaces. General round table discussion sessions were held with the members of the PG students (approx. 10). Future collaborations across the institutions were also discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Research visit to Dr Kumiko Kikuchi at Shiseido MIRAI Technology Institute, Yokohama, Japan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Kinjiro Amano visited Dr Kumiko Kikuchi at Shiseido MIRAI Technology Institute, Yokohama, Japan, who is an expert in facial skin colour research. They discussed various facial colour imaging techniques and analysis and exchanged knowledge, including hyperspectral imaging, gonio-spectral imaging, polarisation technique, structural imaging, depth imaging, and biological structure of skin. They discussed potential future collaborations between the institutions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | Research visit to Honda Research Institute Japan (Wako, Japan) to discuss future research collaborations (22 June 2023; 21 June 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Kinjiro Amano met with a research scientist Dr Yu Fang and a principal research scientist Dr Shigeaki Nishina at Honda Research Institute Japan (HRIJP, Wako, Japan) to exchange research interests of both institutions and discussed potential collaborations. Kinjiro introduced research activities in AMFaces including human facial colour study, hyperspectral imaging, and visual attention. Kinjiro and Dr Fang know each other since Dr Fang contributed to a JSPS Shitsukan symposium organised by Kinjiro (2017). Along with research activities at HRIJP, namely colour vision research, visual attention, and eye-movement and their applications to robotics engineering, a potential future collaboration along with the HRIJP-UoM research alliance was discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | Research visit to Prof Ichiro Kuriki and his laboratory at Department of Information and Computer Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University (21 June 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Kinjiro Amano visited Prof Ichiro Kuriki and his laboratory at Department of Information and Computer Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Japan, to discuss research activities in human colour vision sciences. Kinjiro gave a presentation at a research seminar. Audience (approx. 40) consisted of academics and students. KA discussed human colour vision in psychophysics, hyperspectral imaging, facial skin imaging, and their application to AMFaces. Kinjiro was invited to their laboratories and discussed their research activities involving human colour vision in psychophysics, machine learning, and electrophysiological measurements on human colour vision and potential future collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Research visit to Prof Satoshi Shioiri and Prof Chia-Huei Tseng at the Research Institute of Electrical Communication and Interdisciplinary ICT Research Center for Cyber and Real Spaces, Tohoku University, Japan to discuss research collaboration (19 June 2023; 17 June 2024). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Kinjiro Amano visited Prof Satoshi Shioiri and Prof Chia-Huei Tseng at the Research Institute of Electrical Communication & Interdisciplinary ICT Research Center for Cyber and Real Spaces, Tohoku University, Japan, and gave a presentation at their research seminars. Kinjiro presented research topics of human colour vision studies with psychophysics, eye-movement in natural scenes, and visual attention, and hyperspectral imaging, and their application to AMFaces. Audience (approx. 30) consisted of academics from the region and PG students. Kinjiro was invited to their laboratories and had intensive discussions on their research topics including visual attention and learning with psychophysical, neurophysiological, and computational approaches, and a future collaboration potentially along with the Tohoku-UoM research alliance scheme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | Research visit to Prof Yoko Mizokami and her Vision Science laboratory at Graduate School of Informatics, Chiba University, Japan (20 June 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Kinjiro Amano visited Prof Yoko Mizokami, one of the experts in skin colour research, and her Vision Science laboratory at Graduate School of Informatics, Chiba University, Japan. Kinjiro gave a presentation at a research seminar to discuss human colour vision in psychophysics, hyperspectral imaging, facial skin imaging, and their application to AMFaces. Audience (approx. 30) consisted of academics and PG students. Kinjiro was invited to a laboratory tour which involved more intensive discussion over the research activities in colour appearance of facial skin and research ideas and outcomes were exchanged. A potential future collaboration was also discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk at 27th International Colour Vision Society Meeting, Ljubljana, Slovenia, July, 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Useful advice on new experiments. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Talk at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk and meeting regarding Aerosol Jet Printing |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk at January Vision Meeting of the Colour Group (GB), City St George's, University of London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Useful critique stmulating new research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Talk at University of Sheffield |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This talk, entitled 'Novel manufacturing technology enabling new devices and treatments', included our research of digital fabrication with soft materials. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Video interview "Meet the expert" on the University of Manchester's LinkedIn channel for the World Cancer Day (4 February 2025) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Julian Yates (CoI, JY) was video interviewed by UoM Social Media team for the "Meet the Expert" series on the University of Manchester's LinkedIn channel (531,803 followers) as part of the World Cancer Day campaign (4th February 2025). JY introduced the AMFaces project, including its goal, originality, and benefits to wider public as well as the cancer patients. The research team and the relevant institutions were highlighted. The role of each team was also detailed. JY detailed the traditional method of manufacturing facial soft tissue processes and then highlighted how the new research would develop this to become a semi-automated digital process with modern and innovative additive manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing along with novel materials news ultra realistic facial prostheses. The advantages of new technology and manufacturing process were also discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7292528849974624258/ |