Purpose: The iPhone X is the first smartphone to be released with a high-fidelity 3D scanner. At present, half of all US smartphone users use an iPhone and data suggest that over 230 million individuals will upgrade to the iPhone X within two years. Given this profound expansion in access to 3D scanning technology, the purpose of this study was to compare the iPhone X scanner against a popular, portable 3D camera used in plastic surgery.
Methods: Sixteen live subjects (n=16) underwent 3D facial capture with the iPhone X and Canfield Vectra H1. Results were compared using color map analysis and surface distances between key anatomical landmarks. To control for micro-expression, three 3D-printed facial masks were captured with each device and compared (n=3). In addition, to assess reproducibility of the iPhone X, six (n=6) scans of a single participant were obtained and compared using color map analysis.
Results: The average difference between the iPhone and 3D camera was 0.44mm following color map analysis, and 0.46mm following surface distance comparison. For the 3D-printed facial mask comparison, average difference was 0.28mm. For reproducibility and precision testing, the difference between scans following color map analysis was 0.35mm.
Conclusion: The iPhone X offers 3D scanning that is accurate and precise to within half a millimeter of a professional 3D camera. The iPhone offers advantages with regard to cost, accessibility, and portability when compared to traditional 3D cameras, and may be a new platform for sharing 3D data between patients and surgeons.