Medical System to Evaluate the Seventh Cranial Nerve through the Main Facial Mimic Muscles

Abstract

Facial palsy is one of the most frequent mononeuropathies expressed in muscular weakness. The condition is produced by lesions in the seventh cranial nerve that causes esthetic, functional, and psychosocial alterations. The disorder has a qualitative diagnosis, and as a consequence, it does hinder the disease timely monitoring. As time is a key factor for the patient’s recovery, we developed a system capable to quantify the condition and/or damage in the seventh cranial nerve. It allows us to provide the best treatment available that offers the best response to each patient. To know the seventh cranial nerve state is possible due to the connections between whole muscular system and neurons. The system quantifies the muscles activity and displays the differential information of both hemifaces. Our proposal features a mask in which an array of sensors is placed across the frontal, zygomatic minor, risorio, zygomatic major muscles of each hemiface. The data collected are analyzed and displayed in a user-friendly interface.