Aging of Orbicularis Muscle in Virtual Human Faces
Alexandre Cruz Berg
Universitat de les Illes Balears
Ctra de Valldemossa, km 7,5 E-07071
Palma Mallorca Spain
berg@sinfosul.com.br
Abstract
Given a facial image of a particular person, aging is to
construct facial image of the same person but at a
different age. This assumption becomes an important
limitation when modeling human aging from real data,
specially in order to be used by plastic surgeons. In this
article we present a new approach to robustly analyze
parts of face aging. Our analysis-synthesis cooperation,
possible thanks to a highly realistic 3D head model and in
comparison with youth age face of the same person. It is
presented a prototype of aging an specific region of
someone's face, which utilizes a framework for facial
feature. By a number of experiments is demonstrated the
validity of the rules that have been employed. The
evaluation of the overall performance of the fully
automated system indicates that the facial aging is
performed rather accurately by the system.
Keywords: facial image.3D head model. Image analysis.
Image synthesis. Modeling human face aging.
1. Introduction
We often talk about aging as if it were a unitary
process that all members of the species undergo in the
same manner. Perhaps this idea arose from the superficial
resemblance of the old survivors to one another: they
usually had gray hair and wrinkles and suffered from the
slings and arrows of time's misfortune. Aging occurs
gradually, with some processes beginning to decline in a
person's twenties or thirties, while other processes remain
relatively untouched until the late sixties and beyond.
With the face muscles we can note the difference at the
twenties already. The plastic surgery sometimes could get
better results before the face are fulfilled of wrinkles,
specially if one could predict how the person's face will be
in the future.
Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Information Visualization (IV’03)
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Silvana Cardoso Justo
Palácio Piratini
Rua Duque de Caxias, 1005.
Porto Alegre-RS 90010-282. Brazil
silvanaj@ig.com.br
Although many plastic surgeons have routinely
embraced the principle of deep-plane dissection for other
areas of the body such as the abdomen, they have often
been more hesitant to apply these same principles to face
lifts and have limited themselves to elevating and
redraping the facial skin[1]. It is generally accepted that if
one could do some small things in those places that in the
future would be the most difficult to work on, it could get
better results and satisfaction. Thinking this way analysis-
synthesis cooperation, possible thanks to a highly realistic
3D head model comparing with youth age face of the
same person can help plastic surgeons to realize which
places they should work on.
Analysis of specific face muscles (eyes, eyebrows
and mouth) are used to extract the most significant
information regarding aging. Many of the current studies
are developed to work in the skeletal element growth and
soft tissues changes [2] or they are oriented to perform
facial expression parameters [3] but they don't generate
old faces given a facial image of a particular person as
plastic surgeons would like.
On the other hand it is presented in Goto[4] a
description that most virtual scheme avoid pose-
expression coupling issue by minimizing its effects, what
certainly ensure that wrinkles are not some easy task.
Thereafter in Pantic[5] the facial expression algorithms
are used to do only expression analysis in such a manner
it is not said that could create facial aging from some
facial expression.
1.1 Age-related changes in humans
Human aging overcome the complexity of changes in
anthropomorphic measurements and indices that are
believed to be probably related to aging. The relationships
involved likely are not simple. A close examination of
theses indices yields no simple or overall detectable
 pattern of growth. Instead, one is faced with a mosaic of
differential growth patterns, in which some features reach
their peak values in the third decade of life (as in facial
index). According to Arking[4] head circumference
increase through 35-39 and slow decline after 54 while
head length increase through 50-54. On the other hand,
facial index increase through 25-29 and decline thereafter.
These are some data that we can use in order to generate
realistic 3D head model using comparison with youth age
face of the same person.
More money and effort are expended by individuals
in the constant effort to hide and disguise the normal age-
related changes occurring in the hair and skin than in any
other organ system. The cosmetic industry thrives on our
vain desire to remain young, and fortunes await those who
can enhance the naturalism of our illusions. The
importance of a discussion on skin in a gerontology text
has little to do with morbidity or mortality numbers. No
one dies of old skin or succumbs to skin failure. Its
importance is primarily psychological, for we read our
mortality in our skin [4]. The skin is composed of several
layers (figure 1). The outermost layer is the epidermis, a
specialized epithelial cell layer. Under the epidermis is the
dermis, a vascularized layer of connective tissue. The
innermost layer is a loose layer of connective tissue called
the hypodermis.
Fig. 1. Skin layers
The skin's ability to function as an effective
boundary layer depends on the maintenance of its
structure. Unfortunately, regressive structural changes
take place in all components of the skin with increasing
age. The normal age-related changes encountered in
human skin were described by Arking[4]. As it is related
the epidermis itself does not become thinner with age;
however there is a marked decrease in the density of the
dermal papillae. These stubby interlocking protrusions of
the epidermis and the dermis hold the two layers in close
contact with one another. The result of their loss is that
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the epidermis is held less tightly to the underlying dermis.
This alteration accounts in part for the looser feel of aged
skin. There are reported to be no significant changes in
the fine structure of the epidermal cells themselves. The
dermis, on the other hand, does become thinner with age.
1.2 Related work
Some approaches to deal with face aging modeling
problem can be found in the literature, as in Wu [2]. In
order to obtain approximate growth, they proposed to
implement a 3D facial model to represent the complete
cranio-facial complex, in a three layer (bone structure,
soft tissue, skin) approach. Next a database of norms for
different age groups is created. The modeling process is
decomposed into two steps. First, a model corresponding
to a given age group is selected. Secondly, the model is
fitted to the specific person using the given 2D image(s).
Parameters from 2D image(s) are derived to make the 3D
model specific to the person.
1.3 Organization of this paper
In this paper it is focused the orbicularis oculi muscle
in order to model the aging of this muscle helping plastic
surgeons to predict how it will look and what to do in
order to delay this muscle aging.
2. Orbicularis Oculi Muscle
The orbicularis oculi muscle originates at the medial
orbital rim and inserts into the lateral canthal tendon,
which in turn inserts into the periosteum of the lateral
orbital wall (figure 2-a) [1].
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 2. Orbicularis oculi muscle. a)
orbicularis oculi origin. b) orbicularis oculi in
youth. c) orbicularis oculi with age.
In youth this muscle forms a tight muscular sphincter
around the orbital contents and its inferior border rides
high on the malar eminence (figure 2-b). With age the
orbicularis becomes ptotic and attenuated (figure 2-c).
 The bony anatomy is such that the orbicularis oculi
essentially falls off the malar eminence.
The "malar crescent", which is the inferior portion of
the muscle, begins its progressive descent, creating a
crescentic deformity.
The distance from the ciliary border to the inferior
border of the orbicularis increases progressively with age.
The youthful appearance after composite rhytidectomy is
achieved by changing the axis of the muscle from the
medial origin to the lateral canthal area and elevating the
inferior border of the muscle.
In composite rhytidectomy the orbicularis oculi must
be elevated, repositioned on the malar eminence, and
secured to the lateral orbital periosteum. It may be
necessary to remove some excess muscle from the
superior and inferior border of the muscle. Muscle is
removed from the inferior border of the orbicularis only if
the excess can easily be demonstrated preoperatively.
The inferior portion of the lax orbicularis may cause
gathering, much like a curtain on the floor (figure 3).
These festoons or malar bags must be corrected by
excising a small amount of excess muscle. Care must be
taken not to remove subcutaneous fat.
Fig. 3. The inferior portion of the lax
orbicularis
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3. Performance Analysis
In this section, we present examples of orbicularis
oculi muscle aging with a prototype aging system, relying
on a 3D interface, with navigation and content editing of
the 3D virtual scene.
According to anatomic principles[1] the vectors of
aging alter the position and appearance of key anatomic
structures of the face (figure 4). Therefore basic anatomic
and surgical principles must be applied when planning
rejuvenative facial surgery and treating specific problems
concomitant with the aging process.
The vector of aging of the orbicularis oculi is
inferolateral therefrom the 3D aging orbicularis modeling
use this direction on the prototype.
Fig. 4. Vectors of aging
Aging is integrated naturally into the prototype
perform loop as shown in figure 5:
i. the youth orbicularis is first rendered. In mostly
static environments, this model may rely on its memory;
ii. the aging module processes on step for certain
period of time, e.g. period of 10 years, using the
triangularized model description.
iii. a render step is then performed for the aged
orbicularis model.
iv. the visualization coming from different period of
time are combined to update the aged muscle and skin.

Fig. 5. Prototype perform step
4. Examples and Applications
As an example, figure 6 describes the organization
of the face module at the aging level as well as the link
with the application's shared pool of aging filters.
We tested the aging module using the approach of a
woman of 25 years old.
Fig. 6. Organization of the face module
4.1 Collecting problem
In the collecting problem the prototype calculates the
vectors of aging in order to apply to the orbicularis (figure
7). The global aging results from a composition of several
layers of virtual dermis and epidermis.
Fig. 7. Vectors of aging applied to the orbicularis
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As it was said before the epidermis itself does not
become thinner with age, therefore the virtual skin that
cover the orbicularis is rendered according to the decrease
in the density of the dermal papillae.
Figure 8 shows a simulation of this problem where
virtual human orbicularis is aged with a given 25 years
old face through 30 years.
Fig. 8. Virtual human orbicularis aged
5. Conclusion and Future Work
This paper presents a prototype of aging an specific
region of someone's face, which utilizes a framework for
facial feature and an Aging System for face aging and
multiple ages of facial aging. By a number of
experiments, we demonstrated the validity of the rules
that have been employed. The evaluation of the overall
performance of the fully automated system indicates that
the facial aging is performed rather accurately by the
system.
Our current work is focused on a twofold. Modeling
the facial muscle, bone and skin will increase the overall
performance of the system. Developing a Expert System
for the whole face aging will increase the quality of the
system by allowing it to reason about the involved face
aging according to the accuracy of the performed facial
aging. Designing and developing a learning facility,
which will allow the user to define his/her own ages, will
yield a broader and more realistic classification of the
encountered aged faces.
References
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Publishing, Inc. St. Louis, Missouri, 1993.
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Multimedia, Anaheim, California, United States, 1993

[3] Galvão, J. R. et alia. Multimedia Environment Support

by WWW in a Computer Assisted Learning System. IEEE 3rd
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[4] T. Goto, S. Kshirsagar, and N. Magnenat-Thalmann,

Automatic Face Cloning and Animation, IEEE Signal
Processing Magazine, Vol. 1 8, No. 3, pp. 1 7-25, May 2001.

[5] M. Pantic, and L. J.M. Rothkrantz, Automatic Analysis

of facial Expressions: The State of the Art, IEEE Trans. On
Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 22, No. 1 2, pp.
1 424-1 445, Dec. 2000.

[6] Arking, R. Biology of Aging: Observations and

Principles. 2nd edition. Sinauer Associates Inc. MA. 1998.

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1093-9547/03 $17.00 © 2003 IEEE