Smartphone-Based 3D Surface Imaging: A New Frontier in Digital Breast Assessment? Smartphone-Based Breast Assessment

Chrobot, Nikolas; Unbehaun, Philipp; Frank, Konstantin; Alfertshofer, Michael; Smolka, Wenko; Ettl, Tobias; Anker, Alexandra; Prantl, Lukas; Brébant, Vanessa; Hartmann, Robin

doi:10.3390/jcm14176233

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Smartphone-Based 3D Surface Imaging: A New Frontier in Digital Breast Assessment? Smartphone-Based Breast Assessment

by

Nikolas Chrobot

¹

,

Philipp Unbehaun

¹,

Konstantin Frank

¹,

Michael Alfertshofer

²

,

Wenko Smolka

³,

Tobias Ettl

⁴,

Alexandra Anker

¹

,

Lukas Prantl

¹

,

Vanessa Brébant

^1,*,†

and

Robin Hartmann

^3,†

¹

Center of Plastic, Aesthetic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany

²

Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, Technical University Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany

³

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Facial Plastic Surgery, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Lindwurmstrasse 2a, 80337 Munich, Germany

⁴

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(17), 6233; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176233

Submission received: 18 July 2025 / Revised: 15 August 2025 / Accepted: 20 August 2025 / Published: 3 September 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Opinion of Reconstructive and Aesthetic Breast Surgery)

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Abstract

Background: Three-dimensional surface imaging is widely used in breast surgery. Recently, smartphone-based approaches have emerged. This investigation examines whether smartphone-based three-dimensional surface imaging provides clinically acceptable data in terms of accuracy when compared to a validated reference tool. Methods: Three-dimensional surface models were generated for 40 patients who underwent breast reconstruction surgery using the Vectra H2 (Canfield Scientific, Fairfield, NJ, USA) and the LiDAR sensor of an iPhone 15 Pro in conjunction with photogrammetry. The generated surface models were superimposed using CloudCompare’s ICP algorithm, followed by 14 linear surface-to-surface measurements to assess agreement between the three-dimensional surface models. Statistical methods included absolute error calculation, paired t-test, Bland–Altman analysis, and Intra-Class Correlation Coefficients to evaluate intra- and inter-rater reliability. Results: The average landmark-to-landmark deviation between smartphone-based and Vectra-based surface models was M = 2.997 mm (SD = 1.897 mm). No statistical differences were found in 13 of the 14 measurements for intra-rater comparison and in 12 of the 14 for inter-rater comparison. The Intra-Class Correlation Coefficient for intra-rater reliability of the iPhone was good, ranging from 0.873 to 0.993. Intra-Class Correlation Coefficient values indicated good reliability, ranging from 0.873 to 0.993 (intra-rater) and 0.845 to 0.992 (inter-rater). Bland–Altman analyses confirmed moderate to reliable agreement in 13 of 14 measurements. Conclusions: Smartphone-based three-dimensional surface imaging presents promising possibilities for breast assessment. However, it may not yet be suitable for highly detailed breast assessments requiring accuracy below the 3 mm threshold.

Keywords: three-dimensional surface imaging; stereophotogrammetry; smartphone-based surface imaging; digital anthropometry; plastic surgery; Vectra H2

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MDPI and ACS Style

Chrobot, N.; Unbehaun, P.; Frank, K.; Alfertshofer, M.; Smolka, W.; Ettl, T.; Anker, A.; Prantl, L.; Brébant, V.; Hartmann, R. Smartphone-Based 3D Surface Imaging: A New Frontier in Digital Breast Assessment? Smartphone-Based Breast Assessment. J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14, 6233. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176233

AMA Style

Chrobot N, Unbehaun P, Frank K, Alfertshofer M, Smolka W, Ettl T, Anker A, Prantl L, Brébant V, Hartmann R. Smartphone-Based 3D Surface Imaging: A New Frontier in Digital Breast Assessment? Smartphone-Based Breast Assessment. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2025; 14(17):6233. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176233

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chrobot, Nikolas, Philipp Unbehaun, Konstantin Frank, Michael Alfertshofer, Wenko Smolka, Tobias Ettl, Alexandra Anker, Lukas Prantl, Vanessa Brébant, and Robin Hartmann. 2025. "Smartphone-Based 3D Surface Imaging: A New Frontier in Digital Breast Assessment? Smartphone-Based Breast Assessment" Journal of Clinical Medicine 14, no. 17: 6233. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176233

APA Style

Chrobot, N., Unbehaun, P., Frank, K., Alfertshofer, M., Smolka, W., Ettl, T., Anker, A., Prantl, L., Brébant, V., & Hartmann, R. (2025). Smartphone-Based 3D Surface Imaging: A New Frontier in Digital Breast Assessment? Smartphone-Based Breast Assessment. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(17), 6233. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176233

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Smartphone-Based 3D Surface Imaging: A New Frontier in Digital Breast Assessment? Smartphone-Based Breast Assessment

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