ST. LOUIS (July 19, 2012) –The American Association of Orthodontists Foundation (AAOF) Craniofacial Legacy Growth Collection Project, an effort to preserve irreplaceable representative samples of U.S. and Canadianlongitudinal craniofacial growth records dating back more than 75 years, announces that more than 400 cases have now been uploaded to the website. Recent additions from the Wright State University Fels Longitudinal Study and the University of Oklahoma Denver Growth Study have more than doubled the number of images previously available in the searchable online database.
According to Dr. Sheldon Baumrind (PCSO/CA), a professor of orthodontics and director of the Craniofacial Research Instrumentation Laboratory at the University of the Pacific, who serves as curator and Administrative Principal Investigator for the AAOF Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collection and Steering Committee Chair, 411 cases have been uploaded. The cases include:
· 4,400 lateral cephalometric radiographs;
· 1,000 frontal cephalometric radiographs;
· 500 hand-wrist radiographs; and
· More than 6,000 images available in all.
The Legacy Collection Project is in the process of digitizing films, study casts and written records on subjects’ physical development from nine of the 11 known collections of longitudinal craniofacial growth records in the United States and Canada. The records are deteriorating due to the normal breakdown of radiographic images. Preserving the available records in digital form was deemed imperative because these irreplaceable growth records serve as the basis of most of the information in contemporary orthodontic literature on craniofacial growth in children who did not have orthodontic treatment. The subjects studied were measured annually, beginning as young as age 2, and continuing, in many cases, until subjects were in their mid-20s, producing a rich longitudinal record of craniofacial development among children who did not receive orthodontic treatment.
The Legacy Collection Project materials are offered at no charge to orthodontic residents, researchers, and other interested parties. To date, more than 1,300 images have been requested by and delivered to researchers all over the world.
The AAOF Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collection Project is sponsored by the AAOF and funded by the AAOF Legacy 300 Campaign, which raised $1.5 million in pledges in less than 14 months in support of the Legacy Collection Project. The Campaign was named for the 300 donors who pledged a minimum of $5,000 to meet the $1.5 million fundraising goal. Donors include members of the American Association of Orthodontists, orthodontic industry representatives, friends of the specialty, orthodontic study clubs and orthodontic alumni groups. The donors’ pledges were restricted to the AAOF Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collection, which is a component of the AAOF’s overall Continued Commitment to the Specialty® fundraising effort.
Images will continue to be added to the Legacy Collection Project’s database for the foreseeable future. The website’s functionality is being upgraded to facilitate improved searching and filtering, better performance for large collections, and improved display and interaction with 3-D study casts.
About the AAO Foundation
The AAO Foundation, the charitable arm of the American Association of Orthodontists, provides support to orthodontic education programs and orthodontic research. Foundation funding ensures the future viability of the orthodontic specialty by investing in the next generation of educators and researchers.
Since 1994, the AAO Foundation Awards Program has provided $8.9 million in funding, primarily in support of junior faculty.
The AAO Foundation is incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit corporation in the state of Missouri.
The AAO Foundation’s website is www.aaofoundation.net.
