Part III – A comparison of the available systems – one plastic surgeons personal opinion

There are currently two systems available for computerized imaging and simulation of breast augmentation surgery. Portrait 3D manufactured by AxisThree, a company funded by Siemens and started in 2002. AxisThree claims to use technology developed by Siemens in the Portrait 3D product. Other than the Portrait 3D system, I am unaware of any other products that the company produces. The other system, Vectra 3D, is manufactured by Canfield Scientific, a company specializing in medical imaging with a long history of many successful products including imaging software, which has been in existence about twenty or so years. Canfield is known for its work in standardizing medical photography, so that images can be taken with consistent lighting, positioning and exposure parameters. Their systems are well known to the dermatology pharmaceutical industry, which contracts with them to produce imaging systems for various drug studies. Both systems were released very recently in the past year.

Let’s start with the physical capture device itself. They are pictured below:

(Photos of Vectra 3D on the right, Portrait 3D on the left)

The camera system of the Vectra 3D consists of six 12 megapixel cameras arranged into three pods. The pods use mirrors to permit the imaging of subjects from the side without having to have physical extensions to mount the cameras off to the side. The Portrait 3D system has three cameras of 3 megapixels each. The cameras are mounted on extensions out to the side.

The lighting system of the Vectra 3D consists of high powered flash. This permits imaging without the use of additional lighting. The very bright flash emits much more light than the ambient room light, therefore the room light will not affect the exposure and the room lights can be left on during the imaging process. The Portrait 3D uses LED (light emitting diode) technology. On the Portrait 3D, the LED lighting system requires the user to shut off the room lights to prevent interference of the exposure by the room light.
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There are many things that we invest in. Most of the time when we think “invest” we envision a plan to take an initial financial commitment and place it somewhere so that it enhances in value. Although worthwhile, there are other great ways to invest your money. We do this all the time and not think about it. We invest money and time in our own education or that of our children so that we (they) can have an enhanced earning capacity to hopefully lead a more comfortable and secure life. We invest time to find the right home, car, vacation. We invest our emotions in finding the perfect spouse. I write this on the day of my eleventh anniversary, for instance. Investing all comes down to making oneself happier and more secure.

Cosmetic surgical procedures such as breast implants, breast lifts, tummy tucks, facelifts, rhinoplasty and liposuction are often seen as a luxury, maybe even frivolous. But when you think of it, it really isn’t. It may help you feel more secure and confident about yourself; more comfortable within your own skin, so to say. And unlike a vacation, a car, a boat, a new entertainment system, the results obtained with cosmetic surgery are longer lasting and appreciate with time. How do you place a value on feeling good about yourself, being more self-confident?

Let’s talk about Botox. An average treatment may run $600 for about 40 – 50 units of Botox. If the Botox treatment lasts, conservatively speaking 90 days (sometimes up to 120 days), the cost per day is about six dollars per day to look younger and more refreshed.

Cosmetic surgery is even more of a value. The most common cosmetic surgical procedure is breast augmentation. The approximate cost of breast implant surgery on Long Island is around $7300.00. Although you never need to change a perfectly good breast implant, device failure is about one percent per year. So at twenty years there is a twenty percent chance of needing to replace a breast implant. So let’s say the duration of the breast implant surgery procedure is twenty years. Twenty years is 7300 days. So for just one dollar per day, you can feel better about yourself. Isn’t that worth it?