The AAO Foundation (AAOF), the charitable arm of the AAO, recently committed $540,000 to the Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collection project – a complimentary website and database of nine collections, from both the United States and Canada, of longitudinal craniofacial growth records in untreated children and adolescents.
Under the direction of the steering committee including Sean Curry, Dr. Mark Hans, Dr. James McNamara and Dr. Heesoo Oh, the newly committed dollars will go to fund the next phase of the project, with the aim of increasing its visibility as a resource for orthodontic research.
“The collection has significantly contributed to expanding knowledge on human development by giving access to 842 subjects and over 18,900 radiographs of irreplaceable longitudinal growth records,” said Dr. Oh, chair of the steering committee. “Our committee is grateful for the AAOF’s continued support of this historic project.”
Since its 2008 inception, the Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collection project has been bringing together clinicians, craniofacial investigators, students of human growth and interested members of the public to collect sample records from the participating collections, develop a website and database and evaluate user interaction.
Over the past five years, the web site has surpassed 380,000 page views and provided high resolution images to researchers at 45 universities throughout the world. The next phase will include making three-dimensional digital dental casts available, adding additional image types, and expanding to new collections with different races.
According to Jackie Bode, AAOF senior vice president, the site’s primary role is to serve as a resource for orthodontic teaching and research, which is why the foundation is dedicated to keeping the collection available and free for all members of the orthodontic community.
To learn more about the Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collection project or to make a financial contribution, visit aaoflegacycollection.org.
