April 24, 2015
Next time you look in the mirror and think, ‘I look like death’ you might want to check your pulse.
A new study by a research team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences found computerized 3-D facial scanning predicted one’s health and life expectancy more effectively than blood tests.
The study, published in the March 31 issue of the journal Cell Research, evaluated 3-D facial images of 332 people of Chinese descent between the ages of 17 and 77, then compared the results to routine blood tests they took from the participants.
Dr. Joseph Atick, President and CEO of Visionics Corp., displays his high-tech face scanner. (AP.)
Some signs of aging are a widening mouth, bulging nose, sagging upper lip, shrinking gums and drooping eye corners, the researchers reported.
"And there's a reason for the saying, 'Long in the tooth'," the researchers noted in an article by Fox NY. "Your gums are shrinking as you age, so more of your teeth are showing."
In the future, insurance companies may rely on facial scans as a health predictor rather than blood testing, which is more expensive and seemingly less accurate.
Read the full study here.
