Developing an artificial intelligence-based progressive growing GAN for high-quality facial profile generation and evaluation through turing test and aesthetic analysis

Abstract This study aimed to develop a Progressive Growing Generative Adversarial Network with Gradient Penalty (WPGGAN-GP) to generate high-quality facial profile images, addressing the scarcity of diverse training data in orthodontics. A dataset of 50,000 profile images, representing varied ages,...

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Main Authors: Shahab Kavousinejad, Kazem Dalaie, Mohammad Behnaz, Soodeh Tahmasbi, Asghar Ebadifar, Hoori Mirmohammadsadeghi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11172-x
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author Shahab Kavousinejad
Kazem Dalaie
Mohammad Behnaz
Soodeh Tahmasbi
Asghar Ebadifar
Hoori Mirmohammadsadeghi
author_facet Shahab Kavousinejad
Kazem Dalaie
Mohammad Behnaz
Soodeh Tahmasbi
Asghar Ebadifar
Hoori Mirmohammadsadeghi
author_sort Shahab Kavousinejad
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This study aimed to develop a Progressive Growing Generative Adversarial Network with Gradient Penalty (WPGGAN-GP) to generate high-quality facial profile images, addressing the scarcity of diverse training data in orthodontics. A dataset of 50,000 profile images, representing varied ages, genders, and ethnicities, was collected from two centers. The WPGGAN-GP model was trained to generate high-resolution images (1024 × 1024 pixels) using a progressive growing approach. Evaluation included both quantitative and qualitative assessments. The Sliced Wasserstein Distance (SWD) between real and generated images reached 0.026. A Turing test was conducted with 15 observers (orthodontists, surgeons, and laypersons), each assessing 100 images (50 real, 50 generated). Average classification accuracies were 0.58, 0.578, and 0.46 for orthodontists, surgeons, and laypersons, respectively. Aesthetic evaluation involved six key facial angles, with only the naso-frontal angle showing a statistically significant difference (p = 0.032). The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for repeated measurements ranged from 0.952 to 0.968, and inter-rater ICC values exceeded 0.90, indicating excellent measurement consistency. Additionally, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) analysis revealed no significant difference between real and generated images (p > 0.05), confirming comparable photometric quality. The results suggest that the WPGGAN-GP model effectively generates realistic facial profiles with both anatomical and perceptual fidelity. This approach offers valuable applications in orthodontic education, treatment simulation, and data augmentation, particularly where patient privacy and dataset balance are critical. Future research should explore conditional generation models for specific malocclusion types and further diversify training data to enhance clinical relevance.
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spelling doaj-art-ff8dca9706d3498bba50ba779f15f7232025-08-20T04:01:51ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111710.1038/s41598-025-11172-xDeveloping an artificial intelligence-based progressive growing GAN for high-quality facial profile generation and evaluation through turing test and aesthetic analysisShahab Kavousinejad0Kazem Dalaie1Mohammad Behnaz2Soodeh Tahmasbi3Asghar Ebadifar4Hoori Mirmohammadsadeghi5Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical SciencesAbstract This study aimed to develop a Progressive Growing Generative Adversarial Network with Gradient Penalty (WPGGAN-GP) to generate high-quality facial profile images, addressing the scarcity of diverse training data in orthodontics. A dataset of 50,000 profile images, representing varied ages, genders, and ethnicities, was collected from two centers. The WPGGAN-GP model was trained to generate high-resolution images (1024 × 1024 pixels) using a progressive growing approach. Evaluation included both quantitative and qualitative assessments. The Sliced Wasserstein Distance (SWD) between real and generated images reached 0.026. A Turing test was conducted with 15 observers (orthodontists, surgeons, and laypersons), each assessing 100 images (50 real, 50 generated). Average classification accuracies were 0.58, 0.578, and 0.46 for orthodontists, surgeons, and laypersons, respectively. Aesthetic evaluation involved six key facial angles, with only the naso-frontal angle showing a statistically significant difference (p = 0.032). The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for repeated measurements ranged from 0.952 to 0.968, and inter-rater ICC values exceeded 0.90, indicating excellent measurement consistency. Additionally, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) analysis revealed no significant difference between real and generated images (p > 0.05), confirming comparable photometric quality. The results suggest that the WPGGAN-GP model effectively generates realistic facial profiles with both anatomical and perceptual fidelity. This approach offers valuable applications in orthodontic education, treatment simulation, and data augmentation, particularly where patient privacy and dataset balance are critical. Future research should explore conditional generation models for specific malocclusion types and further diversify training data to enhance clinical relevance.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11172-xArtificial intelligenceOrthodonticsDeep learningImage processing
spellingShingle Shahab Kavousinejad
Kazem Dalaie
Mohammad Behnaz
Soodeh Tahmasbi
Asghar Ebadifar
Hoori Mirmohammadsadeghi
Developing an artificial intelligence-based progressive growing GAN for high-quality facial profile generation and evaluation through turing test and aesthetic analysis
Scientific Reports
Artificial intelligence
Orthodontics
Deep learning
Image processing
title Developing an artificial intelligence-based progressive growing GAN for high-quality facial profile generation and evaluation through turing test and aesthetic analysis
title_full Developing an artificial intelligence-based progressive growing GAN for high-quality facial profile generation and evaluation through turing test and aesthetic analysis
title_fullStr Developing an artificial intelligence-based progressive growing GAN for high-quality facial profile generation and evaluation through turing test and aesthetic analysis
title_full_unstemmed Developing an artificial intelligence-based progressive growing GAN for high-quality facial profile generation and evaluation through turing test and aesthetic analysis
title_short Developing an artificial intelligence-based progressive growing GAN for high-quality facial profile generation and evaluation through turing test and aesthetic analysis
title_sort developing an artificial intelligence based progressive growing gan for high quality facial profile generation and evaluation through turing test and aesthetic analysis
topic Artificial intelligence
Orthodontics
Deep learning
Image processing
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11172-x
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