New ways of looking at patients

We can all recognise the face of someone who has Down’s syndrome.  But there are many other genetic disorders that we can’t ‘see’ so easily.

There are more than 700 genetic disorders which cause changes to a patient’s face, but they can be so subtle doctors often miss them or get them confused with another similar condition.

Funding from Jeans for Genes has helped doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to buy a special camera which takes 3D photographs of children's faces.  The pictures highlight the subtle differences in their features which are difficult to see with the naked eye.

Comparing the photographs can help doctors to identify genetic disorders such as Williams syndrome.  Children can be diagnosed much earlier than they might have been before.  And the sooner children are diagnosed, the sooner they can get the help or the treatment they need.