TY - JOUR
T1 - Potential for personal identification using the volume of the mastoid air cells extracted from postmortem computed tomographic images
AU - Oura, Koji
AU - Ikeda, Noriaki
AU - Yoon, Yongsu
AU - Kato, Toyoyuki
AU - Morishita, Junji
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (grant number JP19K08122).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - This study revealed the usefulness of volumetric analysis of mastoid air cells (MACs) extracted from postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) images in characterizing individuals. To characterize deceased persons, the MACs volumes of 61 Japanese PMCT images were measured after thresholding in Hounsfield units and based on the number of voxels on the right and left sides and the voxel size for each person. The volume differences between the right and left MACs and sex were examined. Although there were no obvious volume differences between males and females, the order of sizs on the two sides varied for each person. Moreover, deceased persons could be roughly classified using the total volume of MACs. Deceased persons with similar total volumes could be distinguished further by comparing the ratio of volumes in bilateral MACs. Although the identification process is dependent on samples and different sizes of bilateral MACs, our pilot study indicated that 81.9% (50/61) of deceased persons could be distinguished. In conclusion, volumetric analysis of MACs measured using PMCT imaging has the potential to identify individuals and reduce the number of candidates.
AB - This study revealed the usefulness of volumetric analysis of mastoid air cells (MACs) extracted from postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) images in characterizing individuals. To characterize deceased persons, the MACs volumes of 61 Japanese PMCT images were measured after thresholding in Hounsfield units and based on the number of voxels on the right and left sides and the voxel size for each person. The volume differences between the right and left MACs and sex were examined. Although there were no obvious volume differences between males and females, the order of sizs on the two sides varied for each person. Moreover, deceased persons could be roughly classified using the total volume of MACs. Deceased persons with similar total volumes could be distinguished further by comparing the ratio of volumes in bilateral MACs. Although the identification process is dependent on samples and different sizes of bilateral MACs, our pilot study indicated that 81.9% (50/61) of deceased persons could be distinguished. In conclusion, volumetric analysis of MACs measured using PMCT imaging has the potential to identify individuals and reduce the number of candidates.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.legalmed.2022.102060
DO - 10.1016/j.legalmed.2022.102060
M3 - Article
C2 - 35489238
AN - SCOPUS:85129116385
SN - 1344-6223
VL - 58
JO - Legal Medicine
JF - Legal Medicine
M1 - 102060
ER -