New computing system determines age and sex of a corpse with reliability of 95%

Researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, have designed a new computing system that determines the age and sex of a corpse with a reliability of 95%. This system is based on free software called Image and a free DICOM displayer called K-Pacs. This state-of-the-art system is very different from the traditional macroscopy systems used to evaluate the osteoarticular features of a corpse, and it is much faster and user-friendly.

The author of this study is Manuel L-pez Alcaraz, a researcher at the Forensic Anthropology Laboratory of the University of Granada, in collaboration with professors Miguel Botella L-pez, Inmaculada Alem-n Aguilera and Pedro Manuel Garamendi Gonz-lez.

The authors of the study examined 169 DICOM files (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine, the international standard for distributing medical images) of CT scans of patients between 17 and 90 years of age supplied by the Castile-La Mancha health service (SESCAM).

Histogram Analysis

The researchers examined the sagittal sections of the the articular surface of the pubic symphysis and the pubis itself, thus obtaining four sections: two sections of the right and left symphysis, and two sections of the pubis. Imaging techniques were used to analyze sections, histograms of the structures were obtained and the statistical variables of histograms were entered into the Image program to determine how histograms are related to age and sex.

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