A Web-based environment for automated dental identification research

The Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS), division of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), include in its strategic plan the creation of an Automated Dental Identification System (ADIS), a Post Mortem Dental Identification System.;This project aims at designing an end-to-end web-interface to meet the requirements of ADIS like Identification, Maintenance and Bridge Modules. In Identification Mode the subject record will be uploaded by the user and the match list is obtained as result. Maintenance Mode enables uploading of reference records and to populate the database with preprocessing data. Bridge Module enables researchers from other universities to use the database designed in WVU. A database is also designed to hold non-dental features like name, age, gender etc and dental features like preprocessing data.;This provides the FBI agents and the Forensic experts the ability to use ADIS from their office desks. This web interface provides an Identification Module, Maintenance Module and Bridge Module. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Novel Techniques for Automated Dental Identification

Automated dental identification is one of the best candidates for postmortem identification. With the large number of victims encountered in mass disasters, automating the process of postmortem identification is receiving an increased attention. This dissertation introduces new approaches for different stages of Automated Dental Identification system: These stages include segmentations, classification, labeling, and matching:;We modified the seam carving technique to adapt the problem of segmenting dental image records into individual teeth. We propose a two-stage teeth segmentation approach for segmenting the dental images. In the first stage, the teeth images are preprocessed by a two-step thresholding technique, which starts with an iterative thresholding followed by an adaptive thresholding to binarize the teeth images. In the second stage, we adapt the seam carving technique on the binary images, using both horizontal and vertical seams, to separate each individual tooth. We have obtained an optimality rate of 54.02% for the bitewing type images, which is superior to all existing fully automated dental segmentation algorithms in the literature, and a failure rate of 1.05%. For the periapical type images, we have obtained a high optimality rate of 58.13% and a low failure rate of 0.74 which also surpasses the performance of existing techniques. An important problem in automated dental identification is automatic classification of teeth into four classes (molars, premolars, canines, and incisors). A dental chart is a key to avoiding illogical comparisons that inefficiently consume the limited computational resources, and may mislead decision-making. We tackle this composite problem using a two-stage approach. The first stage, utilizes low computational-cost, appearance-based features, using Orthogonal Locality Preserving Projections (OLPP) for assigning an initial class. The second stage applies a string matching technique, based on teeth neighborhood rules, to validate initial teeth-classes and hence to assign each tooth a number corresponding to its location in the dental chart, even in the presence of a missed tooth. The experimental results of teeth classification show that on a large dataset of bitewing and periapical films, the proposed approach achieves overall classification accuracy of 77% and teeth class validation enhances the overall teeth classification accuracy to 87% which is slightly better than the performance obtained from previous methods based on EigenTeeth the performance of which is 75% and 86%, respectively.;We present a new technique that searches the dental database to find a candidate list. We use dental records of the FBI\u27s Criminal Justice Service (CJIC) ADIS database, that contains 104 records (about 500 bitewing and periapical films) involving more than 2000 teeth, 47 Antemortem (AM) records and 57 Postmortem (PM) records with 20 matched records.;The proposed approach consists of two main stages, the first stage is to preprocess the dental records (segmentation and teeth labeling classification) in order to get a reliable, appearance-based, low computational-cost feature. In the second stage, we developed a technique based on LaplacianTeeth using OLPP algorithm to produce a candidate list. The proposed technique can correctly retrieve the dental records 65% in the 5 top ranks while the method based on EigenTeeth remains at 60%. The proposed approach takes about 0.17 seconds to make record to record comparison while the other method based on EigenTeeth takes about 0.09 seconds.;Finally, we address the teeth matching problem by presenting a new technique for dental record retrieval. The technique is based on the matching of the Scale Invariant feature Transform (SIFT) descriptors guided by the teeth contour between the subject and reference dental records. Our fundamental objective is to accomplish a relatively short match list, with a high probability of having the correct match reference. The proposed technique correctly retrieves the dental records with performance rates of 35% and 75% in the 1 and 5 top ranks respectively, and takes only an average time of 4.18 minutes to retrieve a match list. This compares favorably with the existing technique shape-based (edge direction histogram) method which has the performance rates of 29% and 46% in the 1 and 5 top ranks respectively.;In summary, the proposed ADIS system accurately retrieves the dental record with an overall rate of 80% in top 5 ranks when a candidate list of 20 is used (from potential match search) whereas a candidate size of 10 yields an overall rate of 84% in top 5 ranks and takes only a few minutes to search the database, which compares favorably against most of the existing methods in the literature, when both accuracy and computational complexity are considered

Databasing the disappeared and deceased: a review of the resources available in missing and unidentified persons cases

When an individual goes missing or an unidentified body is found, many resources are available to assist in resolving the case. These resources are operated and contributed to by a wide variety of entities including state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, coroners, medical examiners, forensic anthropologists and odontologists, military personnel, nonprofit organizations, volunteers, and concerned citizens among others. Currently, our nation does not have a single, fully operational, centralized database that is solely dedicated to finding missing persons and identifying the bodies of Jane and John Does. The existing resources for missing and unidentified persons cases are almost innumerable and the proliferation of these resources needlessly complicates missing and unidentified persons cases. The primary goal of the current research was to identify and analyze the many types of resources involved in missing and unidentified persons cases. This was accomplished through an extensive literature review on missing and unidentified persons and on the United States Department of Justice agencies and database that handle such cases. Two survey projects were also undertaken in addition to the literature review. The first survey gave forensic anthropologists an opportunity to voice their concerns over the handling of unidentified persons cases. The second survey was used to categorize and assess the multitude of web-based resources dedicated to both missing and unidentified persons cases. The missing and unidentified person issue is complex and cannot be fully understood without knowledge of the many factors that can act to prevent and complicate the resolution of cases. The current research has attempted to provide information on how each of these resources could be improved in order to approach better handling of missing and unidentified persons cases nationwide

Study and Development of Techniques for 3D Dental Identification

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Biometrics

Biometrics-Unique and Diverse Applications in Nature, Science, and Technology provides a unique sampling of the diverse ways in which biometrics is integrated into our lives and our technology. From time immemorial, we as humans have been intrigued by, perplexed by, and entertained by observing and analyzing ourselves and the natural world around us. Science and technology have evolved to a point where we can empirically record a measure of a biological or behavioral feature and use it for recognizing patterns, trends, and or discrete phenomena, such as individuals' and this is what biometrics is all about. Understanding some of the ways in which we use biometrics and for what specific purposes is what this book is all about

Matching of Dental X-rays for Human Forensic Identification

Dental records have been widely used as tools in forensic identification. With the vast volume of cases that need to be investigated by forensic odontologists, a move towards a computer-aided dental identification system is necessary. We propose a computer-aided framework for efficient matching of dental x-rays for human identification purposes. Given a dental x-ray with a marked region of interest (ROI), we search the database of x-rays (presumed to be taken from known individuals) to retrieve a closest match. In this work we use a slightly extended Weighted Sum of Squared Differences (SSD) cost function to express the degree of similarity/overlap between two dental radiographs. Unlike other iterative Least Squares methods that use local information for gradient-based optimization, our method finds the globally optimal translation. In 90% of the identification trials, our method ranked the correct match in the top 10% using a database of 571 images. Experiments indicate that matching dental records using the extended SSD cost function is a viable method for human dental identification

A Survey on Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Biomedical Image Analysis in Skeleton-Based Forensic Human Identification

This paper represents the first survey on the application of AI techniques for the analysis of biomedical images with forensic human identification purposes. Human identification is of great relevance in today’s society and, in particular, in medico-legal contexts. As consequence, all technological advances that are introduced in this field can contribute to the increasing necessity for accurate and robust tools that allow for establishing and verifying human identity. We first describe the importance and applicability of forensic anthropology in many identification scenarios. Later, we present the main trends related to the application of computer vision, machine learning and soft computing techniques to the estimation of the biological profile, the identification through comparative radiography and craniofacial superimposition, traumatism and pathology analysis, as well as facial reconstruction. The potentialities and limitations of the employed approaches are described, and we conclude with a discussion about methodological issues and future research.Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and UniversitiesEuropean Union (EU) PGC2018-101216-B-I00Regional Government of Andalusia under grant EXAISFI P18-FR-4262Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIEuropean Union (EU) DTS18/00136European Commission H2020-MSCA-IF-2016 through the Skeleton-ID Marie Curie Individual Fellowship 746592Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities-CDTI, Neotec program 2019 EXP-00122609/SNEO-20191236European Union (EU)Xunta de Galicia ED431G 2019/01European Union (EU) RTI2018-095894-B-I0

Program and abstracts

We are pleased that the program in 2022 will be more interesting than ever and it will include the following topics: Mathematical Modeling in Cancer Therapy, Gene Therapy, Archaeological Genetics, New perspectives in Human Forensic Molecular Biology, Genomics in Medicine, Pharmacogenomics and Drug Development, Stem Cells in Medicine, Regenerative Medicine, Ribosomes in Medicine, Epigenomics, Crime Scene Investigation, Forensic Genetics, and Mass Catastrophes Managements. This year, the third "Nobel Spirit" will provide a forum to the three Nobel laureates to stimulate public discussion on the role of science in solving global health issues, acute regional problems such as brain drain, demographic decline, as well as cultural and social change. In addition, we are organizing a very stimulating Session on Bioanthropology and global health in the times of crisis, as well as Joint Event ISABS and Ministry of the Interior - Crime Scene Investigation Training Course: Mystery on the ship —Investigation of the water-related crime scene

Primary Health Care Access Reform: Community Health Centers and the National Health Service Corps

This testimony by Fitzhugh Mullan, M.D., addresses the following issues: Improving access to health care in the United States will require modifications in the U.S. health care workforce, the foremost of which will be the construction of a strong primary care base. Two-thirds of the U.S. physician workforce practice as specialists and the number of young physicians entering primary care is declining. The distribution of health care providers in the U.S. heavily favors urban areas. Metropolitan areas have 2-5 times as many physicians as non-metropolitan areas and economically disadvantaged areas have significant health care access problems. Today\u27s physician-to-population ratio is in the zone of adequacy and should be maintained with growth in the number of physicians trained to parallel growth in the population. Increased requirements for patient care due to the aging of the population or the inclusion of more Americans in a universal care plan should be met by more strategic distribution of physicians, both geographically and across the primary care – specialty spectrum, and the expanded use of physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Strategies: Medical schools – Medical schools are currently expanding, and Title VII legislation needs to be reinvigorated and up-funded to augment primary care training. Graduate Medical Education – The current number of Medicare funded slots is sufficient to maintain workforce numbers. However, reforms need to be made in current legislation to prioritize and incentivize community-based and primary care training. Serious consideration also needs to be given to aligning Medicare GME with the workforce needs of the country. This would entail designing a new GME allocation system. Medical Practice – Primary care payment reform, support for new practice organizations such as primary care medical homes, and investment in health information technology are all important reforms that will promote a strong primary care practice base in the country. National Health Service Corps – The NHSC is a proven program that delivers primary care clinicians to needy communities in return for student debt reduction. It is a brilliant and successful strategy that has always been under funded. It is time to radically increase its budget toward the end of fully staffing Community Health Centers and addressing the oncoming needs for clinical service in the U.S. Teaching Health Centers – Establishing stable funding for both undergraduate and graduate medical education in health centers will promote a workforce prepared with skills needed for practice and improve recruitment and retention for health centers, which are critical providers of health care to underserved communities. Data and leadership in the field of U.S. health workforce development is insufficient. A National Health Workforce Commission would be an important asset at the federal level in managing health care workforce reform