Evidence evaluation in craniofacial superimposition using likelihood ratios

Craniofacial Superimposition is a forensic identification technique that supports decision-making when skeletal remains are involved. It is based on the analysis of the overlapping of a post-mortem skull with antemortem facial photographs. Despite its importance and wide applicability, the process remains complex and challenging. To address this, computerized methods have been proposed, but subjectivity and qualitative reporting persist in decision-making. This study introduces an evidence evaluation system proposal based on Likelihood Ratios, previously used in other forensic fields, such as DNA, voice, fingerprint, and facial comparison. We present a novel application of this framework to Craniofacial Superimposition. Our work comprises three experiments in which our LR system is trained and tested under distinct conditions concerning facial images: the first utilizes frontal facial photographs; the second employs lateral facial photographs; and the last one integrates both frontal and lateral facial photographs. In the three experiments, the proposed LR system stands out in terms of calibration and discriminating power, providing practitioners with a quantitative tool for evidence evaluation and integration. However, the lack of massive actual data obliged us to focus our study on synthetic data only. Therefore, it should be considered a proof of concept. Nevertheless, the resulting likelihood-ratio system offers objective decision support in Craniofacial Superimposition. Further studies are required to validate in a real scenario the conclusions achieved.R&D project CONFIA (grant PID2021-122916NB-I00), funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033 and by ERDF/EU - ‘‘ERDF A way of making Europe’’Grant FORAGE (B-TIC-456-UGR20) funded by Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación and by ‘‘ERDF A way of making Europe’’Miss Martínez-Moreno is supported by grant PRE2022-102029 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the FSE+Dr. Valsecchi’s work is supported by Red.es under grant Skeleton-ID2.0 (2021/C005/00141299)Dr. Ibáñez’s work is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under grant RYC2020-029454-I and by Xunta de Galicia, Spain by grant ED431F 2022/21Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBU

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

Hierarchical information fusion for decision making in craniofacial superimposition

Craniofacial superimposition is one of the most important skeleton-based identification methods. The process studies the possible correspondence between a found skull and a candidate (missing person) through the superimposition of the former over a variable number of images of the face of the latter. Within craniofacial superimposition we identified three different stages, namely: (1) image acquisition-processing and landmark location; (2) skull-face overlay; and (3) decision making. While we have already proposed and validated an automatic skull-face overlay technique in previous works, the final identification stage, decision making, is still performed manually by the expert. This consists of the determination of the degree of support for the assertion that the skull and the ante-mortem image belong to the same person. This decision is made through the analysis of several criteria assessing the skull-face anatomical correspondence based on the resulting skull-face overlay. In this contribution, we present a hierarchical framework for information fusion to support the anthropologist expert in the decision making stage. The main goal is the automation of this stage based on the use of several skull-face anatomical criteria combined at different levels by means of fuzzy aggregation functions. We have implemented two different experiments for our framework. The first aims to obtain the most suitable aggregation functions for the system and the second validates the proposed framework as an identification system. We tested the framework with a dataset of 33 positive and 411 negative identification instances. The present proposal is the first automatic craniofacial superimposition decision support system evaluated in an objective and statistically meaningful way. © 2017 Elsevier B.V

The establishment of soft tissue thicknesses and profiles for reconstruction of the adult male Zulu face

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Dentistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 1993Three-dimensional forensic facial reconstruction involves the building up in clay of the soft tissues of the human face onto an unidentified skull to suggest the identity of its owner. Early researchers physically punctured the facial tissues of cadavers at known anthropological to measure their depth. Later workers used radiography, ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging for collecting both depth and surface data on the head and face.GR 201

AM-PM facial image comparison for forensic human identification

The uniqueness of the face has been studied concerning its application for human identification. In particular, morphological facial comparison has been used to verify the identities of living individuals in forensic investigations and has received considerable attention, including validation studies and the development of international guidelines (FISWG, 2019a; Bacci et al., 2021b). At the same time, the application of morphological comparison in post-mortem identification has been recognised (Olivieri et al., 2018; Cappella et al., 2021), but remains understudied and require further validation. In light of this, this study investigates the reliability of morphological facial comparison using an unconstrained sample of ante-mortem (AM) and post-mortem (PM) images of recent deceased (N=29), and aims to develop a methodological protocol combining the structure of the living individual's guidelines and accounts for the early post-mortem changes that affect the face. The reliability of the morphological method for PM identification is investigated by performing the comparisons and documenting the process using the protocol, and by testing it with three observers on selected AM-PM pairs (N=15). The key findings suggest that AM-PM photographic comparison using the proposed protocol could help to narrow down the potential matches of a PM subject. Moreover, in some cases, it is also possible to provide a single correct AM target for a PM subject with a high level of confidence. While the validity of the protocol requires further investigation beyond this study, its design, which includes the addition of a stage for analysis of the decomposition changes affecting the PM subjects and a holistic preliminary analysis of AM-PM pairs to exclude the obvious non-matches, seems advantageous. The interobserver study results indicate that both absolute agreement (ICC=0.813) and agreement on the level of support (Kendal’s K=0.885) are satisfactory. Overall, the limitation of the study includes the small interobserver random sample (15 pairs), the absence of non-matching AM subjects in the sample pool tasks, and presence of a very limited number of PM subjects showing signs of post-mortem changes (e.g. facial bloating). This study could benefit forensic casework, in particular in the Disaster Victim identification (DVI) procedures, when other AM primary identifiers are scarce. Future studies should investigate the application of PM photographic facial comparison using a larger database simulating an open disaster scenario, while also further validating and testing the applicability of the developed method with different observers

An Investigation of Heredity in the Aetiology and Pathogenesis of Cleft Palate and of Cleft Lip and Palate

Cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL(P)) and isolated cleft palate (CP) are caused by primary defects in the fusion of craniofacial processes that form the primary and secondary palate respectively. CL(P) and CP are considered to be separate diagnostic entities and for both multifactorial inheritance has been proposed, although the precise roles played by genes, environment and chance are unclear; and in particular the nature and number of genes involved is not known. The aim of this study was to try to identify parental characteristics (genotypic or phenotypic) which were associated with an increased risk of having a child with CL(P) or CP. The combination of phenotypic and genotypic data can improve the ability to predict parental predisposition towards CP or CL(P) beyond the predictive ability of either cephalometric or genetic data in isolation. The lack of correlation between these genotypes and the cephalometric parameters would suggest that other genetic loci are involved in the predisposition to CL(P) and CP and further analysis of other candidate genes using this approach would merit consideration. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)

Craniofacial Growth Series Volume 56

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153991/1/56th volume CF growth series FINAL 02262020.pdfDescription of 56th volume CF growth series FINAL 02262020.pdf : Proceedings of the 46th Annual Moyers Symposium and 44th Moyers Presymposiu