Estimation of Cadaveric Age by Ultrasonography

Estimation of cadaveric age in crime scenes using Raman spectroscopy

The number of unidentified corpses has been increasing in recent years. There is a need for an objective and readily applicable method to estimate age, which is important information for identification. In previous reports, we reported that the protein folding ratio (RPF) of skin, as measured by Raman spectroscopy using cross sections of skin samples, is highly correlated with age. In this study, we investigated the possibility of estimating age by measuring Raman spectra from the skin surface of cadavers using a portable device. The resultant intercept, slope, and root mean square error were 97.9, - 63.7 (p < 0.0001), and 11.68, respectively. We evaluated this regression formula by using 10-fold cross-validation, resulting in a coefficient of determination of 0.51. The portable Raman spectrometer may be of assistance in estimating age at death of corpses at the scene of discovery.

Ultrasound in legal medicine-a missed opportunity or simply too late? A narrative review of ultrasonic applications in forensic contexts

Objectives

Conventional autopsies remain the gold standard of postmortem healthcare quality assurance and help gathering extended knowledge on diseases. In answer to constantly declining autopsy rates non- or minimally invasive autopsy methods were introduced. Ultrasound is a well-established tool for imaging commonly used in clinical practice. This narrative review aims to summarize the current literature regarding the feasibility and validity of ultrasound in a forensic context.

Material and methods

A PubMed database search was carried out. Abstracts were scanned for pre-defined ex- and inclusion criteria, followed by a snowball search procedure applied to the primarily included articles.

Results

Forty-five publications met our inclusion criteria. The selected articles concern the feasibility of ultrasound in pre- or postmortem settings, forensic age estimation, and minimally invasive approaches. For imaging, ultrasound was deemed a reliable tool for the examination of epiphyses und superficial wounds, with limitations regarding internal organs and image quality due to postmortem changes. Ultrasound-guided minimally invasive approaches yielded higher success rates for adequate tissue sampling. Many investigations were carried out in low- and middle-income countries focusing on infectious diseases.

Conclusion

Ultrasound seems a promising but underutilized imaging tool in legal medicine to date. Promising approaches on its feasibility have been conducted. Especially for minimally invasive methods, ultrasound offered significant improvements on qualified biopsy sampling and thus appropriate diagnostics. Moreover, ultrasonic evaluation of epiphyses for age estimation offered valuable results. Nevertheless, further assessment of ultrasonic feasibility in forensic contexts is needed.

A Raman algorithm to estimate human age from protein structural variations in autopsy skin samples: a protein biological clock

The recent increase of the number of unidentified cadavers has become a serious problem throughout the world. As a simple and objective method for age estimation, we attempted to utilize Raman spectrometry for forensic identification. Raman spectroscopy is an optical-based vibrational spectroscopic technique that provides detailed information regarding a sample’s molecular composition and structures. Building upon our previous proof-of-concept study, we measured the Raman spectra of abdominal skin samples from 132 autopsy cases and the protein-folding intensity ratio, R_PF, defined as the ratio between the Raman signals from a random coil an α-helix. There was a strong negative correlation between age and R_PF with a Pearson correlation coefficient of r = 0.878. Four models, based on linear (R_PF), squared (R_PF²), sex, and R_PF by sex interaction terms, were examined. The results of cross validation suggested that the second model including linear and squared terms was the best model with the lowest root mean squared error (11.3 years of age) and the highest coefficient of determination (0.743). Our results indicate that the there was a high correlation between the age and R_PF and the Raman biological clock of protein folding can be used as a simple and objective forensic age estimation method for unidentified cadavers.