Technical note: Interest of focused fields in post-mortem computed tomography using photorealistic images for age at death estimation from the pubic symphysis

Abstract

Introduction: The morphological assessment of the pubic symphysis using the Suchey-Brooks method is considered a reliable age at death indicator. Age at death estimation methods can be adapted to the images obtained from post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT). The aim of this study is to evaluate the utility of pubic symphysis photorealistic images obtained through Global illumination rendering (GIR) for age at death estimation from whole-body PMCT and from focused PMCT on the pubic bone.

Materials and methods: We performed virtual age at death estimation using the Suchey Brooks method from both the whole-body field of view (Large Field of View: LFOV) and the pubis-focused field of view (Small and Field of View: SFOV) of 100 PMCT. The 3D photorealistic images were evaluated by three forensic anthropologists and the results were statistically evaluated for accuracy of the two applied PMCT methods and the intra- and inter-observer errors.

Results: When comparing the two acquisitions of PMCT, the accuracy rate reaches 98.5% when using a pubic-focused window (SFOV) compared to 86% with a whole-body window (LFOV). Additionally, the intra- and inter-observer variability has demonstrated that the focused window provides better repeatability and reproducibility.

Conclusion: Adding a pubic-focused field of view to standard PMCT and processing it with GIR appears to be an applicable technique that increases the accuracy rate for age at death estimation from the pubic symphysis.

Keywords: Age at death estimation; Forensic anthropology; Global illumination rendering; Photorealistic postprocessing; Post-mortem CT scan; Pubic symphysis; Suchey-Brooks method.