Development of forensic identification for unknown body using 2D and 3D image matching for radiographs

2017 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K08696
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: 杜下 淳次 九州大学, 医学研究院, 教授 (40271473)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 池田 典昭 九州大学, 医学研究院, 教授 (60176097) ; 佐々木 雅之 九州大学, 医学研究院, 教授 (40240907) ; 臼元 洋介 横浜市立大学, 医学部, 講師 (50596822)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 法医学 / X線画像 / 身元確認 / 画像マッチング

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

身元不明のご遺体の身元確認には，持ち物や見た目，指紋，DNAなどが用いられる．しかし，それらで確認が出来ない場合は単純X線画像やX線CT画像などのX線画像を用いることがある．しかし，大量のX線画像を専門家が確認することは非常に時間のかかる作業である．そこで， X線画像を用いた身元確認システムの開発を試みた．本システムは大規模災害時など多数のご遺体を迅速に身元確認する必要がある場合に有用であることが判明し、その内容の一部を、法医学のジャーナル Legal Medicineで公表した。

It is well known that personal belongings, appearance, fingerprints, and DNA are useful for personal identification. Radiographs and computed tomography (CT) images have often been used for personal identification, particularly in the absence of other comparative samples. However, it is a time-consuming task to manually compare the post-mortem and a large number of ante-mortem images in database. Therefore, we tried to develop an automated personal identification system using X-ray imaging. Our system will be useful in large-scale disaster which requires rapid identification. Achivement of this study was presented at International Academy of Legale Medicine 2016 and awarded as best oral presentation. Also part of this study was released on Journal of Legal Medicine in 2017.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Bone comparison identification method based on chest computed tomography imaging (2017)
  • Author(s): Matsunobu Yusuke、Morishita Junji、Usumoto Yosuke、Okumura Miki、Ikeda Noriaki
  • Journal Title: Legal Medicine Volume: 29 Pages: 1～5
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.legalmed.2017.08.002
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Sex determination based on a thoracic vertebra and ribs evaluation using clinical chest radiography (2017)
  • Author(s): Tsubaki Shun、Morishita Junji、Usumoto Yosuke、Sakaguchi Kyoko、Matsunobu Yusuke、Kawazoe Yusuke、Okumura Miki、Ikeda Noriaki
  • Journal Title: Legal Medicine Volume: 27 Pages: 19～24
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2017.06.003
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Development of a method of automated extraction of biological fingerprints from chest radiographs as preprocessing of patient recognition and identification (2017)
  • Author(s): Shimizu Yoichiro、Morishita Junji
  • Journal Title: Radiological Physics and Technology Volume: 10 Pages: 376～381
  • DOI: 10.1007/s12194-017-0400-y
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Development of Personal Identification Method using Thoracic Bone Structure Extracted from Computed Tomography Images in Legal Medicine (2017)
  • Author(s): Yusuke Matsunobu, Junji Morishita, Yosuke Usumoto, Miki Okumura, Noriaki Ikeda
  • Organizer: The 3rd International Conference on Radiological Science and Technology, October 21, 2017, Hiroshima, Japan
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Personal identification using thoracic bone extracted from computed tomography imaging (2017)
  • Author(s): Yusuke Matsunobu, Junji Morishita, Noriaki Ikeda, Yusuke Usumoto, Miki Okumura, Yoichiro Shimizu, Yongsu Yoon
  • Organizer: 2017 Korean Society of Radiological Science Conference, May 13, 2017, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea.
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Preliminary study of sex classification based on width of ribs and intercostal spaces (2017)
  • Author(s): Yusuke Kawazoe, Junji Morishita, Yusuke Matsunobu, Yoichiro Shimizu, Yongsu Yoon
  • Organizer: 2017 Korean Society of Radiological Science Conference, May 13, 2017, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea.
  • Int'l Joint Research