Radiocarbon analysis of tooth to determine an individual's date of birth for forensic application

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26460889
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Legal medicine
• Research Institution: Jikei University School of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Fukui Kenji 東京慈恵会医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (60199180)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 法医学 / 生年推定 / 放射性炭素 / 歯牙

Outline of Final Research Achievements

I examined a new method to determine the individual’s date of birth in forensic application. The radiocarbon level of the tooth was affected by the ground nuclear test at the period of the tooth formation. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the individual’s date of birth by measuring the level.
In this study, it was appropriate to use first molar enamel as the first choice, and it was necessary to add analysis of dentin according to the year of birth. In addition, the minimum amount of sample required for this analysis was estimated to be 100 mg for enamel and 50 mg for dentin. These were only a small portion of a whole first molar (average weight is about 1.8 to 2.4 g). Therefore, I concluded that this method can be applicable to forensic practice.

Free Research Field

法医学