A web-oriented application for 3D craniofacial reconstruction in forensic medicine

Abstract

uman identification from a skull is a critical process in legal and forensic medicine, especially when no other means are available. Traditional clay-based methods attempt to generate the human face, in order to identify the corresponding person. However, these reconstructions lack of objectivity and consistence, since they depend on the practitioner. Moreover, the results of the reconstruction cannot be easily distributed and consulted from everywhere. This paper presents a completely objective 3D craniofacial reconstruction automatic system that provides access to the reconstructions through the Web. The software tool is able to generate an individual facial reconstruction from the 3D image of the skull and three parameters: age, gender and Body Mass Index (BMI) of the individual. Afterwards, the reconstruction can be manually modified by changing any tissue depth value. Both entry data and the reconstructions generated by the tool will be stored in a database, so they are accessible from the Internet. Conclusions of this paper yield promising results: on the one hand, the scientific and technical feasibility of the presented craniofacial reconstruction technique is proved, and also its preference against traditional craniofacial reconstruction methods. On the other hand, this procedure means a remarkable advantage from the point of view of access, visualization and sharing of information, and also in terms of security, since it includes an authentication protocol.