Use of an Alternate Light Source to Detect Tooth and Bone

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the combination of wavelength and filter that best detects tooth and bone, and to determine which biological materials (enamel, dental root or bone) have highest fluorescence intensity when exposed to an alternate light source (ALS). Tooth and bone samples were lighted with ALS and photographed. Adobe Photoshop™ and ImageJ™ softwares were used for image analysis. Data obtained by measuring the photograph pixels were subjected to analysis of variance. The mean values of significant effects were compared by the Tukey test. In all tests, the significance level was set at p≤0.05 and the values calculated by the SAS system. The results showed that the best combination for detecting tooth and bone is an illumination wavelength of 455 nm with an orange filter. The fluorescence of dental root is greater than that of enamel, which in turn is greater than that of bone. The biological material had markedly higher fluorescence than the inert material. This knowledge can help the forensic expert to screen and detect biological materials, for example in situations where there are fragmented teeth and small bones, both at the scene and in the laboratory.

The Effect of Household Oxidizing Cleaners on Chemiluminescence of Blood Using Bluestar®

“…Images were then uploaded into ImageJ , (a public domain, Java‐based image processing program developed at the National Institutes of Health) for quantification of chemiluminescence. Chemiluminescence was measured following a method described by previous researchers who quantified fluorescence of bone samples using RGB values . A standardized circular region of interest (ROI) of 1500 × 1500 pixels (approximately 70 mm) was selected from four different locations in each image.…”

Photon emission and changes in fluorescent properties of bone after laser irradiation

“…Using alternate light sources, Bachman et al first found that fresh whole bone exhibited a major fluorescence emission peak at 440 nm when excited with 365 nm (UV light) and two minor peaks at 590 and 640 nm, respectively [1]. Craig et al and more recently Miranda et al showed that the excitation spectrum of bone extends over the UV into the visible light [2, 3]. Moreover, the phosphorescence of calcified tissues, including bone, has been reported [4].…”