The examination and identification of bite marks in foods using 3D scanning and 3D comparison methods

Abstract

Bite mark analysis offers the opportunity to identify the biter based on the individual characteristics of the dentitions. Normally, the main focus is on analysing bite mark injuries on human bodies, but also, bite marks in food may play an important role in the forensic investigation of a crime. This study presents a comparison of simulated bite marks in different kinds of food with the dentitions of the presumed biter. Bite marks were produced by six adults in slices of buttered bread, apples, different kinds of Swiss chocolate and Swiss cheese. The time-lapse influence of the bite mark in food, under room temperature conditions, was also examined. For the documentation of the bite marks and the dentitions of the biters, 3D optical surface scanning technology was used. The comparison was performed using two different software packages: the ATOS modelling and analysing software and the 3D studio max animation software. The ATOS software enables an automatic computation of the deviation between the two meshes. In the present study, the bite marks and the dentitions were compared, as well as the meshes of each bite mark which were recorded in the different stages of time lapse. In the 3D studio max software, the act of biting was animated to compare the dentitions with the bite mark. The examined food recorded the individual characteristics of the dentitions very well. In all cases, the biter could be identified, and the dentitions of the other presumed biters could be excluded. The influence of the time lapse on the food depends on the kind of food and is shown on the diagrams. However, the identification of the biter could still be performed after a period of time, based on the recorded individual characteristics of the dentitions.

Virtual skeletal complex model- and landmark-guided orthognathic surgery system

“…The skeletal models were fused with 3D dentition using the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm to generate virtual maxillary and mandibular dentition models and the maxillomandibular complex (MMC) model. The ICP algorithm minimizing the difference between the points of two 3D shapes has been commonly used for registration of different 3D models (Besl and Mckay, 1992;Nkenke et al, 2004;Sohmura et al, 2004;Uechi et al, 2006;Blackwell et al, 2007;Naether et al, 2012;Uechi et al, 2015). The absolute error of the 3D registration ranged from 0.21 to 0.31 mm in our study, which was comparable to those in previous studies (Nkenke et al, 2004;Uechi et al, 2006Uechi et al, , 2015.…”

“…Optically scanned dentition provided higher resolution and accuracy than CT imaging, as well as an increase in the accuracy of the physical models, regardless of their type (Frisardi et al, 2011). Therefore, combining the CT image with optically scanned dentition provided a highquality image of the tooth surface and enabled the use of anatomical landmarks on the skeletal model in the planning stage (Nkenke et al, 2004;Sohmura et al, 2004;Blackwell et al, 2007;Naether et al, 2012).…”

Autopsy

“…By creating similar models, the suspected injury-inflicting instruments, crime scenes or dental imprints (Naether et al 2012) can also be matched to the body surface injuries. This technique can be applied very effectively to traffic fatalities Postmortem needle biopsy is a feasible method of tissue sampling (Filograna et al 2012).…”

Validation of 3d Metric and Superimposition Tools in Three Software Packages for the Morphological Comparison of Laser Scanned Anterior Dentition Models

“…. The validation of these techniques indicated that the best outcomes for bitemark analysis probably result from the 3D comparison of the dental morphology 21,22 . In this context, the present research was developed to test the ability of available software packages to compare the morphology of 3D laser scanned dentition.…”