A Large-Sample Test of a Semi-Automated Clavicle Search Engine to Assist Skeletal Identification by Radiograph Comparison†
Susan S. D'Alonzo M.A.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Central Identification Laboratory, 590 Moffet St, Building 4077, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hickam, HI, 96853
Search for more papers by this authorPierre Guyomarc'h Ph.D.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Central Identification Laboratory, 590 Moffet St, Building 4077, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hickam, HI, 96853
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
John E. Byrd Ph.D.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Central Identification Laboratory, 590 Moffet St, Building 4077, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hickam, HI, 96853
Additional information and reprint requests:
John Byrd, Ph.D.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
590 Moffet St
Building 4077
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
Hickam
HI 96853
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorCarl N. Stephan Ph.D.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Central Identification Laboratory, 590 Moffet St, Building 4077, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hickam, HI, 96853
Presented in part at the 67th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, February 16–21, 2015, in Orlando, FL.
Supported, in part, by several appointments to the Research Participation and Visiting Scientist Programs at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and the DPAA.
The views and opinions contained herein are solely those of the authors and are not to be construed as official, or as views of the U.S. Department of Defense and/or any of the U.S. Armed Forces.
This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA
Search for more papers by this authorSusan S. D'Alonzo M.A.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Central Identification Laboratory, 590 Moffet St, Building 4077, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hickam, HI, 96853
Search for more papers by this authorPierre Guyomarc'h Ph.D.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Central Identification Laboratory, 590 Moffet St, Building 4077, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hickam, HI, 96853
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
John E. Byrd Ph.D.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Central Identification Laboratory, 590 Moffet St, Building 4077, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hickam, HI, 96853
Additional information and reprint requests:
John Byrd, Ph.D.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
590 Moffet St
Building 4077
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
Hickam
HI 96853
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorCarl N. Stephan Ph.D.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Central Identification Laboratory, 590 Moffet St, Building 4077, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hickam, HI, 96853
Presented in part at the 67th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, February 16–21, 2015, in Orlando, FL.
Supported, in part, by several appointments to the Research Participation and Visiting Scientist Programs at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and the DPAA.
The views and opinions contained herein are solely those of the authors and are not to be construed as official, or as views of the U.S. Department of Defense and/or any of the U.S. Armed Forces.
This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
In 2014, a morphometric capability to search chest radiograph databases by quantified clavicle shape was published to assist skeletal identification. Here, we extend the validation tests conducted by increasing the search universe 18-fold, from 409 to 7361 individuals to determine whether there is any associated decrease in performance under these more challenging circumstances. The number of trials and analysts were also increased, respectively, from 17 to 30 skeletons, and two to four examiners. Elliptical Fourier analysis was conducted on clavicles from each skeleton by each analyst (shadowgrams trimmed from scratch in every instance) and compared to the search universe. Correctly matching individuals were found in shortlists of 10% of the sample 70% of the time. This rate is similar to, although slightly lower than, rates previously found for much smaller samples (80%). Accuracy and reliability are thereby maintained, even when the comparison system is challenged by much larger search universes.
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Citing Literature
January 2017
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