000K utf8 1100 2025$c2025-09 1500 eng 2050 urn:nbn:de:gbv:27-dbt-68031-0 2051 10.1007/s00414-025-03528-9 3000 Heinrich, Andreas 3010 Hubig, Michael 3010 Mall, Gita 3010 Teichgräber, Ulf 4000 Automated identification of unknown decedents$dmatching postmortem CT images with clinical databases [Heinrich, Andreas] 4060 12 Seiten 4209 The maxillary sinus plays an important role in the forensic identification of unknown deceased individuals. This study aimed to evaluate whether matching postmortem computed tomography (CT) images from virtual autopsies with antemortem CT examinations from a clinical database enables reliable identification using computer vision (CV) techniques. From ten virtual autopsies, CT images of the maxillary sinus were selected for comparison against 853 antemortem CT examinations from 738 individuals. A total of 60,255 antemortem CT slices underwent image processing, CV feature extraction, and were stored in an antemortem CV database. The number of matching points between CV features of the postmortem image and the antemortem reference image served as an indicator of identification accuracy. The identification rate was 50% (5/10) at rank 1 (with the sought identity having the highest number of matching points), 80% (8/10) at rank 2, and 100% (10/10) at rank 7 among the 738 potential identities. Challenges were observed when the antemortem reference CT examination depicted only parts of the maxillary sinus or when injuries were present. Additionally, postmortem imaging should closely replicate antemortem imaging standards to maximize the number of CV matching points. In conclusion, the findings suggest that it is feasible to identify individuals using postmortem CT images from virtual autopsies in combination with a clinical database. However, postmortem imaging should ideally adhere to clinical imaging standards to achieve more CV matching points for the sought identity with the antemortem reference. 4950 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03528-9$xR$3Volltext$534 4950 https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:27-dbt-68031-0$xR$3Volltext$534 4961 https://www.db-thueringen.de/receive/dbt_mods_00068031 5051 610 5550 Computed tomography 5550 Computer vision systems 5550 Human identification 5550 Maxillary sinus 5550 X-ray