Original Article

Year : 2019 | Volume : 4 | Issue : 2 | Page :73 - 76

Study of Multidetector Computed Tomography Images of the Frontal Sinuses for Human Identification: A Study in Regional Indian Population

Soumeek Chowdhuri, Saikat Das1, Ritwik Ghosh1, Soumya Suvra Patra1, Ishaan Thassu1

From the Department of Forensic and State Medicine and 1 Calcutta National Medical College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Address for correspondence:

Mr. Saikat Das, E‐mail: saikat5039@gmail.com

Abstract

Background:

Growth rate is diverse for different ethnic groups, and for this reason, studies are required to be population specific. To solve controversial identification issues in future, sexual dimorphism in cases of imaging of frontal sinus among the Eastern Indian population needs to be tested.

Objectives:

The aim of the study was to determine sex by studying computed tomography (CT) scan images of the frontal sinus, using discriminant function analysis.

Methodology:

We scanned 90 subjects, comprising 30 males and 60 females in the age bracket of 18 and 60 years using the CT scan in the Indian (Bengali) population.

Results:

The Wilks’ lambda for the model is 0.459 which signifies a good discriminating power of the model. The discriminant function equation is, Df = 0.04 Width + 0.221 Depth + 0.185 Height + 0.059 Frontal Distance −5.574 (constant). Overall, 86.7% of the samples were correctly classified into their group by this model.

Conclusion:

This study shows that the accuracy rate of the prediction model for sex estimation using only frontal sinus is average. Further studies are required to conclude that this function can be used for forensic sex determination among the Eastern Indian (Bengali) population.

Key Words: Computed tomography scan, forensic, frontal sinus, identification

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

How to cite this article:

Chowdhuri S, Das S, Ghosh R, Patra SS, Thassu I. Study of multidetector computed tomography images of the frontal sinuses for human identification: A study in regional Indian population. Int J Forensic Odontol 2019;4:73-6.