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Morphological analysis of three-dimensionally reconstructed frontal sinuses from Chinese Han population using computed tomography

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Abstract

The uniqueness and reliability of frontal sinuses for personal identification have gained wide recognition in forensics. However, few studies have assessed the usefulness of a three-dimensional (3D) model of the frontal sinus for human identification. This study aimed to develop standardized techniques to classify the frontal sinus according to its 3D morphological metrics and discover the usefulness of the 3D frontal sinus model in identification of Chinese Han population. One hundred and ninety-six computed tomography (CT) scans of patients older than 20 years (84 males and 112 females) were collected. A 3D frontal sinus digital model was segmented using Dolphin Imaging software. The following morphological metrics of the 3D frontal sinus were used to develop the coding system: bilateral or unilateral, spatial relationships of the two sides, number of septations, superior volume side, the shape of the 3D model of each side, shape of the medial surface and frontal ostium on each side, number of accessory septations on each side, number of supra-orbital cells of the medial surface and lateral surface on each side, and number of the arcades on each side. The new coding system accurately identified all of our research individuals. This study discovered a number of individual variations in the 3D frontal sinus morphology patterns. A coding system, which is based on these morphological patterns, exposes the morphological variants of frontal sinuses and presents the usefulness of 3D frontal sinus model for human identification.

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Code availability

There is no code for software.

Funding

This work was supported by the Post-doctoral Research and Development Fund of Sichuan University (20826041D4013).

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Author notes

  1. Huan Zhao and Yuan Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Genetics, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, No. 3, 17 South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China

    Huan Zhao, Yuan Li, Wei Bo Liang & Lin Zhang

  2. Department of Forensic Pathology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Yuan Li & Zhen Hua Deng

  3. Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Hui Xue

Authors
  1. Huan Zhao
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  3. Hui Xue
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  4. Zhen Hua Deng
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Correspondence to Wei Bo Liang or Lin Zhang.

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The present study was performed with the approval of the ethics committee of the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Informed consent was obtained from all the patients.

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Zhao, H., Li, Y., Xue, H. et al. Morphological analysis of three-dimensionally reconstructed frontal sinuses from Chinese Han population using computed tomography. Int J Legal Med 135, 1015–1023 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02443-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02443-5

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