Applicability of Holography in Forensic Identification: A Fusion of the Traditional Optical Technique and Digital Technique

• NCJ Number: 209101
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 50 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2005 Pages: 393-399
• Author(s): Hitoshi Biwasaka B.S.; Kiyoshi Saigusa M.S.; Yasuhiro Aoki M.D.
• Date Published: March 2005
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: A portion of this paper was presented as a poster at the 87th Congress of the Japanese Society of Legal Medicine, April 23-25, 2003, Toyama, Japan.

Annotation

This study examined the applicability of holography in the 3-dimensional recording of forensic objects such as skulls and mandibulae, as well as the accuracy of the reconstructed 3-D images.

Abstract

A skull (adult male) that had been preserved at a university anatomy department was used as a study object. Study models from adult volunteers included two male and one female maxillas, as well as one male and two female mandibulae; a skeletonized mandibula of an adult male was also used in the study. The dentitions of the mandibular bone and the six study models were photographed at a distance of 2 m with a digital camera for use as comparative images for superimposition. An x-ray of the anterior teeth of one of the volunteers was also taken. The descriptions of materials and methods address holographic recording, reconstruction of the holographic images, observable angles of the virtual images, accuracy of the reconstructed images, and the superimposition of the 2-D image. Based on their findings the authors conclude that holography could be useful as a 3-D recording method for forensic objects. Two superimposition systems that used holographic images were also examined. In the 2D-3D system, the transparent virtual holographic image of an object was directly superimposed onto the digitized photograph of the same object on the LCD monitor. In the video system, the holographic image captured by the CCD camera was superimposed onto the digitized photographic image with a personal computer. The researchers found that the discrepancy between the outlines of the superimposed holographic and photographic dental images using the video system was smaller than that which used the 2D-3D system. Holography thus apparently performed with an effectiveness comparable to the computer graphic system; however, a fusion with the digital technique would expand the utility of holography in superimposition. 5 tables, 10 figures, and 24 references