Stature estimation of Malaysians using post-mortem computed tomography images of the spine

Abstract

Background Stature estimation is important in medical investigations to identify victims and is most accurate using anatomical methods utilizing the entire skeleton. However, in cases of mass fatalities, it has been calculated using regression analysis formulas of different body parts. Radiology especially post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) is increasingly being used in victim identification as it is non- invasive and allows for multi planar reconstruction. Methods This study aims to generate stature estimation formulae using regression analysis of the vertebral column incorporating population that form the Malaysian ancestry i.e. Malay, Chinese and Indian using PMCT. This was a retrospective study involving 115 subjects who had a PMCT. Subjects consisted of Malaysian males and females (92 males and 23 females) aged 18–70 years. Cervical length (CL), thoracic length (TL), lumbar length and the whole spine length (WSL) incorporating cervical, thoracic and lumbar length were compared against cadaveric length. Results Whole spine length had the highest correlation coefficient of 0.570 and showed highest correlation with cadaveric length among female subjects compared to males. Whole spine length amongst the Malay was the highest followed by the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups (r = 0.671, 0.629, 0.402). Conclusion Our study concluded that the use of WSL from PMCT images can be used for body height estimation amongst Malaysians. This study has also successfully generated population-specific database for Malaysian experts to perform stature estimation using measurements of the vertebral column.