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Dental records: a Belgium study. J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2006 Jun;24(1):22-31. Dierickx A, Seyler M, de Valck E, Wijffels J, Willems G. The aim of this study was to deduce the quality of the average dental record kept by Belgian dentists and to evaluate its potential use for forensic dental casework. The evaluated material originated from 598 Dutch speaking and 124 French speaking Belgian dentists who completed a questionnaire and returned it by mail or through the internet. The age of the participating dentists ranged from 22 to 72 years of age. The results of the inquiry were statistically analysed taking parameters such as language, gender, age, university and ZIP code into account. In general there was a tendency for the young dentists from the age category 22 to 34 years of age, especially those living in larger cities, to perform better on several of the questions asked such as completion of the dental record, storage of x-rays, working with digital x-rays and a digital dental record. Bite mark analysis and comparison using image perception technology. J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2006 Jun;24(1):14-7. van der Velden A, Spiessens M, Willems G. To analyse and compare a bite mark left on human skin with a suspect's dentition is a difficult procedure. The assumption that the human dentition is unique plays an important role in this process. However it is near impossible to prove that a particular bite mark was produced by a specific dentition. Key elements to analyse a bite mark are the amount of detail available in the information about the bite mark and the suspected biter's dentition. Both are of vital importance to the investigating forensic odontologist. In this article a new method of analysing bite marks using image perception technology is described. With this technology it is possible to artificially colour areas with equal intensity values and depict a 2-D image as a pseudo-3-D surface object. The use of image perception technology may allow visualization of a degree of detail unavailable with any other method. Dental age estimation through volume matching of teeth imaged by cone-beam CT. Forensic Sci Int. 2006 May 15;159 Suppl 1:S78-83. Yang F, Jacobs R, Willems G. A custom-made voxel counting software for calculating the ratio between pulp canal versus tooth volume based on cone-beam CT tooth images was developed and evaluated. The aim of this study was to attempt establishing a correlation between the chronological age of a certain individual and the pulp/tooth volume ratio of one of the teeth. Twenty-eight single rooted teeth of 19 individuals with well-known chronological age were scanned by the cone-beam CT (3D Accuitomo, J. Morita, Kyoto, Japan). Next the images were analyzed using the custom-made software. Linear regression analysis was performed. The results of the analysis showed a moderate correlation between the pulp/tooth volume ratio and biological age with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.29. Although the present work was limited to a pilot study, the developed technique showed promising results for dental age estimation in a non-invasive manner using cone-beam CT images in living individuals. Racemization of aspartic acid from human dentin in the estimation of chronological age. Forensic Sci Int. 2006 May 15;159 Suppl 1:S89-94. Yekkala R, Meers C, Van Schepdael A, Hoogmartens J, Lambrichts I, Willems G The estimation of chronological age in cadavers, human remains and in living human beings by various methods is discussed. These methods, which are based on the age dependent non-enzymatic changes of l-form amino acids to d-form amino acids, mainly aspartic acid, are among the most reliable and accurate methods to date. Most of these methods use gas chromatography (GC). In this review, results of aspartic acid racemization in dentin at different targets are discussed. In addition, pre-considerations and guidelines are given for the selection of dentin from teeth. A pilot project was run to evaluate the efficiency of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with fluorescence detection. New buffer conditions were found to obtain stable derivatives of aspartic acid enantiomers for the estimation of racemization. Computerized craniofacial reconstruction using CT-derived implicit surface representations. Forensic Sci Int. 2006 May 15;159 Suppl 1:S164-74. Vandermeulen D, Claes P, Loeckx D, De Greef S, Willems G, Suetens P. In forensic craniofacial reconstruction, facial features of an unknown individual are estimated from an unidentified skull, based on a mixture of experimentally obtained guidelines on the relationship between soft tissues and the underlying skeleton. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using full 3D cross-sectional CT images for establishing a reference database of densely sampled distances between the external surfaces of the skull and head for automated craniofacial reconstruction. For each CT image in the reference database, the hard tissue (skull) and soft tissue (head) volumes are automatically segmented and transformed into signed distance transform (sDT) images, representing for each voxel in this image the Euclidean distance to the closest point on the skull and head surface, respectively, distances being positive (negative) for voxels inside (outside) the skull/head. Multiple craniofacial reconstructions are obtained by first warping each reference skull sDT maps to the target skull sDT using a B-spline based free form deformation algorithm and subsequently applying these warps to the reference head sDT maps. A single reconstruction of the target head surface is defined as the zero level set of the arithmetic average of all warped reference head sDT maps, but other reconstructions are possible, biasing the result to subject specific attributes (age, BMI, gender). Both qualitative and quantitative tests (measuring the similarity between the 3D reconstructed and corresponding original head surface) on a small (N = 20) database are presented to proof the validity of the concept. The application of Kvaal's dental age calculation technique on panoramic dental radiographs. Forensic Sci Int. 2005 Oct 29;153(2-3):208-12. Bosmans N, Ann P, Aly M, Willems G. INTRODUCTION: Literature reports on a method for dental age calculation which is based only on radiological measurements on periapical dental radiographs: the relationship between chronological age and the two-dimensional dental pulpal size was analysed by means of multiple regression analyses. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether this approach could be feasible and could lead to statistically sound results with adequate repeatability when applied on panoramic radiographs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and ninety seven panoramic radiographs were collected at random from patients of whom the age ranged from 19 to 75 years. According to the reported technique, six teeth were selected on the panoramic radiograph: in the maxilla the central and lateral incisor and second bicuspid, and in the mandibula the lateral incisor, cuspid and first bicuspid. The same exclusion criteria as in the original paper were respected. Statistical analysis was carried out in order to spot significant differences between the chronological age and the calculated age. RESULTS: When the age was calculated based on measurements of all six teeth or of all three mandibular teeth, no significant differences were found between the real age and the calculated one. In all other instances using the individual teeth separately or using all three maxillary teeth statistical analysis revealed significant differences. CONCLUSION: There appears to be no significant difference between applying the original technique on standard long-cone periapical radiographs or on orthopantomograms, especially when carrying out measurements on all six selected teeth. Three-dimensional cranio-facial reconstruction in forensic identification: latest progress and new tendencies in the 21st century. J Forensic Sci. 2005 Jan;50(1):12-7. De Greef S, Willems G. Three-dimensional (3D) cranio-facial reconstruction can be useful in the identification of an unknown body. The progress in computer science and the improvement of medical imaging technologies during recent years had significant repercussions on this domain. New facial soft tissue depth data for children and adults have been obtained using ultrasound, CT-scans and radiographies. New guidelines for facial feature properties such as nose projection, eye protrusion or mouth width, have been suggested, but also older theories and "rules of thumbs" have been critically evaluated based on digital technology. New fast, flexible and objective 3D reconstruction computer programs are in full development. The research on craniofacial reconstruction since the beginning of the 21st century is presented, highlighting computer-aided 3D facial reconstruction. Employing the newer technologies and permanently evaluating and (re)questioning the obtained results will hopefully lead to more accurate reconstructions.

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