Forensic Research & Technology

Biography

Biography: Mônica C. Serra

Abstract

The development of information technologies brought new possibilities to several different areas. New technologies can be applied to Forensic Sciences, in particular to Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Dentistry and Legal Medicine. 3D surface scanners can copy bones and produce tridimensional images, which can be manipulated on computers, with the use of 3D image software. Data can be electronically stored and sent by the web. There are situations in which there is a high probability of losing the physical bones, due to the obligation to return them to justice or to the family, or even due to bone degradation, among other reasons. Having the tridimensional digitalized images will help to recuperate the due information, if necessary, in the future. It can also be sent by the web and be printed in somewhere else, if necessary. The authors present a proposal of a Protocol for Virtual Forensic Anthropology through the employment of 3D surface scanners, additive manufacturing, and the performance of digital three-dimensional measurements. Forensic anthropological measurements can be performed virtually, in the computer, using scanned images. It is being developed a research project, in order to verify and validate the mentioned Protocol. Preliminary data, obtained at the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology of the University of Coimbra, on skeletons of the Identified Collection of the XXI Century, will be presented.