Jhonatan Thiago Lacerda-Santos, José Alberto Souza Paulino, Hiarles Barreto Sampaio Brito, Fabiana Tolentino Almeida, Patrícia Meira Bento, Daniela Pita de Melo
{"title":"Hybrid approach with convolutional neural network and regression models for age estimation in panoramic radiographs.","authors":"Jhonatan Thiago Lacerda-Santos, José Alberto Souza Paulino, Hiarles Barreto Sampaio Brito, Fabiana Tolentino Almeida, Patrícia Meira Bento, Daniela Pita de Melo","doi":"10.1007/s00414-026-03927-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-026-03927-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Determining chronological age is a relevant aspect of criminal and civil interest for identifying corpses and refugees. This study aimed to estimate chronological age using a hybrid model that combines a convolutional neural network (CNN) with regression models based on panoramic radiographs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This observational, retrospective and cross-sectional study analyzed 2,546 panoramic radiographs from a Brazilian practice. Panoramic radiographs of patients over 18 years old with healthy, erupted lower premolars were selected. The radiographs were segmented using GIMP, and the dataset was divided into three sets: 70% for model training, 15% for validation, and 15% for testing. Based on the MobileNetV2 architecture, the CNN model extracted 576 attributes from each image, which were then used in conjunction with a decision-tree regression model to estimate age. To evaluate the model's performance, metrics such as Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Coefficient of Determination and Mean Square Error were used.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>3,423 teeth were analyzed, and the patients' mean age was 32.65 years. The overall MAE was 6.52 years (R² = 0.67); however, for the age group 31 to 35, the hybrid AI model had an MAE of 0.29 years for the male sample and 0.16 years for the female sample.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The hybrid AI model proved accurate and robust for patients aged 31-35 years; however, in other age groups, the model performed unsatisfactorily, particularly in the 40-50 and 51-55 age ranges.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"3919-3929"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13658335/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148619790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luiz Carlos Teixeira Coelho, Flávia Martinez de Carvalho, Luiz Felipe de Almeida Furtado, Luis Lerma-Doménech, Matheus Ferreira Coelho Pinho, Francisco Airasca Altónaga, Samir de Souza Oliveira Alves, Ana Luiza Meneguci Moreira Franco, José Luis Lerma
{"title":"Smartphone-based photogrammetry and videogrammetry versus structured light scanning for the assessment of facial landmark distances and uncertainty.","authors":"Luiz Carlos Teixeira Coelho, Flávia Martinez de Carvalho, Luiz Felipe de Almeida Furtado, Luis Lerma-Doménech, Matheus Ferreira Coelho Pinho, Francisco Airasca Altónaga, Samir de Souza Oliveira Alves, Ana Luiza Meneguci Moreira Franco, José Luis Lerma","doi":"10.1007/s00414-026-03921-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-026-03921-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study evaluates the reliability of three-dimensional (3D) facial measurements obtained from different acquisition technologies. Specifically, it investigates whether low-cost smartphone-based photogrammetry and videogrammetry can produce measurements comparable to those derived from structured light scanning, and identifies sources of variability associated with each modality.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Fifteen participants were imaged using three techniques: structured light scanning, smartphone photogrammetry, and smartphone videogrammetry. Inter-landmark distances were computed for each resulting 3D model, including both stable anatomical landmarks and those prone to placement difficulty. A statistical workflow was applied, incorporating non-parametric hypothesis testing, iterative outlier detection, and normality assessments to evaluate measurement variability attributable to acquisition modality, subject movement, and landmark uncertainty.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The three acquisition modalities produced broadly comparable inter-landmark measurements, indicating no substantial loss of accuracy when using smartphone-based methods. However, increased variability was observed in anatomically complex regions, particularly the perioral area, as well as in landmarks known to be difficult to localize. These discrepancies persisted across all modalities, including structured light scanning.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Smartphone-based photogrammetry and videogrammetry represent viable, low-cost alternatives to structured light scanning for 3D facial measurement. Nonetheless, landmark-specific uncertainty remains a critical factor, particularly in challenging anatomical regions. The findings highlight the importance of considering both acquisition modality and landmark reliability in the design and reporting of facial anthropometric studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"4195-4214"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13658478/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148421097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sara Sablone, Giuseppe Strisciullo, Andrea Nicola Cardinale, Nicola Antonio Colabufo, Maximilian Ries, Annalisa Convertino, Maurizio Pagliara, Andrea Starace, Valentina Mussi
{"title":"Raman mapping on Ag-covered nanostructured substrates as an innovative approach for rapid estimation of post-mortem interval on human whole blood.","authors":"Sara Sablone, Giuseppe Strisciullo, Andrea Nicola Cardinale, Nicola Antonio Colabufo, Maximilian Ries, Annalisa Convertino, Maurizio Pagliara, Andrea Starace, Valentina Mussi","doi":"10.1007/s00414-026-03882-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-026-03882-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The estimation of the early post-mortem interval (PMI) in human corpses remains a challenging goal for forensic sciences. By exploiting label-free Raman mapping on non-treated human whole blood directly deposited on innovative nanostructured Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) substrates, we propose a novel approach to rapidly obtain information on the presence of different levels of hypoxanthine (Hx) as a post-mortem biochemical marker (BPM). The efficacy of the method was tested on several whole blood samples from human corpses, spanning a time window between 3 and 32 h after death. The methodology, which allows the identification of metabolic and endogenous sources of Hx concentration increase, can be further engineered to develop dedicated automatable devices and holds potential for on-field applications during medical and forensic site inspections and investigations.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"3667-3676"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13658397/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148329043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Age estimation from pubic symphysis based on cinematic volume rendering: comparison between Suchey-Brooks staging and deep learning.","authors":"Yu-Chi Zhou, Shuai Luo, Meng Liu, Nian-Zu Lv, Li-Rong Qiu, Fei Fan, Lei Shi, Yong Liu, Hu Chen, Zhen-Hua Deng, Meng-Jun Zhan","doi":"10.1007/s00414-026-03898-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-026-03898-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Accurate adult age estimation remains a central challenge in forensic anthropology. This study compared the performance of the conventional Suchey-Brooks (SB) method with a deep learning (DL) approach in adult age estimation using standardized cinematic volume rendering (cVR) from pelvic CT scans. A total of 1, 359 examinations from a Chinese cohort were analyzed. SB-based cubic regression achieved mean absolute errors (MAE) of 5.94 years in males and 6.06 years in females, while the DL model produced MAEs of 6.64 and 7.03 years, respectively. No significant accuracy difference was observed between methods. Both exhibited age-dependent bias, with overestimation in younger adults and underestimation in older individuals. Visualization using gradient-weighted class activation mapping indicated that the DL model focused on key morphological features of the pubic symphyseal surface, with patterns varying across age groups and sex. These results demonstrate that both cVR-based SB phase assignment and deep learning regression achieve compatible precision, with deep learning providing a scalable, automated, first-line approach for objective age estimation.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"4071-4081"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148338511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Population-specific dental maturity scores for forensic age estimation in turkish children: a percentile-based modeling approach.","authors":"Sümeyye Zilan, Fatih Şengül","doi":"10.1007/s00414-026-03926-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-026-03926-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Accurate age estimation in children and adolescents is essential for forensic identification; however, the direct application of dental age estimation methods developed from Western European populations may introduce systematic bias when applied to other populations. This study aimed to develop and validate population-specific age estimation models based on the Dental Maturity Score (DMS) using data obtained from Turkish children. A total of 4,009 panoramic radiographs from individuals aged 2-18 years (2,035 males and 1,974 females) were included. Of these, 3,206 individuals constituted the model development (training) cohort and 803 the independent validation (test) cohort. The seven left permanent mandibular teeth were assessed according to the Demirjian staging system, and sex-specific DMSs were calculated. The relationship between chronological age and DMS was modeled using moving average, Locally Weighted Scatterplot Smoothing (LOWESS), the Lambda-Mu-Sigma (LMS) method, piecewise polynomial regression, and polynomial- and spline-based quantile regression. Model performance was evaluated using the coefficient of determination (R²), mean absolute error (MAE), and Bland-Altman agreement analysis. Among the evaluated approaches, the polynomial- and spline-based quantile regression models demonstrated the best overall performance. In the independent validation cohort, the polynomial-based quantile regression model achieved an R² of 0.94 and an MAE of 0.75 years in males, and an R² of 0.92 and an MAE of 1.09 years in females. Among the population-specific models developed for Turkish children, the polynomial-based quantile regression model demonstrated the highest predictive accuracy and consistent performance in the independent validation cohort, indicating that it is a suitable approach for forensic age estimation. In contrast, the spline-based quantile regression model provides a useful reference framework for the clinical assessment of dental development.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"3861-3872"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148470468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Junyan Wang, Yanhao Zhao, Tianyi Song, Li Yang, Qinmin Chen, Yusi Zhu, Bin Cong, Shujin Li
{"title":"Estimating time of day from fingertip blood samples using RNA molecules with diurnal oscillating expression: a proof-of-principle study.","authors":"Junyan Wang, Yanhao Zhao, Tianyi Song, Li Yang, Qinmin Chen, Yusi Zhu, Bin Cong, Shujin Li","doi":"10.1007/s00414-026-03892-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-026-03892-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Determining the deposition time of a biological stain can clarify the time of the case and strengthen the association between the biological evidence and the timeline of the criminal event. This study evaluated several RNA molecules with diurnal expression patterns to estimate the deposition time at 3-hour intervals within one day. The relative expression of 11 microRNAs (miRNAs) and 5 messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that have been reported to exhibit diurnal oscillating expression was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Four RNA biomarkers exhibited significant day/night differential expressions. Time estimation models were developed based on these rhythmic RNA markers, using miRNAs, mRNAs, or both to predict the categories of deposition time. Binary logistic regression models with leave-one-out cross-validation were built to infer the day/night time categories. The model, including two miRNAs (hsa-miR-150-5p and hsa-miR-192a-5p) exhibited better predictive performance (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.796) compared to the mRNA-only model (AUC = 0.706) and combined model (AUC = 0.776). A Support Vector Machine (SVM) model was used to predict three-time categories. The results of a combined model using 14 RNA biomarkers exhibited an overall classification accuracy of 0.67, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.575-0.759 for three fold cross-validation. The stability assessment indicated that miRNAs were highly stable, while mRNAs were slightly less stable. This study is the first to demonstrate the potential of diurnal rhythmic miRNAs, combined with mRNA biomarkers, for estimating blood deposition time in forensic applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"4037-4048"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148316998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tobias Gelius, Rasmus Möllby, Jonas Bergdahl, Garyfalia Ampanozi, Alexander Tyr
{"title":"Medico-legal interpretations of gas on postmortem CT: a scoping review.","authors":"Tobias Gelius, Rasmus Möllby, Jonas Bergdahl, Garyfalia Ampanozi, Alexander Tyr","doi":"10.1007/s00414-026-03930-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-026-03930-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The use of postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) in forensic investigations has increased during recent years. PMCT differs from clinical CT due to the inevitable manifestation of postmortem changes that varies significantly between cases. However, differentiating between gas with an antemortem origin (e.g. gas embolism) vs. gas with a postmortem (putrefactive gas) origin presents a critical challenge in forensic medicine. This scoping review evaluated how gas distribution patterns on PMCT may aid in determining gas origin. In accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines, searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL. 10,133 records were identified, of which 28 studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall, evidence was limited and heterogeneous, with substantial variation in terminology, gas assessment methods and study populations. Evidence suggests that differentiating pathological gas from putrefactive, resuscitation-related artefacts, and postmortem effects such as off-gassing remains a significant diagnostic challenge postmortem. Nevertheless, certain early PMCT patterns may assist interpretation. Within the first 24 h postmortem, intravascular and cardiac gas more commonly reflect systemic or traumatic mechanisms, although putrefaction cannot be excluded. Isolated cardiac gas may result from resuscitation efforts, whereas combined cardiac and intrahepatic gas more strongly suggests decomposition. In diving fatalities, embolic gas findings may be compounded by postmortem off-gassing as well as decomposition changes, and should be interpreted alongside dive profiles and, where available, gas sampling. Small gas collections adjacent to laryngeal structures may indicate trauma when other sources and decomposition are excluded. Overall, integrating PMCT gas distribution with contextual information and ancillary analyses may help understand gas origin, but further targeted research is required.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"3565-3582"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13658536/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148578601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Özlem Durma, Sıtkı Tıplamaz, Fatih Hitami Usluoğulları
{"title":"Forensic DNA yield from swab, clothing, and scene samples in acute child sexual abuse cases: a retrospective study from a child advocacy center in Türkiye (2019-2022).","authors":"Özlem Durma, Sıtkı Tıplamaz, Fatih Hitami Usluoğulları","doi":"10.1007/s00414-026-03931-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-026-03931-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The detection and persistence of biological evidence in child sexual abuse cases are critical in forensic practice, particularly when delays in presentation or post-incident actions may compromise DNA recovery. This study evaluated the forensic yield of swab, clothing, and crime scene examinations in relation to post-incident time interval (PIT), anatomical region, victim post-incident actions, and autosomal STR and Y-STR analyses.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective study examined 417 swab samples (361 anogenital, 56 body surface), 68 clothing, and 22 crime scene examinations from 136 child sexual abuse cases. Molecular analysis results were obtained from official forensic laboratory reports. PIT was categorized as Day 0, Days 1-3, and Days 4-10. Post-incident actions, including bathing and clothing change, were recorded.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>DNA positivity was defined as the recovery of an interpretable male DNA profile, based on autosomal STR analysis and/or a reportable Y-STR haplotype, that was not attributable to the victim. Among cases, DNA positivity was detected in 20/136 (14.7%) with swab samples, in 54/68 (79.4%) with clothing submissions, and in 18/22 (81.8%) with crime-scene submissions. DNA positivity of the swabs was observed between 5 and 110 h post-incident, with the latest detection obtained from an internal anal (dry) swab. Bathing was associated with descriptively lower swab DNA detectability, whereas no statistically significant association was observed for clothing change.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although DNA detectability decreases with increasing PIT, biological evidence-particularly from anogenital samples-may persist beyond the commonly applied 72-hour window. DNA positivity was more frequently observed in external anogenital swabs (vulvar and perianal) than in internal swabs (vaginal and anal). This finding should be examined with an extended sample size. Y-STR analysis enhanced detection in low-template or autosomal-negative cases, supporting comprehensive evidence collection regardless of PIT or post-incident actions.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"3873-3885"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148561893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhong-Hua Xu, Heng Kuai, De-Yuan He, Yang-Yang Chen, Hai Yi, Jun Yao
{"title":"Three-step maternal mutation in locus TPOX detected by STR analysis.","authors":"Zhong-Hua Xu, Heng Kuai, De-Yuan He, Yang-Yang Chen, Hai Yi, Jun Yao","doi":"10.1007/s00414-026-03960-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-026-03960-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A three-step maternal mutation in TPOX locus was observed by autosomal STR genotyping in routine paternity testing involving a mother-daughter pair. The results found that the duplex individuals matched at 29 loci detected except for an inconsistency at locus TPOX. The mother's genotyping in the locus is homozygotic with allele 11, while the child's genotyping is homozygotic with allele 8. The massively parallel sequencing analysis showed that core motif of TPOX locus is AATG<sub>[11]</sub> in mother and AATG<sub>[8]</sub> in sister. Clearly, this was a three-step maternal mutation at TPOX locus. Although STR mutations involving one, two, or even four steps have been reported with the overall average mutation rate ranging from 0.001 to 0.004, the forensic experts still pay attention to the multistep mutations in routine paternity testing.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"4499-4500"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148792738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Choy Ker Woon, Zuzana Obertova, Ambika Flavel, Lauren Swift, Ng Wei Lin, Eric Chung, Daniel Franklin
{"title":"Population specificity in mandibular sexual dimorphism: validation and development of forensic models for application in the contemporary Malaysian population.","authors":"Choy Ker Woon, Zuzana Obertova, Ambika Flavel, Lauren Swift, Ng Wei Lin, Eric Chung, Daniel Franklin","doi":"10.1007/s00414-026-03924-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-026-03924-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Sex estimation is a critical part of the forensic anthropological assessment. The mandible, due to its robust nature and sexually dimorphic traits, is often a alternative region for sex estimation, particularly in cases where other skeletal are incomplete or absent. Population-specific studies are necessary to refine and enhance the accuracy of forensic methodologies. This study, therefore, aims to quantify mandibular sexual dimorphism and explore population variances, validate existing discriminant functions, and develop novel models for sex estimation specific to the Malaysian population.</p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>The sample comprised cranial multi-detector computed tomographic scans of 213 male and 202 female Malaysian individuals. Following 3D volume rendering, nine mandibular landmarks were acquired using OsiriX, from which a total of 10 linear inter-landmark and one angular measurement were calculated. The data were then analysed using descriptive statistics and discriminant function analyses employing jackknife validations of classification results.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>All measurements were sexually dimorphic except for the mandibular angle. Bi-condylar breadth, ramus height, maximum mandibular length, and bi-coronoid breadth were the most dimorphic. Application of foreign discriminant functions to the Malaysian sample resulted in reduced accuracy and a greater sex bias compared to the original studies. The Malaysian specific univariate and multivariate discriminant functions ranged from 62.7 to 83.60% classification accuracy with associated 0.06 to -5.01% sex bias values.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings emphasize the importance of validating and developing population-specific mandibular models for accurate sex estimation in the contemporary Malaysian population, while future research should expand multi-ethnic datasets to further enhance forensic identification reliability.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"3887-3899"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13658392/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148591604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}