Authors : C. Stavrianos, L. Vasiliadis, J. Emmanouil and C. Papadopoulos
Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of two methods for the bite mark analysis in foodstuff. For the purposes of this study ten suspects participated as possible perpetrators of a bite mark found in a fresh apple which was seized at a supposed crime scene. The sample was kept in a sealed bag and stored in a fridge. The following day researchers applied the technique of obtaining an impression of the bite mark in the apple using light body vinyl polysiloxane which was injected without pressure from a central point to the bite mark periphery. A ring was constructed as barrier using a heavy body vinyl polysiloxane. The next stage was to pour model from the bite mark impression with the use of dental stone. Next step was to take dental impressions of the possible suspects using alginate impression material (protesil) and pour dental casts of the dentitions with dental stone. About 2 independent forensic dentists compared the pattern of the bite mark with the dental casts of the suspects using two different methods each time: the docking procedure (direct method) and the computer-assisted overlay production technique with Adobe Photoshop CS4 software (indirect method). The results of this study showed that the computer-based method for bite mark analysis was as accurate as the docking procedure in cases with bite marks in an apple and may be useful in a variety of substrates.
C. Stavrianos, L. Vasiliadis, J. Emmanouil and C. Papadopoulos, 2011. In vivo Evaluation of the Accuracy of Two Methods for the Bite Mark Analysis in Foodstuff. Research Journal of Medical Sciences, 5: 25-31.