Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Volumetric Facial Reconstruction for Forensic Identification

  • Chapter
Volume Graphics

  • 175 Accesses

Abstract

The ultimate aim of any facial reconstruction technique is to produce a likeness of the face from skeletalised, burnt, badly mutilated or decomposed remains so that it bears sufficient resemblance to the individual prior to death. This reconstruction will hopefully provide a lead to enable positive identification in conjunction with other information and characteristics (dental records, radiographs, DNA and so on). Traditional sculpting methods rely on a combination of the ability, anatomical and anthropological knowledge of the artist and numerous subjective interpretations on the form of the face to produce a reconstruction of an unknown skull. Computer- aided reconstruction techniques are both quicker and more flexible but rely heavily on the size and quality of the facial database from which the reconstructions are created.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. George RM. The lateral craniographic method of facial reconstruction. J. Forensic Sci., 1987; 32: 1305–1330.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Aulsebrook WA, Iscan MY, Slabbert JH, Becker P. Superimposition and reconstruction in forensic facial reconstruction: A survey. Forensic Sci. Int., 1995; 75: 101–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Krogman WM, Iscan MY. The Human Skeleton in Forensic Medicine, 2nd Edition, Charles C Thomas, Springfield IL, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Taylor KT. Techniques of facial reconstruction drawing. In: Proc. International Symposium on the Forensic Aspects of Mass Disasters and Crime Scene Reconstruction, FBI Academy, Virginia, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Peuch PF. Portrait of the Temple Child - A missing link in the case of Louis XVII. Int. J. Leg. Med., 1995; 107: 209–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Stewart TD. Essentials of Forensic Anthropology. Charles C Thomas, Springfield IL, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Welcker H. Schillers sclK-del und todenmaske, nebst mitteolungen uber schadel und todenmaske Kants. Fr. Vieweg und Sohn, Braunschweig, 1883.

    Google Scholar 

  8. His W. Anatomische forschungen ueber Johann Sebastien Bach’s gebeine und antlitz nebst bemerkungen ueber dessen bolder. Abhandlungen der Mathematisch-Physikalischen Klasse der Konigl. Sachsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, 1895; 22: 379–420.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Kollmann WM, Biichly W. Die persistenz der rassen und die reconstruction der physiognomie parehistorischer sch←del. Arch. Anthropol., 1898; 25: 329–359

    Google Scholar 

  10. Tattersall I. Evolution comes to life. Scientific American, 1992; August: 80–87.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Neave RAH. Reconstruction of the skull and the soft tissues of the head and face of Lindow Man. Canadian Soc. Forensic Sci. J., 1989; 22: 43–53.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Prag J, Neave RAH. Making Faces: Using Forensic and Archaeological Evidence. British Museum Press, London, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Maples WR, Gatliff BP, Ludena H, Benfer R, Goza W. The death and mortal remains of Francisco Pizarro. J. Forensic Sci., 1989; 34: 1021–1036.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Farrar F. From skull to visage: A forensics technique for facial restoration. The Police Chief, 1977; 44: 78–80.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Phillips VM, Rosendorff S, Schotz HJ. Identification of a suicide victim by facial reconstruction. J. Forensic Odonto-Stomatol., 1996; 14(2).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Rhine JS, Campbell HR. Thickness of facial tissues in American Blacks. J. Forensic Sci., 1980; 25 (4): 847–858.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Rhine JS, Moore CE. Facial reproduction tables of facial tissue thickness of American Caucasoids in forensic anthropology. In: Maxwell Museum Technical Series 1, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Helmer R, Koschorek F, Tewey B, Frauen T. Measuring the thickness of facial soft tissues using nuclear magnetic resonance tomography for the purposes of identification. Archiv fur Kriminologie, 1986; 178: 139–150.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Vanezis P, Blowes RW, Linney AD, Tan AC, Richards R, Neave RAH. Application of 3D computer graphics for facial reconstruction and comparison with sculpting techniques. Forensic Sci. Int., 1989; 42: 69–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Miyasaka S, Yoshino M, Imaizumi K, Seta S. The computer-aided facial reconstruction system. Forensic Sci. Int., 1995; 74: 155–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Ubelaker D, O’Donnell G. Computer assisted facial reproduction. J. Forensic Sci., 1992; 37 (1): 155–162.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Evenhouse R, Rasmussen M, Sadler L. Computer-aided forensic facial reconstruction. J. Biocommunication, 1992; 19 (2): 22–28.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Shahrom AW, Vanezis P, Chapman RC, Gonzales A, Blenkinsop C, Rossi ML. Techniques in facial identification: Computer-aided facial reconstruction using a laser scanner and video superimposition. Int. J. Legal Med, 1996; 108: 194–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Michael SD, Chen M. The 3D reconstruction of facial features using volume distortion. In: Proc. 14th Eurographics UK Conference, 1996; 297–305.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Tyrrell AJ, Evison MP, Chamberlain AT, Green MA. Forensic three-dimensional facial reconstruction: Historical review and contemporary developments. J. Forensic Sci., 1997; 42 (4): 653–661.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Quatrehomme G, Cotin S, Subsol G, Delingette H, Garidel Y, Grevin G, et al. A fully three-dimensional method for facial reconstruction based on deformable models. J. Forensic Sci., 1997; 42 (4): 649–652.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Nelson LA, Michael SD. The application of volume deformation to three- dimensional facial reconstruction: A comparison with previous techniques. Forensic Sci. Int., 1998; 94 (3): 167–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Archer KM. Craniofacial Reconstruction Using Hierarchical B-spline Interpolation, MSc. T hesis, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Craig EA. Facial Reconstruction. J. Forensic Sci., 1992; 37: 1442.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Ubelaker D. Letters to the editor: Facial reconstruction. J. Forensic Sci., 1992; 37 (6): 1442–1444.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Arridge S, Moss JP, Linney AD, James DR. Three-dimensional digitisation of the face and skull. J. Max.-fac. Surg, 1985; 13: 136–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Lee SY, Wolberg G, Shin SY. Scattered data interpolation with multilevel B- splines. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 1997; 3(3)228–244.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Caldwell PC. New questions (and some answers) on the facial reproduction technique. In: Reichs KJ (ed) Forensic Osteology. Charles C Thomas, Springfield IL, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Hodson G, Lieberman LS, Wright P. In vivo measurements of facial tissue thickness in American Caucasoid children. J. Forensic Sci., 1985; 30: 1110–1112.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Rathbun TA. Personal identification: facial reproductions. In: Rathbun TA, Buikstra JE (Eds), Forensic Anthropology. Charles C Thomas, Springfield IL, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Suzuki K. On the thickness of the soft tissue parts of the Japanese face. J. Anth. Soc. Nippon, 1948; 60: 7–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Dumont ER. Mid-facial depths of white children: An aid in facial reconstruction. J. Forensic Sci., 1986; 31: 1463–1469.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Lebedinskaya GV, Stepia VS, Surnina TS, Fedosyvtkin BA, Tschebin LA. The first experience of the application of ultrasound for the thickness of soft facial tissues. Soviet Ethnogr., 1979; 4: 121–131.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Aulsebrook WA, Becker PJ, Iscan MY. Facial soft tissue thickness in the adult male Zulu. Forensic Sci. Int., 1996; 79: 83–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Phillips VM, Smuts NA. Facial reconstruction: Utilization of computerized tomography to measure facial tissue thickness in a mixed racial population. Forensic Sci. Int., 1996; 83: 51–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Nelson LA. The Potential Use of Computed Tomography Scans for the Collection of Cranial Soft Tissue Depth Data. MSc Thesis (unpublished), University of Sheffield, UK, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Snow CC, Gatliff BP, McWilliams KR. Reconstruction of facial features from the skull: An evaluation of its usefulness in forensic anthopology. Am. J. Phys. Anthrop., 1970; 33: 221–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Todd TW, Lindala A. Thicknesses of subcutaneous tissues in the living and the dead. A.. J. Anatomy, 1928; 41.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Schultz AH. Relation of the external nose to the bony nose and nasal cartilages in Whites and Negroes. Am. J. Phys. Anthrop., 1918; 1: 329–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Wolberg G. Digital Image Warping. IEEE Computer Society, Los Alamitos, CA, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Beier T, Neely S. Feature-based image metamorphosis. ACM/SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, 1992; 26 (2): 35–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Ruprecht D, Mjller H. Image warping with scattered data interpolation. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications 1995; 15 (2): 37–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Arad N, Reisfeld D, Yeshurun Y. Image warping by radial basis functions: applications to facial expressions. CVGIP: Graphical Models and Image Processing, 1994; 56 (2): 161–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Lee SY, Chwa KY, Shin SY, Wolberg G. Image metamorphosis using snakes and free-form deformations. In: Proc. SIGGRAPH, 1995; 439–448.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Lerios A, Garfinkle C, Levoy M. Feature-based volume metamorphosis. In: Proc. SIGGRAPH, 1994; 449–456.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Chen M, Jones MW, Townsend P. Methods for volume metamorphosis. In: European workshop on combined real and synthetic image processing for broadcast and video production, Hamburg, Germany, November 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  52. Chen M, Jones MW, Townsend P. Volume distortion and morphing using disk fields. Comp. and Graphics, 1996; 20 (4): 567–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Fang S, Raghavan R, Richtsmeier JT. Volume morphing methods for landmark based 3D image deformation. In: Proc. SPIE International Symposium on Medical Imaging 2710, Newport Beach, CA, February 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Sederberg TW, Parry SR. Free-form deformation of solid geometric models. ACM/SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, 1986; 20 (4): 151–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Coquillart S. Extended free-form deformation: a sculpturing tool for 3D geometric modelling. ACM/SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, 1990; 24 (4): 187–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Coquillart S. Animated free-form deformation: An interactive animation technique. ACM/SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, 1991; 25 (4): 23–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Hsu WM, Hughes JF, Kaufman A. Direct manipulation of free-form deformations. ACM/SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics 1992; 26 (2): 177–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Lee SY, Wolberg G, Chwa KY, Shin SY. Image metamorphosis with scattered feature constraints. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 1996; 2 (4): 337–354.

    Google Scholar 

  59. Rhodes ML. Computer graphics and medicine: A complex partnership. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 1997; January:22–28.

    Google Scholar 

  60. Hohne KH, Hanson WA. Interactive 3D segmentation of MRI and CT volumes using morphological operations. J. Computer Assisted Tomography, 1992; 16 (2): 285–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Novotny V, Iscan MY, Loth SR. Morphological and osteometric assessment of age, sex, and race from the skull. In: Iscan MY, Helmer RP (Eds), Forensic Analysis of the Skull. Wiley-Liss, 1993; Chapter 6:71–88.

    Google Scholar 

  62. Leopold D, Hammer HJ, Greil H. Determination of body constitution type from the face. In: IscanMY, Helmer RP (Eds), Forensic Analysis of the Skull. Wiley- Liss, 1993; Chapter 4:47–56.

    Google Scholar 

  63. Ubelaker D, Scammell H. Bones: Sex, size, race, age at death. J. Forensic Sci., 1997; 47 (3): 332–347.

    Google Scholar 

  64. Jones MW. The Visualisation of Regular Three-Dimensional Data. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Wales, Swansea, UK, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  65. Lebedinskaya GV, Balvera TS, Veselovskaya EV. Principles of facial reconstruction. In: Iscan MY, Helmer RP (Eds), Forensic Analysis of the Skull. Wiley-Liss, 1993; Chapter 14:183–198.

    Google Scholar 

  66. Suk V. Fallacies of anthropological identifications and reconstructions. A critique based on anatomical dissection. In: Publications of the Faculty of Science, University of Masaryk, 1935; 207:1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Saxby PJ, Freer TJ. Dentoskeletal determinants of soft tissue morphology. The Angle Orthodontist, 1985; 55: 145–154.

    Google Scholar 

  68. George RM. Anatomical and artistic guidelines for forensic facial reconstruction. In: Iscan MY, Helmer RP (Eds), Forensic Analysis of the Skull. Wiley-Liss, 1993; Chapter 16:215–227.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Simon D. Michael
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, SA2 8PP, Swansea, UK

    Min Chen BSc, PhD

  2. Department of Computer Science, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 11794, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Arie E. Kaufman BSc, MSc, PhD

  3. Insight Therapeutics, TOR Systems, Hasivim 7, PO Box 7779, 49170, Petach Tikva, Israel

    Roni Yagel BSc, MSc, PhD

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2000 Springer-Verlag London

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Michael, S.D. (2000). Volumetric Facial Reconstruction for Forensic Identification. In: Chen, M., Kaufman, A.E., Yagel, R. (eds) Volume Graphics. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0737-8_23

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0737-8_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-85233-192-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-0737-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation