Mobile markerless augmented reality and its application in forensic medicine

Area of Science:

• Forensic Science
• Medical Imaging
• Computer-Aided Diagnosis

Background:

• Current autopsy methods rely heavily on visual and tactile examination, often overlooking valuable computed tomography (CT) data.
• Lack of radiological workstations in pathological suites limits the integration of CT data into forensic investigations.
• Integrating CT data can prevent accidental damage to evidence by correlating external injuries with internal findings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a novel multimodal approach for intuitive visualization of forensic data.
• To facilitate the correlation of external wounds with internal injuries during autopsy.
• To enhance the capabilities of forensic pathologists through advanced visualization techniques.

Main Methods:

• A range camera integrated with a tablet captures simultaneous depth and color information of the body.
• A server estimates camera pose using surface registration of CT and depth data for augmented reality (AR) visualization.
• Color information is projected onto the CT surface for enhanced anatomical representation.

Main Results:

• The system was validated in a postmortem pilot study.
• Fiducials attached to the skin were used for quantifying accuracy.
• A mean target registration error of [Formula: see text] mm was achieved.

Conclusions:

• The developed system is mobile, markerless, intuitive, and real-time capable with sufficient accuracy.
• It offers augmented reality visualization and textured surfaces to support forensic pathologists during autopsies.
• The system provides multimodal documentation for court presentations and shows high potential due to its simplicity and low cost.