Sex estimation based on femoral measurements using multidetector computed tomography in cadavers in modern Japan

We aimed to reproduce the anthropometrical measurements of femoral dimensions using multi-planar reconstruction (MPR) computed tomography (CT); to assess the feasibility of sex estimation using femoral measurements through this approach, and to establish the corresponding sex estimation thresholds in the modern Japanese population. We used data on 224 cadavers (116 male and 108 female) that were subjected to postmortem CT and subsequent forensic autopsy at our department between October 2009 and July 2016. Four femoral measurements were obtained. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to test the overall ability of the variables in sex estimation, while the accuracy of the sex estimation was measured by the area under the ROC curve (AUC). The femoral bicondylar breadth showed the largest AUC values (left; 0.973, right; 0.974), followed by the maximum head diameter (left; 0.951, right; 0.955), and maximum femoral length (left; 0.885, right; 0.887). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to assess sex estimation based on femoral measurements, using MPR CT images.