Jaw and Teeth Segmentation on the Panoramic X-Ray Images for Dental Human Identification

Area of Science:

• Forensic science
• Computer vision
• Biometrics

Background:

• Natural disasters can destroy biometric data, complicating human identification.
• Teeth offer a durable alternative for identifying remains when other biometrics are compromised.
• Automated analysis of dental X-rays can enhance the speed and reliability of forensic identification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate methods for segmenting jaws and teeth in panoramic dental X-ray images.
• To improve the accuracy of human remains identification using dental imagery.
• To assist forensic dental specialists with computer-aided identification processes.

Main Methods:

• A novel meta-heuristic optimization model was proposed for jaw separation.
• A user-assisted, semi-automatic approach was developed for tooth separation.
• Both methods were implemented using a computer program for panoramic dental X-ray analysis.

Main Results:

• Encouraging results were achieved in the segmentation of both jaws and teeth.
• The proposed methods demonstrated potential for accurate feature extraction from dental X-rays.
• Successful implementation in a computer program facilitates practical application.

Conclusions:

• The developed jaw and tooth segmentation techniques show promise for enhancing human identification from dental records.
• Computer-assisted segmentation of dental X-rays can significantly aid forensic identification efforts.
• Further development and validation of these methods could lead to more robust identification systems.