Comparison of visible-light and infrared photography for visualizing hematomas postmortem

Area of Science:

• Forensic Medicine
• Medical Imaging
• Photography

Background:

• Visible-light photography is standard for forensic documentation.
• Infrared (IR) photography captures wavelengths beyond the visible spectrum.
• Subcutaneous hematomas can be challenging to visualize with visible light.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability of IR photography in detecting subcutaneous hematomas in deceased individuals.
• To compare the efficacy of IR photography versus visible-light photography for hematoma visualization.
• To assess the correlation between IR imaging and microscopic hematoma density.

Main Methods:

• Postmortem examination of 23 individuals with 43 hematomas (excluding specific body areas).
• Standardized photography using visible-light and IR-filtered cameras.
• Microscopic analysis of excised tissue samples to determine hematoma density.
• Image processing to analyze tonal values in IR photographs.

Main Results:

• IR photography accurately depicted 100% of subcutaneous hematomas.
• Visible-light photography visualized only 53.5% of hematomas effectively.
• Tonal values from IR images showed a moderate to strong positive correlation (r=0.70, p<0.001) with microscopic hematoma density.

Conclusions:

• IR photography is a highly reliable tool for visualizing subcutaneous hematomas.
• IR photography offers significant advantages over visible-light photography in forensic documentation.
• IR photography shows potential as a valuable tool for detecting suspected hematomas in living individuals.