Skeletal age-at-death estimation: validating the Suchey-Brooks method using 3D reconstructed models in a contemporary...

Area of Science:

• Forensic Anthropology
• Bioarchaeology
• Forensic Radiology

Background:

• The Suchey-Brooks (S-B) standard is widely used for forensic age-at-death estimation, but its accuracy varies across populations.
• Research on biological attribute assessment in Indonesia, especially for age estimation, is limited.
• Computed tomography (CT) has been validated for S-B phase assignments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of the S-B standard for age-at-death estimation in an Indonesian sample.
• To validate the use of CT, transition analysis (TA), and Bayesian statistics for forensic age estimation.
• To develop population-specific age-at-death estimation models for Indonesia.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 378 multi-slice CT scans using OsiriX® software.
• Application of transition analysis (TA) and Bayesian statistics to derive age-at-death models.
• Evaluation of S-B standard accuracy and bias on an Indonesian sample.

Main Results:

• Overall bias was -6.0 years for females and -13.1 years for males; inaccuracy was 9.6 years (females) and 14.6 years (males).
• Original S-B ranges achieved 92.0% female and 73.3% male correct classification.
• Mean ages per S-B phase were higher in the Indonesian sample, indicating population-specific differences.

Conclusions:

• The Suchey-Brooks standard requires adjustments for accurate age-at-death estimation in the Indonesian population.
• Transition analysis and Bayesian statistics provide valuable tools for developing localized age estimation models.
• This research benefits Indonesian forensic casework and contributes to global forensic practice.