Age estimation by assessment of pulp chamber volume: a Bayesian network for the evaluation of dental evidence

Emanuele Sironi*, Franco Taroni, Claudio Baldinotti, Cosimo Nardi, Gian Aristide Norelli, Matteo Gallidabino, Vilma Pinchi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)
23 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the performance of a Bayesian method in the evaluation of dental age-related evidence collected by means of a geometrical approximation procedure of the pulp chamber volume. Measurement of this volume was based on three-dimensional cone beam computed tomography images. Methods: The Bayesian method was applied by means of a probabilistic graphical model, namely a Bayesian network. Performance of that method was investigated in terms of accuracy and bias of the decisional outcomes. Influence of an informed elicitation of the prior belief of chronological age was also studied by means of a sensitivity analysis. Results: Outcomes in terms of accuracy were adequate with standard requirements for forensic adult age estimation. Findings also indicated that the Bayesian method does not show a particular tendency towards under- or overestimation of the age variable. Outcomes of the sensitivity analysis showed that results on estimation are improved with a ration elicitation of the prior probabilities of age.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1125-1138
Number of pages14
JournalInternational Journal of Legal Medicine
Volume132
Issue number4
Early online date14 Nov 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adult age estimation
  • Bayesian approach
  • Bayesian networks
  • Forensic age estimation
  • Pulp chamber volume narrowing
  • Secondary dentine deposition

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