Muditha Vidanapathirana

FaceID: A 3D computer graphic application for forensic medicine: A novel semi-automated muscle based digital sculpting initiative for forensic facial reconstruction in Sri Lanka

The field of medicine has integrated with law and regulation in the form of forensic medicine. While the field of medicine, as a whole, is leaping forward by integrating computer solutions, Forensic Medicine- particularly in developing regions such as Sri Lanka- is lacking innovative computer integrations. The process of forensic facial reconstruction in particular, is still at its infancy in Sri Lanka, and is yet to utilize the advanced technologies of other countries. Hence introducing a more efficient multimedia based technique to the local forensic officials in order to improve the efficiency and the accuracy of the reconstructions is the aim of this study. In contrast to the facial reconstructions conducted in other countries, this study introduces a novel semi-automated method of computer aided digital sculpting to the field of forensic medicine. The adopted process involved, acquiring a 3D model of the skull and digitally sculpting muscles in a 3D environment, followed by adding different facial features to improve identification. The research also encompassed a tissue thickness analysis and a facial component analysis, both of which were conducted for the first time on Sri Lankans since both were needed to improve the accuracy of the final output. This procedure was attempted on cases of the age category 20–30 and of medium weight. The outputs and the process were evaluated with different parties such as general public, forensic officials, lawyers and CID all of which yielded true positive results. The ultimate goal of conducting the study was to understand and overcome the challenges faced in developing this novel application for the Sri Lankan Forensic officials and to establish the first unit for facial reconstruction in Sri Lanka.

Anthropometric classification of nasal indexes for a Sri Lankan undergraduate student population

Whilst the human nose is a predominant facial feature of ones face where it is used in assessing ones beauty, in the field of anthropometric studies, its index is used in a number of clinical and forensic practices. This index is the most commonly used method in classifying the human nose into different categories. The calculation of which is done by dividing the nasal breadth by the nasal height and multiplying the result by 100, where; Nasal breath: Maximum breadth of the nasal cavity (at right angles to the nasal height), from alare to alare (al) Nasal height: height from nasion (n) to nasospinale (ns).

Facial Soft Tissue Thickness Trends for Selected Age Groups of Sri Lankan Adult Population

Facial soft tissue thickness (FSTT), together with the osteological characteristics of the skull, is one of the important factors for facial reconstruction in both forensic anthropology and plastic surgeries. Even though a number of countries around the world have analysed the FSTT data of their own populations and are having a FSTT database, no such dataset or analysis is available in Sri Lanka. In this study, FSTT was measured at 23 standard anthropological landmarks using magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of 243 adult individuals (male - 121, female - 122) of the Sri Lankan population, which were collected from clinical data from the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. For each landmark, basic descriptive statistics were calculated. The FSTT values which were classified according to the gender and age, were analysed to assess the variation of FSTT with those categories. The results of this study indicate that there are certain FSTT attributes which are related to specific landmarks and age groups. For example, data in this study depict that men have higher FSTT than women, in the area along the midline. However, the area around the cheeks shows comparatively large tissue thickness in young women (within 20-39 age range) than in men. Some landmarks indicate a significant variation in values with aging. Finally the results of this study were compared with that of a North West Indian study to evaluate whether a significant difference is present among the two geographically close countries.

A rare long-term complication of physical torture

The allegations made against custodians regarding ill treatments have been increased in Sri Lanka. However, their attention is grabbed by the immediate complications of torture, but not by late or delayed complications. A 35-year-old male was arrested for alleged housebreaking and kept under police custody. He alleged that he was hanged with his hands on several occasions. Six weeks after the incident, he presented to a tertiary care hospital with the weakness of his right shoulder. Examination revealed hyperpigmented scars over the left wrist and back of the left forearm with the right-sided medial winging of the scapula. He alleged that it had affected his day-to-day life. The presence of hyperpigmented scars over the left wrist and the long-term complications such as winged scapula of the right shoulder corroborated with the alleged history of torture by suspension from the wrists.

Comparison of injuries due to lethal weapons during and after civil strife in Sri Lanka: a medico-legal study

Background and Aims: “Injuries due to lethal weapons” has emerged as a subject of public discussion in Sri Lanka. This study was conducted to describe the nature and characteristics of injuries due to lethal weapons during civil strife and to compare those with injuries after civil strife. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients reported with injuries caused by lethal weapons from 2004 to 2014. Periods before and after May 19, 2009 were considered as during and after civil strife periods, respectively. A total of 21,210 medico-legal examination forms were studied. Results: There were 358 (1.7%) injuries caused by lethal weapons. Of them, 41% (n = 148) were during and 59% (n = 210) were after the civil strife. During civil strife, 63% occurred during daytime (P < 0.05). Types of lethal weapons that caused injuries were sharp weapons (n = 282), explosives (n = 49), and firearms (n = 27). Of them, 32% of during and 01% of after civil strife were explosive injuries (P < 0.01). Regarding severity, 73% of during and 57% of after civil strife injuries were severe (P < 0.05). During civil strife, 34% injuries were in lower limbs (P < 0.01) and after civil strife, 37% were in upper limbs (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The presence of many similarities indicated that both groups learnt their basis in a society that breeds violence. During civil strife, more injuries occurred during daytime, to lower limbs by explosive weapons and after the civil strife during nighttime, to upper limbs by nonexplosive weapons. Nonexplosive lethal weapon use after civil strife needs further investigation to develop evidence-based interventions.

Sudden death of a middle-aged man with an artificial vagina in situ

Artificial vaginas are designed to imitate the female sex organ. This is the first reported case in the forensic literature of a man being pronounced dead with an artificial vagina in situ. A middle-aged man was found unconscious in a bathroom when the door was forced open and was pronounced dead on admission. Autopsy revealed that the penis was inside an artificial vagina. There were no injuries, but there were left ventricular hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis, and narrow coronaries. The cause of death was ascertained as ischemic heart disease due to coronary atherosclerosis and the comments included were no evidence of violence, and ischemic heart disease could have been precipitated due to abnormal sexual activity. If removal of artificial vagina was done before the admission, this circumstance could not have ascertained. Removal of such devices before admission to hospitals could be the reason why such incidents do not come to light.

Identification of Severely Burnt Bodies Due to Post Collision Fire: Bus - Truck Collision at Induruwa, Southern Sri Lanka

Road traffic accidents are one of the well known causes responsible for mass causality incidents in many part of the world. Here, we present a case of bus truck collision resulted in nineteen deaths, where bodies of victims were burnt beyond recognition. Finally, identification of all the victims were established by application of standard forensic practices together with odontology investigations.