Soo-chan Jee

Determination of sex from various hand dimensions of Koreans

In the case of disasters or crime scenes, forensic anthropometric methods have been utilized as a reliable way to quickly confirm the identification of victims using only a few parts of the body. A total of 321 measurement data (from 167 males and 154 females) were analyzed to investigate the suitability of detailed hand dimensions as discriminators of sex. A total of 29 variables including length, breadth, thickness, and circumference of fingers, palm, and wrist were measured. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test. The accuracy of sex indication from the hand dimensions data was found using discriminant analysis. The age effect and interaction effect according to age and sex on hand dimensions were analyzed by ANOVA. The prediction accuracy on a wide age range was also compared. According to the results, the maximum hand circumference showed the highest accuracy of 88.6% for predicting sex for males and 89.6% for females. Although the breadth, circumference, and thickness of hand parts generally showed higher accuracy than the lengths of hand parts in predicting the sex of the participant, the breadth and circumference of some finger joints showed a significant difference according to age and gender. Thus, the dimensions of hand parts which are not affected by age or gender, such as hand length, palm length, hand breadth, and maximum hand thickness, are recommended to be used first in sex determination for a wide age range group. The results suggest that the detailed hand dimensions can also be used to identify sex for better accuracy; however, the aging effects need to be considered in estimating aged suspects.

Analysis of stature prediction from foot anthropometry: a South Korean case study

The investigation of footprints or dismembered foot dimensions from the scene of a crime or disaster plays a crucial role in the effort to determine some characteristics of the suspects or victims. Previous studies have shown the importance of foot dimensions for that purpose. However, the foot length and foot breadth were frequently studied; the present research investigated the relationship between stature and diverse foot dimensions such as of the heel, metatarsal edge, instep, metatarsal, and lateral malleolus – in addition to the foot length and foot breadth. The feet of 461 subjects (175 male & 286 Female) were scanned and measured. The mean age of the male participants was 41.6 (from 20 to 69) and 38.4 for female participants (from 20 to 68). A t-test was used to compare the gender difference in each dimension. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were computed to identify correlations among various part measurements and heights. Regression equations were derived using single or multiple variables. Foot length showed the highest relationship in males (R = 0.753) and females (R = 0.433). For males and females, prediction accuracy was highest in the linear regression equation using foot length alone (R2 = 0.567 for males, R2 = 0.188 for females; SEE ± 4.332 cm for males, ±4.825 cm for females). In addition to foot length, length-related variables such as the distance from the heel to both ends of the metatarsal were also reliable predictors. These research results are expected to be useful information for forensic medicine, and for medical appliance and sports manufacturers.

Use of Hand Biometric Information in Gender Identification Integration of Anthropometric and Electromyographic Data

These days, mobile devices are expected to act as biometric readers due to their increasing number of sensors. However, few studies have suggested a method to identify the user’s demographic profile by collecting biometric information through smart devices, whereas demographic characteristics are an important factor that determines the overall preferences of the interface and content. Therefore, this paper suggests a method to identify the user’s gender based on the biometric information of users. Since the hand is one of the most frequently used body parts in touch interfaces, four hand dimensions and the EMG activities of four hand muscles were measured. The hand length, hand breadth, hand thickness, and hand circumference of 321 Koreans were collected as hand dimensions, and the EMG activities of 27 participants when using mock-ups of mobile phones were observed. As a result of discriminant analysis, hand dimensions could predict males and females with over 75% accuracy, while %MVC showed relatively lower accuracy. The results revealed that simple hand dimensions are a more efficient method to recognize the gender of users. In a further study, other biometric data could be utilized in sensing various types of demographic information considering that identification technologies are growing fast.

Anthropometric Classification of Human Hand Shapes in Korean Population

Hand tools designed without the anthropometric perspective lead to lower performance and safety. This study suggests a statistical hand shape classification with Korean anthropometric data. A total of 321 anthropometric data were used for this study. To investigate hand types, 27 anthropometric hand variables normalized by the stature of each participant and factor analysis and cluster analysis were conducted. As a result, three major factors were deduced: factors of hand breadth, palm length, and finger length. Additionally, four hand types were determined: (a) a spacious hand with short fingers, (b) a hand with short palm with above average fingers, (c) a long palm and fingers, and (d) a narrow hand and short fingers. In the male population, the spacious hand with short fingers type was dominant while the narrow hand and short fingers type was dominant in the female population. These results are expected to be preliminarily utilized in design for the Korean population.