Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39722182›Full record

ArticleJournal of forensic sciences2025

An examination of commingled first tarsometatarsal and atlantoaxial joints by deviation analysis.

Helen Litavec

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of forensic sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Helen LitavecHarris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, Houston, Texas, USA.

Funding

National Institute of Justice 2020-R2-CX-0025
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study follows up on previous research conducted by Litavec (J Forensic Sci., 68, 2023, 1780) on sorting commingled sacroiliac joints using deviation analysis. In the present report, the results of this technique are expanded to separating commingled first tarsometatarsal and atlantoaxial joints. Following the methods of Litavec (J Forensic Sci., 68, 2023, 1780), virtual models were created at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Donated Skeletal Collection from 69 atlases and axes, 66 first metatarsals, and 64 medial cuneiforms using an EinScan-Pro 2x+ Handheld Surface Scanner. The shape and congruency of the articular surfaces were analyzed using a deviation analysis in Geomagic Wrap 2021. Receiver operating characteristic curves were conducted on reference samples composed of 200 commingled and non-commingled bone pairs per joint to identify threshold values for sorting the remains. Validation samples of 225 pairs were subsequently analyzed to identify the efficacy of this method on a sample of unknown individuals. The statistical analyses confirmed that deviation analysis values from commingled first tarsometatarsal and atlantoaxial joint pairs were significantly larger than those from non-commingled individuals (p < 0.0001). 87%-92% of first tarsometatarsal pairs and 63%-66% of atlantoaxial joint pairs were correctly sorted based on the selected threshold values. This study increases the number of joints able to be sorted by deviation analysis and reemphasizes its value as a technique for resolving commingled human remains.

Indexed as

Atlanto-Axial JointMetatarsal BonesAdultAgedFemaleForensic AnthropologyHumansImaging, Three-DimensionalMaleMiddle AgedROC Curvecommingled human remainsfirst tarsometatarsal jointforensic anthropologyjoint analysislateral atlantoaxial jointvirtual anthropology

Identifiers

PMID39722182
PMCPMC11874237

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.