Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41553480›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of legal medicine2026

Development of a novel method for estimating the missing mandible using three-dimensional homologous models.

Shuuji Namiki, Yohsuke Makino, Hirotaro Iwase, Hajime Utsuno, Muhammad Garry Syahrizal Hanafi, Nanami Aoki, Saki Minegishi, Hisako Saitoh, Koichi Sakurada

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Article in International journal of legal medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

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9 authors.

Shuuji NamikiDepartment of Forensic Dentistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan. namiki.fde@tmd.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-5941-3119
Yohsuke MakinoDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
Hirotaro IwaseDepartment of Legal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, 260-8670, Japan.
Hajime UtsunoDepartment of Forensic Dentistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan.
Muhammad Garry Syahrizal HanafiDepartment of Forensic Dentistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan.
Nanami AokiDepartment of Forensic Dentistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan.
Saki MinegishiDepartment of Forensic Dentistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan.
Hisako SaitohDepartment of Forensic Dentistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan.
Koichi SakuradaDepartment of Forensic Dentistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan.

Funding

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Start-up Support) (24K23712)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimSkeletal remains are sometimes discovered with the mandible missing from the skull due to external factors such as environmental conditions or scavenger activity. The absence of the mandible reduces the accuracy of forensic identification methods, including facial reconstruction. Although we previously established a two-dimensional method for estimating mandibular measurements (e.g., bicondylar breadth) commonly used in forensic practice, no method has yet been developed for estimating the entire three-dimensional mandibular shape. Therefore, the aim of this study was to establish a method for three-dimensional estimation of a missing mandible from the remaining cranium using an image analysis technique based on homologous modeling theory. MATERIALS AND

methodsPostmortem CT images of 200 Japanese subjects were used to create homologous models of the cranium (8,739 vertices) and mandible (4,255 vertices), ensuring that all samples contained the same number of vertices. Principal component regression analysis was then performed using the three-dimensional point cloud data obtained from each homologous model to construct a three-dimensional estimation model. Estimation accuracy was subsequently validated using separate samples.

resultsThe mean error between all corresponding vertices of the estimated mandible and the actual mandible (ground truth) was 2.324 ± 0.659 mm. In addition, visualization analysis using multidimensional scaling confirmed that most of the estimated shapes were distributed close to the ground truth.

conclusionThe estimation method developed in this study demonstrated a satisfactory degree of accuracy, suggesting its potential usefulness for three-dimensional estimation of missing mandibular morphology.

Indexed as

Imaging, Three-DimensionalMandibleAdultAgedFemaleForensic AnthropologyHumansMaleMiddle AgedMultidimensional Scaling AnalysisPostmortem ImagingPrincipal Component AnalysisTomography, X-Ray ComputedYoung AdultForensic anthropologyHomologous modelJapanese populationMissing mandible estimationThree-dimensional image analysis

Identifiers

PMID41553480

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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.