TY - JOUR
T1 - Temperature-specific spectral shift of luminescing thermally altered human remains
AU - Schariatmadary, Parnia
AU - Aalders, Maurice C. G.
AU - Oostra, Roelof-Jan
AU - Krap, Tristan
N1 - Funding Information: This publication originated from the master’s thesis of the first author. The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Semmie van den Berg and Mara Clerkx at the Department of Medical Biology, Section Clinical Anatomy and Embryology, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, as well as Gertjan Bon and Daan Giesen at the Glasinstrumentmakerji of the Universiteit van Amsterdam, Science Park. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - Human bone has shown to have luminescent properties that remain throughout the phases of cremation, with the exception of fully carbonized bone, when excited with a narrow band light source. During this research, an alternate light source (420–470nm, peak at 445nm) was used to visualize and investigate latent details relevant for forensic investigations of human remains recovered at fire scenes. As fire is a destructive force, it induces a vast variety of physical and chemical alterations to all components of the bone, making the subsequent analysis and interpretation of burned human remains challenging. A spectral shift in emission bandwidth, from green to red, was previously observed when the exposure temperature increased from 700 to 800 °C. This spectral shift was reproduced on a total of 10 human forearms, divided into 20 segments, by burning at 700 °C and 900 °C in an ashing furnace. The shift of emission bandwidth caused only by an increase in temperature was furthermore investigated by colorimetric analysis, proving the spectral shift to be significant. By easily quantifying the spectral shift, substantiation is provided for the use of this technique in practice to improve the interpretation of heat induced changes of bone.
AB - Human bone has shown to have luminescent properties that remain throughout the phases of cremation, with the exception of fully carbonized bone, when excited with a narrow band light source. During this research, an alternate light source (420–470nm, peak at 445nm) was used to visualize and investigate latent details relevant for forensic investigations of human remains recovered at fire scenes. As fire is a destructive force, it induces a vast variety of physical and chemical alterations to all components of the bone, making the subsequent analysis and interpretation of burned human remains challenging. A spectral shift in emission bandwidth, from green to red, was previously observed when the exposure temperature increased from 700 to 800 °C. This spectral shift was reproduced on a total of 10 human forearms, divided into 20 segments, by burning at 700 °C and 900 °C in an ashing furnace. The shift of emission bandwidth caused only by an increase in temperature was furthermore investigated by colorimetric analysis, proving the spectral shift to be significant. By easily quantifying the spectral shift, substantiation is provided for the use of this technique in practice to improve the interpretation of heat induced changes of bone.
KW - Alternate light sources
KW - Burned bones
KW - Forensic anthropology
KW - Heat-induced changes
KW - Luminescence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159355873&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-023-03006-0
DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-023-03006-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 37178277
SN - 0937-9827
VL - 137
SP - 1277
EP - 1286
JO - International Journal of Legal Medicine
JF - International Journal of Legal Medicine
IS - 4
ER -