Hona Te Wai Pounamu T, Stephan Carl N
Laboratory for Human Craniofacial and Skeletal Identification (HuCS-ID Lab), School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
J Forensic Sci. 2025 Mar;70(2):430-445. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.15694. Epub 2024 Dec 30.
Linear regression (LR) models that use cranial dimensions to estimate facial soft tissue thicknesses (FSTTs) have been posited by Simpson and Henneberg to assist craniofacial identification. For these regression equations to work well, the independent (craniometrics) and dependent (FSTTs) variables must be tightly correlated; however, such relationships have not been routinely demonstrated for adult humans. To examine the strength of these relationships further, this study employed magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to unambiguously measure cranial dimensions and FSTTs for 38 adult cadavers. This contrasts with prior published use of (a) spreading calipers to compress the face in an attempt to measure cranial dimensions through the soft tissues of the head and (b) needle puncture to measure the FSTT (a + b = legacy methods). To provide direct comparisons to prior work, this study also conducted legacy measurements for reproducibility tests. Previously published LR models were not supported by either the legacy or MR data. In the MR data, correlations between the cranial dimensions and FSTTs were generally weak with a mean absolute r = 0.13 and r range = -0.40 to 0.33. Compared to previously published arithmetic means, LR models did not improve FSTT estimates in the MR sample (SEE for LR = 5.5 mm; SEE for arithmetic mean = 5.2 mm). Using the latest MR imaging technologies, these results underscore prior warnings that cranial dimensions hold weak correlations with FSTTs and possess limited utility for improved FSTT estimation over and/or above arithmetic means.
辛普森和亨内伯格提出，利用颅骨尺寸来估计面部软组织厚度（FSTT）的线性回归（LR）模型有助于颅面识别。要使这些回归方程有效，自变量（颅骨测量数据）和因变量（FSTT）必须紧密相关；然而，对于成年人类，这种关系尚未得到常规证明。为了进一步研究这些关系的强度，本研究采用磁共振（MR）成像技术，明确测量了38具成年尸体的颅骨尺寸和FSTT。这与之前发表的研究形成对比，之前的研究使用（a）扩展卡尺挤压面部，试图通过头部软组织测量颅骨尺寸，以及（b）针刺测量FSTT（a + b = 传统方法）。为了与之前的工作进行直接比较，本研究还进行了传统测量以进行重复性测试。之前发表的LR模型在传统数据或MR数据中均未得到支持。在MR数据中，颅骨尺寸与FSTT之间的相关性通常较弱，平均绝对r = 0.13，r范围为 -0.40至0.33。与之前发表的算术平均值相比，LR模型在MR样本中并未改善FSTT估计值（LR的标准误 = 5.5毫米；算术平均值的标准误 = 5.2毫米）。使用最新的MR成像技术，这些结果强调了之前的警告，即颅骨尺寸与FSTT的相关性较弱，在算术平均值之上和/或之外，用于改善FSTT估计的效用有限。
