Vyas Vaidehi V, Gubbi Rashmi, Vasavada Dharmesh G, Rathod Yashrajsingh R, Ojha Mehul
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Oral Microbiology, Manubhai Patel Dental College and ORI, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2025 Apr-Jun;29(2):293-300. doi: 10.4103/jomfp.jomfp_212_24. Epub 2025 Jun 30.
Palatal rugoscopy offers a potential solution for identifying victims with severely damaged remains. Unlike teeth, rugae remain stable, even in extreme conditions. This study focuses on edentulous individuals, a previously unexplored area, to assess the potential of digital rugae analysis for personal identification and gender determination.
This study involved 138 edentulous patients seeking dentures. Maxillary casts were created from both intraoral impressions (Set A) which simulated ante mortem record and denture tissue surfaces (Set B) which simulated post mortem record. Set A was digitally scanned using Medit extraoral scanner, while Set B was photographed. Rugae patterns were classified based on shape and unification by digital analysis for gender determination. For personal identification, the simulated ante mortem and post mortem record patterns were digitally matched using adobe photoshop by overlapping the images to assess personal identification accuracy. Examiners determined the gender of individuals based solely on their rugae patterns and derived a formula.
Palatal rugae analysis showed potential for gender determination and identification. Females had more curved rugae, while males had more wavy ones. Digital matching achieved high accuracy for gender prediction (96.03% sensitivity, 97.58% PPV). Rugae matching also showed promise for personal identification (95.97% sensitivity, 95.97% PPV).
This study demonstrates that palatal rugae patterns, even in edentulous individuals, offer reliable indicators for both gender determination and personal identification. Digital analysis and matching techniques yielded high accuracy, highlighting their forensic applicability in scenarios with compromised remains.
腭皱襞检查为识别遗骸严重受损的受害者提供了一种潜在的解决方案。与牙齿不同，即使在极端条件下，皱襞也能保持稳定。本研究聚焦于无牙颌个体这一此前未被探索的领域，以评估数字腭皱襞分析在个人识别和性别判定方面的潜力。
本研究纳入了138名寻求假牙修复的无牙颌患者。从模拟生前记录的口腔内印模（A组）和模拟死后记录的义齿组织面（B组）制作上颌模型。A组使用Medit口外扫描仪进行数字扫描，B组则进行拍照。通过数字分析根据形状和连贯性对皱襞模式进行分类以判定性别。对于个人识别，使用Adobe Photoshop通过重叠图像对模拟生前和死后记录模式进行数字匹配，以评估个人识别的准确性。检查人员仅根据皱襞模式确定个体性别并得出一个公式。
腭皱襞分析显示出在性别判定和识别方面的潜力。女性的皱襞更弯曲，而男性的更呈波浪状。数字匹配在性别预测方面达到了较高的准确性（敏感度96.03%，阳性预测值97.58%）。皱襞匹配在个人识别方面也显示出前景（敏感度95.97%，阳性预测值95.97%）。
本研究表明，即使是无牙颌个体，腭皱襞模式也为性别判定和个人识别提供了可靠指标。数字分析和匹配技术具有较高的准确性，凸显了它们在遗骸受损场景中的法医适用性。
