Virtual computed tomography morphometry of the patella for estimation of sex using postmortem Japanese adult data in forensic identification.

In forensic anthropological identification of human remains and single bones, computed tomography (CT) data analysis facilitates volumetric and radiographic density analyses, and a recently developed automated analysis system markedly improved the performance, accuracy, and reproducibility of three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction. The present study aimed to investigate virtual CT morphometry of the patella for the estimation of sex using postmortem CT data of forensic autopsy cases of Japanese individuals aged ≥18 years (total n=220; 110 males and 110 females; estimated postmortem interval <88h), especially with regard to the efficacy of 3-D bone volumetry. Sex-related differences were detected for all parameters (males>females; p<0.