Using radiology to formula the stature estimation from long bones in Taiwanese

Residual bones of an anonymous corpse can provide useful information on individual identification and improve identifying accuracy. The relation between long bone and height is also an important issue on forensic anthropology. There''s no any study and data about the relation between long bone and height in Taiwan. This study aimed to develop formulas to predict height of different genders by using human long bones (humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia and fibula of both sides) of adult Taiwanese, and improve the successful rate of individual identification of victims in criminal cases and disaster in Taiwan. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of National Taiwan University Hospital (Docket number：201503070RIND). The plain X-ray datum were obtained from database of National Taiwan University Hospital from January 2005 to December 2014. 206 patients of both genders over 20 years old (average age：60.01 years old) including measured height and without obvious bone disease were collected (127 males, average age：61.87 years old; 79 females, average age：58.14 years old). The maximum long bone lengths were measured by RadiAnt DICOM Viewer software. There was no apparent length difference in long bones between both sides. The mean difference of humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia and fibula is 1.8mm, 1.9mm, 2.1mm, 0.4mm, 1.2mm and 0.4mm, respectively. We established 78 formulas to predict height. The reliability was consistency (very close to one). There was good performance when we used humerus, radius and ulna of left upper limb to validate seven predicting height formulas. In conclusion, we construct reliable and valid formulas to predict height by long bones of upper limb among Taiwanese. These formulas are helpful on individual identification in forensic science.