title: Measurement of Postmortem Pupil Size: A New Method with Excellent Reliability and Its Application to Pupil Changes in the Early Postmortem Period.
abstract: Measurement of postmortem pupil width is a potential component of death time estimation. However, no standardized measurement method has been described. We analyzed a total of 71 digital images for pupil-iris ratio using the software ImageJ. Images were analyzed three times by four different examiners. In addition, serial images from 10 cases were taken between 2 and 50 h postmortem to detect spontaneous pupil changes. Intra- and inter-rater reliability of the method was excellent (ICC > 0.95). The method is observer independent and yields consistent results, and images can be digitally stored and re-evaluated. The method seems highly eligible for forensic and scientific purposes. While statistical analysis of spontaneous pupil changes revealed a significant polynomial of quartic degree for postmortem time (p = 0.001), an obvious pattern was not detected. These results do not indicate suitability of spontaneous pupil changes for forensic death time estimation, as formerly suggested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Luise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fleischer
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sehner
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gehl
authors.affiliation: Department of Computational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Riemer
authors.affiliation: University Medicine Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Raupach
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anders
mesh_terms: D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007498:Iris / Q000473:pathology; D010781:Photography; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D011680:Pupil; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software
keywords: forensic medicine; forensic pathology; forensic science; legal medicine; postmortem changes; postmortem diagnosis