[503] Identifying human remains with greater certainty on ‘MTSU On the Record’

MURFREESBORO — New science-based standards for identifying human remains based on X-rays are the subject of the next “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Alicja Lanfear, a lecturer in the MTSU Department of Biology, will air from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Monday, May 23, and from 8 to 8:30 a.m. Sunday, May 29, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and www.wmot.org).

With Ann Ross, an anthropologist at North Carolina State University, Lanfear established a standard system of assessing X-rays taken both before and after death for helping to establish the identities of human remains.

The standards will allow experts to determine the probabilities for correct identification. The researchers used evaluations of the side of the skull, the spine and the upper leg, since these skeletal regions are among the most frequently X-rayed in a clinical setting.

“One of the long end-term goals of this project is to have a well-defined set of point-by-point comparisons that can be made by any practitioner regardless of skill set and availability of real expertise in the matter,” Lanfear said.

Lanfear and Ross’ study was published in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology.

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to http://bit.ly/mtsu-otr.

For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.