@article{SchenklMuggenthalerHubigetal.2017, author = {Schenkl, Sebastian and Muggenthaler, Holger and Hubig, Michael and Erdmann, Bodo and Weiser, Martin and Zachow, Stefan and Heinrich, Andreas and G{\"u}ttler, Felix Victor and Teichgr{\"a}ber, Ulf and Mall, Gita}, title = {Automatic CT-based finite element model generation for temperature-based death time estimation: feasibility study and sensitivity analysis}, volume = {131}, journal = {International Journal of Legal Medicine}, number = {3}, doi = {doi:10.1007/s00414-016-1523-0}, pages = {699 -- 712}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Temperature based death time estimation is based either on simple phenomenological models of corpse cooling or on detailed physical heat transfer models. The latter are much more complex, but allow a higher accuracy of death time estimation as in principle all relevant cooling mechanisms can be taken into account. Here, a complete work flow for finite element based cooling simulation models is presented. The following steps are demonstrated on CT-phantoms: • CT-scan • Segmentation of the CT images for thermodynamically relevant features of individual geometries • Conversion of the segmentation result into a Finite Element (FE) simulation model • Computation of the model cooling curve • Calculation of the cooling time For the first time in FE-based cooling time estimation the steps from the CT image over segmentation to FE model generation are semi-automatically performed. The cooling time calculation results are compared to cooling measurements performed on the phantoms under controlled conditions. In this context, the method is validated using different CTphantoms. Some of the CT phantoms thermodynamic material parameters had to be experimentally determined via independent experiments. Moreover the impact of geometry and material parameter uncertainties on the estimated cooling time is investigated by a sensitivity analysis.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeiserErdmannSchenkletal.2017, author = {Weiser, Martin and Erdmann, Bodo and Schenkl, Sebastian and Muggenthaler, Holger and Hubig, Michael and Mall, Gita and Zachow, Stefan}, title = {Uncertainty in Temperature-Based Determination of Time of Death}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-63818}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Temperature-based estimation of time of death (ToD) can be per- formed either with the help of simple phenomenological models of corpse cooling or with detailed mechanistic (thermodynamic) heat transfer mod- els. The latter are much more complex, but allow a higher accuracy of ToD estimation as in principle all relevant cooling mechanisms can be taken into account. The potentially higher accuracy depends on the accuracy of tissue and environmental parameters as well as on the geometric resolution. We in- vestigate the impact of parameter variations and geometry representation on the estimated ToD based on a highly detailed 3D corpse model, that has been segmented and geometrically reconstructed from a computed to- mography (CT) data set, differentiating various organs and tissue types. From that we identify the most crucial parameters to measure or estimate, and obtain a local uncertainty quantifcation for the ToD.}, language = {en} } @article{WeiserFreytagErdmannetal.2018, author = {Weiser, Martin and Freytag, Yvonne and Erdmann, Bodo and Hubig, Michael and Mall, Gita}, title = {Optimal Design of Experiments for Estimating the Time of Death in Forensic Medicine}, volume = {34}, journal = {Inverse Problems}, number = {12}, doi = {10.1088/1361-6420/aae7a5}, pages = {125005}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Estimation of time of death based on a single measurement of body core temperature is a standard procedure in forensic medicine. Mechanistic models using simulation of heat transport promise higher accuracy than established phenomenological models in particular in nonstandard situations, but involve many not exactly known physical parameters. Identifying both time of death and physical parameters from multiple temperature measurements is one possibility to reduce the uncertainty significantly. In this paper, we consider the inverse problem in a Bayesian setting and perform both local and sampling-based uncertainty quantification, where proper orthogonal decomposition is used as model reduction for fast solution of the forward model. Based on the local uncertainty quantification, optimal design of experiments is performed in order to minimize the uncertainty in the time of death estimate for a given number of measurements. For reasons of practicability, temperature acquisition points are selected from a set of candidates in different spatial and temporal locations. Applied to a real corpse model, a significant accuracy improvement is obtained already with a small number of measurements.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeiserFreytagErdmannetal.2018, author = {Weiser, Martin and Freytag, Yvonne and Erdmann, Bodo and Hubig, Michael and Mall, Gita}, title = {Optimal Design of Experiments for Estimating the Time of Death in Forensic Medicine}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-67247}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Estimation of time of death based on a single measurement of body core temperature is a standard procedure in forensic medicine. Mechanistic models using simulation of heat transport promise higher accuracy than established phenomenological models in particular in nonstandard situations, but involve many not exactly known physical parameters. Identifying both time of death and physical parameters from multiple temperature measurements is one possibility to reduce the uncertainty significantly. In this paper, we consider the inverse problem in a Bayesian setting and perform both local and sampling-based uncertainty quantification, where proper orthogonal decomposition is used as model reduction for fast solution of the forward model. Based on the local uncertainty quantification, optimal design of experiments is performed in order to minimize the uncertainty in the time of death estimate for a given number of measurements. For reasons of practicability, temperature acquisition points are selected from a set of candidates in different spatial and temporal locations. Applied to a real corpse model, a significant accuracy improvement is obtained already with a small number of measurements.}, language = {en} } @article{WeiserErdmannSchenkletal.2018, author = {Weiser, Martin and Erdmann, Bodo and Schenkl, Sebastian and Muggenthaler, Holger and Hubig, Michael and Mall, Gita and Zachow, Stefan}, title = {Uncertainty in Temperature-Based Determination of Time of Death}, volume = {54}, journal = {Heat and Mass Transfer}, number = {9}, publisher = {Springer}, doi = {10.1007/s00231-018-2324-4}, pages = {2815 -- 2826}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Temperature-based estimation of time of death (ToD) can be per- formed either with the help of simple phenomenological models of corpse cooling or with detailed mechanistic (thermodynamic) heat transfer mod- els. The latter are much more complex, but allow a higher accuracy of ToD estimation as in principle all relevant cooling mechanisms can be taken into account. The potentially higher accuracy depends on the accuracy of tissue and environmental parameters as well as on the geometric resolution. We in- vestigate the impact of parameter variations and geometry representation on the estimated ToD based on a highly detailed 3D corpse model, that has been segmented and geometrically reconstructed from a computed to- mography (CT) data set, differentiating various organs and tissue types.}, language = {en} } @article{SubramaniamHubigMuggenthaleretal.2023, author = {Subramaniam, Jayant S. and Hubig, Michael and Muggenthaler, Holger and Schenkl, Sebastian and Ullrich, Julia and Pourtier, Gr{\´e}groire and Weiser, Martin and Mall, Gita}, title = {Sensitivity of temperature-based time since death estimation on measurement location}, volume = {137}, journal = {International Journal of Legal Medicine}, doi = {10.1007/s00414-023-03040-y}, pages = {1815 -- 1837}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Rectal temperature measurement (RTM) from crime scenes is an important parameter for temperature-based time of death estimation (TDE). Various influential variables exist in TDE methods like the uncertainty in thermal and environmental parameters. Although RTM depends in particular on the location of measurement position, this relationship has never been investigated separately. The presented study fills this gap using Finite Element (FE) simulations of body cooling. A manually meshed coarse human FE model and an FE geometry model developed from the CT scan of a male corpse are used for TDE sensitivity analysis. The coarse model is considered with and without a support structure of moist soil. As there is no clear definition of ideal rectal temperature measurement location for TDE, possible variations in RTM location (RTML) are considered based on anatomy and forensic practice. The maximum variation of TDE caused by RTML changes is investigated via FE simulation. Moreover, the influence of ambient temperature, of FE model change and of the models positioning on a wet soil underground are also discussed. As a general outcome, we notice that maximum TDE deviations of up to ca. 2-3 h due to RTML deviations have to be expected. The direction of maximum influence of RTML change on TDE generally was on the line caudal to cranial.}, language = {en} } @article{UllrichWeiserSubramaniametal.2023, author = {Ullrich, Julia and Weiser, Martin and Subramaniam, Jayant and Schenkl, Sebastian and Muggenthaler, Holger and Hubig, Michael and Mall, Gita}, title = {The impact of anatomy variation on temperature based time of death estimation}, volume = {137}, journal = {International Journal of Legal Medicine}, doi = {10.1007/s00414-023-03026-w}, pages = {1615 -- 1627}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Temperature-based time of death estimation (TTDE) using simulation methods such as the finite element (FE) method promises higher accuracy and broader applicability in nonstandard cooling scenarios than established phenomenological methods. Their accuracy depends crucially on the simulation model to capture the actual situation. The model fidelity in turn hinges on the representation of the corpse's anatomy in form of computational meshes as well as on the thermodynamic parameters. While inaccuracies in anatomy representation due to coarse mesh resolution are known to have a minor impact on the estimated time of death, the sensitivity with respect to larger differences in the anatomy has so far not been studied. We assess this sensitivity by comparing four independently generated and vastly different anatomical models in terms of the estimated time of death in an identical cooling scenario. In order to isolate the impact of shape variation, the models are scaled to a reference size, and the possible impact of measurement location variation is excluded explicitly, which gives a lower bound on the impact of anatomy on the estimated time of death.}, language = {en} } @misc{WeiserHubigShanmugamSubramaniam2025, author = {Weiser, Martin and Hubig, Michael and Shanmugam Subramaniam, Jayant}, title = {Reconstructing Ambient Temperature Changes in Death Time Estimation with a Bayesian Double-Exponential Approach}, journal = {Zenodo}, doi = {10.5281/zenodo.17702240}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Code and data for the reconstruction of ambient temperature drop in time of death estimation We provide Octave code and temperature measurement data for - empirircally estimating thermal sensor likelihood - estimating time and amplitude of a single sudden ambient temperature drop from temperature measurement data in two thermally different compartments.}, language = {en} } @article{SubramaniamHubigSchenkletal.2026, author = {Subramaniam, Jayant Shanmugam and Hubig, Michael and Schenkl, Sebastian and Muggenthaler, Holger and Springer, Steffen and Weiser, Martin and Sudau, Jakob and Shah, Faisal and Mall, Gita}, title = {Reconstructing sudden ambient temperature changes for forensic death time estimation using temperatures in two closed compartments: Proof of concept}, journal = {International Journal of Legal Medicine}, year = {2026}, abstract = {Ambient temperature TA has a strong impact on temperature-based time since death estimation (TTDE). Frequently TA is lowered instantaneously at some time t0 from a previous value TA0 to TA1 < TA0 by, e.g., opening a window or a door. We aim at reconstructing TA0 and t0. TTDE literature suggests temperature measurements in closed compartments such as cupboards or neighboring rooms, where TA0 could have been 'preserved' after t0. We aim to estimate t0 and TA0 from temperature measurements TZ(t) in closed compartments Z at times t > t0. We obtain promising results assuming Newtonian cooling for boxes filled with air, heaps of clothes, or books in two different experimental scenarios. Two different parameter estimators, (TA0^, t0^) based on four temperature measurements and (TA0*, t0*) for 4N measurements were tested. Our results in a climate chamber were partially appropriate for TTDE input. A decline at time t0 from TA0 = 22.5°C ↓ TA1 = 14°C was reconstructed at t = t0 + 95min with relative deviations ρt0^ = 27\% and ρTA0^ = 19\% relative to t - t0 and TA0 - TA1 respectively, for N = 1 with span Δt = 50min. For N = 200 in a time interval [t0 + 95min, t0 + 295min] we found ρt0^ = 5\% and ρTA0^ = 11\% with the same Δt. Further research is necessary to guarantee applicability in routine casework, in particular with respect to more elaborate cooling models, estimation algorithms, and evaluation localization.}, language = {en} }