Skull/Face Matching Through 3D Printing

JPAC is printing 3D models of skulls from CT scans to refine forensics techniques – specifically, skull photographic superimposition – for identifying remains from the Korean War and other conflicts. Skull photographic superimposition is used in support of traditional identification techniques such as dental records, fingerprints, X-ray and biological profile comparisons. This work promises to lead to more events like JPAC’s recent positive identification of a Korean War soldier killed in 1950.

Skull photographic superimposition generally involves projecting images of unidentified skulls onto photographs of known soldiers to evaluate potential matches. It is especially helpful in cases where DNA is not available. The ProJet® CJP (Color Jet Printer) multicolor 3D printer is central to refining the practice, enabling JPAC to 3D print the CT scans of living people’s skulls for trials of the matching technique. With skull models of identified living persons, the lab can gather conclusive data on matching success rates.