HuCS-ID Lab - Research
Interests and expertise
Human Identification, Skeletal Identification, Forensic Anthropology, Physical Anthropology, Skeletal Analysis, Osteology, Anatomy, Human variation, Radiographic Comparison, Osteometric Sorting, Mass Graves, Sex estimation, Age estimation, Ancestry estimation, Stature estimation, Trauma, Craniofacial Identification, Skull, Face, Facial approximation, Craniofacial superimposition.
Shape Analysis, Morphometrics, Anthropometry, 3D Scanning, Stereophotogrammetry, Geometric Morphometrics, Elliptical Fourier Analysis.
Medical Imaging, Ultrasound, Radiography, X-Rays, Optics, Photography.
R, Biostatistics, Mechatronics.
Facilities
The HuCS-ID Lab is well-equipped with the usual precision instruments of osteometric boards, callipers and other standard anthropometry devices and we use only internationally recognized manufacturers (such as GPM, Mopec). Instruments are routinely performance checked in-house under an annual quality assurance program and using an array of calibrated test artefacts to ensure measurement validity for scientific studies and casework.
The laboratory holds a broad range of 3D scanning devices to include: Artec Spider, Einscan, Next Engine, and Di3D Stereophotogrammetry. The Di3D equipment, used for instantaneous 3D acquisition of human faces, is operated in a separate dedicated video green-room.
Professional-grade camera equipment is used throughout the laboratory, including Canon 6D and Nikon D780 full-frame DSLRs, mounted on copy stands for detailed skeletal photography.
Being on UQ St Lucia Campus, we are only just down the road (200m) from the UQ Centre for Advanced Imaging (CAI), which offers a large array of medical imaging technology and is where we undertake our CT and MRI scans for research.
The HuCS-ID Lab works closely with the SBMS Gross Anatomy Facility (GAF) and its anatomical resources, so much so, that our forensic anthropology lab is physically embedded in the GAF to ensure seamless workflow under the Transplantation and Anatomy Act, Qld (1979). The UQ School of Anatomy is one of the largest anatomy Schools in Australia and it is the only school of its kind in the country to operate a whole-of-body skeletisation program for eligible indefinite donors.
Introduction
Anthropological instruments
Scan capabilities