iten
Ateneo
iten
Ateneo

Application of measurement techniques in forensics

Description

The research activity develops non-destructive measurement techniques based on broad-spectral imaging (multispectral, hyperspectral, infrared) for the objective analysis of traces identifiable at crime scenes.

Hyperspectral imaging is used for the analysis of bloodstains in order to: identify latent or washed-out stains (e.g., after washing with bleach) by exploiting the absorption peak of hemoglobin in the Soret band (~415 nm), estimate the age of the bloodstain based on the evolution of the reflectance spectrum over time. Infrared imaging techniques are used for ballistic trace analysis (Gunshot Residues) in order to map residues on colored fabrics by exploiting the different emissivity of materials that is not observable in the visible spectral range. The analysis of gunshot residues allows the shooting distance to be determined, a fundamental parameter in the reconstruction of a crime scene.

Publications
  • Giulietti, N., Discepolo, S., Castellini, P. and Martarelli, M., 2023. Neural network based hyperspectral imaging for substrate independent bloodstain age estimation. Forensic Science International, 349, p.111742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111742
  • Giulietti, N., Discepolo, S., Castellini, P. and Martarelli, M., 2022. Correction of substrate spectral distortion in hyper-spectral imaging by neural network for blood stain characterization. Sensors, 22(19), p.7311. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22197311
  • Medici, V., Paone, N., Pandarese, G., Riccio, G., Spinelli, V.A., Rizza, G., Olivieri, M. and Martarelli, M., 2025. Indirect Measurement of Shooting Distance by Active Thermography. Forensic Sciences, 5(4), p.65, https://doi.org/10.3390/forensicsci5040065.
  • Medici, V., Paone, N., Pandarese, G., Castellini, P., Olivieri, M., Spinelli, V.A., Rizza, G., Riccio, G. and Martarelli, M., 2023, November. Active Thermography for Gunshot Residue (GSR) Pattern Estimation on Textiles. In 2023 IEEE International Workshop on Technologies for Defense and Security (TechDefense) (pp. 104-109). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/TechDefense59795.2023.10380912
Staff

Prof. Paolo Castellini
Tel. +39 071 220 4441
email: p.castellini@staff.univpm.it

Prof.ssa Milena Martarelli
Tel. +39 071 220 4542
email: m.martarelli@staff.univpm.it