The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has announced study results and further funding for cutting-edge
techniques of forensic trauma analysis.
In 2016, NIJ awarded Katherine Scafide at George Mason University a grant to study the use of alternative light sources to better detect trauma induced bruising. The research focused on using different wavelengths -- colors other than white light – for improved bruise detection.
The research trial looked specifically at which wavelengths allowed for better detection based on skin
color, injury depth, and injury age, and showed that alternative light sources aided detection in a variety
of ways.
Using yellow goggles while viewing an injury in violet (415nm) or blue (450nm) wavelengths
improved detection probability across skin color, and through injury age up to 4 weeks post incident,
particularly for strongly pigmented skin.
Scafide and her colleagues further expanded the reach of their results by building an ongoing
“translation-into-practice” project to bring ALS skin assessment and documentation to the forensic
nursing community.
This researcher-practitioner partnership focused on the development of evidence-based guidelines for practice, procedure, implementation, and evaluation of ALS skin assessments in the forensic nursing sphere.
Now, with a 2022 NIJ grant, Scafide is leading the way in applying machine learning, or deep
learning, for bruise assessments. This new line of research looks to determine whether image analysis by
computers can provide a quantitative, objective assessment of the presence of bruising, and if it can
assist in understanding how bruises change over time.
This research is impactful for forensic trauma analysis overall, but more critically, it has the potential to
remedy some of the racial and gender disparities that exist in criminal justice response to violence
against communities of color and intimate partner violence.
When bruises aren’t visible, it is easier to dismiss or minimize a victim’s account of assault. Lack of
visible injury has also been demonstrated to reduce victims’ willingness to participate in the criminal
justice process.
Injury severity on darker skin tones is more difficult to detect, resulting in under response (criminally
and medically) or no response at all. Strangulation – a not uncommon experience for many victims of
intimate partner violence – rarely results in signs of injury on the skin, again resulting in inadequate
criminal and medical system response.
Discussing the study results with NBC, Scafide noted that “[b]y relying just on our eyes to see a
bruise, unfortunately, we are creating a disparity in how we are able to detect injuries across diverse
populations that can lead to differences in legal outcomes."
Arrest, charging, and conviction for injury related assaults all rely on the ability to see an injury. As Dr.
Scafide and her colleagues note, “[u]ltimately, incorporating an ALS illuminated examination into
forensic clinical practice may help to reduce the health and criminal justice related disparities
experienced by patients of color who report interpersonal violence.”