Forensic biophysics
Forensic biophysics combines applied physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and forensic science to develop new methods for forensic trace localisation and analysis. Starting with a research line aiming to use spectral imaging to estimate the age of inflicted bruises as part of the diagnosis of child abuse, the group now covers lines on the age determination of bloodstains and other body fluids, post-mortem time determination from body cooling, bloodstain pattern analysis and many topics on fingermark visualisation and analysis. All research is carried out in strong collaboration with the NFI and the Dutch Police.
In 2013, the group co-founded, in collaboration with the natural science faculty of the uva and the Netherlands forensic institute, an institute for stimulating joint forensic research, education and case work, the Co van Ledden Hulsebosch Center (CLHC). The CLHC is now a renowned center for forensic science, collaborating with UvA, NFI, HvA, VU, Saxion, Maastricht University, Avans and TU Delft.
In 2010, an Amsterdam UMC spin-off company ‘Forensic Technical Solutions’ (FTS) was founded, which aims to bring the techniques from the lab into forensic practice.
Therminus; a thermodynamic computational model for estimating the time of death
Determining the time of death of victims is crucial for reconstructing criminal events. Traditionally, this is calculated based on body weight and temperature, without considering the build or position of the body. Furthermore, the body weight of victims is often estimated due to the lack of simple weighing equipment at the crime scene. In addition, case specific conditions, rough correction factors are used, chosen based on subjective estimates. This leads to large error margins, ranging from 5.6 to 14 hours. In this project, a new method has been developed using a thermodynamic computational model that incorporates information about body dimensions and position, environmental factors, and thermal properties of clothing and the surface. With this information, the model can calculate the cooling of a specific body found in a particular position. By measuring the temperature at various points on the skin, we can calculate the time it took for the body to cool to the measured temperature of the victim.
Blood stain- and body fluid detection and analysis
Detection, recording and analyzing physical traces at crime scenes and forensic labs, greatly enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of the forensic investigation process, the substantiation of evidence (activity level), and the generation of forensic intelligence. The group is working on the development of advanced cameras, sensors, and optical techniques for trace detection. For instance, on methods that combine photography with spectrometry, known as spectral imaging, enabling non-destructive trace detection and ageing. Spectral (chemical) information can also be obtained about the nature of the trace, or traces can be differentiated from one another.
Biosensor development
Here, the focus is on minimal biological evidence and fingermarks. Our goal is to enhance the detection and analysis of chemical components in fingermarks and body fluids for forensic and medical purposes. There’s a critical need for rapid, on-site confirmatory analysis techniques to assist in crime-solving and ensure public safety. Currently, such methods are lacking. Our research aims to develop these rapid, on-site methods, including advanced optical miniature biosensors, to extract detailed chemical profiles from biological traces, answering crucial questions about the evidence. We believe that non-invasive testing will replace invasive methods in the next decade, with invisible fingermarks playing a key role in diagnostics.
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Establishing a Pan-European, multi-disciplinary taphonomic research Infrastructure: The ‘UK-Netherlands decomposition experimental research (UNDER) Group’
Brooks, J., Jantzi, A., Brown, K., Birch, W., Nijeholt, L. L. A., Rogers, C., Mickleburgh, H., Randolph-Quinney, P., Kootker, L., Aalders, M., Oostra, R. J., Williams, A., Hiley, C., Everett, J. & Cassella, J. P., 1 Jan 2025, In: Science and Justice. 65, 1, p. 62-69 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
The impact of temperature on vascular function in connection with vascular laser treatment
Doppegieter, M., van Leeuwen, T. G., Aalders, M. C. G., de Vos, J., van Bavel, E. T. & Bakker, E. N. T. P., 1 Dec 2024, In: Lasers in medical science. 39, 1, 122.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Short communications: Exploring temporal fluorescent changes in the composition of human semen stains
Achetib, N., Danser, S., Min, K., Köksal, Z., Aalders, M. C. G. & van Dam, A., 1 Oct 2024, In: Journal of Chromatography B: Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical and Life Sciences. 1246, 124278.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
On the glow of cremated remains: long-lived green photo-luminescence of heat-treated human bones
Schut, E., Breedijk, R. M. P., Hilbers, M. F., Hink, M. A., Krap, T., Aalders, M. C. G. & Williams, R. M., 1 Sept 2024, In: Photochemical & photobiological sciences. 23, 9, p. 1641-1657 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
The biodistribution of triamcinolone acetonide injections in severe keloids: an exploratory three-dimensional fluorescent cryomicrotome study
Yin, Q., Bekkers, V. Z., Roelofs, M. C. M., Dobbe, J. G. G., de Vos, J., Bloemen, P. R., Aalders, M. C. G., Gibbs, S., Lapid, O., Niessen, F. B., van Doorn, M. B. A. & Wolkerstorfer, A., 1 Sept 2024, In: Archives of Dermatological Research. 316, 7, 368.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Oxidative Modifications of Proteins and Lipids of Dried Semen, Urine, and Saliva Stains as a Function of Age in Forensic Context
Achetib, N., Otto, R. E., Aalders, M. C. G. & van Dam, A., Aug 2024, In: Applied Sciences (Switzerland). 14, 15, 6657.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Modeling pulsed dye laser treatment of psoriatic plaques by combining numerical methods and image-derived lesion morphologies
Wilk, L. S., Doppegieter, M., van der Beek, N., van Leeuwen, T. G. & Aalders, M. C. G., Jul 2024, In: Lasers in surgery and medicine. 56, 5, p. 508-522 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Fluorescence of various buried fresh and fresh-frozen-thawed tissue types up until the point of active decay: a human taphonomy study
Charlot, E., Gasser, A., Oostra, R.-J., Aalders, M. C. G. & Krap, T., 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: International journal of legal medicine.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Subminute thermal damage to cell types present in the skin
Doppegieter, M., van Leeuwen, T. G., van Weert, A., Aalders, M. C. G. & Bakker, E. T. P., 2024, In: International journal of hyperthermia. 41, 1, 2354435.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Analysis of the fluorescent properties of vaginal fluid upon ageing
de Vos, J., Otto, R. E., Achetib, N., Gasser, A. F. A. M., Aalders, M. C. G. & van Dam, A., 1 Jan 2024, In: METHODS AND APPLICATIONS IN FLUORESCENCE. 12, 1, 015007.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Home-Use Hyaluronic Acid Jet Injectors: Unreliable and Unsafe
Juch, R. N. S., Bik, L., Boeijink, N., de Vos, J., Dobbe, I., Bloemen, P. R., van Doorn, M. B. A., Velthuis, P. J., Aalders, M. C. G. & Wolkerstorfer, A., 1 Jan 2024, In: Dermatologic surgery. 50, 1, p. 62-68 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Specific fluorescent signatures for body fluid identification using fluorescence spectroscopy
Achetib, N., Falkena, K., Swayambhu, M., Aalders, M. C. G. & van Dam, A., 1 Dec 2023, In: Scientific reports. 13, 1, 3195.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Temperature-specific spectral shift of luminescing thermally altered human remains
Schariatmadary, P., Aalders, M. C. G., Oostra, R.-J. & Krap, T., Jul 2023, In: International journal of legal medicine. 137, 4, p. 1277-1286 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Towards Onsite Age Estimation of Semen Stains Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy
Achetib, N., Leemberg, C. C., Geurts, M. M. P., Bloemen, P. R., van den Elzen, R. M., Aalders, M. C. G. & van Dam, A., 1 Jul 2023, In: SENSORS. 23, 13, 6148.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Comparison of preprocessing techniques to reduce nontissue-related variations in hyperspectral reflectance imaging
Witteveen, M., Sterenborg, H. J. C. M., van Leeuwen, T. G., Aalders, M. C. G., Ruers, T. J. M. & Post, A. L., 1 Oct 2022, In: Journal of biomedical optics. 27, 10Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Next-generation time of death estimation: combining surrogate model-based parameter optimization and numerical thermodynamics
Wilk, L. S., Edelman, G. J. & Aalders, M. C. G., 27 Jul 2022, In: Royal Society open science. 9, 7, 220162.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Mechanical or thermal damage: differentiating between underlying mechanisms as a cause of bone fractures
Divya, S., Krap, T., Duijst, W., Aalders, M. C. G. & Oostra, R.-J., Jul 2022, In: International journal of legal medicine. 136, 4, p. 1133-1148 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Separation of overlapping fingerprints by principal component analysis and multivariate curve resolution–alternating least squares analysis of hyperspectral imaging data
Akiba, N., Nakamura, A., Sota, T., Hibino, K., Kakuda, H. & Aalders, M. C. G., May 2022, In: Journal of Forensic Sciences. 67, 3, p. 1208-1214 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/Letter to the editor › Academic
Miniaturized time-resolved fluorescence spectrometer system
Gasser, A., Shcheglov, A., Lapauw, T., van den Dries, T., Ingelberts, H., Hoving, W., Aalders, M. & Kuijk, M., 2022, Photonic Instrumentation Engineering IX. SPIE, Vol. 12008. 120080B. (Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering; vol. 12008).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review
Individualised and non-contact post-mortem interval determination of human bodies using visible and thermal 3D imaging
Wilk, L. S., Edelman, G. J., Roos, M., Clerkx, M., Dijkman, I., Melgar, J. V., Oostra, R.-J. & Aalders, M. C. G., 1 Dec 2021, In: Nature communications. 12, 1, 5997.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review