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0Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences (2014) xxx, xxx-xxx
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Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences
journal homepage: www.ejfs.org
Egyptian Journal of Forensic sciences
Heel-Ball index: An analysis of foot print dimensions for determination of sex
Tanuj Kanchan a'*, Kewal Krishan b, Disha Prusty c, Meghna Machado c
a Department of Forensic Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore (A Constituent College of Manipal University), India b Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
c Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore (A Constituent College of Manipal University), India Received 7 December 2013; revised 14 January 2014; accepted 11 February 2014
KEYWORDS
Forensic anthropology; Identification; Sex determination; Footprints; Heel-Ball index
Abstract Determination of sex from the footprints recovered at crime scenes can help the investigation by narrowing down the pool of possible suspects. The present research studies the dimensions of the heel and the ball in footprints, and derives the Heel-Ball (HB) index from these foot dimensions with the aim to find out if the foot dimensions and the HB index exhibit sexual dimorphism. The study was carried out on 100 individuals (50 males, 50 females) of Indian origin. Footprints were obtained from both feet of the study participants using standard techniques. Thus, a total of 200 footprints were obtained. The breadth of the footprint at ball (BBAL) and breadth of footprint at heel (BHEL) were measured on the footprints. The HB index was derived as (BHEL , BBAL) x 100. The footprint measurements at the ball and heel were significantly larger in males on both the sides. Likewise, the derived HB index was larger in males in both feet, but the sex differences were not statistically significant. The study concludes that though footprint dimensions can be used in the determination of sex, the HB index may not be utilized in sex determination from footprints.
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1. Introduction
Corresponding author. Address: Department of Forensic Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore 575001 (A Constituent College of Manipal University), India. Fax: +91 824 2428183; Mobile: + 91 9448252394.
E-mail addresses: tanujkanchan@yahoo.co.in, tanuj.kanchan@ manipal.edu (T. Kanchan).
Peer review under responsibility of Forensic Medicine Authority.
Sex, age, stature, and ancestry are the primary characteristics determined to establish the biological profile of an individual. Similarly, various prints such as fingerprints, footprints, palm-prints, lip prints, and ear prints etc. are used in forensic identification mostly by comparative analysis. While fingerprints are the most frequently studied prints for comparative analysis in forensic identification, the footprints are mostly studied for estimating the primary characteristics in forensic examinations.
Footprints are usually recovered at the crime scenes and the evaluation of footprints can provide valuable information about the crime and the criminal. Individualistic characteristics
2090-536X © 2014 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Forensic Medicine Authority. http://dx.doi.Org/10.1016/j.ejfs.2014.02.002
T. Kanchan et al.
of the footprint can help the investigators in this regard.1-3 Footprints and its parts are largely studied for the determination of stature4-9, while a few studies have studied its utility in sex determination.10'11 Footprints have also been studied for the determination of sex from footprint ridge density.12 Determination of sex from the morphometry of the footprints obtained at the crime scenes can help the investigation by narrowing down the pool of possible suspects. Literature on the determination of sex from the footprints is limited.10'11 Krishan et al.13 in a recent study, proposed the Heel-Ball (HB) index from the foot measurements, and studied its utility in sex determination. HB index derived on foot measurements however, may not apply on footprint measurements.
The present research is conducted to study the dimensions of the heel and the ball in footprints, and derive the heel ball (HB) index from these foot dimensions with an aim to find out if the footprint dimensions and the HB index exhibit sexual dimorphism in Indian population. The sexing ability of the HB index from footprints is not explored as yet. The present study is thus, a preliminary investigation on HB index from footprints.
2. Material and methods
The present research was carried out on 100 individuals (50 males, 50 females) of Indian origin. Healthy individuals without any deformity of the foot were included in the study. Determining the ethnicity of the footprint may not be possible and hence, study sample in the present study comprised of a mixed population. Footprints were obtained from both the feet of the study participants using standard techniques. Thus, a total of 200 footprints were obtained. The breadth of footprint at ball (BBAL) and breadth of footprint at heel (BHEL) were measured on the footprints. Foot breadth at the ball (BBAL) was measured as the widest part of the foot at the ball while the foot breadth at heel (BHEL) was measured as the widest part of the heel (Fig. 1).
The data obtained were computed and analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 11.0 computer software. The HB Index of footprint was derived as (BHEL, BBAL) x 100. The significance of sex differences among male and female footprints was tested using student's t-test. A paired t-test was done to compare the footprint dimensions on the right and left side. 'p' value of less than 0.05 was considered as significant.
3. Results
The measurements at the ball region of the footprints were observed to be larger than the heel region. Both of the footprint breadth measurements were significantly larger in males than females (p < 0.001). Descriptive statistics for the breadth of footprints at the ball and heel are shown in Table 1.
The HB index was 54.5 and 53.9 on the right and left sides respectively in males whereas in females, HB index was 53.4 on the right and 53.1 on the left side. Although the HB index was observed to be higher in males, the sex differences were not found to be statistically significant (Table 2).
Bilateral differences in footprint breadth are observed only for the ball region in females (t = 2.845, p = 0.006). Bilateral differences were not observed for other measurements and HB
Figure. 1 Footprint showing the landmarks and measurements.
index among males and females. Side (right-left) differences in foot dimensions (cm) and HB index among males and females are shown in Table 3.
4. Discussion
Importance of sex determination in the identification of human remains (dismembered or putrefied) and various prints in crime/death scene investigations is well established. Despite being an important parameter contributing to the biological profile of a person, studies on sex estimation from footprints are scanty in the literature.10-12 Stature and build of humans are well correlated with the body measurements that are frequently utilized in metric studies on sex determination. Stature and build are essential components of personal identification in forensic casework14 and hence, most of the studies have utilized morphometric measurements of different body parts in the determination of stature. Researchers in the past have conducted studies on the foot with regard to their utility in forensic identification15 by estimating stature16-24 and sex from foot
Analysis of foot print dimensions in sex determinationanalysis of foot print dimensions for determination of sex 3
Table 1 Descriptive statistics of foot dimensions (cm) in males and females.
Male (n = 50) Female (n = 50) t-Value
Range Mean S.D. Range Mean S.D.
RBBAL 7.8-10.8 9.25 0.55 7.3-9.4 8.39 0.53 7.905*
LBBAL 7.9-10.9 9.32 0.59 7.4-9.8 8.51 0.48 7.540*
RBHEL 4.2-5.8 5.03 0.34 3.6-5.3 4.45 0.36 7.930*
LBHEL 4.0-6.0 5.02 0.36 3.6-5.3 4.51 0.36 6.966*
S.D. - standard deviation, RBBAL - Right footprint breadth at ball, LBBAL - Left footprint breadth at ball, RBHEL - Right footprint breadth at heel, LBHEL - Left footprint breadth at heel. * p-value < 0.001.
Table 2 Descriptive statistics for stature (cm) and derived indices in males and females.
Male (n = 50) Female (n = 50) t-Value
Range Mean S.D. Range Mean S.D.
RHB index 46.6-62.9 54.5 3.81 45.2-59.2 53.4 3.8 1.521
LHB index 45.0-61.9 53.9 3.32 44.9-60.8 53.1 3.7 1.118
S.D. - standard deviation, RHB - Right heel ball Index, LHB - Left heel ball Index, *p-Value < 0.001.
Table 3 Side (right-left) differences in foot dimensions (cm) and HB index among males and females.
Right-left Male (n = 50) Female (n = 50)
t-Value p-Value t-Value p-Value
BBAL -1.697 0.096 -2.845 0.006*
BHEL 0.460 0.647 -1.147 0.257
HB Index 1.634 0.109 0.583 0.563
BBAL - Footprint breadth at ball, BHEL - Footprint breadth at heel, HB index - Heel Ball index. * p-Value < 0.01.
dimensions.25-28 Hand and foot dimensions have also been correlated for personal identification in mass disasters.29 Like the direct measurements on foot, footprint measurements can also give vital information regarding the identity of an individual. Besides, the direct implications of foot and footprint measurements in sex determination, the information is pertinent for most of the regression models derived for stature estimation from the foot and footprints are sex-specific. Hence, an accurate determination of sex from foot and footprint dimensions has a direct as well as an indirect effect in the process on identification.
Analysis of footprints is important in countries where people walk barefoot owing to socio-economic, religious and climatic reasons. The foot bears the weight of the body and walking produces strain on the pressure areas of the foot i.e. the heel and the ball. Analysis of these pressure areas is important because these areas are likely to be appreciated even in the partial footprints. These dimensions may show bilateral asymmetry and the same should be analyzed in studies. In the present investigation, right-left differences in the footprint breadth at Ball (BBAL) and footprint breadth at Heel (BHEL) were not found to be statistically significant except for the BBAL in females which was found to be larger on the left side. In an earlier study from India on foot dimensions, bilateral
asymmetry in BBAL and BHEL dimensions has been observed.13 Bilateral asymmetry is a complex phenomenon and variations have been observed in different studies. Bilateral asymmetry and its effect on stature determination have also been studied by Krishan et al.30 The exact cause for asymmetry on a particular side of females in our study however, cannot be explained and is a matter of further investigation.
Earlier studies on direct measurements of foot by Sen et al.27 and Krishan et al.28 have shown that the sex can be determined from the foot dimensions with reasonable accuracy. The study by Krishan et al.28 indicated that foot breadth had a better accuracy in sex determination than foot length. In the present study, direct measurements of the breadth dimensions of footprint (BBAL and BHEL) are observed to be significantly larger in males than females. These findings can be utilized in sexing of a footprint. Earlier studies on foot and footprint dimensions have shown differences in measurements between different populations owing to the population variations. However, in all these studies the male dimensions were observed to be significantly larger than females.10,11,13,25,28
Although the foot dimensions exhibit sexual dimorphism, they are likely to be influenced by the stature and build of an individual. Researchers have thus, attempted to derive indices that are not/least influenced by the stature and build on an individual. In this regard, Moudgil et al.26 and Krishan et al.28 derived foot index as a possible parameter to determine sex in forensic examinations. The foot index however, did not provide reliable results in the determination of sex.28 Krishan et al.13 later derived the HB index and observed that while the sex differences in foot measurements are dependent on the body build of an individual, the HB index was independent of these variables. The mean HB index on the footprints is found to be larger in males in the present study. The sex differences however, were not statistically significant and hence, HB index is not shown to be a good indicator of sex from footprints. In the only other study on HB index13, the HB index from the foot dimensions was found to be significantly larger in females than males.
4 T. Kanchan et al.
Table 4 Comparative analyses of the HB-index derived on footprints measurements.13 in the present study with those derived directly on the foot
Footprint measurements (Present Study) Foot measurements (Krishan et al.13)
Male (n = 50) Female (n = 50) Male (n = 154) Female (n = 149)
Mean S.D. Mean S.D. Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
RHB index 54.5 3.81 LHB index 53.9 3.32 53.4 3.8 53.1 3.7 64.3 63.1 3.7 3.3 65.5 63.7 3.0 3.3
S.D. - standard deviation, RHB - Right heel ball, LHB - Left heel ball.
Statistically significant differences have been shown to occur between the foot and footprint dimensions31'32 which implies that the HB index derived on the foot measurements cannot be applied on the footprint measurements. Table 4 shows a comparison of HB index derived on the footprint measurements in the present study with the HB index derived on the foot measurements.13 The comparison confirms that differences exist between the indices derived on the footprint measurements and foot measurements. The HB index on foot measurements are higher than those derived on footprint measurements. This variation in foot and footprint dimensions may be attributed to factors such as the built' weight and gait of the individual. These variations may also be attributed to the population differences. Among all, the weight of the body is most likely to affect the footprint dimensions. The significance of the HB Index in sex determination was observed to be limited owing to the significant overlapping of the male and female values.13 This difference in observations between the two studies may be attributed to the differences in populations and the study material.
5. Conclusion
The footprint measurements at the ball and heel were significantly larger in males on both the sides. Likewise, the derived HB Index was larger in males in both feet, but the sex differences were not statistically significant. The study concludes that though footprint dimensions can be used in the determination of sex, the HB index may not be utilized in sex determination from footprints. The findings of the present research may be applicable not only to complete footprints but also partial footprints with the presence of these pressure areas.
Funding
Conflict of interest
None to declare. Ethical approval
Necessary ethical approval was obtained from the institute ethics committee to obtain the footprints for a study.
Acknowledgement
We wish to acknowledge the study participants who voluntarily took part in the study.
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