Panjab University Professor Finds Method to Determine Age of Bloodstains

Dr Vishal Sharma, a professor at the Institute of Forensic Science and Criminology, Panjab University, along with Kajal & Dr Raj Kumar has developed a rapid and non-destructive approach to identify human or non-human bloodstains.

He has also devised a model for the age estimation of such bloodstains. Dr Vishal & his team worked on this for nearly two years. This research is published in Science and Justice journal of Elsevier.

Will help in investigating crime

A proper investigation is important to unravel the truth. The study will help investigating agencies in solving crimes where blood samples are found, whether the bloodstains originated from animals or human beings, the modus operandi of the suspect & estimation of the approximate period of crime incidence.

The chemical profiling of bloodstains is essential to link suspects with the crime & this research will give an insight to such problems.

Various models developed

The study proposed a proof-of-concept methodology for the investigation of bloodstains by utilising infrared spectroscopy & statistical methods.

Various models such as curve estimation (CE), multiple linear regression (MLR) & partial least squares regressions (PLSR) were developed to determine the best prediction model for aged human bloodstains. 

Encouraging results & lowest error

Dr Sharma said that the results on dating of bloodstains are encouraging & also tested for unknown samples.

These models represent an error of ~3 ± 1 days and ~4 ± 1 days in actual & estimated date, respectively, which is the lowest ever reported so far.

Source: Tribune & Science Direct
Image Credits: Google Images