Gender identification from frontal sinus using multi-detector computed tomography

The determination of gender of unknown persons is of vital importance in forensic investigations. The present study aimed to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of frontal sinus (FS) dimensions measurement in gender identification. One hundred people (50 males and 50 females) with age range from 20 to 70 years were selected in this study. FS dimensions for both right and left sinuses (transverse, height & anteroposterior lengths) were measured from axial and coronal sections (4-mm slice thickness) using multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scanner. Statistically significant lower values for the maximum transverse length of both right and left FS in female group were detected in comparison to the male group ( p =0.002). In addition, the maximum height of right and left FS in females showed statistically highly significant lower values for in comparison to males ( p =0.001). Also, the maximum anteroposterior length of the frontal sinus for right and left sides in female group had statistically significant lower values ( p =0.001and 0.01 respectively) in comparison to the male group. Multiple regression equations revealed that among all FS measurements, the right FS anteroposterior length was the best discriminate variable between genders with overall accuracy 67.0% (70.0% for women and 64.0% for men). It can be concluded that FS dimensions measurement especially the right anteroposterior length are valuable in studying sexual dimorphism using MDCT image.