DVI
Definition
Disaster Victim Identification. The multi-agency identification process used in mass-casualty events. Comparative radiographic methods, including frontal sinus, dental and implant comparison, form a core DVI identification pathway alongside DNA and fingerprint evidence.
- Full form
- Disaster Victim Identification
- Use case
- Mass-casualty event identification
- Core methods
- DNA, fingerprints, dental and radiographic comparison
- Radiographic role
- Frontal sinus and implant comparison
Common questions
Why does DVI use several identification methods together instead of relying on one?+
Mass-casualty remains are often fragmented, burned, or decomposed, so no single method is reliable across every case. Combining DNA, dental, fingerprint, and radiographic comparison lets examiners cross-check results and identify victims when one method's evidence is degraded or unavailable.
How does frontal sinus comparison contribute specifically within a DVI workflow?+
Frontal sinus patterns are individually distinctive and survive well in skeletal or cranial remains even when soft tissue and dental structures are destroyed, making radiographic comparison a useful pathway when ante-mortem chest or skull X-rays exist for a missing person.
Related terms
- ABFA
- American Board of Forensic Anthropology. The primary US credentialing body for forensic anthropologists. Accepts frontal sinus radiographic comparison as an established personal...
- Comparative Radiography
- The forensic discipline of placing an antemortem radiographic image alongside a postmortem image and comparing feature by feature to determine whether they...
- Exclusion
- The categorical conclusion that one or more examined features are clearly inconsistent in a way that cannot be explained by projection angle,...
- Frontal Sinus
- Bilateral air-filled cavities within the frontal bone, superior to the orbits, that pneumatise from the embryonic frontal recess of the nasal passages....
- Orthopantomogram (OPT)
- A panoramic dental radiograph that images all teeth and the surrounding jaw structures in a single curved-plane projection. Widely used in dental...
- Positive Identification
- The categorical conclusion in comparative radiography that all examined features are concordant, no feature is inconsistent, and the overall pattern of correspondence...
- SWGANTH
- Scientific Working Group for Forensic Anthropology. A US expert panel that produced guidance documents (2008-2013) on standards for forensic anthropological practice, now...
- UDI
- Unique Device Identifier. A code mandated by the FDA (US) and EU MDR on every medical device, encoding manufacturer, model, lot and...
- Vertebral Osteophyte
- A bony outgrowth from the margin of a vertebral body, typically caused by degenerative disc disease or spondylosis. The size, shape, position...