The practical application of reflectance spectrophotometry for the demonstration of haemoglobin and its degradation in bruises
Aims: To develop a non-invasive method to demonstrate the presence of haemoglobin and its degradation products in bruises in live human subjects for the purposes of objectively assisting in the determination of the age of a bruise. Methods: The cuvette holder unit of a Cary 100 Bio UV-Visible Spectr...
Saved in:
Published in | Journal of clinical pathology Vol. 57; no. 4; pp. 355 - 359 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Association of Clinical Pathologists
01.04.2004
BMJ BMJ Publishing Group LTD Copyright 2004 Journal of Clinical Pathology |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Aims: To develop a non-invasive method to demonstrate the presence of haemoglobin and its degradation products in bruises in live human subjects for the purposes of objectively assisting in the determination of the age of a bruise. Methods: The cuvette holder unit of a Cary 100 Bio UV-Visible Spectrophotometer was replaced with the manufacture’s fibre optic cable and optical reflectance probe. The probe was placed on the skin surface. The absorption spectrum from 780 to 380 nm was collected and transformed into the first derivative. Calculation of the first derivative permits absorption attributed to haemoglobin degradation (primarily to bilirubin, but also haemosiderin) to be separated from absorption by haemoglobin. First derivative and colorimetry values, expressed as CIEL*a*b data, were derived from scans of 50 bruises. Results: The fibre optic cable and probe allowed the spectrophotometer to collect reproducible absorption spectra of bruises in the skin of living subjects. A bruise at three days has greater negative first derivative values at 480 and 490 nm than does a fresh bruise, indicating the local degradation of haemoglobin. Correlation between the first derivative and the CIEL*a*b “b” values in a series of bruises indicates that the yellow colour in a bruise is proportional to the amount of local haemoglobin breakdown. Conclusion: The ability to demonstrate the presence of haemoglobin and measure its degradation in bruises in living human subjects by a non-invasive method has not been described previously, and may be of use in the objective ageing of bruises for forensic purposes. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ark:/67375/NVC-HJ0K6J0J-Z local:0570355 PMID:15047735 href:jclinpath-57-355.pdf Correspondence to: Dr N Langlois Westmead Department of Forensic Medicine, Mortuary, Level 1 ICP MR, Westmead Hospital, PO Box 533, Wentworthville, NSW 2145, Australia; neill@icpmr.wsahs.nsw.gov.au istex:214F1E54FE3DF53798C12FFD6AD59BE4A410D5D9 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 This work was presented at the Australian Coroner’s Conference 2002, Manly, Australia. Correspondence to: Dr N Langlois Westmead Department of Forensic Medicine, Mortuary, Level 1 ICP MR, Westmead Hospital, PO Box 533, Wentworthville, NSW 2145, Australia; neill@icpmr.wsahs.nsw.gov.au |
ISSN: | 0021-9746 1472-4146 |
DOI: | 10.1136/jcp.2003.011445 |