Bruise Detection System

As a forensic nurse and former death investigator for the State of Maryland’s medical examiner’s office, George Mason researcher Katherine Scafide has long served people who fell victim to violence.

Since 2017, Scafide has been experimenting with “seeing” bruises using alternate light sources, such as UV light, which are already widely used in forensics to find evidence like blood, hair, or fibers. With grant support from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), she conducted a study that discovered using alternate light was five times better at detecting bruises on victims across a variety of skin tones than using white light.

Now she is working with George Mason colleagues Janusz Wojtusiak and David Lattanzi on a bruise detection system that can be used across all skin tones and leverages artificial intelligence (AI), imaging and light technologies, forensic reports, and clinical expertise to increase data collection and access to care for trauma victims. The tool could become an app on a smartphone that clinicians can use to assess the age of bruises.

One of the goals of the project is to build a data repository that combines images of bruises and other injuries with measurements, clinical and demographic information about the victim, and information inferred by AI.

In 2022, the DOJ gave the team another $988,559 grant to conduct a three-year study pairing forensic bruise analysis with machine learning. Then in 2023, George Mason received an anonymous $4.85 million gift to further advance the groundbreaking research.

A multidisciplinary team of undergraduate students also joined the project through a George Mason Summer Impact Grant. The group from three disciplines—nursing, informatics, and engineering—worked on developing a process to systematically search, analyze, and interpret a large number of available digital bruise images.

"A vital piece to success is ensuring that any AI tool has access to in-depth data from all skin tones and skin characteristics alongside human expert analysis,” says Lattanzi, who teaches in the College of Engineering and Computing. 

One in three women worldwide experiences physical trauma at the hands of an intimate partner or stranger. When injuries are accurately documented, survivors are more likely to participate in the criminal justice process, according to recent studies.

"By improving documentation of physical trauma, we hope to address disparities in clinical care, which can lead to improved health care for all, as well as legal recourse for all survivors of violence," says Scafide, who teaches in the College of Public Health.

More information on the study can be found at bruise.gmu.edu.