the Exact time of death of the person it is possible to define a new method – by measuring skin temperature error of which is only 38 minutes.
As a rule, in laboratory conditions this can be explained by the decomposition of the corpse, given the condition he was in. Until the body is cooled to ambient temperature, the use of nomograms Henssge, they need the thermometer, introduced rectally. The method is based on the fact that at constant temperature the corpse cools at a certain rate. The accuracy of these measurements varies from three to seven hours.
according to Science Advances, researchers from the Netherlands proposed a more accurate method of determining death, which is based on the thermodynamic calculations.
Maurice Alders and his colleagues from the Institute of forensic medicine contact thermometers determined skin temperature of forehead, chest, belly and thighs of four bodies of men and women from 60 to 94 years who were in the morgue (during the life of the deceased agreed to donate their bodies to science after death). The measurements were performed from five to 50 hours after the death of the donor.
Scientists have taken on the shape of the head for the ellipsoid, limb – over cones, neck and trunk – for the cylinders, modelling the cooling time for each object, given the thermal conductivity of fat, nairboi fabrics and clothes on the bodies. The ratio of their volumes calculated according to the standard proportions of the human body.
the Computed values of temperature were compared with observed in practice. The deviation from the actual time of death of the donors ranged from 38 minutes to three hours, which is much more accurate than when using the nomograms Henssge.
Convenience method that can measure the temperature of the skin can be on the scene, and rectal thermometers are not needed, and minus calculations, more complex, and the accuracy of the model results has not yet been tested when a sudden change in ambient temperature.
