Identification of Remains
It is a two-part process that utilizes a sophisticated computer program for matching physical characteristics. The families of the deceased provide as much information about them as possible: dental records, x-rays, photographs or descriptions of tattoos, clothing and jewelry; blood type information and objects that may contain the deceased's DNA, such as hair or a toothbrush. The information gathered, called antemortem, or "before death" information, is entered into a computer program called VIP (Victim Identification Profile), which is capable of assimilating 800 different item categories, including graphics, photographs and x-rays. As forensic scientists (pathologists, anthropologists, odontologists) examine the recovered remains, they enter their findings - called postmortem data—into VIP (Victim Identification Profile). Depending on the availability of data, the WIN-VIP system enables scientists to match the remains to their identity.
Read more about this topic: Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team
Famous quotes containing the word remains:
“What of the heart without her? Nay, poor heart,
Of thee what word remains ere speech be still?
A wayfarer by barren ways and chill,
Steep ways and weary, without her thou art,
Where the long cloud, the long wood’s counterpart,
Sheds doubled darkness up the labouring hill.”
—Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882)