Differentiation of vaginal cells from epidermal cells using morphological and autofluorescence properties; implications for sexual assault casework involving digital penetration

This work explores morphological and autofluorescence differences between vaginal and epidermal cells detectable through Imaging Flow Cytometry (IFC), a non-destructive, high-throughput technique. These differences were used to build a predictive framework for classifying unknown cells as originating from vaginal or epidermal tissue, which was tested on hand swabbings with and without digital penetration. Many more cells possessing a vaginal signature (median posterior probability ≥.90) were detected in digital penetration samples than control hand swabbings.
Source: Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series - Category: Forensic Medicine Authors: Source Type: research