Researchers from the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, will introduce AI to improve forensic sciences for sex-related crimes.
The Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund for Public Interest (BTFP) says it has granted a fund for researchers from Mahidol University who aim to revolutionise forensic pathology with AI.
Almost 9,000 rape cases were reported during 2017-2021. Narit Hnoohom, a faculty professor and project leader, said the number of sex-related crimes increases every year while the number of medical workers and forensic scientists is getting smaller.
Police must gather forensic evidence to prove an offender’s guilt. The scarcity of workers in forensic pathology results in delays in completing lab tests. Mr Narit said the AI system can help pathologists detect sperm in samples from 28 sex-related cases per day to 160 cases per day, reducing the average processing time from 17 minutes per case to three minutes per case.
AI technology also can improve the precision of sperm detection up to 97.2%, Mr Narit added. The data fed into AI comes from forensic scientists and forensic pathologists. “The faculty will launch the AI trial version at Siriraj Hospital. In the future, we plan to install the system at the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Central Institute of Forensic Science to help them identify sex offenders,” he said.