Wound Depth Measurement System in Forensic Cases using Image Processing and Machine Learning

Accurate evaluation of wound depth is crucial in forensic investigations, as it significantly affects case assessments and outcomes. This study introduces a method for classifying wound depth using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model and compares its performance with Decision Tree and Logistic Regression models. The classification was based on color features extracted from HSV and LAB color spaces. The da-taset consisted of 76 images categorized into three stages: stage 2 (36 images), stage 3 (12 images), and stage 4 (28 images). Model performance was evaluated using confusion matrices, precision, recall, and F1-score. The SVM model achieved an overall accuracy of 85%, demonstrating higher precision and re-call across all stages compared to the Decision Tree and Logistic Regression models, which achieved 50% and 70%, respectively. The results indicate that the SVM model performed particularly well in distinguish-ing stage 2 wounds, although differentiating between stages 3 and 4 remained challenging. Overall, the proposed system shows potential to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of forensic wound evaluation by providing a rapid and objective classification tool. However, as the system was tested on a limited dataset under controlled conditions, further research should expand the dataset, incorporate additional features, and explore other machine learning algorithms to improve robustness and applicability in real forensic contexts.