A team of forensic scientists have made a break-though discovery about the timeline of bruise development.
The study, published by the Research Council of Norway, aimed to discover an objective and precise method to ascertain the age of a bruise or contusion.
Until now, forensic scientists have made educated predictions about the age of a bruise based on its visible colours, however using this method roughly half of estimations were incorrect, an unacceptably high margin of error.
Using volunteers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) who were martial arts enthusiasts, the team used a lamp and a spectrometer to determine the levels of reflected light.
Studies were also carried out on older bypass operation patients and unconscious pigs under general anaesthesia.
"This allowed us to follow the development of a range of different contusions from the moment they were sustained," explained NTNU associate professor Lise Lyngsnes Randeberg.
From the data, the scientists created a more reliable model for bruise progression and aging.
Professor Randeberg will next study bruising in children, which develop differently to those seen in adults.
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