Introduction

Overview of Accessing the NMDID Database and Searching

Overview of Accessing the NMDID Database and Searching

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This webinar originally occurred on October 7th, 2020
Duration: 1 hour

Overview

The New Mexico Decedent Image Database (NMDID) is a new resource for research in any field that can draw on computed tomography scans of humans. The database contains de-identified scans of over 15,000 individuals; all were deceased at the time of scanning. Nearly all images are of complete individuals. The scans are supplemented by up to 69 in-depth metadata variables. These include basic demographic and descriptive information, such as sex, age at death, and cause and manner of death. Additional data may include occupation, hobbies, drinking, smoking, drug use, and many other lifestyle variables.

This first webinar provided a basic introduction to NMDID, including background on the team and a history of NMDID’s development. The rights and responsibilities of users were explained through an examination of the data use agreement. Website navigation was demonstrated.

The focus of this webinar was to show the kinds of data that are available and to demonstrate how to search the database, select cases, download metadata, and request and download scans.

Detailed Learning Objectives

  1. Attendees will learn about the history and development of NMDID.
  2. Attendees will know the basics of how to acquire data from NMDID.
  3. Attendees will learn how to most efficiently search the database, narrow their selection, review cases, and download metadata and scans.

Presenter

  • Heather J.H. Edgar, Ph.D., D-ABFA | Associate Professor of Anthropology and Forensic Anthropologist at the Office of the Medical Investigator, University of New Mexico
View Archived Webinar Here

Funding for this Forensic Technology Center of Excellence webinar has been provided by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this webinar are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Contact us at ForensicCOE@rti.org with any questions and subscribe to our newsletter for notifications.

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