Forensic Anthropology Skeletal Trauma Database

The Forensic Anthropology Skeletal Trauma (FAST) database is a novel resource, funded by the National Institute of Justice, which provides trauma analysis data for education, training, and case comparisons. Students, academics, and practitioners can gain an interdisciplinary perspective of skeletal trauma through an examination of outcomes from experimental research utilizing human specimens with known loading mechanisms. The largest obstacle for the field of forensic anthropology is exposure to trauma analysis. Few researchers get quality hands-on training with trauma cases and even fewer have experience with cases involving unequivocally known loading and injury mechanisms. Improvement in skeletal trauma analyses and interpretations is dependent on dissemination in a user-friendly format that allows for training and education and supports forensic professionals in practice. FAST features pre- and post-test imaging, data collected from advanced instrumentation during the impact event, and fracture analysis data. The Forensic Anthropology Skeletal Trauma Database provides a unique opportunity to explore a large sample of skeletal trauma on various regions of the human body and gain insight into objective trauma interpretation. The ability for students and professionals, at all stages in their career, to be exposed to skeletal trauma with known parameters has the potential to be transformative for the field. This freely available resource is an innovative solution to break down pre-existing barriers students and professionals have in accessing trauma specimens. Our goal is to continue to develop FAST through inclusion of past and future experimental skeletal trauma research.