The ANSI/NIST-ITL Standard:

Forensic Data Interchange
Existing Capabilities

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011
Latent Friction Ridge Prints

Extended Feature Set 

Markups 

Cores

Deltas

Distinctive Characteristics

Minutiae

Dots

Incipient Ridges

Creases & Linear Distortions

Ridge Edge Features

Pores & Ridge edge fields

-- Automated Matching

-- Forensic Analysis & 

Comparison
Body Images

Face

Prior -- Ante-mortem:

* Passport, driver license, 

family photos, etc.

* Try to get frontal and 

fairly recent

Post-mortem or for living 

amnesiacs:

* All angles

•Mark eye locations using 2D 

markups

-- Automated Matching

-- Forensic Analysis & 

Comparison

Other Parts, Scars, Tattoos, Injuries

Prior -- Ante-mortem:

* As available

* Distinctive features (e.g. club foot, extra finger, broken 

nose, etc.) 

Post-mortem or for living amnesiacs:

* With ruler

-- Forensic Analysis & Comparison
Image Markups

 Forensics:

2D and 3D anthropomorphic facial image markup fields
DNA

Rapid DNA and 

Laboratory 

Processing

Pedigree tree

 Claimed and Validated 

relationships

 Data on victim and 

relatives in one 

transaction

 X-STR, Y-STR, 

Mitochondrial 
What more do we need to do?

Dental Record Type-12 Supplement to

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

WG formed; 

Draft 

Circulating

Vote in 2013

Pattern Injury Supplement to Type-10

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

WG formed; 

Draft 

Circulating

Vote in 2013

Perioral /Cheiloscopic 

Imagery

Supplement to Type-10

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

WG formed; 

Draft 

Circulating

Vote in 2013

New Image Types Supplement to Type-10

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011

WG formed; 

Draft 

Circulating

Vote in 2013

Palatine Descriptors Modification to ADA

Specification 1058

WG formed; 

Draft 

Circulating

Vote in late 

2013 ?

Voice Record Type 11Supplement to

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

WG formed; 

Draft 

Circulating

Vote in 2013

Mobile Biometrics Unknown format Need to form 

WG

Unknown 

timetable

Object Oriented 

(Ballistics) Unknown format

Gather data; 

Define 

protocols

Unknown 

timeframe

DVI Guidelines Best Practice Recommendation Work with 

SWG-DVI

Unknown 

timeframe

General Updates and 

Revisions

Amendment to ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-

2011

Receiving 

input now Vote in 2013

Combined in 

one Supplement
Dental Forensics?

Identify deceased individuals when facial features and / 

or fingerprints are not available or DNA cannot be 

matched

Decomposition of soft tissue

Extreme trauma

Co-mingling of samples in a mass disaster

Of the victims identified in Phuket, nearly 75% were 

traced through dental records, about 15% through 

fingerprints and 10% through a combination of the 

two. Just a fraction was identified through DNA.

 Above statistics from: Triodent, June 2011, Dentistry still plays most 

vital role in victim identification
Dental Working Group

 Dental Forensics

Working with the American 

Dental Association to base Type12 record upon their Spec 1058

Meetings held in Argentina, 

Washington, D.C., New York 

(with SWG-DVI), Lyon (with 

INTERPOL), Atlanta (with 

AAFS), and San Francisco (with 

ADA)

FBI has done the update to the 

ANSI/NIST-ITL XML schema 

for the current draft

Will be presented as a supplement 

to ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 for 

voting
Dental Forensics

Draft available at 

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/ansi_standard_dental_fo

rensics.cfm

Based on ADA Specification 1058

 Familial Data Set 

 Dental History Data Set

 Tooth Data Set

 Mouth Data Set

 Visual Image Data Set

 Radiograph Image Data Set

Includes DICOM data & images (Electronic Health Record)
Key Challenges : Dental Forensics

Teeth numbering not the same in US and other nations

Decision: Use ISO standard for transmission

Dental Forensic Systems all use different data 

definitions and levels of detail 

 Decision: 

 * Use the ADA Spec 1058 as a ‘translator’

 * State the level of aggregation for each system 

(i.e. NamUS, WinID, NCIC, UDIM, Plass & FastID)

 * Include original encoding with transmission to 

help resolves ambiguities
Pattern Injury

New Fields added to Type-10

Field 10.046: Victim / VIC 

 current subject status 

living

deceased

unknown

 body status 

Class 1 Natural Tissue (Whole or Fragment)

Class 2 Decomposed (Whole or Fragment)

Class 3 Skeletal (Whole or Fragment) 

 Field 10.047: Data collection organization / DCO

 
Pattern Injury

Field 10.048: Pattern injury description

Image location (using NCIC codes to define body parts)

 Type of injury (Avulsion, laceration, etc.)

 Color of injury

 Surface contour

 Shape and size (measured using 2D ABFO ruler)

 Tissue characteristics

 Underlying structure

 Possible cause (human, animal, object, etc.)
Perioral / Cheiloscopic

Recommend use of Field 10.029: 2D 

facial feature points / FFP to indicate 

features of the lip print when sending 

an image of the lips of the possible 

suspect.

Add new code to Table 58 (Type-10 

image types) as Perioral. 

Modify Field 10.040 NCIC SMT code 

to use the NCIC codes to specify 

location of the lip print on the 

victim’s body.

Include information about common 

cheiloscopic classifications
New Image Types

Modify Field 10.012 Color space / CSP to include more 

possibilities than currently (grayscale, color and 

undefined)

Sonogram

Radiograph (X-ray), including CT scans

and cone-beams

 Magnetic resonance image (MRI)

 

 
Palatine Descriptors

Problem: ADA Mouth Data Set does not 

include descriptors for dental arch, 

rugae ramification or shape.

Solution:

 Initiate a revision to ADA 

specification 1058 instead of adding 

descriptors to ANSI/NIST-ITL in the 

Supplement.

Impact: 

 Descriptors will not be included 

initially when Dental Supplement is 

adopted. Expected to take more than a 

year.
 Forensic Voice

For investigatory and forensic uses 

 not intended for applications like access control

Includes audio recordings, as well as related information

diarization (when speech occurs during the recording)

transcription (what is said)

redaction annotation (‘bleeping’ of portions –

 sometimes required by legal authorities)

 snipping annotation (cutting out portions of a longer recording)

audio characteristics (recording device, CODECs, etc.)

geographic location of speakers and recording device(s)

 speaker characteristics (impairment, language, etc.)

Example: Compare a recording of a ransom call in a kidnapping case

against known voice samples of suspects
Mobile Biometrics

Mobile ID Best Practice Recommendation (BPR)

* issued in 2009 

 * defined subject acquisition profiles

 * defined military and law enforcement profiles

 * requires use of ANSI/NIST-ITL standard

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

 * incorporates key points of the BPR

Technological advancements and modified operational 

needs suggest that a new document is needed

Key point: What type? 
ANSI/NIST-ITL LITE



Object Oriented Data

 Bullets and Cartridges

Issue: Advances in imaging analysis are making new approaches to 

identification of weapons or classes of weapons more accurate (i.e. 3D 

topographic data)

Need: Databases for matcher system development and initial testing as well 

as for sequestered testing (much like is usually done at NIST)

Problem: How to receive the data (transmission protocols) and how to make 

it accessible 
Disaster Victim Identification Procedures using 

ANSI/NIST-ITL for data transmission

Issue:

 Data to be received from around the world

Fingerprints, Facial images, Dental records, DNA samples

 Data to be collected together relating to a subject and updated as needed (i.e. 

pedigree trees and established relationships) 

 Medical examiners & disaster recovery teams have not worked with police 

departments to transmit data in ANSI/NIST-ITL format

Solution:

 Develop a Best Practice Recommendations document
NEW PROPOSAL 

 2013/2014: Prepare interfaces based upon standard

• 2014: Demonstration at ADA meeting of a simulated 

disaster with to show receiving information from New 

York, overseas, INTERPOL to the conference and 

entering it into NCIC, NamUs, WinID and checking 

results 

• focus on dental data exchange

• 2015: Data-exchange simulation of a disaster, to 

commemorate the 10th anniversary of Katrina

• include capabilities for DNA (including Rapid 

DNA), fingerprints, as well as dental
 Monday January 28

 09:00 – 10:00 Welcome and overview of the ANSI/NISTITL 

 current status and the standards development process

 10:00 – 10:30 NIEM and the XML Biometrics Domain

 10:30 – 11:00 List-driven Programming

 11:00 – 12:00 Ballistics Discussion

 13:00 – 17:00 Forensic Voice Supplement Discussion

 Tuesday January 29

 09:00 – 12:00 Mobile ID Discussion 

 13:00 – 17:00 Mobile ID Discussion

 Wednesday January 30

 09:00 – 12:00 Dental Forensics Supplement Discussion

 13:00 – 15:00 Disaster Victim Identification Best Practices

 15:00 - 17:00 Open Forum

WORKSHOP ON PROPOSED CHANGES TO

ANSI/NIST-ITL STANDARD at NIST
 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

HTTP://biometrics.NIST.Gov

& click for the standard's page

Or 

Brad.Wing@NIST.GOV