An audit of the provision of orthogonal projections in forensic radiography to assist in the location of ballistic evidence by the Irish State Pathologist

Congress:

ECR 2012

Poster Number:

C-1662

Type:

Scientific Exhibit

Keywords:

Forensic / Necropsy studies, Conventional radiography, Medico-legal issues, Technical aspects, Forensics, Foreign bodies

Authors:

E. M. Dempsey¹, M. T. Cassidy¹, J. P. McNulty¹, A. R. Wilkinson²; ¹Dublin/IE, ²Dublin /IE

DOI:

10.1594/ecr2012/C-1662

DOI-Link:

https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/ecr2012/C-1662

Fig. 1: Percentage of cases where orthogonal projections were provided to the Irish...

Fig. 2: AP radiograph of Skull & Cervical Spine with Radiologist's Report

Fig. 3: Lateral radiograph of Cervical Spine with Radiologist's Report

Fig. 4: AP radiograph of Chest with Radiologist's Report

Purpose

Forensic imaging includes conventional radiography, fluoroscopy and computed tomography [C.T.] which utilise ionising radiation to produce an image, and non-ionising modalities such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging [M.R.I.]. Brogdon (1998a) noted that radiographs were submitted as forensic evidence in the courts of law within two months of Wilheim Roentgen’s discovery of x-rays in 1895, thus recognising the connection between radiology and forensic medicine which has developed the “forensic-pathological radiological approach” to the investigation of the deceased.More than a century after the first use of x-rays in...

Methods and Materials

Method: A total of 586 radiographic images in the possession of the Office of the State Pathologist were reviewed. 126 individual cases from 2000-2009 were identified. The 'Cause of Death' was established for each of these 126cases by accessing each of the case files. 77 cases cited 'homicide involving firearms' as the Cause of Death. The radiographs for each of these cases were then reviewed to determinewhether or not orthogonal projections were provided to the State Pathologist. The database of the Office of the Irish...

Results

The aim of this study was to audit the radiographic images in the possession of the Office of the State Pathologist for cases in which the Cause of Death was attributed to gunshot injuries. 77 cases ofgun-related deaths were included in this audit, which was the most common indication for forensic imaging to be performed. Therefore, the types of cases were limited so that the results of the audit would be statistically significant in relation to current practice. A review of 586 x-ray films in...

Conclusion

The diagnostic potential of radiography to the State Pathologist during the post-mortem examination of gun-shot victims is enhanced when orthogonal projections of the regions of interest are provided. As far back as 1982, Schmidt and Kallieris advocated taking x-rays of the skull in two planes. This facilitates the Pathologist in locating the bullets within the three-dimensional cavity of the human body, from the information provided by the two-dimensional radiographic images. In certain cases, retrieval of the ballistic evidence has been delayed by the Pathologist trying...

References

ANDENMATTEN, M. A., THALI, M. J., KNEUBUEHL, B. P., OESTERHELWEG, L., ROSS, S., SPENDLOVE, D. & BOLLIGER, S. A. (2008) Gunshot injuries detected by post-mortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT): A feasibility study.Legal Medicine,10,287-292. BROGDON, B. G. (1998a)Forensic Radiology, CRC Press. BROGDON, B. G. (1998b) The scope of forensic radiology.Clin Lab Med,18,203-40. CARVER, E. & CARVER, B. (2006)Medical Imaging: Techniques, Reflection and Evaluation, Churchill Livingstone. CASSIDY, M. T. (2010) Personal Communication.Dublin. COWAN, S. & HUNT, A. C. (2008)Mason's Forensic Medicine for Lawyers, Tottel publishing. DIMAIO, V....

Personal Information

Contact Information: Edel Dempsey Senior Radiographer, X-ray department, AMNCH, Tallaght, Dublin 24, Ireland. [email protected]