Keywords:
Trauma, Forensics, Radiation therapy / Oncology, Medico-legal issues, Computer Applications-Virtual imaging, Image manipulation / Reconstruction, CT, Forensic / Necropsy studies, Emergency
Authors:
M. Matteoli1, A. Cremona2, C. Scaringi1, A. E. Macioce2, V. David3; 1Roma/IT, 2Rome/IT, 3Roma (RM)/IT
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2013/C-0023
Conclusion
The decision to use tools of radiotherapy planning CT image processing in order to obtain three-dimensional images,
came from a study by Oliver et al in 1995 [1],
where the radiation oncology software was used to create a three-dimensional reconstruction of the path of a bullet in the skull.
This study was repeated at other times,
as an implement to forensic diagnostics.
In particular,
Marchetti et al [2] demonstrated the usefulness of tomographic reconstructions using the software "Plato" to identify the angle of shot,
starting from vector fragments of a bullet in the skull.
The reconstruction and mathematical estimates allowed us to identify the precise location of the attacker and they were used as evidence by a medical office.
More recently studies have been conducted on the corpses of a medical office,
to define the possible use of computed tomography as an aid to analysis necropsy [3],[4].
These studies confirm the diagnostic accuracy of this procedure,
because the autopsy in many cases is affected by post-mortal alterations,
and by any surgical intervention,
so MJ et al,
in several studies in this field coined the term "Virtuopsy"[5] taking into account as methods of investigation both computed tomography and magnetic resonance.
A limitation to the applicability of this method post-death is that the MDCT is typically done with the victim in the supine position.
The traces of the projectile are related to the position of the victim at the time of the attack,
and these lesions may be difficult to appreciate in supine position.
In particular,
the lungs,
mediastinum and heart can be moved significantly during or after the death due to hemorrhage or pneumothorax.
To the best of our knowledge,
the use of post-processing software to study the terminal ballistic of bullet in vivo has never been described in literature.
The use of these softwares,
and her application could be a valuable source of scientific data,
not only for a purely clinical care,
but also from a forensic point of view,
as evidence to be provided in court,
and for developing additional ballistic studies.