Journal of forensic and legal medicine最新文献

{"title":"In vitro β-hydroxybutyrate stability evaluation in femoral blood and vitreous humor for integration into forensic toxicology practices","authors":"Aurélien Bauduin ,&nbsp;Chadi Abbara ,&nbsp;Antoine Baudriller ,&nbsp;Laurent Leuger ,&nbsp;Séverine Ferec ,&nbsp;Stéphane Malbranque ,&nbsp;Nathalie Jousset ,&nbsp;Marie Briet ,&nbsp;Guillaume Drevin","doi":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102764","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102764","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thanatological biochemistry has gained prominence in determining causes of death, especially when suspected fatal pathologies do not exhibit clear postmortem macroscopic and/or microscopic features, such as in cases of ketoacidosis. Indeed, in these cases, the measurement of β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in femoral blood and/or vitreous humor is of particular importance. However, data on its in vitro stability remain scarce, especially in vitreous humor. In this context, the study reported here aims to assess the in vitro stability of BHB. BHB quantification was performed using a liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry method. To investigate BHB stability, two different postmortem matrices were considered: femoral blood and vitreous humor. These matrices were pooled, aliquoted and spiked with BHB at three different concentrations (50 mg/L, 100 mg/L, and 200 mg/L; n = 3). Initial BHB concentrations were established on day 1. Each sample was then divided into two aliquots for storage under two conditions: 20 °C and 4 °C. Analyses were performed on Day 3, 7, 14, and 28. The study revealed no significant degradation of BHB in femoral blood or vitreous humor over time (days 1–28), confirming the robustness and reliability of BHB measurement in these matrices as a postmortem biomarker of ketoacidosis under the tested temperature conditions (+4 °C or −20 °C). These results support a systematic integration of BHB measurement into the routine workflow of forensic toxicology laboratories<strong>.</strong></div></div>","PeriodicalId":16098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic and legal medicine","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102764"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142356793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Between blunt, sharp and hacking trauma: Observing the characteristics of pickaxe injuries","authors":"Alberto Amadasi ,&nbsp;Lorenzo Franceschetti ,&nbsp;Julia Babigian ,&nbsp;Antonia Locatelli ,&nbsp;Larissa Amadasi","doi":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102763","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102763","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pickaxe injuries have never been thoroughly investigated in forensic science. This case, involving the fatal wounding of a 28-year-old individual by pickaxe blows to the head, abdomen, and hand, highlights the unique injury patterns associated with such an instrument. The injuries observed in the frontal skull exhibited characteristics akin to typical chop wounds, while those on the parietal skull bore similarities to blunt force trauma. The pickaxe penetrated the hands and the abdomen, with the depth of penetration directly correlating to the force applied. Consequently, pickaxe injuries can be considered a hybrid of different injury mechanisms, a fact that should be carefully considered in forensic analysis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic and legal medicine","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102763"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142327220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond the distance between juridic and scientific decision-making process: An evidence-based prediction algorithm for professional liability assessment in healthcare-associated infections","authors":"Sara Sablone ,&nbsp;Andrea Nicola Cardinale ,&nbsp;Ettore Gorini ,&nbsp;Lucia Diella ,&nbsp;Alessandra Belati ,&nbsp;Linda Bussini ,&nbsp;Valeria Cento ,&nbsp;Michele Bartoletti ,&nbsp;Francesco Introna ,&nbsp;Davide Fiore Bavaro","doi":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102762","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102762","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Background&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;HAIs (Healthcare-Acquired-Infections) have been recently the subject of judgment n. 6386 pronounced on 3rd March 2023 by the Italian Supreme Court. This sentence provided three criteria to determine whether a health facility is responsible for the patient contracting a nosocomial infection, i.e. time criterion, topographical criterion and clinical criterion. Accordingly, the healthcare facility is obliged to prove the fulfillment of a series of preventive hygiene measures specifically detailed by the legislator. Herein, the positive predictive value of these criteria (“juridic criteria”) in the identification of professional liability for nosocomial infections was evaluated in comparison with clinical criteria reviewed by Infectious Disease specialists (“Infectious-Disease criteria”, i.e. presence of a Multidrug Resistant Organism (MDRO); development of surgical site infection; inadequate antibiotic therapy; inadequate disinfection).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Two retrospective cohorts were compared from the Portal of Telematic Services of the Ministry of Justice; 51 patients were extrapolated from Italian judgments concerning claims for Gram-negative nosocomial infections in the three-year period 2020–2022. On the other side, from the electronic database of University Hospital of Bari we extracted 349 patients affected by Gram-negative infections in the same timespan. Both “juridic” criteria and “Infectious-Disease” criteria were then applied to the full cohort after stratification for cohort of origin and after stratification for nosocomial or non-nosocomial infections. Predictive value of criteria was evaluated through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the curve (AUC).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Overall, the incidence of definite nosocomial infections (according to final judgement or clinical records discharge letter) was 84 % in juridic cohort and 46 % in “real-world” series.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Data suggested that the presence of all three juridic criteria [ROC AUC = 0.944 (95%CI = 0.924–0.963)] or the four clinical criteria [ROC AUC = 0.948 (95%CI = 0.928–0.969)] predicted well a case of nosocomial infection with professional liability.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Moreover, by summarizing both criteria in a single classification system, the generated ROC curve (was the one with the highest AUC [0.9488 (95%CI = 0.928–0.969)].&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Accordingly, further tests were performed, evaluating the predictive value of one juridic criterium plus at one of more Infectious-Disease criteria. Interestingly, the ROCs curves demonstrated that the presence of at least 1 juridic criteria plus at least 2 Infectious Disease criteria reached a predictive value comparable to 2 or 3 juridic criteria.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The results highlight the efficiency of new criteria laid down in the judgment of the Italian Supreme Court to attribute liability for nosocomial infection despite the dispute","PeriodicalId":16098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic and legal medicine","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102762"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142319664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transfer and persistence of microbiota markers from the human hand to the knife: A preliminary study","authors":"Sukriye Karadayı ,&nbsp;İlknur Yılmaz ,&nbsp;Tülin Özbek ,&nbsp;Beytullah Karadayı","doi":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102757","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102757","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>New scientific techniques and methods are always needed to link the perpetrators to the incident or the crime scene. Recent microbiota studies based on NGS (Next-generation sequencing) show that various biological samples from crime scenes have the potential to be used in forensic investigations. Especially when DNA traces belonging to more than one person are insufficient to fully determine the genetic profile, a secret sample, such as a microbiota sample created by the suspect's touch, can be used. In this preliminary study, a fictionalized experimental model was designed to investigate the transfer and persistence of the hand microbiome on the knife handle, which has a high potential to be used in criminal incidents, by metagenomic analysis methods. In addition, it was aimed to determine the transfer of specific bacterial species identified only to the person among the five participants onto the knife handle and their persistence over time. In the first stage of the research, samples were collected from the hands of 5 volunteer participants using the swap method, including their palms. Then, after each participant held a different knife, samples were collected from the knife handles via swabs from different angles of the knives at 4 and 24 h and analyzed by metagenomic methods. The findings of this preliminary study showed that the heatmap graphs generated after UniFrac distance analysis were not successful in establishing any similarity between the hand samples and the post-transfer knife handle samples. Nonetheless, it was observed that the transfer of bacterial species detected in the hand samples to knives differed according to the individuals and some bacterial species were transferred to the knife samples held by the participants. The number of bacterial species detected that are specific to each participant's hand sample was 302 in total, and it was determined that a total of 8.28 % of these bacterial species were transferred to the knife handle samples of the 4th hour and 6.95 % to the knife samples of the 24th hour. In the presented study, considering the transfer of some bacterial species in the hand microbiome, which are effective in the variation between individuals, onto the knife; It has been evaluated that some rare bacterial species can be important potential markers to associate the object with the perpetrator.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":16098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic and legal medicine","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102757"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142239479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of non-metric dental traits for ethnicity identification in a mixed population of Uttar Pradesh","authors":"Sharon John ,&nbsp;Priya Devi ,&nbsp;Prashasti Chundawat,&nbsp;Roshna Sankar,&nbsp;Shalini Gupta","doi":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102755","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102755","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Forensic odontology involves the identification of individuals through dental records, making it a crucial tool in legal investigations. Non-metric dental traits (NMDT), which are variations in dental morphology play a key role as these traits are inherited characteristics that can help establish biological relationships or ancestry<strong>.</strong> Thus, we aim to assess the frequency and variability of NMDT in the human dentition of four ethnically mixed populations in Uttar Pradesh. This study can aid in the future by maintaining records of ethnic groups and their variability, which can be crucial for disaster victim management and forensic odontology.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>The study was conducted on a total of 100 patients coming to the OPD of Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology and Microbiology of King George's Medical University from January 2022 to July 2023. Impressions of both arches were made for participants using irreversible hydrocolloid (alginate), and casts were examined under a stereomicroscope to assess 15 different morphological characteristics.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>NMDTs such as winging, shoveling, double-shoveling interruption groove, canine mesial ridge, hypocone, metacone, carabelli's trait, peg-shaped incisors, peg-shaped molar, premolar lingual cusp variation, deflecting wrinkle, protostylid, metaconulid, entoconulid was evaluated. The NMDTS were evaluated in four different ethnics Nordics, Mediterranean, Oriental Mediterranean, and Protoaustraloid amongst which various traits showed a statistically significant variation among the population of Uttar Pradesh.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The sample studied presented confirmed supernumerary traits like metacone, protostylid, carabellis trait, metaconulid, premolar lingual cusp variation, and deflecting wrinkle were seen highest in Nordic, Mediterranean, Oriental Mediterranean, and Protoaustraloid ethnicity have a significant association with the Uttar Pradesh population.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":16098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic and legal medicine","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102755"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142239481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An evaluation of potential challenges in forensic psychiatric assessment in Parkinson's disease","authors":"Uğur Takım,&nbsp;Tarık Sağlam","doi":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102758","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102758","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic and legal medicine","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102758"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142304959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Femicide in Ireland 2012–2023","authors":"Kate McGoldrick ,&nbsp;SallyAnne Collis ,&nbsp;Linda Mulligan","doi":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102754","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102754","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><p>Femicide represents the dramatic end-point on a spectrum of violence against women and is an increasingly prevalent medico-legal issue. Whilst there is no definition of femicide in the Irish legal system, femicide can be understood as the gender based killing of women or girls.^<u>1</u> The pervasiveness of gender-based violence against women is a growing cause for concern with 2018 estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealing that 1 in 3 women have experienced Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).² Femicide remains poorly defined and underreported worldwide due to enduring stigmatisation, shame and a lack of official statistics addressing national femicide rates.</p></div><div><h3>Aim</h3><p>The aim of this study was to explore Irish cases of femicide, quantify the prevalence of femicide in Ireland and identify any emerging trends over a 12-year-period.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>All homicides referred to the Office of the State Pathologist (OSP) from 2012 to 2023 were reviewed and a total of 97 cases of femicide were ?identified and included in this study.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Femicide rates increased from 1 in 5 (19 %) homicides referred to the OSP in 2012–2020 to 3 in 10 from 2021 to 2023 (29 %). Domestic femicides accounted for 74 % of cases, with 41 % of women murdered in the home they shared with their killer. 56 % of women were killed by a current or former intimate partner and 20 % by a family member. Sharp force injuries were present in 75 % of femicides associated with a history of sexual violence. These cases had the highest average number of injuries per case (n = 30) and a significantly lower average age than that of the entire cohort (19 years versus 41 years).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The true scale of gender-based violence against women remains largely hidden due to a lack of focused official statistics and a clear definition of femicide. As populations become more diverse, and displacement secondary to environmental, or humanitarian crises becomes more common, it is essential that official data is collected in order to understand and ultimately prevent gender-based violence in this vulnerable cohort.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":16098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic and legal medicine","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102754"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X24001161/pdfft?md5=97a34b2ce3f5d6c6ec5c1629361882e8&pid=1-s2.0-S1752928X24001161-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142233836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A critical assessment of the diatom test of rib bone marrow as a supporting procedure in the case of drowning","authors":"Iwona Bogusz ,&nbsp;Marek Bogusz ,&nbsp;Beata Borowska ,&nbsp;Łukasz Szleszkowski ,&nbsp;Joanna Żelazna-Wieczorek","doi":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Diatoms (Bacillariophyta), being single-celled photosynthetic organisms, are widely distributed in aquatic ecosystems around the globe. Their exoskeletons are resistant to most environmental factors as well as chemical reagents in laboratory settings. Moreover, the ornamentation featured on exoskeletons can be used to identify individual diatomaceous species. As a result, the detection of diatoms in the internal organs, and especially rib marrow, of corpses found in water can serve as an important tool for diagnosing drowning as the cause of death as long as passive postmortem penetration of diatoms into those organs is excluded. In the environmental experiments described in this paper, diatoms were detected in rib marrow only when contamination resulted from a mechanical breach of bone integrity and structure, irrespective of the residence time of bone material in the aquatic environment. Our research suggests that the presence of diatom in the rib marrow may be the gold standard in the diagnosis of drowning in the future. Our animal model research dispels one of the doubts, such as the possibility of passive penetration of diatoms into the bone marrow, which is still under discussion in the forensic medicine community.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":16098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic and legal medicine","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102753"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142239480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Risk factor analysis of medical litigation outcomes in obstetrics and gynecology: A retrospective cohort study of 344 claims in Japan","authors":"Kyosuke Kamijo ,&nbsp;Ayako Shibata ,&nbsp;Norio Yamamoto ,&nbsp;Jun Watanabe ,&nbsp;Takashi Watari","doi":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102752","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102752","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Aim</h3><div>Medical errors are critical in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) and contribute to high litigation risks. However, few studies have examined system and diagnostic errors as potential preventable problems. This study aimed to enhance medical safety and reduce litigation by identifying and addressing key contributory factors.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We retrospectively searched the national Japanese malpractice claims database for OB/GYN cases between 1961 and 2017. We evaluated provider characteristics and background information of the patients (plaintiffs). The main outcome was litigation (acceptance or rejection) in the final judgment. Using multivariable logistic regression models, we assessed the associations between medical malpractice variables (system and diagnostic errors, facility size, situation, place, time, and clinical outcomes) and litigation outcomes (acceptance).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Overall, 344 malpractice claims were analyzed. Among these, 277 (80.5 %) were obstetric, and 67 (19.5 %) were gynecological. Of the obstetric cases, 193 were perinatal, and 84 were maternal. Malpractice claims were accepted (OB-GYN losses) in 185 cases (53.8 %). In multivariable analyses, system errors (odds ratio 97.4, 95 % confidence interval 35.2–270.0), diagnostic errors (odds ratio 4.5, 95 % confidence interval 1.8–11.3), and clinic (odds ratio 2.7, 95 % confidence interval 1.2–4.8) had a significant statistical association with accepted claims.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>System errors, diagnostic errors, and clinics were significantly associated with acceptance claims. These findings underscore the necessity of addressing modifiable factors at the physician level and within the healthcare management system to enhance patient safety and reduce litigation risks, thereby ensuring a safer and more reliable healthcare environment for patients and medical professionals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic and legal medicine","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102752"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X24001148/pdfft?md5=1d3a89edb634d6daf5ae67be3cbc306b&pid=1-s2.0-S1752928X24001148-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142311326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Three-dimensional visualization of gunshot cavities in ballistic gelatine with computed tomography – A forensic ballistics case study","authors":"Petteri Oura ,&nbsp;Mikael Brix ,&nbsp;Eveliina Lammentausta ,&nbsp;Timo Liimatainen ,&nbsp;Juha Kiljunen ,&nbsp;Alina Junno ,&nbsp;Jaakko Niinimäki ,&nbsp;Juho-Antti Junno","doi":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102740","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102740","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Three-dimensional (3D) imaging, primarily computed tomography (CT), has proven valuable in the documentation and analysis of gunshot injuries. Explicit visualization of findings may play a pivotal role in judicial settings. This forensic ballistics case study aimed to examine the potential of CT-based 3D reconstruction to digitally visualize gunshot cavities in ballistic gelatine. Three .30 caliber bullets of different types (full metal jacket, soft point, and expanding monolithic) were fired into standardized blocks of 10% ballistic gelatine. The blocks underwent CT scanning with clinical equipment. Gelatine and air were segmented from the CT data using an open-source software. 3D reconstruction views of the segmented gelatine and air components were created. The gunshot cavities were clearly observed in both gelatine and air segmentation. The differences in cavitation between bullet types were evident in both reconstruction approaches, although gelatine segmentation produced higher resolution of small details. The obvious benefit of digital reconstruction was the ability to freely tilt and rotate the 3D images, with the possibility of taking measurements manually or automatically from any plane. Moreover, all the data can be stored for future analysis. This study introduces a preliminary method for digital visualization and documentation of gunshot cavitation in ballistic gelatine, to be fine-tuned and implemented for research purposes and routine practice in forensic institutions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":16098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic and legal medicine","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102740"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X24001021/pdfft?md5=26c94dd835839fb85bf2631572116d3c&pid=1-s2.0-S1752928X24001021-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142095647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}