Anatomy has traditionally been a cornerstone of medical education, which has been taught via dissection and didactic lectures. The rising prevalence of mobile tablet technology means medical software applications ("apps") play an increasingly important role in medical education. The applications highlighted in this article will aid anatomical educators to identify which are the most useful in clinical, academic, and educational environments. These have been systematically identified by downloading all applications with keywords related to anatomy and then carrying out qualitative assessment. Novel anatomy applications from developers such as Visible Body, 3D4Medical, and Pocket Anatomy allow students to visualize and manipulate complex anatomical structures using detailed 3D models. They often contain additional content including clinical correlations and a range of media from instructional videos to interactive quiz functions. The strength of tablet technology lies in its ability to consolidate and present anatomical information to the user in the most appropriate manner for their learning style. The only question mark remains over the level of detail and accuracy of these applications. Innovative medical educators who embrace tablet technology will find that anatomy applications serve as a useful learning tool when used in conjunction with existing teaching setups.

Toolmark analysis involves examining marks created on an object to identify the likely tool responsible for creating those marks (e.g., a knife). Although a potentially powerful forensic tool, knife mark analysis is still in its infancy and the validation of imaging techniques as well as quantitative approaches is ongoing. This study builds on previous work by simulating real-world stabbings experimentally and statistically exploring quantitative toolmark properties, such as cut mark angle captured by micro-CT imaging, to predict the knife responsible. In Experiment 1 a mechanical stab rig and two knives were used to create 14 knife cut marks on dry pig ribs. The toolmarks were laser and micro-CT scanned to allow for quantitative measurements of numerous toolmark properties. The findings from Experiment 1 demonstrated that both knives produced statistically different cut mark widths, wall angle and shapes. Experiment 2 examined knife marks created on fleshed pig torsos with conditions designed to better simulate real-world stabbings. Eight knives were used to generate 64 incision cut marks that were also micro-CT scanned. Statistical exploration of these cut marks suggested that knife type, serrated or plain, can be predicted from cut mark width and wall angle. Preliminary results suggest that knives type can be predicted from cut mark width, and that knife edge thickness correlates with cut mark width. An additional 16 cut marks walls were imaged for striation marks using scanning electron microscopy with results suggesting that this approach might not be useful for knife mark analysis. Results also indicated that observer judgements of cut mark shape were more consistent when rated from micro-CT images than light microscopy images. The potential to combine micro-CT data, medical grade CT data and photographs to develop highly realistic virtual models for visualisation and 3D printing is also demonstrated. This is the first study to statistically explore simulated real-world knife marks imaged by micro-CT to demonstrate the potential of quantitative approaches in knife mark analysis. Findings and methods presented in this study are relevant to both forensic toolmark researchers as well as practitioners. Limitations of the experimental methodologies and imaging techniques are discussed, and further work is recommended.

This case study reports the novel application of three-dimensional technologies such as micro-CT and 3D printing to the forensic investigation of a complex case of dismemberment. Micro-CT was successfully employed to virtually align severed skeletal elements found in different locations, analyse tool marks created during the dismemberment process, and virtually dissect a charred piece of evidence. High resolution 3D prints of the burnt human bone contained within were created for physical visualisation to assist the investigation team. Micro-CT as a forensic radiological method provided vital information and the basis for visualisation both during the investigation and in the subsequent trial making it one of the first examples of such technology in a UK court.

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OBJECTIVE Quantitative assessment of tumor microvascularity has the potential to improve prognostication, advance understanding of tumor biology, and help narrow potential molecular therapies. While the role of tumor microvascularity has been widely studied in meningiomas, this study examines both the role of automated measurements and the impact on surgical outcome. METHODS Two hundred seven patients with Grade I meningiomas underwent surgery between 1996 and 2011. Tissue samples from each patient were retrospectively evaluated for histopathological measures of microvascularity, including staining for von Willebrand factor (vWF), CD31, CD105, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), vascular endothelial growth factor, glucose transporter 1, and carbonic anhydrase IX. Manual methods of assessing microvascularity were supplemented by a computational analysis of the microvascular patterns by means of fractal analysis. MIB-1 proliferation staining was also performed on the same tumors. These measures were compared with various patient characteristics, tumor volume, estimated blood loss (EBL) during surgery, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). RESULTS The mean patient age was 55.4 ± 14.8 years, and 63 (30.4%) patients were male. Patients harboring tumors ≥ 3 cm were significantly older (56.9 ± 15.2 years vs 53.1 ± 13.6 years; p = 0.07), more frequently male (40.8% vs 14.6%; p = 0.0001), and had greater EBL (446.5 ± 532.2 ml vs 185.4 ± 197.2 ml; p = 0.0001), greater tumor volume (33.9 ± 38.1 ml vs 29.4 ± 23.5 ml; p = 0.0001), higher MIB-1 index values (3.0% ± 5.4% vs 1.7% ± 1.7%; p = 0.03), higher vWF levels (85.6% ± 76.9% vs 54.1% ± 52.4%; p = 0.001), lower HIF-1 expression (1.4 ± 1.3 vs 2.2 ± 1.4; p = 0.004), and worse OS (199.9 ± 7.6 months vs 180.8 ± 8.1 months; p = 0.05) than patients with tumors < 3 cm. In the multivariate logistic regression, MIB-1 (OR 1.14; p = 0.05), vWF (OR 1.01; p = 0.01), and HIF-1 (OR 1.54; p = 0.0001) significantly predicted tumor size. Although multiple factors were predictive of EBL in the univariate linear regression, only vWF remained significant in the multivariate analysis (β = 0.39; p = 0.004). Lastly, MIB-1 was useful via Kaplan-Meier survival analysis for predicting patients with disease progression, whereby an MIB-1 cutoff value of ≥ 3% conferred a 36% sensitivity and 82.5% specificity in predicting disease progression; an MIB-1 value ≥ 3% showed significantly shorter mean PFS (140.1 ± 11.7 months vs 179.5 ± 7.0 months; log-rank test, p = 0.05). The Cox proportional hazards model showed a trend for MIB-1 in predicting disease progression in a hazards model (OR 1.08; 95% CI 0.99-1.19; p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS These results support the importance of various microvascularity measures in predicting preoperative (e.g., tumor size), intraoperative (e.g., EBL), and postoperative (e.g., PFS and OS) outcomes in patients with Grade I meningiomas. An MIB-1 cutoff value of 3% showed good specificity for predicting tumor progression. The predictive ability of various measur...

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