Saw marks on bone have been routinely reported in dismemberment cases. When saw blade teeth contact bone and the bone is not completely sawed into two parts, bone fragments are removed forming a channel or kerf. Therefore, kerf width can approximate the thickness of the saw blade. The purpose of this study is to evaluate 100 saw kerf widths in bone produced by ten saw types to determine if a saw can be eliminated based on the kerf width. Five measurements were taken from each of the 100 saw kerfs to establish an average thickness for each kerf mark. Ten cuts were made on 10 sections of bovine bone, five with human-powered saws and five with mechanical-powered saws. The cuts were examined with a stereoscopic microscope utilizing digital camera measuring software. Two statistical cumulative logistic regression models were used to analyze the saw kerf data collected. In order to estimate the prediction error, repeated stratified cross-validation was applied in analyzing the kerf mark data. Based on the two statistical models used, 70–90% of the saws could be eliminated based on kerf width.
When sawing during autopsies on human remains, fine dust is produced, which consists of particles of sizes that may fall within the human respirable range, and can act as vectors for pathogens. The goal of this study was to explore the potential effects of saw blade frequency and saw blade contact load on the number and size of airborne bone particles produced. The methodology involved the use of an oscillating saw with variable saw blade frequencies and different saw blade contact loads on dry human femora. Released airborne particles were counted per diameter by a particle counter inside a closed and controlled environment. Results corroborated with the hypotheses: higher frequencies or lower contact loads resulted in higher numbers of aerosol particles produced. However, it was found that even in the best-case scenario tested on dry bone, the number of aerosol particles produced was still high enough to provide a potential health risk to the forensic practitioners. Protective breathing gear such as respirators and biosafety protocols are recommended to be put into practice to protect forensic practitioners from acquiring pathologies, or from other biological hazards when performing autopsies.
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