Discovery of a New Morphological Feature in Forensic Medicine During the Study of Gunshot Injury Using Three-Dimensional Modeling of the Wound Channel

Abstract

The use of spatial three-dimensional modeling of the main elements of a gunshot injury plays a significant part in the modern forensic medical examination. It allows not only to improve the visualization of such bodily injuries, to increase the objectivity and validity of expert conclusions, to accumulate an evidence basis for war crimes committed with the use of various types of firearms, but it also helps to discover new morphological features which couldn’t be detected when using traditional research methods. The work shows the process of detecting a new morphological feature during three-dimensional modeling of the wound channel caused by the IJ 70-01 pistol loaded with 9 mm cartridges.
 Aim of the work. Demonstration of new possibilities of three-dimensional spatial modeling in the process of the forensic investigation of a gunshot wound.
 Materials and methods. To achieve the aim of study, a series of experimental shots were fired from the IJ 70-01 automatic pistol loaded with 9 mm cartridges. To conduct bench ballistic tests according to the US standards – NIJ (National Institute of Justice), HOSDB (Home Office Scientific Development Branch) – standardized ballistic clay Roma Plastilina No.1 was used as the main material that absorbs the energy of the bullet and reproduces all the elements of wound ballistics. It was coated in pig skin with subcutaneous adipose tissue in order to recreate more true-to-life conditions of the gunshot injury. The generated wound channel was filled with Tropicalgin alginate impression material (Zhermack, Italy), which was mixed according to the manufacturer’s instructions; it has short setting time and reproduces the smallest details of the wound channel. Thereafter, the formed cast of the wound channel was subjected to a series of photographs at the appropriate angles and its 3D model was created with the help of the graphic design software “Agisoft PhotoScan” and “3ds max”.
 Results. The result of the conducted studies was obtaining a spatial three-dimensional model of the gunshot wound channel, which brings about new opportunities for its research. The implementation of three-dimensional modeling techniques made it possible to discover a new morphological feature – a helical torsion of the wound channel, the direction of which can indicate specific design features of the firearm used.
 Conclusions. The implementation of three-dimensional spatial modeling in the process of a gunshot trauma investigation sets conditions for increasing visibility and objectivity during conduction of such forensic medical examinations. At the same time, new opportunities are brought about for taking linear dimensions of the existing morphological features of the wound channel main elements with extended precision, the accumulation of demonstrative evidence basis in cases of such injuries, and the discovery of new morphological features for identification of the specific design features of the firearm used.