Investigations on an isolated skull with gunshot wounds using flat-panel CT

Abstract

The use of computed tomography (CT) scanners is rapidly becoming established in forensic medicine. Current multislice CT (MSCT) scanners attain a resolution of 0.42 mm. An isolated skull with gunshot injuries was examined with a high-resolution eXplore Locus Ultra flat-panel CT (eLU-CT) and MSCT. Structures and minute fissures in the bone interior, which were neither visible macroscopically nor with the MSCT data, could be imaged with the eLU-CT data. In addition, a tiny interior impact defect from a retained missile could be detected by eLU-CT, which clearly aided the reconstruction of the gunshots in this case.

Intersecting fractures of the skull and gunshot wounds. Case report and literature review

“…The advantages of MSCT in the postmortem investigation of gunshot wounds to the skull have already been repeatedly demonstrated [16][17][18]25].…”

“…In particular, gunshot wound channels can be portrayed in a way that would not be possible in the course of a conventional, destructive autopsy [25].…”

Age and gender-dependent bone density changes of the human skull disclosed by high-resolution flat-panel computed tomography

“…We assume that the results of this investigation do not depend on the extremely high resolution and the excellent image quality of the flat-panel CT, visualizing the fine details in bone. A comparison of the high-resolution image quality of the eLU flat-panel CT with a conventional clinical multidetector CT scanner of the skull can be seen in reference [18]. The image quality of state-of-the-art clinical scanners is already sufficient for a reliable bone density analysis.…”

“…Among the advantages of computer tomography methods are the nondestructive character of the analysis, the rather quick analysis of the specimen (less than 1 h each), and the generation of digital data, which can be numerically processed by automated image analysis methods. To exploit these advantages, we earlier scanned skull data with a highresolution flat-panel-based volumetric computed tomography system, the eXplore Locus Ultra (eLU) [17,18] to investigate whether the degree of closure of the sagittal suture can be used for aad determination; this, however, turned out to be rather ineffective [19,20].…”

Comparative dental radiographic identification using flat panel CT

“…1), teeth 11,12,14,15,18,21,22, 25, and 28 were found to be missing and had manifestly been lost postmortem. Noticeable features were signs of advanced periodontosis, and diastemas between teeth 13 and 14 and teeth 23 and 24 (6 mm each).…”