Baier Waltraud, Mangham Chas, Warnett Jason M, Payne Mark, Painter Michelle, Williams Mark A
WMG, International Manufacturing Centre, University of Warwick Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
Forensic Sci Int. 2019 Apr;297:27-34. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.01.027. Epub 2019 Feb 1.
Forensic imaging technology has rapidly advanced over the past several decades and is gaining increasing significance in medico-legal death investigations. Medical-grade computed tomography (CT) is now routinely used in post-mortem examinations at numerous institutions across the globe. However, the resolution of medical-grade CT is limited and unsuitable when used to depict some smaller anatomical structures or micro-trauma. High-resolution micro-CT offers up to 100× the resolution to overcome this problem but is a very recent addition to the field of forensic radiology. Few studies so far have attempted to validate the results which is an essential prerequisite for it to be used in the criminal justice process as demanded by regulatory bodies. This study directly compares micro-CT images with histology, the current gold standard. Three cases were examined: two larynges from suspected strangulations and one ribcage of a case of fatal child abuse. A strong correlation was observed between histology and micro-CT as the majority of skeletal injuries were identified correctly. This paper discusses the forensic implications of the results and how micro-CT is complementary to histology.
在过去几十年里，法医成像技术迅速发展，在法医学死亡调查中发挥着越来越重要的作用。如今，医学级计算机断层扫描（CT）在全球众多机构的尸检中得到了常规应用。然而，医学级CT的分辨率有限，在用于描绘一些较小的解剖结构或微创伤时并不适用。高分辨率微型CT的分辨率高达医学级CT的100倍，可克服这一问题，但它在法医放射学领域的应用尚属最新进展。到目前为止，很少有研究试图验证其结果，而这是监管机构要求其用于刑事司法程序的一项基本前提条件。本研究将微型CT图像与当前的金标准——组织学直接进行了比较。研究检查了三个案例：两例疑似勒颈案的喉部和一例致命虐待儿童案的胸腔。由于大多数骨骼损伤都被正确识别，因此在组织学和微型CT之间观察到了很强的相关性。本文讨论了这些结果的法医意义，以及微型CT如何与组织学形成互补。
