Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology最新文献

Background: Digital pathology (DP) and whole-slide imaging (WSI) are increasingly utilized in clinical pathology; however, their role in forensic medicine remains less defined, as evidentiary standards demand robust validation, auditability, and a chain of custody.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies that applied DP and WSI to forensic, autopsy, or postmortem contexts, with eligibility requiring peer-reviewed human studies that reported methods and outcomes. Data were charted for study design, tissue, devices/software, and outcomes (diagnostic agreement, quantitative metrics, validation/quality assurance (QA)).

Results: The search retrieved 361 records; after screening and full-text assessment, 21 studies were selected for inclusion. Fifteen studies primarily advanced diagnostic knowledge using postmortem material (e.g., quantitative neuropathology and organ-specific morphometry), while five had direct forensic aims (casework validation or core forensic tests).

Conclusions: The review highlights that DP is technically ready for medico-legal workflows; however, its use remains low compared to other clinical settings. Adoption in forensics should centre on CAP-style, use-case-specific validation, traceable/auditable pipelines (including hashing, logs, and tile-linked overlays), stain/colour governance, and external robustness testing. Under these conditions, DP can deliver reproducible, transparent, and court-defensible evidence across forensic practice.

This study evaluates the image quality of postmortem photon-counting computed tomography (PMPCCT) compared to conventional postmortem energy-integrating computed tomography (PMCT) for a protocol adapted to post-mortem imaging. The focus lies on objective image quality parameters such as noise, signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio, supplemented by subjective image quality evaluations. A Chest Phantom N1 and one decedent were scanned using PMCT (Siemens SOMATOM^® X-Cite; slice thicknesses of 1 mm and 0.5 mm; Br40, Br60) and PMPCCT (Siemens NAEOTOM Alpha.peak^®; slice thicknesses of 1 mm, 0.4 mm, and 0.2 mm; Br40, Br60). Image quality parameters were computed for regions of interest. In addition, two radiologists conducted subjective image quality evaluations (noise, overall image quality, sharpness, bone details, contour visibility, and artifact formation) using a modified Likert scale. The overall findings were mixed, with PMPCCT potentially demonstrating an advantage over PMCT in terms of SNR and CNR, particularly at moderate slice thicknesses of 1 mm and 0.4 mm. The results obtained from the phantom exhibit in some cases considerable differences compared to those from the decedent, so that model studies can hardly be transferred to reality without scrutiny. PMPCCT outperformed PMCT in subjective assessments of overall image quality, sharpness, and bone detail, particularly with Br40 reconstruction kernels. PMPCCT may demonstrate advantages in objective and subjective image quality, with improvements in soft tissue imaging, sharpness, and bone detail at moderate slice thicknesses. These results may suggest PMPCCTs promising potential in forensic imaging. Further studies are needed to investigate and optimize its utility in postmortem settings.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) caused by congenital coronary ostial stenosis (CCOS) remains underrecognized in forensic practice due to its rarity and the diagnostic challenges. This report presents 10 autopsy-confirmed cases of CCOS-related SCD, aiming to illustrate their characteristic manifestations, pathophysiological mechanisms, and key forensic identification criteria. A systematic literature review was conducted to contextualize our findings within existing evidence. Definitive diagnosis of CCOS requires a multidisciplinary approach, integrating death scene investigation, complete autopsy (including whole-heart dissection), histopathological validation (H&E staining), and rigorous exclusion of other causes of death. Quantitative analysis showed 7 cases (70%) had right coronary artery ostial (RCO) stenosis, 1 case (10%) had left coronary artery ostial (LCO) stenosis, and 2 cases (20%) had bilateral stenosis, with 4 cases (40%) presenting obstructive fibrous membranes. This study emphasizes the necessity of a standardized anatomical protocol for coronary ostial assessment, particularly transverse sectioning at 2 mm intervals starting from the aortic sinus. These findings aim to prompt forensic pathologists to incorporate specialized coronary ostial evaluation into routine autopsy procedures, thereby reducing diagnostic omissions in sudden unexpected death investigations.

The technological revolution has impacted every facet of life, including crime and law enforcement. Following the adoption of digital evidence, artificial intelligence, and CT scans, scientists and legal professionals have now turned to three-dimensional (3D) printing to present evidence more clearly in a court of law. 3D printing is a process of creating physical objects by depositing materials layer by layer, based on digital models, to form solid, tangible replicas. It has a wide range of applications across various fields of forensic science, including explosives analysis, ballistics, forensic medicine, forensic archaeology, and crime scene reconstruction. 3D printed impression evidence such as tire marks, and shoe prints etc., offers more detailed and accurate representations compared to traditional methods. Similarly, 3D printed crime scene reconstructions provide immersive and precise visualizations, enhancing their reliability and utility in forensic investigations. This article discusses the steps involved in 3D printing, the types of 3D printing technologies, its applications in various forensic examinations, and real-world criminal cases that highlight the significance of 3D printed evidence in judicial decision-making. 3D printing has proven instrumental in these cases for establishing the linkage of weapons to crimes and correlating injuries to weapons, and identifying charred or mutilated remains. However, like any emerging technology, 3D printing in forensics faces certain challenges, which need to be addressed to maximize its potential. These include standardized protocols, ethical considerations, and high initial setup costs-all of which must be addressed to fully realize its potential.

Trauma victims are a significant part of the donor pool, though injuries to donor organs normally exclude them from their procurement. We present the case of a 37-year-old male with a stab wound to the chest, resulting in penetrating sharp force injury to the right ventricle of the heart. Despite the ultimately fatal injury, the heart was successfully repaired, and later donated, after brain death. Resuscitation and surgical intervention, along with the collaboration of medical and legal parties, enabled heart donation to occur without compromising the quality of forensic postmortem examination. Though it is an extraordinary circumstance, it challenges norms regarding organ donation, and suggests an expanded potential for organ donation as a goal of timely medical intervention in addition to the survival of the patient, including for traumatically injured organs. This is the first reported case in which trauma to the heart, responsible for the death of the patient, preceded its donation.

Forensic craniofacial reconstruction deals with recreating a person's facial features from the skull by combining anatomy archeology, anthropology and statistical approaches. When DNA analysis gives inconclusive results, the investigative leads directed towards craniofacial reconstruction. This review article sheds light on advances of CFR from manual techniques of clay and tissue depth markers historical methodologies such as the American, Manchester, and Russian methods, along with forensic photography and superimposition to AI driven methods that evaluate diverse applications in forensics. The articles from PubMed, Google scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus are incorporated in relevant sections. Results of this research reveal that 3D scanning, virtual modeling, and artificially enhanced reconstruction approaches along several applications of CFR with advanced imaging techniques, such as high-resolution CT and MRI scans, identifies gaps existing in the literatures, and further recommends prospective directions to enhance scientific contributions and real-world applications i.e. mass disaster identifications or creating lifelike depictions or historical figures for museums. Critical discussion also illustrates strength and weakness of methodologies, future perspectives that are aimed at maximizing advances in digital methods i.e. holography, forensic DNA phenotyping to achieve higher accuracy, provide ethical backbone, and garner public engagement or acceptance with CFR, thus strengthening it as an indispensable aspect to forensic and anthropological research.

This study seeks to establish a rapid, non-invasive methodology for the detection of drug abuse through the identification of common urinary drug metabolites utilizing attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was employed to detect and differentiate metabolites of heroin (6-AM), ecstasy (MDA), and cocaine (BE) in urine samples across a range of concentrations. Advanced chemometric approaches, encompassing principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), were applied to construct robust discriminative models. Spectral data from both the fingerprint region and the full spectral range were analyzed to maximize analytical precision. The proposed ATR-FTIR method demonstrated remarkable sensitivity, achieving detection of drug metabolites in urine at concentrations as low as 0.02 mg/mL without necessitating sample separation or extraction steps. The OPLS-DA model exhibited superior discriminative performance, effectively distinguishing all three metabolites in both calibration and validation sets. These findings underscore the potential of integrating ATR-FTIR with chemometrics for the development of a rapid and reliable drug screening tool. This pilot investigation demonstrates that the integration of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy with chemometric analysis represents a highly promising strategy for the detection of urinary drug metabolites, circumventing the need for complex sample pretreatment procedures. This approach offers a novel, efficient, and non-invasive solution for the rapid identification of drug abuse, with substantial implications for forensic medicine and public health surveillance.

Purpose: Forensic podiatry is the application of the professional knowledge of this specialist in the legal field as an expert. Forensic podiatrists collaborate in the forensic identification of evidence that, from the foot, can help clarify what happened at a crime or crime scene. At the scene of the crime, footprints, shoe prints, and traces are evidence that are present even though they might not be immediately visible. The forensic analysis of a suspect's gait is evidence sometimes available and has as an important characteristic: it is an individualistic parameter and even a biometric factor. This gait analysis can be very relevant as evidence in the context of a crime. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the reliability of gait forensics with respect to the use of angular measurements compared to observational analysis of morphological characteristics to identify the current gold standard.

Methods: A systematic review of the scientific literature available in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Dialnet has been carried out. Nine observational studies were selected after applying the eligibility criteria.

Results: The selected studies were analytical and provided, among other information, numerical data on the reliability, reproducibility, and validity of the analysis methods in question. There is not enough conclusive scientific evidence on the reliability of the method of analysis using angular measurements, as there is controversy between authors.

Conclusion: Forensic gait analysis based on angular measurements shows reliability limitations due to intra-individual factors (mood, clothing), requiring further empirical evidence; in contrast, the observational method analyzing of unique gait characteristics emerges as the most reliable method, offering high accuracy, validity, and reproducibility when conducted by trained biomechanical experts.

An 80-year-old man who presented with hemoptysis died from ischemic heart disease and emphysema with cor pulmonale. He had a past history of ischemic heart disease with previous myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with endobronchial valve insertion and squamous cell carcinoma of the lung with lobe resection. On the day of death he had coughed up approximately one tablespoon of blood. While causes of hemoptysis usually include entities such as bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, tumors, adjacent aneurysms, inflammatory/infective processes or septic emboli, occasionally there may be an iatrogenic etiology. The present case demonstrates a rare cause of hemoptysis associated with medical treatment - endobronchial valve insertion with surrounding granulation tissue formation and resultant hemorrhage. Hemoptysis in decedents with COPD may, therefore, be due to treatment rather than to underlying inflammatory or neoplastic lesions.