Forensic Imaging最新文献

In human forensic medicine, post mortem computed tomography angiography (PMCTA) is routinely utilised in investigations with known superiority for the detection of musculoskeletal and vascular pathology compared to necropsy. In veterinary medicine, there is currently no published PMCTA technique for dogs and cats that is repeatable and can be routinely performed in a referral veterinary hospital. The aim of this study was to develop a veterinary PMCTA protocol that was easy to perform, affordable and requires little additional equipment beyond what is found in a referral veterinary hospital.

This study shows PMCTA can be performed using iohexol mixed with a polyethylene glycol adjuvant and administered via a power pump injector and was successfully demonstrated in 5 dogs and 7 cats.

The cause of death determined from necropsy and PMCTA agreed in 83% of cases and 42%, the cause of death determined on PMCTA was aided by the administration of contrast. PMCTA outperformed necropsy in the detection of neurological and musculoskeletal pathology, detecting 3.3 times more pathologies. The establishment of an easy-to-perform and affordable PMCTA protocol gives scope for PMCTA use to become widespread in veterinary post mortem investigations, improving the efficiency of post-mortem evaluation.

Objective

Archeological excavations in the area of the “Parco archeologico di Ostia antica” uncovered human remains requiring radiological insight to clarify the etiology of multiple morphological alterations. The purpose of this paper was to analyze CT findings of the remains, to push forward the contribution of CT in anthropological analysis.

Materials and methods

We examined human remains belonging to four different individuals, coming from different chronological horizons, ranging from the Roman Imperial Age (cases 1, 2 and 4) to the Middle Age (case 3). Bone remains of each individual underwent CT scan separately using a 268-slice scanner (GE, medical system, revolution CT).

Results

CT findings added value in reaching effective hypotheses on the origin of bone alterations and on biological aspects of the examined individuals. In three out of four cases the radiological hypotheses corresponded to the anthropological ones (cases 1, 3 and 4), with better resolution of the inner alterations of bones which strengthened the initial hypothesis. In one case (case 2), CT imaging proposed an alternative hypothesis (i.e., osteomyelitis versus osteosarcoma).

Conclusion

CT highlights internal alterations in a non-invasive manner, exposing hypotheses that are not evident or that can be underestimated from an external examination. Hence, this imaging modality may be used as a valuable tool to study archaeological remains and to detect a wide variety of pathologies, including trauma, infections, arthropathies and neoplasms, in the context of a multidisciplinary approach to archeological investigations.

This study reports an approach for forensic anthropological sex estimation by examining the mastoid process in Koreans using three-dimensionally reconstructed computed tomography images of skulls. The purpose was to validate this metric sex estimation method using only the mastoid process in a Korean population compared to a non-metric sex estimation method derived from a previously used non-Korean method. In this study, 661 images were gathered and 100 of these were randomly set aside for use in the non-metric method. We then applied our metric analysis to the remaining 561 images. Our findings showed that the volume of the mastoid process in males was greater than that in females. As a result, using the mastoid process volume in a metric method increased the accuracy of sex estimation by 20% compared to that using the non-metric method. Our metric methods for sex estimation are more applicable to skulls found in Korea than to those from non-Korean populations, and the metric methods for sex estimation are more useful than non-metric methods. In future studies, it is necessary to derive new equations from measurements of the glabella, mental eminence, supraorbital margin, and nuchal crest for Korean skulls; this method contributes to increased accuracy and reliability of sex estimation using Korean skulls.

Professor N.I. Pirogov (1810–1881) was an anatomist, physician, and one of the founders of modern surgery and anesthesiology. His body was embalmed after his death. In 2018, re-embalming of Pirogov's body was carried out, during which a full-body post-mortem CT scan was performed to detect pathological changes and the degree of tissue preservation of the embalmed body. The CT scan revealed ante-mortem changes as well as post-mortem changes in the body of Pirogov. Among the notable ante-mortem changes were pathologies such as a defect in the palatine bone and maxillary sinus, which were most likely a result of cancerous processes, or minor spinal deformities. Calcifications were detected in the brain tissue and the walls of some vessels. Some of these observed pathological changes suggest that N.I. Pirogov was a heavy smoker, and other degenerative changes are typical for advanced age. The post-mortem changes were caused by the processes connected to embalming procedures. The organs of the chest were collapsed, and gas content was detected in some hollow visceral formations. Reduced mineralization of some skeletal elements, such as the vertebrae, humeri, clavicles, sternum, and selected ribs, as well as the hand phalanges, and the lower limb bones, was most likely caused by the contact with the embalming fluid. Some of the further post-mortem changes, such as detection of gauze material in the oral cavity, neck, and abdominal cavity, confirmed the method of primary embalming and subsequent preservation and research interventions performed on the body over the years. The findings also confirmed that the body was in a good state of preservation.

The purpose of this study was to perform linear (two-dimensional) measurements of maxillary sinuses (MS) using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images, analyze the influence of sex, age, skin color, and nutritional status, and verify differences between the right and left sides. The sample consisted of CBCT images of 238 living Brazilian subjects (139 women and 99 men). Linear measurements of maximal height, width, and depth of the right and left MS were performed with the DDS-Pro® 2.12.0_2021 software (DPP Systems, Czestochowa, Poland). All data were submitted to the statistical analysis to validate potential significant differences (p > 0.05) for sex and age and correlation to skin color and BMI. The TEM, rTEM, and R were used for intra- and inter-examiner assessments. There were differences between the sides, with significantly higher measurements on the right side for MS height and on the left side for width and depth. The MS width was only greater (p > 0.05) in men. Adult individuals (18 years or older) had higher MS height measurements than the other age groups. The measurements for skin color and BMI did not show significant differences, and it was impossible to confirm a relationship between the parameters measured. The measurements of MS height and width showed significant differences between the right and left sides and anatomic variability between the sexes for MS width, which can help analyze sexual dimorphism. There were also significant differences between the age groups. There was no significant difference in the measurements for skin color and nutritional status.

It is well documented that COVID-19 vaccines are effective tools for limiting the pandemic. Unfortunately, as is true for all vaccines, SARS-CoV-2 infection in vaccinated individuals is still possible.

We present an autopsy case of SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination (“breakthrough infection”) in an elderly man with several comorbidities where post-mortem CT scan was performed. The death was histologically attributed to cardio-respiratory arrest due to ischemic heart failure related to superinfected COVID-19 pneumonia and pre-existing comorbidities. For the first time in the literature, PMCT imaging related to a fatal, autopsy case of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection is reported. PMCT of the lungs, in accordance with histopathological results, showed few signs of COVID-19 pneumonia, large area of consolidation in the right lower lobe, interpreted as bronco-pneumonic focus, and hypostasis.

These findings were well-correlated with the previously reported literature about both PMCT and clinical CT imaging of the lungs in non-vaccinated individuals with early COVID-19 pneumonia and about pulmonary clinical CT imaging in COVID-19 pneumonia in breakthrough SARS-COV-2 infections.

Further studies are needed to cover the whole spectrum of PMCT lung imaging in fatal breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, this case represent a first step for exploring this difficult challenge during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic using virtual autopsy.