Is differentiation of frequently encountered foreign bodies in corpses possible by Hounsfield density measurement?

Bolliger, Stephan A.; Oesterhelweg, Lars; Spendlove, Danny; Ross, Steffen; Thali, Michael J (2009). Is differentiation of frequently encountered foreign bodies in corpses possible by Hounsfield density measurement? Journal of forensic sciences, 54(5), pp. 1119-22. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01100.x

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The radiological determination of foreign objects in corpses can be difficult if they are fragmented or deformed. With multislice computed tomography, radiodensities--referred to as Hounsfield units (HU)--can be measured. We examined the possibility of differentiating 21 frequently occurring foreign bodies, such as metals, rocks, and different manmade materials by virtue of their HU values. Gold, steel, and brass showed mean HU values of 30671-30710 (upper measurable limit), mean HU values for steel, silver, copper, and limestone were 20346, 16949, 14033, and 2765, respectively. The group consisting of objects, such as aluminum, tarmac, car front-window glass, and other rocks, displayed mean HU values of 2329-2131 HU. The mean HU value of bottle glass and car side-window glass was 2088, whereas windowpane glass was 493. HU value determination may therefore help in preautopsy differentiation between case-relevant and irrelevant foreign bodies and thus be useful for autopsy planning and extraction of the objects in question.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Forensic Medicine
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Forensic Imaging
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Management
04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine (DRNN) > Institute of Diagnostic, Interventional and Paediatric Radiology
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine

UniBE Contributor:

Bolliger, Stephan, Spendlove, Danny, Ross, Steffen, Thali, Michael

ISSN:

0022-1198

Publisher:

Wiley

Submitter:

Factscience Import

Date Deposited:

04 Oct 2013 15:13

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:22

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01100.x

PubMed ID:

19627414

Web of Science ID:

000269501100025

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/32191 (FactScience: 197172)

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