Utility of micro-CT for dating post-cranial fractures of known post-traumatic ages through 3D measurements of the trabecular inner morphology
Abstract Fracture dating is an issue at the forefront of forensic sciences. While dating fracture is crucial to understanding and verifying the chronology of events in cases of abuse and violent death, its application is the subject of considerable discussion in the scientific community, filled with...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14530-1 |
| _version_ | 1818256948086177792 |
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| author | Alessia Viero Lucie Biehler-Gomez Carmelo Messina Annalisa Cappella Konstantinos Giannoukos Guido Viel Franco Tagliaro Cristina Cattaneo |
| author_facet | Alessia Viero Lucie Biehler-Gomez Carmelo Messina Annalisa Cappella Konstantinos Giannoukos Guido Viel Franco Tagliaro Cristina Cattaneo |
| author_sort | Alessia Viero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Fracture dating is an issue at the forefront of forensic sciences. While dating fracture is crucial to understanding and verifying the chronology of events in cases of abuse and violent death, its application is the subject of considerable discussion in the scientific community, filled with limitations and difficulties. Current methods for fracture dating are mainly based on a qualitative assessment through macroscopy, microscopy, and imaging and subject to variations depending on the experience of the observer. In this paper, we investigated the potential of quantifiable micro-CT analysis for fracture dating. Five histomorphometric parameters commonly used for the study of the 3D bone trabecular microarchitecture with micro-CT were calculated based on nine fractures of known post-traumatic ages, including the degree of anisotropy, connectivity density, bone volume fraction, trabecular thickness, and trabecular separation. As a result, trends in the evolution of the microarchitecture of the bone relative to age of the callus could be identified, in particular concerning anisotropy, trabecular separation and connectivity density, consistent with the healing bone process. The findings obtained in this pilot study encourage further research in quantifiable parameters of the bone microarchitecture as they could represent useful features for the construction of objective models for fracture dating. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T17:35:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-11849bea38a846a5be483b1fb43b46a1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T17:35:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-11849bea38a846a5be483b1fb43b46a12022-12-22T00:17:13ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-06-0112111010.1038/s41598-022-14530-1Utility of micro-CT for dating post-cranial fractures of known post-traumatic ages through 3D measurements of the trabecular inner morphologyAlessia Viero0Lucie Biehler-Gomez1Carmelo Messina2Annalisa Cappella3Konstantinos Giannoukos4Guido Viel5Franco Tagliaro6Cristina Cattaneo7Legal Medicine and Toxicology Unit, Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of PaduaLaboratorio Di Antropologia E Odontologia Forense (LABANOF), Sezione Di Medicina Legale, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università Degli Studi Di MilanoIRCCS Istituto Ortopedico GaleazziDepartment of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of MilanElettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.P.A., SYRMEP Group, AREA Science ParkLegal Medicine and Toxicology Unit, Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of PaduaUnit of Forensic Medicine, Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of VeronaLaboratorio Di Antropologia E Odontologia Forense (LABANOF), Sezione Di Medicina Legale, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università Degli Studi Di MilanoAbstract Fracture dating is an issue at the forefront of forensic sciences. While dating fracture is crucial to understanding and verifying the chronology of events in cases of abuse and violent death, its application is the subject of considerable discussion in the scientific community, filled with limitations and difficulties. Current methods for fracture dating are mainly based on a qualitative assessment through macroscopy, microscopy, and imaging and subject to variations depending on the experience of the observer. In this paper, we investigated the potential of quantifiable micro-CT analysis for fracture dating. Five histomorphometric parameters commonly used for the study of the 3D bone trabecular microarchitecture with micro-CT were calculated based on nine fractures of known post-traumatic ages, including the degree of anisotropy, connectivity density, bone volume fraction, trabecular thickness, and trabecular separation. As a result, trends in the evolution of the microarchitecture of the bone relative to age of the callus could be identified, in particular concerning anisotropy, trabecular separation and connectivity density, consistent with the healing bone process. The findings obtained in this pilot study encourage further research in quantifiable parameters of the bone microarchitecture as they could represent useful features for the construction of objective models for fracture dating.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14530-1 |
| spellingShingle | Alessia Viero Lucie Biehler-Gomez Carmelo Messina Annalisa Cappella Konstantinos Giannoukos Guido Viel Franco Tagliaro Cristina Cattaneo Utility of micro-CT for dating post-cranial fractures of known post-traumatic ages through 3D measurements of the trabecular inner morphology Scientific Reports |
| title | Utility of micro-CT for dating post-cranial fractures of known post-traumatic ages through 3D measurements of the trabecular inner morphology |
| title_full | Utility of micro-CT for dating post-cranial fractures of known post-traumatic ages through 3D measurements of the trabecular inner morphology |
| title_fullStr | Utility of micro-CT for dating post-cranial fractures of known post-traumatic ages through 3D measurements of the trabecular inner morphology |
| title_full_unstemmed | Utility of micro-CT for dating post-cranial fractures of known post-traumatic ages through 3D measurements of the trabecular inner morphology |
| title_short | Utility of micro-CT for dating post-cranial fractures of known post-traumatic ages through 3D measurements of the trabecular inner morphology |
| title_sort | utility of micro ct for dating post cranial fractures of known post traumatic ages through 3d measurements of the trabecular inner morphology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14530-1 |
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