In spite of the fact that ballistic injuries are not confined to a single anatomic structure, recent clinical reports of wounds from bullets and bomb fragments don't involve the development of the trajectory or the direction of the wound path. In Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. troops face threats from the use of improvised explosive devices and from the increasing activities of snipers.
According to a study, published in the March issue of Radiology, Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) offers effective and efficient method in order to analyze wounds from bullets and explosive devices. Les R. Folio, D.O., M.P.H., the lead author of the study, from the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Md, mentioned that "The information provided by MDCT has the potential to improve patient care and aid in both military and civilian forensic investigations".
The research has highlighted the value of CT in the analysis of ballistic wound paths as there is no generally approved way for determining the trajectory angles and spotlighting wound paths in an accurate method. The researching team had a marksman shoot six shots from a rifle into two simulated legs formed from different synthetic materials in order to mimic real tissue. The legs were positioned at 6 various angles depending on common sniper heights and distances.
The researchers assessed the accuracy of MDCT-based ballistic wound path identification. A lot of radiologists scanned the leg phantoms with 64-channel MDCT, and then they reviewed the CT pictures and registered the entrance and exit sites of the bullet trajectories. Dr. Folio and his team deduced that radiologists could evaluate the location of a sniper or an explosive device through extrapolating trajectories defined on MDCT when another factors, for instance victim's position and sniper distance, are identified.
Dr. Folio added "Investigators want to know where the sniper was and where the bomb blast originated. MDCT allows us to see the path and help determine these answers. This technology allows us to analyze thousands of penetrating injuries, correlate them with external ballistics and use that data to help develop protective gear and prevent future injuries".
Additional research into MDCT's potential in analyzing trajectories and wound paths in other regions of the body, involving the head, chest and abdomen, is ongoing. Recently, Dr. Folio is heading a study on automated trajectory analysis in Vietnam veterans with traumatic brain injuries.
