Technical note Gunshot to the pelvis – Experimental ballistics and forensic radiology Stephan A. Bolliger a,n , Garyfalia Ampanozi a , Beat P. Kneubuehl b , Michael J. Thali a a Department of Forensic Medicine and Imaging, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zuerich, Switzerland b Centre for Forensic Physics and Ballistics, Institute of Forensic Medicine Bern, University of Bern, Switzerland article info Article history: Received 19 November 2013 Received in revised form 9 December 2013 Accepted 10 December 2013 Available online 17 December 2013 Keywords: Synthetic model Ballistics Forensic radiology Virtopsy Gunshot abstract The 9 mm Luger full metal jacket and 44 Rem. Mag. semi-jacketed hollow point were fired at a body model consisting of a polyurethane pelvis with gelatine prior to multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and the results compared to those obtained by dissection of the model. Our results showed that MSCT proved to be highly reliable in the demonstration of the damage to the model. & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Wound ballistics is a complex field in which necessitates experiments in order to understand the injuring capacity of a certain ammunition type. Traditionally, animal models have been used as a substitute for humans when performing such experi- ments. However, animal models are ethically questionable and although porcine tissue is believed to be comparable to human tissue in gunshot experiments [1–3] in general do not mirror human anatomy, especially regarding the skeleton. For this reason, synthetic soft tissue models have been used for a considerable amount of time. Soft-tissue simulants are either glycerine soap or ordnance gelatine [4,5]. A combination of soft- tissue simulant and animal tissue delivered reliable results in the reconstruction of a fatal hunting incident [6]. In order to simulate gunshots through osseous structures, synthetic models have been used in the past, usually in conjunc- tion with soft-tissue simulants [7–9]. However, although skull and long bone models have been used before, no ballistic experiments have – to our knowledge – been applied to the pelvic girdle. We therefore wanted to examine the possibilities of such a synthetic model by firing two different ammunition types, namely 9 mm Luger full metal jacket (FMJ) and semi-jacketed hollow point (SJHP).44 44 Rem. Mag. at a gelatine- synthetic bone model. In order to examine the soft-tissue simulant together with the damage to the synthetic bone, the model underwent multislice computed tomography. 2. Method and materials A synthetic pelvic girdle made of polyurethane (Synbone AG, Malans, Switzerland) (Fig. 1) was embedded in ordnance gelatine (10% gelatine). A 9-mm-Luger FMJ was fired horizontally from a distance of about 10 m at the right acetabulum and at the middle of the sacrum and a semi-jacketed 44 Rem. Mag. was fired at the left acetabulum. The entire pelvic girdle model then underwent MSCT scanning with a GE Lightspeed QX/i unit (General Electric Medical Systems, Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jofri Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging Fig. 1. Polyurethane pelvic girdle model (Synbone AG, Malans). 2212-4780/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jofri.2013.12.001 n Corresponding author. Department of Forensic Medicine and Imaging, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zuerich, Wintherthurerstrasse 190/52, CH-8057 Zuerich, Switzerland. E-mail address: stephan.bolliger@irm.uzh.ch (S.A. Bolliger). Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging 2 (2014) 17–19