Applying 3D prints to reconstructing postmortem craniofacial features damaged by devastating head injuries

•Devastating head injuries often require for facial features be reconstructed.•To date, hard-tissue restorations have been mostly disregarded.•3D printing enables to build physical replicas of heavily damaged cranial elements.•A generic 3D model is a suitable foundation for restoring damaged cranial...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Legal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) Japan), 2018-07, Vol.33, p.48-52
Main Authors: Urbanová, Petra, Vojtíšek, Tomáš, Frišhons, Jan, Šandor, Ondřej, Jurda, Mikoláš, Krajsa, Jan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3D printing
Autopsy
Facial identification
Postmortem examination
Reconstructive techniques
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Summary:•Devastating head injuries often require for facial features be reconstructed.•To date, hard-tissue restorations have been mostly disregarded.•3D printing enables to build physical replicas of heavily damaged cranial elements.•A generic 3D model is a suitable foundation for restoring damaged cranial features.•3D print-based reconstructive approach is simple, affordable and labor-efficient. Postmortem facial identification is one of the most common techniques for establishing a deceased person’s identity. In victims suffering from devastating cranial injuries, the feasibility of facial identification tasks can be compromised by damage to or disfigurement of the identifying cranial features. Although there are several reconstructive approaches, which help experts to restore the essence of person’s physical appearance, thus enhancing the chances of recognition, only a few of them involve restoring the fractured cranial bones as the foundation for the reconstructed soft tissues. Here, we propose a technique based on replacement of heavily damaged hard tissues with generic prosthetics manufactured by 3D printing. Our approach does not require medical imaging technologies or other costly lab equipment. It is simple, affordable and relatively labor-efficient. The deceased’s reconstructed craniofacial features can be subsequently assessed, photographed, drawn or otherwise reproduced in order to help determine his or her identity. In addition, the imagery can be displayed, published or broadcasted in media without concerns of being overly graphic.
ISSN:1344-6223
1873-4162
DOI:10.1016/j.legalmed.2018.05.005