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@ARTICLE{Schaarschmidt:300806,
      author       = {B. M. Schaarschmidt and J. Hegmanns and J. Wulff and V.
                      Haase and S. Faby and F. Baum and C. Bäumer$^*$ and S.
                      Zensen and J. Haubold and B. Hartung},
      title        = {{P}hoton-counting {CT} for bullet material differentiation:
                      applications in forensic radiology.},
      journal      = {European radiology experimental},
      volume       = {9},
      number       = {1},
      issn         = {2509-9280},
      address      = {[Cham]},
      publisher    = {Springer International Publishing},
      reportid     = {DKFZ-2025-00926},
      pages        = {49},
      year         = {2025},
      abstract     = {Gunshot deaths due to homicide or military encounters are a
                      major health concern. Noninvasive bullet characterization is
                      of major importance for patients with lodged bullets or in
                      mass disasters with multiple cadavers, which must be
                      prioritized for autopsy. Therefore, the aim of this study
                      was to investigate whether brass and lead bullets can be
                      differentiated using photon-counting CT (PCCT).Nine
                      different lead (n = 6) or brass (n = 3) bullets were
                      investigated on a state-of-the-art PCCT using a clinically
                      unavailable research mode. Here, four image sets were
                      reconstructed for different energy thresholds (20, 55, 72,
                      90 keV). Three circular regions of interest were placed on
                      the 20-keV threshold images by two readers and automatically
                      copied to the three other threshold images. Based on
                      measured HU mean and max values, dual-energy indices (DEI)
                      were calculated for the low/high energy threshold pairs of
                      20/90, 55/90, and 72/90 keV.Significant differences of DEIs
                      between lead and brass projectiles were observed for the
                      20/90 keV DEI for HU mean ± standard deviation values (Qr40
                      kernel, lead: -0.085 ± 0.021, brass: 0.024 ± 0.048) and HU
                      max values (Qr40 kernel, lead: -0.093 ± 0.011, brass: 0.023
                      ± 0.057) (p < 0.001 for both). Differences decreased for
                      the 55/90 and 72/90 keV DEIs between the two projectile
                      materials but remained statistically significant.In this
                      PCCT phantom study, significant differences were observed
                      between lead and brass bullets in the different energy
                      threshold images.Photon-counting CT could be a promising
                      tool for bullet identification as significant differences
                      were found in the different energy threshold images for lead
                      and brass bullets, with application in clinical and forensic
                      radiology.In emergency settings, noninvasive bullet
                      characterization is of importance for law enforcement.
                      Bullet material characterization can be performed using
                      photon-counting CT. These characteristics can be quantified
                      in the four different energy threshold images.},
      keywords     = {Forensic Imaging: methods / Wounds, Gunshot: diagnostic
                      imaging / Wounds, Gunshot: mortality / Photons / Homicide /
                      Armed Conflicts / Humans / Tomography, X-Ray Computed:
                      methods / Lead / Copper / Zinc / Firearms / Mass Casualty
                      Incidents / Brass (Other) / Forensic ballistics (Other) /
                      Lead (Other) / Tomography (x-ray computed) (Other) / Wounds
                      (gunshot) (Other) / Lead (NLM Chemicals) / brass (NLM
                      Chemicals) / Copper (NLM Chemicals) / Zinc (NLM Chemicals)},
      cin          = {ED01},
      ddc          = {610},
      cid          = {I:(DE-He78)ED01-20160331},
      pnm          = {899 - ohne Topic (POF4-899)},
      pid          = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-899},
      typ          = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
      pubmed       = {pmid:40319414},
      pmc          = {pmc:PMC12050241},
      doi          = {10.1186/s41747-025-00586-x},
      url          = {https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/300806},
}