Numerical simulations of skull fracture in a free hanging release
ANDRE ; LLARI ; PIERCECCHI-MARTIE ; ADALIAN ; LEONETTI ; THOLLON
Type de document
COMMUNICATION AVEC ACTES INTERNATIONAL (ACTI)
Langue
anglais
Auteur
ANDRE ; LLARI ; PIERCECCHI-MARTIE ; ADALIAN ; LEONETTI ; THOLLON
Résumé / Abstract
Hanging is a very common method of suicide, frequently met by pathologists. At the discovery of a hanged body, the first reaction is to cut the rope to try to save the person. If the body is not properly maintained during rope cutting, the fall can lead to a severe head impact against the ground. At the examination of the body, the presence of cranial traumatisms can raise interpretation issues, and a doubt between fall accident and crime disguised in suicide exists. The problem remains as to whether or not a fall after a free hanging release can lead to a skull fracture. To address this question, numerical simulations, PMHS (Post-Mortal Human Subject) tests and a parametrical study were performed. We first recreated the kinematics and velocity of this atypical fall with PMHS tests and multibody simulations. We then tested the importance of biological variability on the fracture formation with a head finite element model. Our results show that direction of the fall is mostly responsible for fall severity. Highest risk for fracture formation is observed in the occipital region and is associated to backward fall. Our study also highlights the importance of lower limb traumatisms in a free hanging release. Most importantly, we show that a fracture takes place in only 3,4% of falls that occur in a 10 to 90 cm height range. Altogether this study provides tools for pathologists and magistrates to favor a particular scenario and eventually to justify more forensic investigations.
