title: Applicability of cranial models in urethane resin and foam as a substitute for bone: are synthetic materials reliable?
abstract: As literature is poor in functional synthetic cranial models, in this study, synthetic handmade models of cranial vaults were produced in two different materials (a urethane resin and a self-hardening foam), from multiple bone specimens (eight original cranial vaults: four human and four swine), in order to test their resemblance to bone structure in behavior, during fracture formation. All the vaults were mechanically tested with a 2-kg impact weight and filmed with a high-speed camera. Fracture patterns were homogeneous in all swine vaults and heterogeneous in human vaults, with resin fractures more similar to bone fractures. Mean fracture latency time extrapolated by videos were of 0.75 msec (bone), 1.5 msec (resin), 5.12 msec (foam) for human vaults and of 0.625 msec (bone), 1.87 msec (resin), 3.75 msec (foam) for swine vaults. These data showed that resin models are more similar to bone than foam reproductions, but that synthetic material may behave quite differently from bone as concerns fracture latency times.
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute-Sezione di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli 37, 20133, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Muccino
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute-Sezione di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli 37, 20133, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Porta
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute-Sezione di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli 37, 20133, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Magli
authors.affiliation: Sezione di Misure e Tecniche Sperimentali, Dipartimento di Meccanica, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cigada
authors.affiliation: Sezione di Misure e Tecniche Sperimentali, Dipartimento di Meccanica, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Remo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sala
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute-Sezione di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli 37, 20133, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gibelli
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute-Sezione di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli 37, 20133, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D018732:Forensic Anthropology; D018460:Fractures, Comminuted / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D023421:Models, Animal; D008954:Models, Biological; D012117:Resins, Synthetic; D020204:Skull Fracture, Depressed / Q000473:pathology; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000473:pathology*; D013552:Swine; D014520:Urethane; D014741:Video Recording
chemical_list: D012117:Resins, Synthetic; D014520:Urethane
keywords: forensic anthropology; forensic science; fractures; high-speed camera; synthetic models; trauma