Browsing by Author "McGivern, Hannah"

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    Age-related trends in the trabecular micro-architecture of the medial clavicle: is it of use in forensic science?
    (Frontiers, 2020-01-22) McGivern, Hannah; Greenwood, Charlene; Márquez-Grant, Nicholas; Kranioti, Elena F.; Xhemali, Bledar; Zioupos, Peter
    The mechanical and structural properties of bone are known to change significantly with age. Within forensic and archaeological investigations, the medial end of the clavicle is typically used for estimating the age-at-death of an unknown individual. Although, this region of the skeleton is of interest to forensic and clinical domains, alterations beyond the macro-scale have not been fully explored. For this study, non-destructive micro-computed tomography (µ-CT) was employed to characterize structural alterations to the cancellous bone of the medial clavicle. Fresh human cadaveric specimens (12-59 years) obtained at autopsy were utilized for this study, and were scanned with a voxel size of ∼83µm. Morphometric properties were quantified and indicated that the bone volume, connectivity density, mineral density, and number of trabeculae decreased with age, while the spacing between the trabeculae increased with age. In contrast to other sub-regions of the skeleton, trabecular thickness, and degree of anisotropy did not correlate with age. Collectively, this could suggest that the network is becoming increasingly perforated with age rather than exhibiting trabecular thinning. These results are used in the context of deriving a potential protocol for forensic investigations by using this particular and largely unexplored region of the skeleton, and provide inspiration for future experiments concerning micro-architectural and small scale changes in other regions of the human skeleton.
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    Age-related trends in the trabecular micro-architecture of the medial clavicle: Is it of use in forensic science?
    (Cranfield University, 2020-01-21 15:02) McGivern, Hannah; Greenwood, Charlene; Marquez-Grant, Nicholas; F. Kranioti, Elena; Zioupos, Peter
    The mechanical and structural properties of bone are known to change significantly with age. Within forensic and archaeological investigations, the medial end of the clavicle is typically used for estimating the age-at-death of an unknown individual. Although, this region of the skeleton is of interest to forensic and clinical domains, alterations beyond the macro-scale have not been fully explored. For this study, non-destructive micro-computed tomography (µ-CT) was employed to characterise structural alterations to the cancellous bone of the medial clavicle. Fresh human cadaveric specimens (12-59 years) obtained at autopsy were utilised for this study, and were scanned with a voxel size of ~83µm. Morphometric properties were quantified and indicated that the bone volume, connectivity, mineral density and number of trabeculae decreased with age, while the spacing between the trabeculae increased with age. In contrast to other sub-regions of the skeleton, trabecular thickness and degree of anisotropy did not correlate with age, which could suggest that the network is becoming increasing perforated with age rather than exhibiting trabecular thinning. These results are used in the context of deriving a potential protocol for forensic investigations by using this particular and largely unexplored region of the skeleton and provide inspiration for future experiments concerning micro-architectural and small scale changes in other regions of the human skeleton.
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    I feel it in my bones! An investigation into the mechanical and structural changes to bone as we age
    (Cranfield University, 2017-12-12 08:33) McGivern, Hannah
    3MT presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.Bone biomechanics is concerned with the study of the ailments and performance of our musculoskeletal system. Our knowledge of this field has been propelled forward by those in the automotive industry, who specialise in applied biomechanics and engineering. Their interest in this subject matter stems from the continual need to improve vehicle safety, but our skeletons also provide anthropological records of our lives, and can even act as a record of a criminal act. The aim of this research is to conduct a detailed assessment to examine the changes that occur to the structural and mechanical properties of the rib and clavicle bones, as we age. This multimethod approach will combine a non-invasive technique, micro-computed tomography (µ-CT), with multiple invasive methods including nanoindentation, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and DSC-TGA. The proposed outcome of this research will be to use the resulting data to create a more comprehensive overview of the microarchitecture and mechanical behaviour of the rib and clavicle bones, which can then be used collaboratively with various disciplines. Understanding how these bones deteriorate with age will be particularly helpful for mitigating skeletal brittleness in some vulnerable groups like the elderly, by informing orthopaedic surgeons on the structure and condition of bone, which in turn could assist with the management of fractures through treatment and rehabilitation. Forensic anthropology, in parallel, will draw information to establish mechanisms of trauma, providing critical information for forensic investigations, as well as archaeological case studies that bear injuries, and in grasping the historical context for archaeological studies of past populations.
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    Micro-CT scan of medial clavicle
    (Cranfield University, 2018-06-14 16:15) McGivern, Hannah
    The first stage of this inter-disciplinary doctoral research was to scan a sample of sternal clavicles, to assess changes in the structural and mechanical properties with age, using micro-computed tomography. An image sequence was then generated using ImageJ, which shows the changes in the cross-sectional shape and proportion of cortical to trabecular bone throughout the medial third of one clavicle from the sample analysed during this investigation.