Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick is pleased to announce the availability of a three-year fully funded PhD research programme in collaboration with West Midlands Police in micro-CT imaging. Micro-CT scans are a non-invasive and non-destructive imaging modality and allow the acquisition of highly detailed three-dimensional images at a resolution 100 times more detailed than a medical CT-scanner. The acquired sectional images can be obtained with a pixel-size in the micrometer range. Micro-CT has been used in various research subjects such as electronics, manufacturing, geology, archaeology, biomedical and forensic areas.
Particularly within forensic applications, micro-CT has seen a recent increase in its applications for areas such as bone characterisations and bone injury analysis, ballistics, tool mark analysis, differentiating human and animal bone, morphometric, post-mortem interval estimation, heat exposure, dental analysis, bloodstain pattern analysis and 3D printed weapons.

The extraordinary level of detail with this imaging modality introduces new prospects for particularly assessing the presence, and analysis of trauma in bone with much higher quality than conventional medical CT scanners or plain film x-rays. The utilisation of this newer imaging modality also requires a deeper understanding of the possibilities and limitations when visualising material for trauma analysis. Analysing primarily bone, but also cartilage through the different developmental and degenerative processes of various life stages, is a complex process and still has several unresolved areas for further research focus.

This project will focus on assessing bone trauma, in both adult and non-adult material. This project will make use of micro-CT scanning to investigate how this imaging modality can be better utilised for use within the Criminal Justice System as a medico-legal technique, not just for visualising findings during the post-mortem examination and court presentation of evidence, but also to develop this imaging modality even further. This project will use a combination of statistical analysis and imaging techniques to optimise the utilisation of micro-CT especially for analysis of osseous trauma. The project will also involve comparing medical CT and histopathology to findings from micro-CT scans. This will be used to validate the imaging technique for forensic purposes and develop this modality as a complementary method for trauma analysis.

We are looking for an applicant that is research driven, self-motivated, logically thinking, independent and problem-solving. Applicants should have a good degree (minimum of a UK Upper Second (2:1) in biological anthropology, forensic anthropology, human osteology, anatomy, medicine, biomedical science, radiology, radiography, forensic sciences, criminal law, or a closely related discipline.