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RTI and pathologies on bones


JenniferG

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Hello,

 

I was wondering if there were any projects already achieved on osteological material. A part from loads of archaeological investigations and conservation studies led on artefacts, I could not find any.

I am currently trying to assess the relevance of RTI application to pathologies and specificities on human skulls.

 

More specifically I am looking at cribra orbitalia (lesions in the orbits) and a palatine torus (bony protrusion on the palate) on human skulls. I would like to know RTI imaging could be useful to the anthropological in order to refine his diagnostic of such particularities.

 

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Exemple of palatine torus

 

If you happen to know any paper or project that did similar stury I would be glad to know.

 

Thank you all,

 

Jennifer

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Jennifer,

 

While we certainly don't know every RTI project going on, our team at Cultural Heritage Imaging has worked with dozens of institutions on RTI training and other projects.  We have heard some interest expressed by folks working in Natural History museums to apply RTI to bones, we aren't aware of any projects that have been done in this area.

 

In terms of the value of RTI for such research, it will really come down to what information you need to bring out in order to answer your question.  RTI is really useful for bringing out fine surface details, including scratches, cracks, bumps, etc. Often the surface details which can be seen cannot be seen with the naked eye. If that is useful in answering your questions, then RTI could be very valuable for you.

 

I suggest imaging a couple of examples to see what you can see. You can learn RTI on your own, we offer training and consulting, and we also offer imaging services.  I don't know where you are located. There is some info on our website here: http://culturalheritageimaging.org/What_We_Offer/Training/

and also do it yourself materials here: http://culturalheritageimaging.org/What_We_Offer/Downloads/

 

 Email me if you want more info forums@c-h-i.org.  

 

Your project looks really interesting, and I think RTI could be a useful tool.

 

Carla

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I'll mention that I've seen one example in a Smithsonian Technical Note describing the use of a ring flash to help fill in detail for the RTI capture of a human skull (it's described at the end of the linked paper):

http://www.si.edu/content/MCIImagingStudio/papers/FlexibleSolutions_RTI_Technical_Note.pdf

 

I'm not sure how this method would affect the accuracy of the normals derived from the RTI, but they said it was helpful visually.  I've also talked with anthropologists about the use of RTI for forensics, but I imagine it might take a while before any examples get published.  Using RTI to study bones looks like a very promising application.

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I should add that there has been some work with fossils.  Some of the early PTM work done at HPLabs included fossil examples.  The cameras were much lower resolution at that time (10+ years ago) so you can't zoom in as far to see details (or only a tiny area was shot)  We also imaged a few fossils from the CA Museum of Paleontology.  The Paleontologist who reviewed the work thought these were worthwhile, though nothing was published.

 

Carla

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Hello,

 

Thank you for your replies.

I learned it by my own and I got some results.

The first exemple is a frontal bone (forehead, you can see the start of the orbits in the lower side) and we can clearly see the bumps and lumps induced by the syphilis disease.

The second example is a palate bone (view from below) and instead of being more or less flat, it is clear that there is a big relief in the middle in a V-shape (you can even see the three smaller bumps that constitute the right side of the torus).

 

So I am pretty satisfied so far.

post-282-0-51937600-1377638084_thumb.jpg

post-282-0-87478500-1377638579_thumb.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have been doing RTI on human bones prior to their reburial.  I have had good results with pathologies such as osteomyelitis, and other instances where the surface texture of the cortex is altered due to the pathology.  In terms of porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbital, you will get a good view of the pin pricking but not the internal structure of the bones which is essential for any diagnosis (see Walker et al 2009), unless you have a cross-section of course.  I think the applications of RTI to bones is highly worthwhile, and as you have shown, surface deformations or alterations are more clearly visible using RTI compared to other techniques.  I would imagine dental studies would also benefit from RTI.

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