Скачать или смотреть micro-CT Scan of Richard III's Skull 3D (Red - Blue 3D glasses required)

The forensic analysis of Richard III’s remains by micro-computed X-ray tomography (micro-CT) is the first time that this advanced technique has been applied to an archaeological investigation.

Computed X-ray tomography (CT) has routinely been used for medical applications since the early 1970s, and we are all familiar with the image of a patient sliding through a doughnut-shaped ‘CAT scanner’. An X-ray source is located on one side of the ring, an X-ray detector on the other, and the whole affair rotates around the patient. Sophisticated software is then used to turn the succession of radiographs into a 3D image.

Micro-CT is a much higher-resolution technique in which the X-ray source (an electron gun in a vacuum tube) and the detector remain static while the sample rotates. The East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit, part of the University of Leicester located on the Leicester Royal Infirmary site, and the University’s Department of Engineering are together leading in the use of micro-CT for forensic applications.

Applying the micro-CT technique to Richard III’s remains allows us to study them in great detail, in particular the visible wounds and the effect of the scoliosis. The work was led by Professor Guy Rutty, Chief Forensic Pathologist and Professor Sarah Hainsworth, Professor of Materials Engineering.

The video clip was produced by Graham Clark in the Mechanics of Materials Group in the Department of Engineering at the University of Leicester.

To See the full 3D effect you need to wear red-blue glasses when you view this video.