Evaluation of thermal and kinetic parameters of fragment in gunshot injuries

Abstract

The purpose was to demonstrate the potential of statistical assessment for determining shrapnel fragment temperature and velocity based on biomedical indicators of injury severity. Materials and methods. Chinchilla breed rabbits were selected as experimental material and subjects for modeling ballistic and shrapnel wound injuries. The scientific experiment was conducted as an active study having the controlled temperature and velocity of impacting shrapnel and bullets as the main influencing factors. Primary measurement data was collected using biophysical and biochemical examinations of the wounded animals. This data was then processed using methods of multivariate parametric statistics, validating the scientific findings with a specified level of confidence. Results. A statistically significant influence of the levels for the factors “Fragment temperature” and “Fragment linear velocity” on the selection of optimal subsets of biomedical indicators maximally correlated with observation time has been proven. The fundamental possibility of independent evaluation of the temperature values (according to the indicators “Alanine transaminase”, “Alkaline phosphatase”) and speed (according to the indicators “Total protein”, “Segmented neutrophils”) of damaging fragments during the initial examination of the wounded has been proven. Mathematical models (1) and (2) are presented for evaluating, respectively, the temperature and linear velocity of the fragment. It has been shown that the given errors in distinguishing between temperature and velocity levels are within the range of 25–30 % for a confidence probability of P = 0.8, and the error for the speed evaluation of a fragment is less than its temperature evaluation. The increased accuracy of fragment velocity evaluation provides additional information about the depth of the wound, which is another positive result of the study. Conclusions. A statistically significant influence of the levels for the factors “Fragment temperature” and “Fragment linear velocity” on the selection of optimal subsets of biomedical indicators maximally correlated with observation time has been proven. The fundamental possibility of independent evaluation of the temperature values (according to the indicators “Alanine transaminase”, “Alkaline phosphatase”) and speed (according to the indicators “Total protein”, “Segmented neutrophils”) of damaging fragments during the initial examination of the wounded has been proven. Mathematical models are presented for evaluating, respectively, the temperature and linear velocity of the fragment. It has been shown that the given errors in distinguishing between temperature and velocity levels are within the range of 25–30 % for a confidence probability of P = 0.8, and the error for the speed evaluation of a fragment is less than its temperature evaluation. The increased accuracy of fragment velocity evaluation provides additional information about the depth of the wound, which is another positive result of the study. The statistical reliability of regression models for estimating shrapnel temperature and velocity has been confirmed through biophysical experimental results. This approach expands the informational foundation for developing treatment technologies in shrapnel wounds