An Overview of 3D Printing in Forensic Science: The Tangible Third‐Dimension

Abstract

There has been a rapid development and utilization of three‐dimensional (3D) printing technologies in engineering, health care, and dentistry. Like many technologies in overlapping disciplines, these techniques have proved to be useful and hence incorporated into the forensic sciences. Therefore, this paper describes how the potential of using 3D printing is being recognized within the various sub‐disciplines of forensic science and suggests areas for future applications. For instance, the application can create a permanent record of an object or scene that can be used as demonstrative evidence, preserving the integrity of the actual object or scene. Likewise, 3D printing can help with the visualization of evidential spatial relationships within a scene and increase the understanding of complex terminology within a courtroom. However, while the application of 3D printing to forensic science is beneficial, currently there is limited research demonstrated in the literature and a lack of reporting skewing the visibility of the applications. Therefore, this article highlights the need to create good practice for 3D printing across the forensic science process, the need to develop accurate and admissible 3D printed models while exploring the techniques, accuracy and bias within the courtroom, and calls for the alignment of future research and agendas perhaps in the form of a specialist working group.

Superimposed polygonal approximation analysis comparing 2D photography and 3D scanned images of bite marks on human skin

“…To our knowledge, there are no controlled trials involving human subjects on bite mark changes to date. There have been articles that are introducing 3D imaging as forensic evidence preservation technique with no actual experimental research studied (Carew and Errickson 2020;Raneri 2018).…”

Application Of 3D Technology In Criminal Proceedings

“…A virtual model of the scene will allow the participants of the criminal event to reproduce the actions committed during the crime, which significantly affects the process of proving. Using 3D (Baldasso et al, 2021;Carew & Errickson, 2020;Carew et al, 2019;Leipner et al, 2019). The benefits of 3D scanning are evident in facial reconstruction from the skull.…”

A review of visualization techniques of post-mortem computed tomography data for forensic death investigations

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