isrrt Newsletter Volume 45. No.2 - 2009

Report
Forensic Radiology
The International Association of Forensic
Radiographers Annual Conference 2009
Manchester Conference Centre
September 12, 2009
This year’s annual conference of the IAFR took place
at the Manchester Conference Centre on Saturday 12th
September 2009. The highly successful event, sponsored
by Xograph, was attended by over 100 delegates, some
coming from as far afield as Ireland, the Netherlands and
even Australia!
After registration, the day began in earnest with a
warm welcome from Catherine Rock, Chair of the IAFR,
to all the delegates, speakers & committee members
who had travelled from far and wide to attend the event.
Catherine then introduced Sandy Yule, General Secretary
of the International Society of Radiographers & Radiologic
Technologists (ISRRT) who gave his opening address,
taking examples from film and television to illustrate
how important and interesting the world of forensics has
become to members of the general public. Sandy also
made comparisons with some famous forensic characters
from literature and television, to some of the lecturers that
had kindly agreed to speak to us, proving that although the
entertainment industry might make the job look easy, the
job does indeed get done by a wide and varying range of
highly skilled and professional individuals.
Before the lectures began, it was announced the FUJI
had donated a study award of £100 (A$180). As a result of
this, one delegate was awarded a cheque to cover the cost of
their registration fee. All names went into an envelope and
the winner was picked at random by Sandy Yule. William
Priestley, an APT from the Glasgow Police Mortuary, was
the lucky recipient of the award and is seen below left
collecting his prize from Sandy Yule
We were honoured to have the first lecture of the day,
our keynote address, presented by Professor Gil Brogdon
MD (pictured below), Forensic Radiologist & Emeritus
Professor of the University of South Alabama and IAFR
patron.
Professor Brogdon’s lecture, entitled ‘Who are we?
Where have we come from & where are we going?
– Forensic Radiology: Past, Present & Future’, gave a
fascinating insight into the history of forensic radiography
dating back to 1896 when the first forensic x-ray was shown
at a conference and demonstrated how both localisation
and extraction of a bullet was helped by the use of
radiography. As a result of this, both the cause and manner
of death was proved, and this would not have been possible
without the use of a simple
x-ray. Professor Brogdon
then continued to chart
the use of forensic x-rays
through history discussing
how they became invaluable
in cases of professional
malpractice, postal fraud
& false documentation
as well as how they were
used in cases against both a
potential diamond thief and a
fraudulent diamond broker!
The professor continued
showing how radiography
made its way into the world
of forensic science and told
of how, in 1921, a document
20 ISRRT Newsletter