Projectile Wound to Head from Modified Electronic Cigarette Explosion |
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Authors: | Tyler Beining B.S. Jon R. Thogmartin M.D. Wayne Kurz M.D. |
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Affiliation: | District Six Medical Examiner’s Office, 10900 Ulmerton Road, Largo, FL, 33778 |
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Abstract: | One of the dangers of a rapidly growing technology industry is the risk involved in being intimately close to lithium-ion batteries. When exposed to improper conditions, lithium-ion batteries in a variety of devices have been reported to ignite and, in some cases, explode. With the rise of electronic cigarette use and modifications, the lithium-ion batteries in these devices are subject to a higher risk of malfunction. This is a retrograde analysis of a 38-year-old man who experienced fatal penetrating head trauma while using a modified electronic cigarette device. The findings suggest that the trauma from the explosion was caused by the thermal runaway of the lithium-ion battery in the modified e-cigarette. |
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Keywords: | autopsy forensic pathology vape modified electronic cigarette lithium-ion battery cranial trauma thermal runaway |
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