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Ortho-Tron Projection Rod

Definition

A commercial trajectory rod system manufactured by Sirchie, widely used by the FBI Evidence Response Team and forensic laboratories internationally, providing standardised diameters and mounting hardware for wound-channel insertion.

Related terms

Angle of Impact
The angle between the bullet's trajectory and the surface it penetrates, measured from the surface plane. Calculated from entry-hole geometry: sin(angle) =...
Bullet Trajectory Kit (BTK)
A laser-based trajectory projection system by Sirchie that replaces the physical rod with a laser module, projecting a visible beam along the...
Bullet Wipe (Metal Wipe)
The grey-black ring of bullet-jacket material (grease, metal oxides, carbon) deposited around the margin of an entry hole as the bullet's periphery...
Burke and Rowe 1992
The primary peer-reviewed study of bullet ricochet behaviour on concrete, asphalt, and vehicle metal surfaces, published in the Journal of the Forensic...
Faro Focus 3D
A terrestrial laser scanner used for crime-scene documentation, capturing a full-resolution point-cloud model of the scene at millimetre accuracy. Trajectory rods or...
Keyhole Wound
An asymmetric teardrop-shaped bullet entry hole produced when the bullet strikes the surface sideways or is unstabilised, indicating close-range fire (pre-stabilisation) or...
Ricochet
The deflection of a bullet off a surface at a low angle of incidence, producing a new trajectory that diverges from the...
Single-Bullet Trajectory Analysis (JFK/HSCA)
The 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations photogrammetric reconstruction of the Kennedy assassination trajectories, the most extensively reviewed shooting reconstruction in forensic...
Trajectory Rod
A rigid fibreglass or aluminium rod inserted through a bullet wound channel and aligned with the channel geometry to define the bullet's...

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