The objective of virtopsy is not only to improve the objectivity of findings made by traditonal autopsy but also to solve those cases that are difficult to solve with conventional post-mortem examination. Modern cross-sectional imagingand postprocessing techniques can provide strong forensic evidencefor use in legal proceedings; particularly we want to show how itcan supplement traditional autopsy of burned cadavers, helping finding the primary cause of the death, the presence of foreign bodies and the identification of the corpses.

To discover corpses identification and their cause of death represented a challenge for forensic pathologists, so it was decided to perform CT cross sectional imaging of the bodies. We studied 4 burned cadavers (2 male and 2 female) with 128 row CT scan (SOMATOM Definition Flash 128, Siemens Healthcare) without constrast medium administration performed in cranio-caudal direction. The corpses underwent traditional autopsy before CT examination. The results were examinated at dedicated workstation with MPR and 3D reconstrucions and compared with traditionals autopsy data.

The correct examination of a burned or charredbody is a challenge . It is expected to give us objective informationrespect to: Identification Vital reactions indicating that the decedent had been alivewhen the fire started Cause of death and injuries Manner of death. CT imaging particuralry permitted us to correclty establish the cause of the death and to identify the bodies (Fig 1,2,3). In two bodies death was caused by firearm wounds and burning was subsequent to death. In every corpse CT findings were agreiing with...

It is important in forensic medicine to document and analyze in an objective way cause and manner of death and identification of deceased persons,ina comprehensible way for courtroom presentation, especially when traditional autopsy data are not conclusive. Examination, interpretation and conclusion respect to identification, cause and manner of death are more difficult in burned bodies. The documentation and analysis of postmortem findings with CT imaging and postprocessing techniques is investigator independent, objective, and noninvasive . Post-mortem MSCT cross-sectional imaging helps traditional autopsy outdoing its limits,...

VIRTOPSY: minimally invasive, imaging-guided virtual autopsy Richard Dirnhofer, MD Christian Jackowski, MD Peter Vock, MD Kimberlee Potter, PhD Michael J. Thali, MD RadioGraphics,2006, Vol 26: 1305-1333 Virtual autopsy: preliminary experience in high velocity gunshot wound victims Angela D. Levy, Robert M. Abbott, Craig T. Mallak,John M. Getz, H.Theodore Harcke, Howard R. Champion,Lisa A. Pearse Radiology, 2006, Vol.240: 522-528 Charred Body: Virtual Autopsy with Multi-sliceComputed Tomography and MagneticResonance Imaging Michael J. Thali, Kathrin Yen, Thomas Plattner, Wolf Schweitzer,Peter Vock, Christoph Ozdoba and Richard Dirnhofer J Forensic...