Scalpels may soon be a thing of the past

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Scalpels may soon be a thing of the past

 

December 04 2003 at 11:12AM

 

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=31 & art_id=qw1070529121562B221 & set_id=1

 

Chicago - In the not-too-distant future, autopsies might be performed using

computerised scanning rather than scalpels, if research led by a Swiss

forensic pathologist bears fruit.

 

The " virtual autopsy " as envisioned and practiced by Dr Michael Thali and

colleagues at the University of Bern's Institute of Forensic Medicine is a

minimally invasive procedure that relies on high technology rather than

sharp implements.

 

It offers advantages in criminal cases since bodies are not cut up and

juries view computer simulations rather than photos of cadavers, Thali said

on Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North

America.

 

" It does not destroy key forensic evidence, " Thali said. " Also, when you

present autopsy findings in a courtroom they can be very gruesome. "

 

'It offers advantages in criminal cases'

The new technology will also make autopsies on decomposed bodies

considerably easier.

 

Thali said technicians use advanced computed tomography - CT scans - to get

an overview of the body, then follow that up with magnetic resonance imaging

for details of organs, muscles and soft tissue.

 

Three-dimensional surface scanning provides a picture of the outside of the

body. All the images can then be merged on the computer, giving

investigators a picture of the entire body that can be stored on a computer,

emailed to others for a second opinion or even posted on a website, Thali

said.

 

The technique, he said, could be used when family members feel squeamish

about a traditional autopsy or their religion forbids it.

 

Dr Edmund Donoghue, the Cook County medical examiner, said pathologists

already use imaging technology - generally X-rays - in some cases, but he

was skeptical that virtual autopsy would replace the classic autopsy anytime

soon.

 

'All the images can then be merged on the computer'

" This combines two very costly imaging technologies. It's probably outside

the reach of most medical examiner's offices at the current time, " he said.

 

Also, he said, a full-body scan with MRI equipment takes up to three hours,

and his office handles about 17 cases a day, meaning he would need several

machines.

 

Thali said he believes both the time needed to complete a scan and the cost

of the equipment will come down in the future.

 

Sholom Ackelsberg, general manager for global CT research and advanced

applications at GE Medical Systems, said CT scanners and MRI equipment sell

for between $300 000 (about R1,8-million) and $2-million (about R12-million)

apiece. He predicted both falling prices and increased quality in coming

years.

 

Thali said he and his colleagues have used the techniques for three years

and 100 cases of crime victims. First they conducted a virtual autopsy, then

a standard one. The results, he said, showed that the virtual autopsy is as

accurate as traditional autopsies.

 

Eventually, he predicted, the procedure will be accepted by courts and

pathologists. " It's absolutely comparable to how DNA evidence was in the

mid-1980s, " he said. " In 10 or 15 years I think it will be just as

accepted. " - Sapa-AP

 

For more on the Radiological Society of North America visit www.rsna.org