Title: End of' or 'start of' life? Visual technology and the transformation of traditional post-mortem
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: Dissection of the human body has played a central role in the practice of autopsy in England since the 16th century. From the 19th century onwards a number of technologies have been employed by pathologists to inform this process. For example, microscopes were introduced to analyse cells in the body, X-ray's to identify problems in the skeleton. Until recently, traditional practices such as these have remained the main way to establish cause of death in humans. Now, however, visual technologies used in hospitals such as Magnetic Resonance Imagining (MRI), are starting to be applied to certain areas of autopsy. Pregnancy loss and neonatal death are examples where the use of visual technology is particularly innovative and their use offers considerable practice and patient benefits, enabling the cause of death to be established without the need to dissect the body. At the same time, the technology produces an image of a baby which can be treasured by the parents forever and contribute to the parents' experiences of 'life', 'loss' and the memorial process. With technological advances set to transform the centuries old practice of autopsy, our understanding of the boundaries between life and death are becoming equally subject to change. Such change requires the need for research that goes beyond disciplinary boundaries and examines the impact of visual technologies when used in autopsy. Responding to these developments, this project will consist of an interdisciplinary team. Building upon recent work conducted by Dr Reed (PI) on the rise of MRI use in the area of obstetric medicine, autopsy has been identified as an area undergoing transformation by visual technologies. The project will be based in a unique site, developing a case study of the mortuary at Sheffield Children's Hospital. The PI & supporting research team will carry out an in-depth ethnographic approach drawing on a range of methods and encouraging respondents to participate in every stage of the research through an advisory group. Project staff will work closely with two pioneering UK specialists within the NHS whose works are at the forefront of fetal and paediatric pathology and imaging: Dr Elspeth Whitby (Consultant Radiologist) and Dr Marta Cohen (Consultant Pathologist). Similarly, Dr Reed (PI) an experienced medical sociologist and Dr Ellis (Research Assistant), have significant experience of conducting qualitative research in the sensitive area of neonatal loss and bereavement. This study comes at a critical time. With increasing investment of private and NHS funds in visual technologies, it offers a much needed and timely contribution to broader debates on the ability of biotechnology to redefine the boundaries between life and death, human and machine. As the title suggests, this project, "'End' of' or 'start of' life?" will address the practical and emerging questions of how visual technologies inform, or advance, the practice and policy of health care professionals. It will also ask what they can contribute to the parents' experiences of 'loss', 'life' and memory and the implications this has for our current understanding of the space between 'life' and 'death'. Where does this space begin, or end? How might the use of visual technologies and the imaging potential they offer, redefine our understanding of these perceived 'boundaries' and what impact might this have for parents, practitioners and more broadly, the further application of visual technologies in other areas of the health care profession? The implications for the academic community, for practitioners, for parents and for organizations that support parents through their experience of neonatal loss, are significant.


Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES
Health categories: REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND CHILDBIRTH