page_title: Digital autopsy
section_title: Concept
hierarchical_section_title: Digital autopsy / Concept
caption_attribution_description: English: Muscular view of the three dimensional body
context_page_description: A digital autopsy is a non-invasive autopsy in which digital imaging technology, such as with Computerized Tomography or Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans, is used to develop three-dimensional images for a virtual exploration of a human body.
  Digital autopsy, simply, means conducting autopsy in computerized environment by digital tools. The first step of digitizing starts with the medical imaging modalities that provide the raw data images from the deceased. The most common modalities are Computerized Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner. Three dimensional medical visualization is the technical process that provide the digital environment for exploration of the 3D body and conducting the digital autopsy.
  The term cannot be found before 1985 in the literature. However, there are many other similar terms like: Postmortem CT scanning for individual organs, volumetric radiologic scanning, Virtual Autopsy and Virtopsy.
context_section_description: In a forensic autopsy or Post-mortem examination, body of deceased is examined to acquire information on the cause of death inclusive but not limited to manner of death in people dying sudden, unexpected, violent, drug-related, or otherwise suspicious deaths. Digital Autopsy tries to answer the same investigative questions without actual dissection as in a conventional autopsy.
  The main concept of Digital Autopsy came into existence to overcome some problems during conventional autopsies without losing the objectivity of post-mortem examination. The main problems in conventional autopsy are:
  It is impossible to preserve the body after dissection and gather the findings with non-destructive and contamination-free procedures.
  Data acquisition in some body regions are difficult to somehow impossible, particularly in cases of decomposition.
  Observer-independent documentation of the evidence is not available
  Data acquisition of the body with respect for the deceased, next of kin and religious obligations
  Slow and incomplete data acquisition in disasters
  Digital Autopsy would be a technical solution for above mentioned problems. Employing medical imaging modalities like CT or MRI scanners is the first step in order to examine the deceased visually without any destructive, contaminating and non-preservative procedures like dissection. Moreover, using these images with software processing in visualization is the second step toward acquiring data from difficult regions from anatomical perspective and dignity of the body. Digital bodies in the system can be examined multiple times and reported not only in text but also in variety of available media (photo, movie, etc.). In addition, quick evaluation of bodies and body parts in massive disasters is available in comparison to time-consuming procedure of conventional autopsy.
  However, there are few limitations in Digital Autopsy. The main constraint is the data that is provided by medical imaging modalities are based on X-Ray and Magnetic fields (CT and MRI) that limits the view to what can be recorded by these technologies. A very obvious difference is the real colour of internal body organs and their changes in the deceased, in comparison to what is simulated in the visualization software. The novelty of this technological solution has not given enough time for studies on the consistency of reports among different professionals on the same cases. Moreover, there are few articles about validity of Digital Autopsy in action.
caption: Showing only the muscles of the three dimensional body (This picture is created by iDASS and copyrighted to iGene Sdn. Bhd.)
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