Digital Autopsy (Virtopsy): An Introduction
摘要
Post-mortem examination of the deceased individuals specifically in cases of unnatural and/or suspicious deaths is carried out to identify the cause of death and time since death. The process is termed autopsy and is carried out physically by expert doctors by opening up the body for internal examination after external examination. Radiography is occasionally used to find broken bones and locate projectiles lodged in the dead body. However, this approach is now being upgraded to a newer version of the traditional autopsy, i.e. digital autopsy, aka virtopsy. Digital autopsy as the name suggests utilizes various digital aids like 3D scanning, photogrammetry, CT scan, MRI, etc. in a bloodless, humanitarian approach treating the dead with more dignity. Although this approach has many advantages, the high cost involved acts as a hurdle in its widespread implementation. This chapter presents an overview of the modern autopsy technique known as virtopsy/digital autopsy. It also covers the methods and their sequential process for performing a digital autopsy on a body. It also discusses the legal considerations and case studies.