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History and Current State of Forensic Imaging

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P5 Medicine and Justice

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Abstract

When Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-rays on the 8th of November, 1895, not only Clinical Diagnostic Radiology but also Forensic Radiology came into being. Röntgen himself created the first radiographs, which showed the potential of the new rays concerning forensics. In 1896, Röntgen’s discovery induced fantasies—in 2016, some of these fantasies have materialised in forensics. Since 1896, X-rays have been utilised by forensic pathologists. As parts of new techniques and methods, X-rays help to answer old questions. In this chapter Milestones, Tools, and Techniques of post mortem and ante mortem forensic imaging are presented and discussed. The future will show whether and where Virtopsy shall be used in addition to forensic pathology—or instead of autopsy—and how far the applications of imaging methods without ionising radiation will increase the utilization and the diagnostic power in the clinical forensic medicine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529, Hamburg, Germany

    Hermann Vogel

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  1. Hermann Vogel
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Correspondence to Hermann Vogel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Legal and Occupational Medicine, Toxicology and Public Health, University-Hospital of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Santo Davide Ferrara

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Vogel, H. (2017). History and Current State of Forensic Imaging. In: Ferrara, S. (eds) P5 Medicine and Justice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67092-8_34

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