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Post-mortem Imaging of Brain/Spine Injuries: The Importance of a Comprehensive Forensic Approach

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The Funnel: From the Skull Base to the Sacrum

Part of the book series: Acta Neurochirurgica Supplement ((NEUROCHIRURGICA,volume 135))

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Abstract

In forensic investigations, the limitations of the traditional purely autoptic approach can be overcome through post-mortem imaging (virtopsy). Virtospy has several applications to the investigation of brain and spinal injuries, whose analysis can be of forensic interest, especially in cases of suspected malpractice. In this scoping review, we briefly describe the main applications of the two most common post-mortem radiological techniques (computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)) to the forensic investigation of brain and spinal injuries in cases of medical malpractice or traumatic (accidental/homicidal/suicidal) deaths. Although CT represents the traditional approach to post-mortem imaging, MRI is proving to be a valuable tool to investigate brain and spinal injuries and lesions. These post-mortem radiological techniques can also be used to guide the surgeons in simulated surgical procedures on corpses in the context of training programs, thus helping operators to improve technical and non-technical skills and to reduce the risk of avoidable errors.

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Author notes

  1. Luis Azmitia and Simone Grassi equally contributed and thus should be considered as joint first authors.

  2. Massimiliano Visocchi and Antonio Oliva equally contributed and thus should be as considered joint senior authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosciences, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy

    Luis Azmitia & Alessandro Olivi

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy

    Francesco Signorelli

  3. Legal Medicine, Department of Healthcare surveillance and Bioethics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy

    Simone Grassi, Vincenzo Pascali & Antonio Oliva

  4. Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Molecular Imaging and Radiotherapy, PTV Foundation, “Tor Vergata” University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Laura Filograna

  5. Institute of Neurosurgery, Catholic University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Massimiliano Visocchi

Authors
  1. Luis Azmitia
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  2. Simone Grassi
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  3. Francesco Signorelli
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  4. Laura Filograna
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  5. Vincenzo Pascali
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  6. Alessandro Olivi
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  7. Massimiliano Visocchi
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  8. Antonio Oliva
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonio Oliva .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Neurosurgery, Catholic University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Massimiliano Visocchi

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Azmitia, L. et al. (2023). Post-mortem Imaging of Brain/Spine Injuries: The Importance of a Comprehensive Forensic Approach. In: Visocchi, M. (eds) The Funnel: From the Skull Base to the Sacrum. Acta Neurochirurgica Supplement, vol 135. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36084-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36084-8_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-36083-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-36084-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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