January 21, 2022 | Trillion Dollar Future "Space Economy" Threatened by Debris
Home Technology News
Autopsies to be Replaced by CT Scans?
TOPICS:AutopsyCt ScanDeathMedicalMRI
By SciTechDaily December 1, 2011
Will Medical Examiners be replaced by technology? A new study conducted by British researchers indicates that screening bodies with full-body computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), along with a quick heart test, could result in determining the cause of death in up to half the cases referred for autopsy.
Study co-author Ian Roberts, a pathologist at the University of Oxford, and his team examined 182 bodies with unknown deaths. All 182 underwent a CT scan and MRI. Radiologists examined the results and came up with a cause of death based on each set of images. For testing purposes, the radiologists also ranked how confident they were with their findings, classifying each one as either definite, probably, possible, or uncertain. Autopsies were then performed by pathologists.
According to ScienceNews.org, the radiologists' results agreed with autopsy findings 68% of the time, while results from MRI's were accurate 57% of the time. CT results that were marked as definite matched autopsy findings 84% of the time, but only one third of the CT results were classified as definite. In addition, CT scans weren't helpful with spotting heart problems, although data suggests that performing a heart angiogram after a CT scan could increase the accuracy of results in at least half of all cases, with only a slight rate of error.
While CT's and MRI's could remove some of the problems associated with an invasive autopsy, such as when the procedure is fought because of cultural or religious beliefs, I think pathologists and medical examiners don't have to worry about losing their jobs to technology in the foreseeable future. Results just don't seem to show true effectiveness at this time, although I imagine the accuracy will be improved with further testing, and it seems like a lot of the problem stems from radiologists not having the comfort level to mark their findings as 'definite,' when their results might have actually been accurate. Also, CT scans and MRI's aren't cheap, so budgetary concerns will most likely keep those procedures from becoming a viable alternative.
More on SciTechDaily
Researchers Use MRI Brain Scans to Reveal MS Risk in Children
New System Converts MRI Scans into 3D-Printed Heart Models for Surgical Planning
Algorithm Analyzes Information from Medical Images to Identify Disease
MRI May Lead to Overdiagnosis of Cancer
New Non-Invasive MRI Technology Detects Alzheimer's Disease Early
Noninvasive Arterial Spin Labeling MRI Detects Evidence of Cognitive Decline Before Symptoms Appear
UCLA Researchers Image Abnormal Brain Proteins in Retired NFL Players
CT Scans of Mummies Reveal Clogged Arteries
1 Comment on "Autopsies to be Replaced by CT Scans?"
John Jakson | February 27, 2021 at 8:35 pm | Reply
Since the the person is dead, the resolution could be any value you want from normal 5mm to a mm or so but that would probably increase the scan time by 5 fold for a 1mmm detail and increase the cost. The data set would also explode and probably require AI to take over for most cases with a doctor looking over certain details.
Email address is optional. If provided, your email will not be published or shared.
Trillion Dollar Future "Space Economy" Threatened by Debris