Eur Radiol (2008) 18: 273–282 DOI 10.1007/s00330-007-0737-4 FORENSIC MEDICINE Stephan A. Bolliger Michael J. Thali Steffen Ross Ursula Buck Silvio Naether Peter Vock Received: 26 March 2007 Revised: 25 June 2007 Accepted: 16 July 2007 Published online: 18 August 2007 # Springer-Verlag 2007 Virtual autopsy using imaging: bridging radiologic and forensic sciences. A review of the Virtopsy and similar projects Abstract The transdisciplinary re- search project Virtopsy is dedicated to implementing modern imaging tech- niques into forensic medicine and pathology in order to augment current examination techniques or even to offer alternative methods. Our project relies on three pillars: three- dimensional (3D) surface scanning for the documentation of body surfaces, and both multislice computed tomog- raphy (MSCT) and magnetic reso- nance imaging (MRI) to visualise the internal body. Three-dimensional surface scanning has delivered re- markable results in the past in the 3D documentation of patterned injuries and of objects of forensic interest as well as whole crime scenes. Imaging of the interior of corpses is performed using MSCT and/or MRI. MRI, in addition, is also well suited to the examination of surviving victims of assault, especially choking, and helps visualise internal injuries not seen at external examination of the victim. Apart from the accuracy and three- dimensionality that conventional documentations lack, these techniques allow for the re-examination of the corpse and the crime scene even decades later, after burial of the corpse and liberation of the crime scene. We believe that this virtual, non-invasive or minimally invasive approach will improve forensic medicine in the near future. Keywords Forensic imaging . Virtopsy . Computed tomography . Magnetic resonance imaging . Surface scanning Introduction Forensic science has experienced revolutionary changes in different fields, such as genetics, crime scene investigation methods and toxicology. Forensic pathology, by contrast, still utilises the time-old, evidence-based methods intro- duced centuries ago; namely, the dissection of a corpse, and an oral description and written documentation of the findings obtained [1]; this has been augmented in the past decades by photography. With the advance of medical technologies such as computed tomography (CT) introduced by Hounsfield and Cormack in the early 1970s, new possibilities became available for forensic pathologists. A first CT scan was performed on a victim of a gunshot injury to the head as early as 1977 [2] and authors such as Brogdon [3] and Vogel [4] have mentioned the usefulness of radiology in forensic medicine. Although conventional X-rays have found their way into daily forensic practice, newer, clinically established meth- ods, such as CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), seem to lag behind in their forensic implementation. This conservative attitude towards new technologies is surprising in a field in which prosecutors and defence lawyers are, depending on the case circumstances, often eager to test novel methods. Regardless of these obstacles, many different institutions have implemented CT in post-mortem forensic investiga- tions. For instance, a group from the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner (Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C., and Dover, Del.), which performs CT scans on military personnel killed in combat S. A. Bolliger (*) . M. J. Thali . S. Ross . U. Buck . S. Naether Centre for Forensic Imaging and Virtopsy, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern, Buehlstrasse 20, 3012 Bern, Switzerland e-mail: stephan.bolliger@irm.unibe.ch Tel.: +41-31-6318411 Fax: +41-31-6313833 P. Vock Department for Diagnostic Radiology, Inselspital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland