(Daily News Scan - DNS English) Virtual Autopsy
Soon it will be possible to carry out autopsies without dissecting the body. India will be the first country in South and South East Asia to carry out virtual autopsies. This news was recently told by the Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday.
In this DNS we will know about Virtual Autopsy.
Let us first understand what autopsy is. An autopsy is an examination of a dead body to determine cause of death , the effects or indications of disease or, in some cases, to identity the dead person. Forensic pathologists — physicians trained in the study of diseases and abnormalities — perform autopsies with the assistance of autopsy technicians. Autopsies can also be performed for disease research and medical training. A doctor examines the remains inside and out, can remove internal organs for testing and collect samples of tissue or bodily fluids such as blood.
Whereas, in virtual autopsy doctors use radiation to examine the internal organs to reach a conclusion about the cause of death. A CT or an MRI machine could be used, in the same way that they are used to scan a living human’s body.
A 2013 paper titled ‘Virtopsy (virtual autopsy): A new phase in forensic investigation’ said: “An autopsy (postmortem examination, autopsia cadaverum, or obduction) is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present.
Virtopsy is a word combining ‘virtual’ and ‘autopsy’ to find the cause of the death. Virtopsy can be employed as an alternative to standard autopsies for broad and systemic examination of the whole body as it is less time consuming, aids better diagnosis, and gives respect to religious sentiments.”
The traditional postmortem often makes members of the dead person’s family uncomfortable. That is the primary reason for the increasing use of virtual autopsies internationally. As per a paper in The Lancet, the emergence of virtual autopsy owes to the public objection to dissection of the bodies , that re- emerged in the UK as a major issue after the organ retention scandals in the late 1990’s. Jewish and Muslim communities — have religious objections to autopsy, and demand for a minimally-invasive alternative has increased.
Dr Harsh Vardhan said ICMR and AIIMS have studied global practices, and taken up this project for “dignified management of dead body”.
The All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) are working together on a technique for postmortem without dissecting the body. This technique is likely to become functional in the next six months.
A virtual autopsy is faster than a traditional one — 30 minutes against 2½ hours, and more cost-effective.
In 2018, in an article in the Journal of Pathology Informatics, Russian and Italian scientists compared the results of virtual autopsy and traditional postmortem. Out of 23 cases for which the traditional post mortem examination found a cause of death, 15 (65%) were diagnosed correctly using virtual autopsy. For one case for which the cause of death was unascertained, the same result was also obtained during the virtual autopsy.
Overall, in 16/25 (64%) cases, virtual autopsy results matched that of the traditional autopsy.
Virtual autopsy began in Sweden. Now, it is used in most of the countries like Japan, the US, Australia, and many European countries. as a standard technique.
