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Open Access 01-11-2021 | Computed Tomography | Original Article

Estimation of the time of death by measuring the variation of lateral cerebral ventricle volume and cerebrospinal fluid radiodensity using postmortem computed tomography

Authors: Fabio De-Giorgio, Gabriele Ciasca, Gennaro Fecondo, Alberto Mazzini, Marco De Spirito, Vincenzo L. Pascali

Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine | Issue 6/2021

Abstract

Using postmortem CT (PMCT), changes in the volume of the lateral cerebral ventricles (LCVs) and modifications of the radiodensity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have been examined to identify a possible relationship between these changes and the time of death. Subsequent periodical CT scans termed “sequential scans” for ten corpses at known time of death were obtained, and a 3D segmentation of the entire LCV was carried out to measure its volume and radiodensity over time from ~ 5.5- h up to 273-h postmortem. A linear decrease of the LCV volume for all the cases was observed in the investigated time range, together with an overall logarithmic increase of radiodensity. Although a larger sampling should be performed to improve the result reliability, our finding suggests that the postmortem variation of CSF radiodensity can be a potentially useful tool in determining postmortem interval, a finding that is worthy of further investigation.

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Title: Estimation of the time of death by measuring the variation of lateral cerebral ventricle volume and cerebrospinal fluid radiodensity using postmortem computed tomography
Authors: Fabio De-Giorgio
Gabriele Ciasca
Gennaro Fecondo
Alberto Mazzini
Marco De Spirito
Vincenzo L. Pascali
Publication date: 01-11-2021
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keywords: Computed Tomography
Computed Tomography
Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine / Issue 6/2021
Print ISSN: 0937-9827
Electronic ISSN: 1437-1596
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-021-02698-6

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Estimation of the time of death by measuring the variation of lateral cerebral ventricle volume and cerebrospinal fluid radiodensity using postmortem computed tomography

Abstract

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Abstract

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