Troisième Cours Francophone sur l'Autopsie Virtuelle

Abstract

On October 4, 2013 the Groupe de Recherche en Autopsie Virtuelle et Imagerie Thanathologique (GRAVIT) organized the third French course on virtual autopsy in Marseille, France (Fig. 1). This year, the French course on virtual autopsy was attended by more than 60 participants. Most of them were either radiologists or forensic pathologists or radiographers. The current congress program covered a wide range of aspects on post-mortem imaging but kept a focus on post-mortem angiography. The morning session was dedicated to “Challenging Cases”. After a brief introduction, the first speaker, Dr. Matthieu Coulange (France) discussed aspects of drowning on post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) with a special emphasis on distribution patterns of intravascular gas collections. This lecture was followed by a very interesting report by Dr. Douraied BenSalem (France) on a recently concluded study on deaths related to heat and fire exposure. The lecture covered challenges related to signs of vitality, the diagnosis of the cause of death, and identification. Identificationwas also a key aspect of the lecture on imaging in decomposed bodies by Dr. Fabrice Dedouit (France). Dr. Dedouit provided a very comprehensive overview over various aspects of both early and late postmortem changes. The last lecture of the morning was dedicated to crash-dummymodeling based on cadaveric experiments. Dr. Thierry Bege (France) offered a very fascinating insight in to how experimental research on traumatic injury can be translated to models of humans to analyze cause and effect in motor vehicle accidents. The afternoon session was opened by Dr. Thomas Ruder (Switzerland) who gave an introduction to post-mortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMR), including PMMR-angiography. In his second lecture, Dr. Ruder provided an overview over the development, current techniques and applications of PMCT-angiography. This lecture was followed by Dr. Silke Grabherr (Switzerland), who reported the current state of the European multi-center PMCTangiography study by the Technical Working Group Postmortem Angiography Methods (TWGPAM). The session on post-mortem angiography was concluded by Dr. Guillaume Gorincour (France) who lectured on technical aspects of PMCT-angiography as performed in Marseille. The day was closed by Dr. Valerie Souffron (France), who provided an interesting insight in to sociologic aspects of post-mortem imaging. There is no doubt that the third French Course on Virtual Autopsy was a great success. The program offered a variety of lectures which were interesting for both participants without and with experience in post-mortem imaging. In addition, the coffee and lunch breaks offered ample opportunities to meet and greet colleagues.