Virtopsy®-Untersuchungsmethoden in der Strafverfolgung: Umfrage in den Schweizer Kantonen Aargau und Bern

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Das Institut für Rechtsmedizin (IRM) Bern lancierte vor über 10Jahren das Virtopsy®-Projekt. Bei der Virtopsy® werden aus der Medizin, Radiologie und Vermessungstechnik bekannte Verfahren wie dreidimensionaler (3D)Oberflächen-Scan, Computertomographie (CT), Magnetresonanztomographie (MRT), postmortale Biopsie und postmortale Angiographie benutzt, um außergewöhnliche Todesfälle (agT), aber auch Verletzungen an Lebenden zu dokumentieren. Seit 2006 greifen die Strafverfolgungsbehörden der Kantone Bern und Aargau routinemäßig auf diese bildgebenden Verfahren zurück. Methode: Das IRM Bern hat in diesem Zusammenhang eine elektronische Umfrage bei den Untersuchungsrichtern (UR) durchgeführt. Ergebnisse: Die Umfrage ergab z.T. große kantonale Unterschiede. Insbesondere sind die bildgebenden Verfahren bzw. ist die Virtopsy® bei den UR des Kantons Aargau weniger (lange) bekannt als bei den Berner UR. Die UR gewinnen jedoch den bildgebenden Verfahren einen Mehrwert gegenüber den klassischen Methoden ab. Die Zukunft der Virtopsy®, auch in juristischer Sicht (neue schweizerische Strafprozessordnung), wird durch die UR optimistisch bewertet. Schlussfolgerung: Einer Zukunft dieser bildgebenden Verfahren in der Strafverfolgung steht bis auf den momentan noch geringen Bekanntheitsgrad seitens der Strafverfolgungsbehörden grundsätzlich nichts entgege

Virtopsy: Zukunftsträchtige Forschung in der Rechtsmedizin

Computed tomography techniques have been developed over the last 10 years and have found various applications in the forensic field. The most recent development is multislice computed tomography combined with photogrammetry-based surface optical scanning and image rendering techniques. This combination of techniques can be used to produce 3-dimensional images of injury patterns for comparison with suspect weapons and also to screen for pathological conditions in the living or deceased. This technology provides a minimally invasive procedure for capturing forensically relevant images which can be produced in the courtroom. The rapid developments in imaging techniques could provide an alternative to conventional autopsy procedures in the futur

Postmortem angiography: review of former and current methods.

OBJECTIVE: Postmortem investigations are becoming more and more sophisticated. CT and MRI are already being used in pathology and forensic medicine. In this context, the impact of postmortem angiography increases because of the rapid evaluation of organ-specific vascular patterns, vascular alteration under pathologic and physiologic conditions, and tissue changes induced by artificial and unnatural causes. CONCLUSION: In this article, the advantages and disadvantages of former and current techniques and contrast agents are reviewed

Detection of smuggled cocaine in cargo using MDCT.

OBJECTIVE: Smuggling dissolved drugs, especially cocaine, in bottled liquids is an ongoing problem at borders. Common fluoroscopy of packages at the border cannot detect contaminated liquids. The objective of our study was to develop an MDCT screening method to detect cocaine-containing vessels that are hidden between uncontaminated ones in a shipment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Studies were performed on three wine bottles containing cocaine solutions that were confiscated at the Swiss border. Reference values were obtained by scans of different sorts of commercially available wine and aqueous solutions of dissolved sugar. All bottles were scanned using MDCT, and data evaluation was performed by measuring the mean peak of Hounsfield units. To verify the method, simulated testing was performed. RESULTS: Using measurements of the mean peak of Hounsfield units enables the detection of dissolved cocaine in wine bottles in a noninvasive and rapid fashion. Increasing opacity corresponds well with the concentration of dissolved cocaine. Simulated testing showed that it is possible to distinguish between cocaine-contaminated and uncontaminated wine bottles. CONCLUSION: The described method is an efficacious screening method to detect cocaine-contaminated bottles that are hidden between untreated bottles in cargo. The noninvasive examination of cargo allows a questionable delivery to be tracked without arousing the suspicion of the smugglers