A Review on Postmortem Imaging Techniques for Finding the Cause of Death: Analysis, diagnostic precision, limitation and legal interpretation

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-610-4_61How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Postmortem imaging; traditional autopsy; CT scans; MRI scans; modern technique

Abstract

Postmortem imaging is changing the way we look at forensic investigations Instead of relying only on traditional autopsies. Modern techniques like CT scans and MRIs now give us a chance to examine the body without making a single cut. This review takes a closer look at how accurate these imaging tools are in figuring out what caused a person’s death.We studied many cases examples to understood Where and when these Postmortem imaging techniques will work and where it fails. In many cases these imaging techniques scans can clearly shows things for the cause of death (Examples - broken bones, bleeding or blocked blood vessels inside the body) these details are crucial in solving cases.But it has limitations - some infections or soft tissues injuries might cannot be properly analyzed through imaging techniques due to which traditional autopsy is necessary. Postmortem imaging can be powerful when presented with expert interpretation, but it’s not always accepted on its own. That is why combining imaging with traditional autopsy often gives the most solid and defensible results. In the end while postmortem imaging is not a perfect substitute for an autopsy it is a valuable tool—especially in situations where a full autopsy is not allowed or possible. It brings a modern less invasive approach to forensic science and opens new possibilities for respectful and effective investigations.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Aditya Verma
AU  - Tanu Rajput
AU  - Devesh Tiwari
AU  - Preetika Chatterjee
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/05
TI  - A Review on Postmortem Imaging Techniques for Finding the Cause of Death: Analysis, diagnostic precision, limitation and legal interpretation
BT  - Proceedings of the First International Conference on Advances in Forensics and Cyber Technologies (ICFACT 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 764
EP  - 782
SN  - 2352-538X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-610-4_61
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-610-4_61
ID  - Verma2026
ER  -