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

• Published in: International journal of legal medicine 2021-11, Vol.135 (6), p.2615-2623
• Main Authors: De-Giorgio, Fabio, Ciasca, Gabriele, Fecondo, Gennaro, Mazzini, Alberto, De Spirito, Marco, Pascali, Vincenzo L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Autopsies; Cerebral ventricles; Cerebrospinal fluid; Cerebrospinal Fluid - diagnostic imaging; Computed tomography; Death; Female; Forensic Medicine; Humans; Investigations; Lateral Ventricles - diagnostic imaging; Legal medicine; Linear Models; Male; Medical imaging; Medical Law; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Original; Original Article; Postmortem Changes; Segmentation; Time Factors; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• ISSN: 0937-9827; 1437-1596
• DOI: 10.1007/s00414-021-02698-6

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.