CT post-mortem inspection

Cadavers for autopsy all undergo computed tomography (CT) scanning before the inspection begins, which is useful for investigating the cause of death, and the Center also accepts requests to perform CTs without an autopsy. When requested by the police, another agency, or the Chiba Prefectural Government, we ask for the body to be brought to Chiba University, where we perform a CT scan, and report the results of the interpretation by a specialist radiologist, together with our opinions for reference, to members of the police, the police doctor responsible for the autopsy, and others concerned. In Japan, the term “post-mortem inspection” originally only referred to external tests on a cadaver, but as this type of CT is a medical test that differs in nature from an autopsy, it is known as a “CT post-mortem inspection.” However, there are relatively few cases in which it is possible to determine the cause of death by CT alone; therefore, it is understood that an autopsy or other tests may also have to be carried out for each case.