Dr. Kalpana Kanal and collaborators announce findings on novel postmortem use of CT scanner

UW Radiology professor Kalpana Kanal, PhD, DABR, (center, front) is the lead author on a paper published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography (JCAT) titled, “Early Experience with Post-Mortem CT Imaging.” The study highlights UW Radiology's collaboration with the King County Medical Examiner’s Office on the innovative use of CT scanning to determine cause of death—an approach that, in some cases, may reduce the need for traditional autopsies. 

The UW Newsroom has featured an interview on this work titled, “Cause of death? CT scans shed new light in forensic probes” which explores how this technology is transforming forensic investigations and improving efficiency in death investigations. 

Dr. Kanal, who is section chief for the diagnostic physics section and the program director of the Imaging Physics Residency Program in the department of Radiology was interviewed alongside Dr. Lacy, Chief Medical Examiner for King County Medical Examiner office in a Fox 13 Seattle news video, “CT scans shed new light in death investigations.” 

The project was also featured in the KIRO 7 News article, “CT scans shed new light on cause of death in forensic probes” and in AuntMinnie's piece, "Radiology CSI: CT helps medical examiners determine cause of death."

Other UW collaborators on the project include David Zamora, MS, and Dr. Jonathan Medverd, Director of Radiology at Harborview Medical Center.