Assessing radiological images of human cadavers: Is there an effect of different embalming solutions?

Twomey, Maria; Balta, Joy Y.; Moloney, Fiachra; O'Connor, Owen J.; Murphy, Kevin P.; Cronin, Michael; Cryan, John F.; Maher, Michael M.; O'Mahony, Siobhain M.

Restriction lift date: 2018-10-12

Assessing radiological images of human cadavers: Is there an effect of different embalming solutions?

dc.check.date	2018-10-12
dc.contributor.author	Twomey, Maria
dc.contributor.author	Balta, Joy Y.
dc.contributor.author	Moloney, Fiachra
dc.contributor.author	O'Connor, Owen J.
dc.contributor.author	Murphy, Kevin P.
dc.contributor.author	Cronin, Michael
dc.contributor.author	Cryan, John F.
dc.contributor.author	Maher, Michael M.
dc.contributor.author	O'Mahony, Siobhain M.
dc.date.accessioned	2018-01-19T10:25:02Z
dc.date.available	2018-01-19T10:25:02Z
dc.date.issued	2017-10-12
dc.date.updated	2018-01-18T12:43:19Z
dc.description.abstract	The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of different embalming solutions including formalin, Genelyn, Thiel and Imperial College London- Soft Preserving solutions on the quality of radiological images taken from cadavers embalmed with the above mentioned techniques. Two cadavers per embalming technique were imaged pre and post-embalming using three different imaging modalities including ultrasound, plain radiography and computed tomography (CT). Imaging criteria and a qualitative grading system for each imaging modality were adapted from the European Guidelines on Quality Criteria for Computed Tomography, the European Guidelines on Quality Criteria for Diagnostic Radiographic Images, and according to the AIUM Practice Guideline for the performance of ultrasound. Qualitative analysis was performed independently by three readers on a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). The readers were blinded to both the embalmment status and the embalming agent used to preclude bias. On comparison of images pre and post-embalming, brain CT images showed a significant deterioration in image quality post-embalming, while there was no significant change in chest and abdomen/pelvic images and some improvement was observed in Genelyn embalmed cadavers. No changes were observed when using ultrasound to image the spleen and aorta, while a significant improvement in image quality was observed when examining the kidney in all embalmed cadavers with a small improvement when imaging the liver. No significant difference was observed on plain radiography post-embalming, while a minor deterioration was observed mainly in the chest area. Different embalming techniques had varying effects on image quality, in human cadavers, with the range of imaging modalities investigated in this study. Thus, no ideal embalming solution was identified, which would improve the quality of images on all imaging modalities. Further research is required to compare the quality of radiological images at different stages of decomposition taking into consideration antemortal pathologies with a larger number of donors.	en
dc.description.status	Peer reviewed	en
dc.description.version	Accepted Version	en
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en
dc.identifier.citation	Balta, J. Y., Twomey, M., Moloney, F., O'Connor, O. J., Murphy, K. P., Cronin, M., Cryan, J. F., Maher, M. M. and O'Mahony, S. M. (2017) 'Assessing radiological images of human cadavers: Is there an effect of different embalming solutions?', Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging, 11, pp. 40-46. doi:10.1016/j.jofri.2017.08.005	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1016/j.jofri.2017.08.005
dc.identifier.endpage	46	en
dc.identifier.issn	2212-4780
dc.identifier.journaltitle	Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging	en
dc.identifier.startpage	40	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10468/5298
dc.identifier.volume	11	en
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	Elsevier Ltd.	en
dc.rights	© 2017, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.	en
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/	en
dc.subject	CT	en
dc.subject	Radiographs	en
dc.subject	Ultrasound	en
dc.subject	Cadaver	en
dc.subject	Embalming	en
dc.subject	Anatomy	en
dc.title	Assessing radiological images of human cadavers: Is there an effect of different embalming solutions?	en
dc.type	Article (peer-reviewed)	en