Why should we use radiology for the examination of deceased road traffic victims? / Warum sollten wir Radiologie verwenden für die Untersuchung von verstorbenen Straßenverkehrsopfern?

In the Netherlands we do not investigate internal injuries of deceased road traffic victims. Mainly because there is no priority of our legal system to investigate these victims even though the impact for the family and... [ view full abstract ]

In the Netherlands we do not investigate internal injuries of deceased road traffic victims. Mainly because there is no priority of our legal system to investigate these victims even though the impact for the family and community is enormous. What we notice is that the police is spending a lot of time and money on reconstructions without taking the internal and external injuries of the body into account. Beside the cause of death, the internal and external injuries can help answering questions related to the direction and location of the impact. The question is what do these injuries tell us about relevant investigation questions for example speed of the car.

The last 3 years we investigated 10 victims of a fatal traffic incident. Some were pedestrians crossing the street and run over by a car, others were cyclists hit by a car. All victims were underwent a total body computed... [ view full abstract ]

The last 3 years we investigated 10 victims of a fatal traffic incident. Some were pedestrians crossing the street and run over by a car, others were cyclists hit by a car. All victims were underwent a total body computed tomography (CT scan) (Somatom Definition Flash, Siemens Erlangen Germany). Detailed series were acquired of the head, spine, chest, abdomen and extremities. Images were reconstructed with a bone and soft tissue kernel. The image slices were sufficiently thin to allow for high quality multiplanar reformats and 3D reconstructions. Both the source images and the reconstructions were assessed for injuries by experienced investigators. A written and illustrated report was made for the police investigators.