Department of Forensic Medicine and Imaging, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
Department of Forensic Medicine and Imaging, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Forensic Sci Int. 2023 Jul;348:111712. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111712. Epub 2023 May 3.
To better depict vascular lesions on postmortem computed tomography (PMCT), whole-body postmortem computed tomography angiography (PMCTA) can be used in forensic diagnostics. Targeted angiography, in which only a specific vessel is filled with contrast agent, might help in cases of traumatic changes that render whole-body PMCTA impossible. Moreover, in targeted PMCTA, the contrast agent does not affect the haptics of any other organs. In this article, we describe automated, CT-guided targeted angiography of the pulmonary artery (PA) using the Virtobot system.
Our study group consisted of 8 deceased persons (3 males, 5 females). We first performed an unenhanced CT scan and used the data obtained to plan the needle trajectories with the Virtobot planning software. Then, the needle was fully automatically placed by the Virtobot system. Subsequently, 50 ml of contrast agent was injected manually, and the CT scan was repeated (targeted PMCTA).
We tested a new method for performing semiautomated targeted postmortem angiography of the PAs using a robotic needle placement system (Virtobot). In 6 out of our 8 cases, the injection of contrast agent in the PA was successful. In five of the six successful cases, there was reflux of contrast agent to some extent, but the reflux did not affect the readout. In general, the procedure was easy to plan based on a PMCT data set, and the pulmonary trunk was easy to reach with a robotic needle placement system.
为了更好地描绘尸检计算机断层扫描（PMCT）后的血管病变，可以在法医诊断中使用全身尸检计算机断层血管造影术（PMCTA）。靶向血管造影术，其中只有特定的血管充满造影剂，可能有助于在使全身 PMCTA 变得不可能的创伤性变化的情况下。此外，在靶向 PMCTA 中，造影剂不会影响任何其他器官的触感。在本文中，我们描述了使用 Virtobot 系统对肺动脉（PA）进行自动 CT 引导靶向血管造影的方法。
我们的研究组包括 8 名死者（3 名男性，5 名女性）。我们首先进行了未增强 CT 扫描，并使用 Virtobot 规划软件获得的数据来规划针道。然后，Virtobot 系统自动放置针。随后，手动注入 50ml 造影剂，重复 CT 扫描（靶向 PMCTA）。
我们测试了一种使用机器人针放置系统（Virtobot）对 PA 进行半自动靶向尸检血管造影的新方法。在我们的 8 个案例中，有 6 个成功地将造影剂注入 PA。在六个成功的案例中，造影剂在某种程度上出现反流，但反流不影响读取。总的来说，该程序很容易根据 PMCT 数据集进行规划，并且使用机器人针放置系统很容易到达肺动脉干。
