identifying dead bodies made easy by x-ray technology
If the body of a dead person is badly injured and identifying it is almost next to impossible, what can science do? In ghastly incidents such as fire, flash floods and even terrorist bombings, bodies are badly injured and are impossible for relatives and friends to identify. Worse, there are cases where experts only have body parts to work with.
Forensic experts say pathologists can now make a positive identification (ID) of a victim’s body via radiographs (x-ray images). Forensic radiographers can use x-rays of the body to help ID the dead person.
Mark Viner, a radiographer at Barts and the Royal London Hospitals in the United Kingdom, said that badly injured bodies can be examined using a machine called a fluoroscope. This technology speeds up the ID process by providing a real-time video footage that facilitates removal of fragments from the body (in analyzing bodies of evidence from bombings, for instance) while the x-ray is being conducted, instead of waiting until it’s done.
According to Kim Hutchings, a radiographer at Homerton University in London who helped identify victims of the tsunami disaster (December 26, 2004), radiographers are “key part of the identification and autopsy process. It is possible to identify people by matching x-rays to the x-ray films they had done in life.”
This means that a forensic team can identify the body based on any previous distinguishing marks, such as previous fractures, dental work or surgery. Scientists can even gain positive ID by measuring limbs to discover the victim’s height, sex, and sometimes ages.
X-ray technology does not only help identify victims. In cases such as the London bomb blasts (July 7, 2005), analysis of the pattern of injuries may provide vital clues on the nature of the explosions.
(Elliot, Jane. How Bodies Can Be Given a Name.)
