Feasibility of dl-DECT for Postmortem Interval Estimation Through Changes in Yellow Bone Marrow: Preliminary Results

Being able to correctly estimate the post-mortem interval is one of the most challenging tasks in forensic pathology, as the most used methods are influenced by various factors that can reduce their reliability. Through this study, the authors propose an innovative method aimed to further narrowing the time interval within which to place the time of death. It is proposed an analysis of the yellow bone marrow using the dual-layer dual-energy computed tomography (dl-DECT) as a tool to potentially identify its alteration composition occurring post-mortem. In adults, in physiological conditions, DECT does not usually show fluid components within bone marrow. Therefore, the identification of fluid-like components in the bone marrow of cadaveric femurs we observed could be attributable to post-mortem phenomena. The obtained results are still preliminary, therefore further studies are required. In the near future, further analyses will be performed by this research group, trying to identify a correlation between the variations of water in the yellow bone marrow and the time of death.