A ‘REVOLUTIONARY’ new digital autopsy service has started in Lancashire.

It means in some cases there will be less invasive autopsies carried out during post-mortem examinations than the traditional method.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust has partnered with Lancashire County Council, the Coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen and iGene Ltd to commission the new post-mortem CT service at the Royal Preston Hospital.

Hospital bosses said it will help reduce the stress for grieving families. However, in some cases traditional post-mortem examinations will still need to be carried out.

A traditional post-mortem examination is performed by a pathologist who has to open the body.

Developments in CT scanning and research have allowed, in some cases, a digital post-mortem to be performed without the need for the traditional invasive procedure.

Hospital chiefs said the use of CT in post-mortem cases is particularly advantageous in communities where invasive post-mortem examinations are not widely accepted.

Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, said: “This is a significant advance for most of the people of Lancashire in establishing accurate causes of death without the need for the distress of the traditional post-mortem, for families who are already grieving.

“The county council and the hospitals have co-operated very effectively to deliver a service that is unavailable elsewhere on this scale.”

Using similar techniques to those employed in the clinical setting, a body is scanned from head to toe by specialist radiographers using a CT scanner.

Combined with the enhancement of targeted coronary angiography, these scans, reviewed by a radiologist, can help to establish a cause of death.

Karen Partington, chief executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals said: “This revolutionary approach to providing post-mortem examinations is far less invasive which means we are able to treat the deceased with more dignity."