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In a world where more and more people are volunteering to go under the knife, it seems that in death this number is set to decrease thanks to developments in autopsy procedures by researchers at the University of Berne in Switzerland.

The team have created devices including an optical 3D scanner capable of detecting almost 80% of the causes of death and are now conducting nearly 100 autopsies every year without having to cut open the bodies.

The £1.2 million system, called ‘Virtopsy’ has been used on all cases of sudden death or unnatural causes in the Swiss capital since 2006. Using a cylindrical CT scanner, the virtopsies can provide a permanent digital record that can be easily uploaded to the internet.

The CT scanner creates images of brain and skeletal injuries, a magnetic scanner creates clearer images of the soft tissue and the angiography views the inside of the blood vessels.

Furthermore the procedure includes the corpse being analysed by a surface scanner on a robotic arm that traces the body’s contours, with the results being analysed by technicians using a computer.

Finally the system uses a ‘post-mortem biopsy device’ where needles are used to extract cells for further analysis.
Unfortunately, despite these advances, the researchers concede that "the regular autopsy is still the gold standard" and that virtual autopsies are unlikely to be replacing the scalpel variety in the near vicinity.