Usefulness of Near-infrared Spectroscopy for Diagnosis of Traumatic Intracranial Hemorrhage in Postmortem Inspection

Korean J Leg Med 2020;44:24-30

Department of Forensic Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea,

Division of Forensic Medicine Investigation, National Forensic Service Seoul Institute, Seoul, Korea,

Medical Examiner’s Office, National Forensic Service, Wonju, Korea,

Division of Forensic Medicine, National Forensic Service Daejeon Institute, Daejeon, Korea,

Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea,

Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Cheongju, Korea

E-mail: parkjp@yuhs.ac

Near-infrared spectroscopy is a device used to determine whether traumatic intracranial hemorrhage has occurred and is primarily used for screening in emergency situations. In this study we examined the applicability of this equipment in postmortem inspection. This study included 124 autopsy cases and 59 postmortem inspection cases performed in the National Forensic Service from July 2017 to October 2018. We carried out the test using Infrascanner Model 2000 (Infrascan Inc.). Autopsy cases were divided into four groups (epidural hemorrhage or subdural hemorrhage group, traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage or cerebral contusion group, nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage group, and control group) and analyzed. There was no difference in the test results according to the presence and type of intracranial hemorrhage. The possibility that variables related to postmortem change affected the test results was considered. In conclusion, this study confirmed that nearinfrared spectroscopy is not suitable for the detection of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage in postmortem inspection.

Key Words: Near-infrared spectroscopy; Intracranial hemorrhages; Postmortem changes