Sara Maria Sprinkhuizen1, Hedwig A. Tromp2, Chris J. Bakker1, Jessica D. Workum1, Hendrik de Leeuw1, Max A. Viergever1, Lambertus Wilhelmus Bartels1
1Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Dept. Pathology/Toxicology, Netherlands Forensic Institute, The Hague, Netherlands
The exact time point of death (the post-mortem interval, PMI) is of great importance in the legal and criminological field. Currently, the nomogram of Henssge is used worldwide for PMI estimation. The rectal temperature used as input for the nomogram is a single point measurement, spatially as well as temporally. It is hypothesized that absolute, spatiotemporal temperature data acquired using MRS techniques improves the outcome of the PMI estimation. The goal of this work was to assess the feasibility of MRS based MRT to map absolute temperatures in post-mortem situations.