Post-mortem dual-energy CT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Post-mortem dual energy computed tomography (SORT)
IRAS ID
208079
Contact name
Fergus Gleeson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
This is a study looking at the use of a special CT, namely dual-energy computed tomography (DECT), for finding and studying clots in the heart and lungs. Autopsy has been the traditional method for determining the cause of death when it is not unknown. However, due to its destructive nature, autopsy is not always preferred and less invasive options such as CT are being increasingly looked at and used in clinical practice.
Lay summary of study results: The study was unable to progress as there was insufficient capacity at the Coroner’s office to take informed consent from the participant’s next of kin which delayed the start of the study prior to the change in post-mortem standard practice. A Protocol amendment was required for re-design, but this has not been completed because the commercial partner ceased to engage in the project.Recent developments in imaging technology allow us to find the makeup of body tissues, such as the proportion of fat or fibre in a muscle. This study takes advantage of this development, and aims to show the difference between blood clots that have formed before and after death. Because blood clots in the heart and lungs are a major cause of death in our elderly patients and that blood normally clots after it stops flowing in the event of death itself, it is important that we have a way to tell the difference between the two, so we get to know whether a clot that we see on CT might have been the cause of death.
REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0449
Date of REC Opinion
29 Nov 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion