{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,18]],"date-time":"2025-12-18T20:03:36Z","timestamp":1766088216064,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,29]],"date-time":"2024-02-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1709164800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Innosuisse","award":["nr. 28314.1PFLS-LS-1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["nr. 28314.1PFLS-LS-1"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Imaging"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The rate of parental consent for fetal and perinatal autopsy is decreasing, whereas parents are more likely to agree to virtual autopsy by non-invasive imaging methods. Fetal and perinatal virtual autopsy needs high-resolution and good soft-tissue contrast for investigation of the cause of death and underlying trauma or pathology in fetuses and stillborn infants. This is offered by micro-computed tomography (CT), as opposed to the limited resolution provided by clinical CT scanners, and this is one of the most promising tools for non-invasive perinatal postmortem imaging. We developed and optimized a micro-CT scanner with a dual-energy imaging option. It is dedicated to post-mortem CT angiography and virtual autopsy of fetuses and stillborn infants in that the chamber can be cooled down to around 5 \u00b0C; this increases tissue rigidity and slows decomposition of the native specimen. This, together with the dedicated gantry-based architecture, attempts to reduce potential motion artifacts. The developed methodology is based on prior endovascular injection of a BaSO4-based contrast agent. We explain the design choices and considerations for this scanner prototype. We give details of the treatment of the optimization of the dual-energy and virtual mono-energetic imaging option that has been based on minimizing noise propagation and maximizing the contrast-to-noise ratio for vascular features. We demonstrate the scanner capabilities with proof-of-concept experiments on phantoms and stillborn piglets.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jimaging10030060","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,29]],"date-time":"2024-02-29T05:59:19Z","timestamp":1709186359000},"page":"60","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Development of A Micro-CT Scanner with Dual-Energy Option and Endovascular Contrast Agent Administration Protocol for Fetal and Neonatal Virtual Autopsy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0811-7396","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Robert","family":"Zboray","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for X-ray Analytics, Empa\u2014Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 D\u00fcbendorf, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Wolf","family":"Schweitzer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zurich Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Lars","family":"Ebert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departments of the Zurich Forensic Science Institute, Forensisches Institut Z\u00fcrich, 8010 Zurich, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Martin","family":"Wolf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Neonatology, University Hospital Z\u00fcrich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6493-2753","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sabino","family":"Guglielmini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Neonatology, University Hospital Z\u00fcrich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Stefan","family":"Haemmerle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SCANCO Medical AG, 8306 Br\u00fcttisellen, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Stephan","family":"Weiss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SCANCO Medical AG, 8306 Br\u00fcttisellen, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Bruno","family":"Koller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SCANCO Medical AG, 8306 Br\u00fcttisellen, Switzerland"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"873","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMp0707996","article-title":"The Vanishing Nonforensic Autopsy","volume":"358","author":"Shojania","year":"2008","journal-title":"N. 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