Working with Forensic Practitioners to Understand the Opportunities and Challenges for Mixed-Reality Digital Autopsy

Abstract

Forensic practitioners analyse intrinsic 3D data daily on 2D screens. We explore novel immersive visualisation techniques that enable digital autopsy through analysis of 3D imagery. We employ a user-centred design process involving four rounds of user feedback: (1) formative interviews eliciting opportunities and requirements for mixed-reality digital autopsies; (2) a larger workshop identifying our prototype's limitations and further use-cases and interaction ideas; (3+4) two rounds of qualitative user validation of successive prototypes of novel interaction techniques for pathologist sensemaking. Overall, we find MR holds great potential to enable digital autopsy, initially to supplement physical autopsy, but ultimately to replace it. We found that experts were able to use our tool to perform basic virtual autopsy tasks, MR setup promotes exploration and sense making of cause of death, and subject to limitations of current MR technology, the proposed system is a valid option for digital autopsies, according to experts' feedback. - Warning: This paper contains sensitive images which are 3D visualisation of deceased people.