NHS and local authority organisations in Bolton have implemented a technology system that will serve a population of a million citizens in towns to the north and west of Manchester

The Royal Bolton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has implemented digital autopsy technology which officials claim will provide a “quicker and more dignified” service to bereaved loved ones.

The hospital facility works on behalf of lead authority Bolton Council to deliver autopsies for the Manchester West coroners service – which covers Bolton, Salford, Wigan, and Leigh. Almost a million people live in the area and between 3,000 and 4,000 deaths are reported to the coroner each year – about half of which require an autopsy.

The new tech platform, delivered by specialist provider Digital Autopsy UK, enables internal organs and tissues to be examined virtually via radiography. The system then delivers to pathologists a report with the results of these examinations – including potential insights into the cause of death.

Authorities believe that this process can replace the traditional method of cutting a body open for direct examination in about three out of every four cases. This would equate to 1,100 to 1,500 digital investigations being conducted at the Royal Bolton annually.

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The NHS trust added that a digital autopsy “can also be carried out within a matters of hours instead of days, meaning bodies can be released to families much sooner”.

The service is claimed to be one of a only a handful operating around the country, and the first of its kind to be offered in Greater Manchester. The region’s metro mayor Andy Burnham formally opened the service last week (pictured above).

“The opening of this digital autopsy facility marks a genuine moment in human progress,” he said. “For families dealing with the aftermath of losing a loved one, the idea of a traditional invasive post mortem can be distressing, particularly for some of our faith groups in Greater Manchester. This moves us to a place where we can offer far more dignity for all of those involved. This advancement has future-proofed the way deaths are investigated in Greater Manchester not just for the next decade, but far beyond that. Bolton is well and truly leading the way.”

HM senior coroner for Manchester West Timothy Brennand added that the technology platform will allow authorities to “to secure a rapid, definitive cause of death”.

“The new process is quicker, more dignified and all together offers to the bereaved an enhanced service at the most difficult of times in the immediacy of a sudden, unexpected loss,” he said.