Getting under the skin, virtually (Image: University of Bern)

Editorial: Surgical robots at large in the path lab

THE small industrial robot that dominates the room is in many ways much like any other. A robotic arm smoothly wields grippers and probes – always accurate and never tired. But rather than working on cars or computers, this robot is processing human corpses.

A team of forensic pathologists at the University of Bern in Switzerland reckon it could make autopsies more accurate and also less distressing for families.

The researchers are already pioneers of virtual autopsies, or “virtopsies“, which use non-invasive imaging of a body inside and …