Abstract: Objective The purpose of our study was to evaluate the postmortem interval with multi-voxel 1H-MR spectroscopy. Methods Twelve healthy rabbits were studied and the quantities of N-acetylaspartate, total choline, phosphocreatine and creatine were measured by 1H-MR spectroscopy after death at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, and 24 h. Results The levels of Naa/Cr and Naa/Ch decreased following death, while the level of Ch/Cr increased initially and then decreased following death. Conclusion Multi-voxel proton MR spectroscopy for Naa/Cr and Ch/Cr metabolic ratio could be used in future postmortem interval studies.

Key words: forensic pathology, postmortem interval, magnetic resonance spectroscopy