It might seem like overkill to subject a dead guy to a CT scan. But radiologist Federico Cesarani doesn't think so. He recently zapped an Egyptian mummy dating from 945 to 715 BC to reconstruct its flesh and bones. Cesarani used a $700,000 MDCT scanner to capture 355 distinct images of the skull. Then he relied on custom software to virtually unwrap the bandages (right). With the help of an anthropologist and a forensic artist, Cesarani estimated the thickness of the soft tissue and built this 3-D model from plasticine and nylon. The Embalmed One, an artisan who died at about age 45, was found 100 years ago in the Valley of the Queens at Luxor. He's one of 50 mummies being studied at the Egyptian Museum in Torino, Italy.
- Jesse Freund
credit: American Journal of Roentenology
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