Anyone who has had a loved one die in circumstances that require a post-mortem and an inquest into their deaths will know the stress and pain that this can bring.

The post-mortem is an essential part of the process in which a cause of death is determined, and most people will readily accept this, perhaps not wanting to dwell too much on this side of things.

There may be some bereaved families, however, who do have misgivings about what happens in the pathologist’s laboratory, and for them some measure of comfort must be drawn from the new multi-million pound facility opening in Bradford.

Using state-of-the-art digital techniques, the new device allows a non-invasive post-mortem, creating 3D digital body reconstructions of the deceased to allow unprecedented insights into how a person has died and reducing the requirement for dissection of bodies.

Even those who do not have any issues with post-mortems will benefit – it should speed up the process and allow bodies to be released to relatives for funerals much quicker.

Aside from the compassionate side of the new technology, it is also a major boost for Bradford as the city will play host to just the second such facility to open in the UK, and represents a huge investment in the city by the company behind the technology, iGene.

While the digital autopsies might not be suitable in every case, this is a step forward for both science and the Bradford district, and it is a positive sign that Bradford has been chosen to be at the cutting edge of this technological leap that has very human consequences.