Radiologists scan mummy to better understand the past
A 2,000-year-old Egyptian mummy named Hen, from the Cazenovia Public Library in New York, was transferred for five hours to the Crouse Hinds Hospital in Syracuse for medical tests and technological exams that could potentially offer new information about the mummy and humanity in that time.
In 2016, Hen underwent CT scans that created a 3D hologram of his body. At the time, radiologists discovered a cancerous tumor in the left leg and also that he was male. It was previously thought that Hen was a female. Another set of testing is now being done to see if newer technology might reveal previously unknown aspects of Hen’s life and death.
“My goal overall is to make this mummy a person,” said library director Betsy Kennedy, as quoted in a story by Jason Emerson of Eagle News Online. “The more information we can get about Hen—who he was, how he lived, how he died—the more respect we can have for him. I want people to think of Hen as a person and not as an oddity.”
For the full story click the link below. More coverage of how radiologists are using mummies and other ancient artifacts to peek into the past can be found here and here.
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.