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For the about 10,000 people each year whose deaths are investigated by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, a change in venue won't mean much.

However, for families who must come to identify a body and for the medical examiners who work there, the state's new $44 million Forensic Medical Center in Baltimore will offer more comfortable surroundings and upgraded technology to simplify the process of death investigations and autopsies, staff said.

Statewide, Prince George's County and Baltimore city send the most deceased to the medical examiner's office for investigations and autopsies, said Dawn Zulauf, the office's chief forensic investigator.

The new facility will replace a more than 40-year-old building in Baltimore, which currently is handling 4,000 autopsies per year, double the amount of autopsies it was designed to accommodate. An additional 6,000 deaths are investigated by the office each year.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new building, 900 W. Baltimore St., took place held Sept. 21, but the building is expected to be fully functional in October. The old building will be taken over by the University of Maryland.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner investigates Maryland deaths that occur by violence, suicide, accident or in a suspicious or unusual manner, and any sudden death if a doctor was not present or if the deceased previously was in good health.

"Every time we determine a cause of death, we have to be able to do so, so that it will stand up in a court of law," said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. David Fowler. The new technology within the office will help examiners more easily meet those demands, he said.

For instance, a new full body scanner will be able to provide a full-body X-ray in about 17 seconds. The older machine used at the previous facility takes about 15 minutes to take the same X-ray, Fowler said. State-of-the-art bio-safety rooms will keep dangerous pathogens contained during the autopsy process and new data storage will allow digital photography to be used, rather than film, for autopsy photos.

A computed tomography, or CT, scanner will also allow medical examiners for the first time to conduct virtual autopsies, or a 3-D reconstruction of the body and any injuries it sustained without putting the body under the knife, Zulauf said. The scanner can detect even the smallest of fractures, which could require a high level of dissection during an autopsy, she said.

"This investment will greatly impact our community and assist law enforcement in being more expeditious in their investigations," said Capt. David Gillespie, director of the Major Crimes Division with the Montgomery County Police Department, of the new facility and all of its technology.

The new facility, which is six stories and 120,000 square feet, will also provide more space than the older facility for teaching forensic students and police and emergency technician recruits who tour the facility during their recruit classes.

Previously, medical examiners and students were often left standing "elbow to elbow" during training sessions because there was so little room in the old basement autopsy room, Zulauf said.

The new space will offer a glass-enclosed viewing gallery and digital cameras installed at autopsy stations to allow students the ability to view the ongoing autopsies without being in the way, Zulauf said. High ceilings and lots of natural light from large window bays will also make the main autopsy rooms a more pleasant place to work, she added.

Prince George's County police do not expect the new facility to have a direct impact on the department, said spokeswoman Capt. Misty Mints.

The Prince George's County state's attorney's office welcomes the improvements.

"We work with the medical examiner in more than a few cases. Any way they upgrade their facilities and make their work even better is always a welcomed addition," said spokesman Ramon Korionoff. "Upgrades for lab facilities are a necessary part of doing the work for the public."

Fowler also noted that the new facility features a viewing room with a window looking into a private refrigeration chamber, to allow families to keep watch over their loved one's body if they choose.

However, because 99 percent of all autopsies are completed within 24 hours of when the body arrives, few families have to come to the facility to identify the body.

"We had several instances of fallen firefighters and police officers whose colleagues wanted to stand guard over them," said Fowler as he led a tour of the viewing room. "We are now able to accommodate that."

anoble@gazette.net