Brooklyn Museum brings four mummies to North Shore University Hospital to undergo 64-slice computed tomography (CT) scan

MANHASSET, NY -- Heart patients at North Shore University Hospital have access to the most advanced diagnostic technology, including a 64-slice computed tomography (CT) scan that provides three-dimensional views of the organs and tissue. Today, four special guests were scanned using this advanced screening technology: Pasebakhaienipet, mummy of the royal prince, Count of Thebes, carbon 14 dated about 1188- 909 BC; Thothirdes, 791-418 BC; “Lady Hor,” 712-660 BC; and a nameless mummy whose linen dressing carbon-dates at about 244-419 AD.

Egyptologists at the Brooklyn Museum brought their invaluable cargo to the hospital to gain further insight into their identities, cause of death and possibly, Egyptian funerary practices. Though the hospital uses this technology primarily to detect abnormalities in the human heart, it is also the test of choice for mummies, since each slice that appears on the computer screen is about 0.6 mm (less than a 50th of an inch) thick. These images let radiologists learn about the tissue and skeletal system of the mummies in extraordinary detail, without necessitating invasive procedures that could damage their remains.

The scan of Lady Hor, for example, revealed to the radiologists and technicians that “she” was, in fact, male. Another fascinating discovery was the presence of a reed-type of tube located in the Count of Thebes’ chest area. The Brooklyn Museum Egyptologists theorized that, owing to his rank and stature, the tube was inserted in the count’s chest to keep his chin up in a more regal position throughout eternity.

“This, to us, is the perfect blending of art and science,” said Amgad Makaryus, MD, the hospital’s director of cardiac CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). “By utilizing this state-of-the-art technology, we make contact with antiquity, without conducting invasive procedures or otherwise damaging our subjects. This is the humanity behind science.”

Media Contact:
Michelle Pinto
516-465-2649