Schulz Ronald, Zwiesigk Per, Schiborr Manfred, Schmidt Sven, Schmeling Andreas
Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Röntgenstrabe 23, 48149 Münster, Germany.
Int J Legal Med. 2008 Mar;122(2):163-7. doi: 10.1007/s00414-007-0220-4. Epub 2008 Jan 8.
When preparing forensic age estimates for living subjects over 18 years of age, it is crucial to evaluate the stage of ossification of the medial clavicular epiphysis. The establishment of radiation-free imaging techniques for assessment of clavicular ossification would be desirable in order to reduce the radiation exposure associated with forensic age estimations. In the present study, 84 right clavicles of test subjects 12-30 years of age were prospectively evaluated by means of ultrasound. Ossification stage classification was possible in 80 of the 84 medial clavicular epiphyses studied. In the remaining cases, stage classification was not possible due to the presence of developmental anomalies. The earliest ages at which the respective ossification stages were observed were 17.1 years for stage 2, 16.7 years for stage 3, and 22.5 years for stage 4. The age intervals observed for the ossification stages are consistent with the known data from radiological and computed tomography assessments. The present study results should be confirmed in a larger number of cases and with analysis of observer variability. Evaluation of medial clavicular epiphyseal ossification by ultrasound could ultimately be a rapid and economic non-ionizing diagnostic imaging procedure for forensic age estimation.
在为18岁以上的活体进行法医年龄估计时，评估内侧锁骨骨骺的骨化阶段至关重要。为减少与法医年龄估计相关的辐射暴露，建立用于评估锁骨骨化的无辐射成像技术是可取的。在本研究中，对84名年龄在12至30岁之间的受试者的右侧锁骨进行了超声前瞻性评估。在所研究的84个内侧锁骨骨骺中，80个可以进行骨化阶段分类。在其余病例中，由于存在发育异常，无法进行阶段分类。观察到各个骨化阶段的最早年龄分别为：2期17.1岁，3期16.7岁，4期22.5岁。观察到的骨化阶段的年龄区间与放射学和计算机断层扫描评估的已知数据一致。本研究结果应在更多病例中得到证实，并分析观察者的变异性。通过超声评估内侧锁骨骨骺骨化最终可能成为一种快速且经济的非电离诊断成像程序，用于法医年龄估计。
