Institute of Legal Medicine (AgEstimation Project), University of Macerata, Macerata, Italy.
Institute of Legal Medicine (AgEstimation Project), University of Macerata, Macerata, Italy.
Forensic Sci Int. 2020 Aug;313:110341. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110341. Epub 2020 May 20.
Current multifactorial age estimation methods are based on radiography, however, in the forensic field there is growing interest in using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). With regard to the carpal region, MRI provides more information for defining the individual ossification nuclei and the cartilage surrounding single bones. During the phase of bone growth, the progressive reduction of the cartilage layer is accompanied by the development of a cartilage-bone interface. The aim of our study was to create a new model for age estimation, based on the ratio between the area occupied by the nucleus of ossification (NO) and the surface of growth (SG) of each carpal bone, the latter derived by adding NO to the area of cartilage-bone interface. We analyzed 57 MRI scans of Italian subjects aged between 12 and 20 years, without growth diseases, endocrine disorders or osteodystrophy. Measurements of NO and SG areas were extracted using ImageJ software, and the ratio between the NO and SG of each bone (NOSG) was calculated. A multiple linear regression model was used to estimate the individual's age as a function of the variables: gender and wrist bone measurements. The results showed that the best model was obtained with 6 predictors (nvmax=6): Gender, and the NOSG of the Trapezoid, Trapezium, Scaphoid, Pisiform, and Capitate. The median of the residuals (observed age minus predicted age) was -0.025 years, with an IQR of 0.19 years. Thus a new forensic approach to age assessment using MRI is introduced in this paper, which gives the preliminary results.
目前的多因素年龄估计方法基于放射学，但在法医领域，人们对使用磁共振成像（MRI）越来越感兴趣。就腕骨区域而言，MRI 提供了更多关于定义个体骨化核和单个骨骼周围软骨的信息。在骨骼生长阶段，软骨层的逐渐减少伴随着软骨-骨界面的发育。我们的研究目的是创建一种新的基于腕骨每个骨化核（NO）和生长表面（SG）区域比值的年龄估计模型，后者是通过将 NO 区域添加到软骨-骨界面的区域来获得的。我们分析了 57 名年龄在 12 至 20 岁之间的意大利受试者的 MRI 扫描结果，这些受试者没有生长疾病、内分泌紊乱或骨营养不良。使用 ImageJ 软件提取 NO 和 SG 区域的测量值，并计算每个骨的 NO 和 SG 之间的比值（NOSG）。使用多元线性回归模型来估计个体的年龄作为变量的函数：性别和腕骨测量值。结果表明，使用 6 个预测器（nvmax=6）可以获得最佳模型：性别和 Trapezoid、Trapezium、Scaphoid、Pisiform 和 Capitate 的 NOSG。残差的中位数（观察年龄减去预测年龄）为-0.025 岁，IQR 为 0.19 岁。因此，本文提出了一种使用 MRI 进行法医年龄评估的新方法，给出了初步结果。
