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The use of magnetic resonance imaging to examine ossification of the proximal tibial epiphysis for forensic age estimation in living individuals

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Abstract

The establishment of radiation-free examination procedures in the field of forensic age diagnostics in living persons is to be considered of special scientific interest so as to minimize necessary exposure to X-rays while facilitating additional assessment of skeletal development in all cases. To this end, the advantages offered by magnetic resonance imaging in securing a practical application which is as unrestricted and complication-free as possible should be among the methods exploited in investigating such indicators of skeletal maturity. Within the framework of a retrospective study, we investigated the ossification status of the proximal tibial epiphysis on the MRI scans of 124 females and 166 males aged between 10 and 30 years. All the images had been generated on a 3.0 T scanner using a T1-weighted turbo spin-echo sequence. When evaluating the ossification stage, a combination of modified classifications proposed by Schmeling et al. and by Kellinghaus et al. was used. The statistical evaluation included calculation of a variety of measures to describe specific ossification stages as well as kappa coefficients to assess intra- and inter-observer agreement on diagnoses of individual stages. In forensic contexts, completion of the 14th year of life can be adequately evidenced in females with an ossification stage IV according to Schmeling et al. and in males with an ossification stage III c according to Kellinghaus et al. or an ossification stage IV according to Schmeling et al. In forensic contexts, the presence of an ossification stage IV according to Schmeling et al. can prove that the age of 16 years has been exceeded only in the male sex, whereby for age estimation purposes the diagnosis should be in line with other skeletal maturity indicators. The results available displayed a high degree of intra- and inter-observer agreement. Examination of the ossification status of the proximal tibial epiphysis using magnetic resonance imaging represents an effective additional tool for use in radiation-free forensic age diagnostics in living persons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospital Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Jan Alexander Krämer & Volker Vieth

  2. Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Münster, Röntgenstraße 23, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Sven Schmidt & Andreas Schmeling

  3. Center of Modern Diagnostics, ZEMODI, Schwachhauser Heerstraße 63 a, 28211, Bremen, Germany

    Kai-Uwe Jürgens & Markus Lentschig

Authors
  1. Jan Alexander Krämer
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  2. Sven Schmidt
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  3. Kai-Uwe Jürgens
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  4. Markus Lentschig
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  5. Andreas Schmeling
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  6. Volker Vieth
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sven Schmidt.

Additional information

J. A. Krämer and S. Schmidt contributed equally to this work.

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Krämer, J.A., Schmidt, S., Jürgens, KU. et al. The use of magnetic resonance imaging to examine ossification of the proximal tibial epiphysis for forensic age estimation in living individuals. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 10, 306–313 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-014-9559-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-014-9559-2

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