The feasibility of age estimation based on MRI and radiographs of the knee joint in the Chinese population of Han nationality

ABSTRACT

Considering that different regions and races have different skeletal development stages, it is imperative to adopt appropriate standards for the age assessment of specific populations. The study aimed to identify a suitable method for knee epiphysis grading and evaluate the feasibility of age estimation based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray in the Chinese population. MRI images and X-ray images of the knee were collected from 1018 volunteers and 833 volunteers aged 6–20 years old, respectively. A modified Kramer’s classification method was used for the experiment. The minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation of radiography and MRI were defined for males and females in each age group. The ossification process in knee joints of the female volunteers occurred earlier compared to the male, and the X-ray grading was higher than that of the MRI during the same period. In the regression analysis, the R² value with age of MRI was generally higher than the X-ray in males. MRI can be used as an effective, reliable, non-invasive, and non-radiation method for evaluating bone age. This study verified the feasibility of applying the knee epiphysis grading for forensic investigations in Chinese population.

KEYWORDS:

• Age estimation
• forensic anthropology
• knee
• MRI
• radiograph

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by grants fromthe National Key Research and Development Plan (no. 2022YFC3302001); the Council of National Science Foundation of China [nos. 81401559, 81701863, 81722027]; the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine [no. 17DZ2273200]; the Shanghai Forensic Service Platform [no. 19DZ2290900], [nos. GY2021G-8] and the Opening Project of Shanghai Key Laboratory of Crime SceneEvidence [No. 2019XCWZK03].