Subjects: Italian children from 1 to 16 years of age
Imaging studies: radiograph of the left wrist.
Software: Adobe Photoshop (provides area within delimited area with polygonal lasso instrument)
Parameters:
(1) gender of the patient (0 if female, 1 if male)
(2) total area for all 8 carpal bones in square cm (Bo, Figure 2, page 144, Cameriere 2006). Overlapping area of two bones is only counted once.
(3) area of the delimited by a line running through the distal epiphyseal plates of the radius and ulna then up and around the carpal region of the wrist in square cm (Ca, Figure 1, page 144, Cameriere 2006)
age of the patient in years =
= (1.0088 * (points for gender)) + (14.8166 *(areas of the 8 carpal bones) / (area of the region surrounding the distal epiphyses and carpals)) - 1.7702
Performance:
• Mean error for skeletal and chronological age was 0 for girls and -0.3 years for boys (skeletal age underestimates).
• The standard deviation was 0.70 years for girls and 0.78 years for boys.
