Bone age assessment based on different MRI modalities of the proximal humerus epiphysis: the comparisons of T 1 WI, T 2 WI, and PDWI.

Bone age assessment (BAA) is crucial in various fields, including legal proceedings, athletic competitions, and clinical medicine. However, the use of X-ray methods for age estimation without medical indication is subject to ethical debate, especially in forensic and athletic fields. The application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with non-ionizing radiation can overcome this limitation in BAA. This study aimed to compare the application value of several MRI modalities of proximal humeral in BAA. A total of 468 patients with shoulder MRIs were retrospectively collected from a Chinese Han population aged 12-30 years (259 males and 209 females) for training and testing, including T ₁ weighted MRI (T ₁ WI), T ₂ weighted MRI (T ₂ WI), and Proton density weighted MRI (PDWI). Optimal regression models were established for age estimation, yielding mean absolute error (MAE) values below 2.0 years. The MAE values of T ₁ WI were the lowest, with 1.700 years in males and 1.798 years in females. The area under the curve (AUC) and accuracy values of different MRI modalities of 16-year and 18-year thresholds were all around 0.9. For the 18-year threshold, T ₁ WI outperformed T ₂ WI and PDWI. In conclusion, the three MRI modalities of the proximal humerus can serve as reliable indicators for age assessment, while the T ₁ WI performed better in age assessment and classification.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)