A comparison of skeletal maturity assessed by radiological and ultrasonic methods

Abstract

Objectives: The estimation of skeletal maturity is a useful tool in paediatric practice to determine the degree of delay or advancement in growth disorders and the effectiveness of treatment in conditions that influence linear growth. Skeletal maturity of children is commonly assessed by using either Greulich-Pyle (GP) or Tanner-Whitehouse methods (TW2 and TW3). However, a less invasive ultrasonic method, that does not use ionizing radiation, has been suggested for use in epidemiological studies of skeletal maturity. The main purpose of the present study was to determine the accuracy of an ultrasonic method based on the GP maturity indicators compared to the standard GP radiographic method.Methods: Skeletal maturity of 1502 healthy children, aged from 6 to 18 yrs, was estimated by quantitative ultrasound and compared to GP bone ages estimated from left hand and wrist radiographs of a subsample of 47 randomly selected participants. Results:The ultrasonic bone age estimation demonstrated very strong correlations with all the radiological age estimations. The correlation coefficients ranged between 0.895 and 0.958, the strongest correlation of ultrasonic skeletal maturity estimation was found with the TannerWhitehouse RUS method. The ultrasonic bone age estimation is suggested to use between the chronological ages 8.5-16.0 years in the boys and 7.5-15.0 years in the girls. Conclusions:The ultrasonic bone age estimation is suggested to be used in epidemiological surveys since the sensitivity for screening not normal bone development is appropriate at least within the 8-15 years age interval.

Skeletal maturity predicts cognitive abilities in human adolescents

“…The prospect of a bone agebased pubertal maturity assessment paradigm for research is enhanced by a non-invasive ultrasonic version of this method that scans the ossification of the wrist region to estimate bone age 29 . We have shown that ultrasonic bone age estimations of the wrist very strongly correlate with X-ray estimations 30 (r>0. 95), and therefore provide a promising tool to replace subjective, invasive, risky or costly assessments of maturity.…”

“…After body height (DKSH anthropometer, Switzerland Ltd, Zurich, Switzerland) and body weight (Seca digital scale) measurements, we assessed skeletal maturity (bone age) with an ultrasonic device (Sunlight BonAge, Sunlight Medical Ltd, Tel Aviv, Israel). Ultrasonic testing prevents children from being exposed to radiation in contrast to earlier, X-ray based methods, and at the same time, ultrasonic estimations highly correlate with X-ray estimations 30 . These features make ultrasonic screening optimal for research purposes.…”

Talent Selection Based on Sport-Specific Tasks Is Affected by the Relative Age Effects among Adolescent Handball Players

“…Biological age was estimated from bone age with an ultrasound-based device (Sunlight Medical Ltd., Tel Aviv, Israel). This method estimates the developmental stage of the skeleton and was shown to have high a reliability in boys up to 16 years and in girls up to 15 years [ 23 ]. Although the examination covers only a few bones, it can give a comprehensive assessment of the development of the skeletal system and can be used as an overall indicator of biological development [ 24 , 25 ].…”

Skeletal age prediction model from percentage of adult height in children and adolescents

“…Recent studies have also been validating ultrasound and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) to estimate skeletal age. These alternatives expose the subject to lower and non-ionizing radiation compared to X-ray radiography 39 , 40 ; however, those alternatives require sophisticated equipment at a high cost, which render its use less attractive in epidemiological studies.…”