Magnetic resonance imaging of third molars: developing a protocol suitable for forensic age estimation

Abstract

Three Tesla MRI of the third molars is a feasible technique for forensic age estimation, in which a T2 FSE sequence can provide the desired in plane resolution within a clinically acceptable acquisition time.

Third molars and periodontal damage of second molars in the general population

“…Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a valuable tool for the localization of impacted teeth (Tymofiyeva, Rottner, Jakob, Richter, & Proff, ). MRI of impacted third molars is a well‐established technique (Ferretti, Malventi, & Malasoma, ) in dental magnetic resonance imaging, and there is an increasing use in forensic radiology (De Tobel, Hillewig, Bogaert, Deblaere, & Verstraete, ). The spatial resolution of the sequences used in the present study is superior to the spatial resolution used by Ferretti et al.…”

The influence of motion artefacts on magnetic resonance imaging of the clavicles for age estimation

“…Results described in this manuscript were orally presented at the 6 th International Society of Forensic Part of the study population has been included in previous papers to study the development of their clavicles, without a specific focus on motion artefacts: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Most protocols will include a method of fixation or stabilisation of the region of interest, since MRI acquisition requires several minutes and is prone to motion artefacts.…”

“…For example, the wrist can be fixed with a flexible cloth belt [9] or stabilised in the coil using pillows [10] or a vacuum bed [11]. The head can be fixed by an individualised bite plate [2]. This minimises motion artefacts that might impede an adequate assessment of the developmental stage of the considered anatomical structure.…”

Magnetic resonance imaging of third molars in forensic age estimation: comparison of the Ghent and Graz protocols focusing on apical closure

“…The Graz protocol uses a more rigid coil, so support by pillows is deemed sufficient. Furthermore, De Tobel et al (2017) suggested that an in-plane resolution of 0.33 x 0.33 mm² is necessary to discern the stages of apical closure [17]. However, their study sample was small with only 10 participants and their suggestion was based on only one case.…”

“…Although not routinely used in clinical dental practice, dedicated MRI has been demonstrated to adequately depict periodontal space, apical foramen, cortical and trabecular bone [13,14]. To our knowledge dental age estimation by third molars MRI has only been studied by three research groups [9,[15][16][17][18][19]. Guo et al (2015) described an MRI protocol for a 3T Philips scanner, while Baumann et al (2015) and De Tobel et al (2017) used a 3T Siemens scanner.…”