Top

Published in:

01-01-2019 | Original Article

Forensic age diagnostics by magnetic resonance imaging of the proximal humeral epiphysis

Authors: Oguzhan Ekizoglu, Ercan Inci, Suna Ors, Elif Hocaoglu, Ismail Ozgur Can, Can Doruk Basa, Ismail Eralp Kacmaz, Elena F. Kranioti

Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine | Issue 1/2019

Abstract

The most commonly used radiological method for age estimation of living individuals is X-ray. Computed tomography is not commonly used due to high radiation exposure, which raises ethical concerns. This problem can be solved with the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which avoids the use of ionizing radiation. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the utility of MRI analysis of the proximal humeral epiphyses for forensic age estimations of living individuals. In this study, 395 left proximal humeral epiphyses (patient age 12–30 years) were evaluated with fast-spin-echo proton density–weighted image (FSE PD) sequences in a coronal oblique orientation on shoulder MRI images. A five-stage scoring system was used following the method of Dedouit et al. The intra- and interobserver reliabilities assessed using Cohen’s kappa statistic were κ = 0.818 and κ = 0.798, respectively. According to this study, stage five first appeared at 20 and 21 years of age in males and females, respectively. These results are not directly comparable to any other published study due to the lack of MRI data on proximal humeral head development. These findings may provide valuable information for legally important age thresholds using shoulder MRI. The current study demonstrates that MRI of the proximal humerus can support forensic age estimation. Further research is needed to establish a standardized protocol that can be applied worldwide.

Ritz-Timme S, Cattaneo C, Collins MJ, Waite ER, Schutz HW, Kaatsch HJ et al (2000) Age estimation: the state of the art in relation to the specific demands of forensic practice. Int J Legal Med 113(3):129–136CrossRefPubMed

Schmeling A, Grundmann C, Fuhrmann A, Kaatsch HJ, Knell B, Ramsthaler F, Reisinger W, Riepert T, Ritz-Timme S, Rösing FW, Rötzscher K, Geserick G (2008) Criteria for age estimation in living individuals. Int J Legal Med 122(6):457–460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-008-0254-2 CrossRefPubMed

Cunha E, Baccino E, Martrille L, Ramsthaler F, Prieto J, Schuliar Y, Lynnerup N, Cattaneo C (2009) The problem of aging human remains and living individuals: a review. Forensic Sci Int 193(1–3):1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.09.008 CrossRefPubMed

Schmeling A, Olze A, Reisinger W, Geserick G (2004) Forensic age diagnostics of living people undergoing criminal proceedings. Forensic Sci Int 144(2–3):243–245CrossRefPubMed

Janes L (2008) Criminal liability of minors and severity of penalties: European trends and developments. Howard League for Penal Reform (England and Wales). http://www.europeanrights.eu/public/commenti/LauraJanes_en.pdf. Accessed 21 Jan 2014

Jones VF, Committee On Early Childhood, Adoption, And Dependent Care (2012) Comprehensive health evaluation of the newly adopted child. Pediatrics 129(1):e214–e223. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-2381 CrossRefPubMed

UNHCR Asylum Trends (2014) Levels and trends in industrialized countries. http://www.unhcr.org/551128679.html

UK Refugees Council (2015) Statistics on refugees and asylum. http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/assets/0003/5656/Asylum_Statistics_Aug_2015.pdf

EURATOM (2010) Draft Euratom basic safety standards directive. http://ec.europa.eu/energy/nuclear/radiation_protection/doc/art31/2010_02_24_draft_euratom_basic_safety_standards_directive.pdf

10.

Separated Children in Europe Programme—Thematic Group on Age Assessment (2011) Review of current laws, policies and practices relating to age assessment in sixteen European countries. http://www.separated-children-europe-programme.org/publications/reports/Age_Assessment_report_review_of_current_policies_and_practice_in_Europe_2011_pdf.pdf

11.

IAEA (2011) Radiation protection and safety of radiation sources: international basic safety standards—Interim Edition. Vienna. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_protect/@protrav/@safework/documents/publication/wcms_171036.pdf

12.

Schmidt S, Schiborr M, Pfeiffer H, Schmeling A, Schulz R (2013) Age dependence of epiphyseal ossification of the distal radius in ultrasound diagnostics. Int J Legal Med 127:831–838. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-013-0871-2 CrossRefPubMed

13.

Schmidt S, Schiborr M, Pfeiffer H, Schmeling A, Schulz R (2013) Sonographic examination of the apophysis of the iliac crest for forensic age estimation in living persons. Sci Justice 53:395–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2013.05.004 CrossRefPubMed

14.

Schulz R, Schiborr M, Pfeiffer H, Schmidt S, Schmeling A (2013) Sonographische untersuchungen zum zeitlichen verlauf der ossifikation der distalen fibulaepiphyse. Arch Kriminol 231:156–165PubMed

15.

Schulz R, Schiborr M, Pfeiffer H, Schmidt S, Schmeling A (2013) Sonographic assessment of the ossification of the medial clavicular epiphysis in 616 individuals. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 9:351–357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-013-9440-8 CrossRefPubMed

16.

Schmidt S, Mühler M, Schmeling A, Reisinger W, Schulz R (2007) Magnetic resonance imaging of the clavicular ossification. Int J Legal Med 121:321–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-007-0160-z CrossRefPubMed

17.

Tangmose S, Jensen KE, Villa C, Lynnerup N (2014) Forensic age estimation from the clavicle using 1.0T MRI—preliminary results. Forensic Sci Int 234:7–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2013.10.027 CrossRefPubMed

18.

Hillewig E, Degroote J, Van der Paelt T, Visscher A, Vandemaele P, Lutin B, D’Hooghe L, Vandriessche V, Piette M, Verstraete K (2013) Magnetic resonance imaging of the sternal extremity of the clavicle in forensic age estimation: towards more sound age estimates. Int J Legal Med 127:677–689. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-012-0798-z CrossRefPubMed

19.

Vieth V, Schulz R, Brinkmeier P, Dvorak J, Schmeling A (2014) Age estimation in U-20 football players using 3.0 tesla MRI of the clavicle. Forensic Sci Int 241:118–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2014.05.008 CrossRefPubMed

20.

Saint-Martin P, Rérolle C, Dedouit F, Bouilleau L, Rousseau H, Rougé D, Telmon N (2013) Age estimation by magnetic resonance imaging of the distal tibial epiphysis and the calcaneum. Int J Legal Med 127:1023–1030. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-013-0844-5 CrossRefPubMed

21.

Saint-Martin P, Rérolle C, Dedouit F, Rousseau H, Rougé D, Telmon N (2014) Evaluation of an automatic method for forensic age estimation by magnetic resonance imaging of the distal tibial epiphysis--a preliminary study focusing on the 18-year threshold. Int J Legal Med 128:675–683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-014-0987-z CrossRefPubMed

22.

Ekizoglu O, Hocaoglu E, Can IO, Inci E, Aksoy S, Bilgili MG (2015) Magnetic resonance imaging of distal tibia and calcaneus for forensic age estimation in living individuals. Int J Legal Med 129:825–831. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-015-1187-1 CrossRefPubMed

23.

Krämer JA, Schmidt S, Jürgens KU, Lentschig M, Schmeling A, Vieth V (2014) The use of magnetic resonance imaging to examine ossification of the proximal tibial epiphysis for forensic age estimation in living individuals. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 10:306–313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-014-9559-2 CrossRefPubMed

24.

Dedouit F, Auriol J, Rousseau H, Rougé D, Crubézy E, Telmon N (2012) Age assessment by magnetic resonance imaging of the knee: a preliminary study. Forensic Sci Int 217:e1–e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.11.013 CrossRef

25.

Wittschieber D, Vieth V, Timme M, Dvorak J, Schmeling A (2014) Magnetic resonance imaging of the iliac crest: age estimation in under-20 soccer players. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 10:198–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-014-9548-5 CrossRefPubMed

26.

Dvorak J, George J, Junge A, Hodler J (2007) Age determination by magnetic resonance imaging of the wrist in adolescent male football players. Br J Sports Med 41(1):45–52CrossRefPubMed

27.

Dvorak J, George J, Junge A, Hodler J (2007) Application of MRI of the wrist for age determination in international U-17 soccer competitions. Br J Sports Med 41(8):497–500CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

28.

George J, Nagendran J, Azmi K (2012) Comparison study of growth plate fusion using MRI versus plain radiographs as used in age determination for exclusion of overaged football players. Br J Sports Med 46(4):273–278CrossRefPubMed

29.

Terada Y, Kono S, Tamada D, Uchiumi T, Kose K, Miyagi R, Yamabe E, Yoshioka H (2013) Skeletal age assessment in children using an open compact MRI system. Magn Reson Med 69(6):1697–1702CrossRefPubMed

30.

Tomei E, Battisti S, Martino M, Nissman D, Semelka RC (2014) Text-atlas of skeletal age determination: MRI of the hand and wrist in children. Wiley-Blackwell, HobokenCrossRef

31.

Tomei E, Sartori A, Nissman D, Al Ansari N, Battisti S, Rubini A, Stagnitti A, Martino M, Marini M, Barbato E, Semelka RC (2014) Value of MRI of the hand and the wrist in evaluation of bone age: preliminary results. J Magn Reson Imaging 39(5):1198–1205CrossRefPubMed

32.

Serinelli S, Panebianco V, Martino M, Battisti S, Rodacki K, Marinelli E, Zaccagna F, Semelka RC, Tomei E (2015) Accuracy of MRI skeletal age estimation for subjects 12-19. Potential use for subjects of unknown age. Int J Legal Med 129(3):609–617. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-015-1161-y CrossRefPubMed

33.

Schmidt S, Vieth V, Timme M, Dvorak J, Schmeling A (2015) Examination of ossification of the distal radial epiphysis using magnetic resonance imaging. New insights for age estimation in young footballers in FIFA tournaments. Sci Justice 55(2):139–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2014.12.003 CrossRefPubMed

34.

Krämer JA, Schmidt S, Jürgens KU, Lentschig M, Schmeling A, Vieth V (2014) Forensic age estimation in living individuals using 3.0T MRI of the distal femur. Int J Legal Med 128:509–514. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-014-0967-3 CrossRefPubMed

35.

Saint-Martin P, Rérolle C, Pucheux J, Dedouit F, Telmon N (2015) Contribution of distal femur MRI to the determination of the 18-year limit in forensic age estimation. Int J Legal Med 19(3):619–620. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-014-1020-2 CrossRef

36.

Kwong S, Kothary S, Poncinelli LL (2014) Skeletal development of the proximal humerus in the pediatric population: MRI features. AJR Am J Roentgenol 202(2):418–425. https://doi.org/10.2214/AJR.13.10711 CrossRef

37.

Zember JS, Rosenberg ZS, Kwong S, Kothary SP, Bedoya MA (2015) Normal skeletal maturation and imaging pitfalls in the pediatric shoulder. Radiographics 35(4):1108–1122. https://doi.org/10.1148/rg.2015140254 CrossRef

38.

Schaefer M, Aben G, Vogelsberg C (2015) A demonstration of appearance and union times of three shoulder ossification centers in adolescent and post-adolescent children. J Forensic Radiol Imaging 3:49–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jofri.2014.12.006 CrossRef

39.

Tirpude B, Surwade V, Murkey P, Wankhade P, Meena S (2014) Age determination from epiphyseal union of bones at shoulder joint in girls of central Indıa. J Forensic Med Sci Law 23(1)

40.

Cardoso HFV (2008) Age estimation of adolescent and young adult male and female skeletons II, epiphyseal union at the upper limb and scapular girdle in a modern Portuguese skeletal sample. Am J Phys Anthropol 137(1):97–105. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20850 CrossRefPubMed

41.

Schaefer MC (2008) A summary of epiphyseal union timings in Bosnian males. Int J Osteoarchaeol 18:536–545. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.959 CrossRef

42.

Schaefer MC, Black SM (2005) Comparison of ages of epiphyseal union in North American and Bosnian skeletal material. J Forensic Sci 50(4):777–784. https://doi.org/10.1520/JFS2004497 CrossRefPubMed

43.

Coqueugniot H, Weaver TD (2007) Brief communication: infracranial maturation in the skeletal collection from Coimbra, Portugal: new aging standards for epiphyseal union. Am J Phys Anthropol 134:424–437CrossRefPubMed

44.

Altman DG (1991) Practical statistics for medical research. Chapman & Hall, New York

45.

Jit I, Singh B (1971) A radiological study of the time of fusion of certain epiphyses in Punjabis. J Anat Soc India 20:1–27

46.

Fan F, Zhang K, Peng Z, Cui JH, Hu N, Deng ZH (2016) Forensic age estimation of living persons from the knee: comparison of MRI with radiographs. Forensic Sci Int 268:145–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.10.002 CrossRefPubMed

47.

Scharte P, Vieth V, Schulz R, Ramsthaler F, Püschel K, Bajanowski T, Pfeiffer H, Schmeling A, Schmidt S, Wittschieber D (2017) Comparison of imaging planes during CT-based evaluation of clavicular ossification: a multi-center study. Int J Legal Med 131:1391–1397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-017-1615-5 CrossRefPubMed

48.

De Tobel J, Hillewig E, Verstraete K (2017) Forensic age estimation based on magnetic resonance imaging of third molars: converting 2D staging into 3D staging. Ann Hum Biol 44(2):121–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/03014460.2016.1223884 CrossRefPubMed

49.

Schmeling A, Reisinger W, Loreck D, Vendura K, Markus W, Geserick G (2000) Effects of ethnicity on skeletal maturation: consequences for forensic age estimations. Int J Legal Med 113:253–258. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004149900102 CrossRefPubMed

50.

Schmeling A, Olze A, Reisinger W, Geserick G (2005) Forensic age estimation and ethnicity. Legal Med 7:134–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.legalmed.2004.07.004 CrossRefPubMed

51.

United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Reports 2015. http://www.hdr.undp.org/en/data. Accessed 05 Aug 2017

52.

Ekizoglu O, Hocaoglu E, Inci E, Can IO, Aksoy S, Kazimoglu C (2016) Forensic age estimation via 3-T magnetic resonance imaging of ossification of the proximal tibial and distal femoral epiphyses: use of a T2-weighted fast spin-echo technique. Forensic Sci Int 260:102.e1–102.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.12.006 CrossRef

53.

Ekizoglu O, Hocaoglu E, Inci E, Can IO, Aksoy S, Sayin I (2015) Estimation of forensic age using substages of ossification of the medial clavicle in living individuals. Int J Legal Med 129(6):1259–1264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-015-1234-y CrossRefPubMed

54.

Ekizoglu O, Hocaoglu E, Inci E, Sayin I, Solmaz D, Bilgili MG, Can IO (2015) Forensic age estimation by the Schmeling method: computed tomography analysis of the medial clavicular epiphysis. Int J Legal Med 129(1):203–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-014-1121-y CrossRefPubMed

Title: Forensic age diagnostics by magnetic resonance imaging of the proximal humeral epiphysis
Authors: Oguzhan Ekizoglu
Ercan Inci
Suna Ors
Elif Hocaoglu
Ismail Ozgur Can
Can Doruk Basa
Ismail Eralp Kacmaz
Elena F. Kranioti
Publication date: 01-01-2019
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine / Issue 1/2019
Print ISSN: 0937-9827
Electronic ISSN: 1437-1596
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-018-1952-z

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Forensic age diagnostics by magnetic resonance imaging of the proximal humeral epiphysis

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2019

Forensic reconstruction of two military combat related shooting incidents using an anatomically correct synthetic skull with a surrogate skin/soft tissue layer

Allele frequencies of 15 autosomal STRs in Chinese Nakhi and Yi populations

Postcraniometric sex and ancestry estimation in South Africa: a validation study

European council of legal medicine (ECLM) guidelines for the examination of suspected elder abuse

Genetic analysis of 39 Y-STR loci in a Han population from Henan province, central China

Advancing estimation of chronological age by utilizing available evidence based on two radiographical methods