Assessment of bone ages by the Tanner-Whitehouse method using a computer-aided system.

Abstract

A computer-aided system to estimate bone age based on Fourier analysis was assessed by reference to the original radiographs used to produce the Tanner-Whitehouse 2 (TW2) standards for the radius, ulna and short finger bones. The computer-aided system involved matching a template of each bone to the scanned image of the radiograph. The computer then generated a stage of bone maturity, individual and total bone scores and a value for bone age. The bone ages assessed by the computer-aided system were no different from the original TW2 reference values, indicating the applicability of the system. The system was used to assess the bone ages of tall Dutch girls, and the results obtained were compared with more traditional assessments made by an experienced rater. For the radiographs from the tall girls, there was good agreement for individual bones between this method and the traditional assessment by the rater, but less agreement for the total 13-bone score and bone age.